(2018-11-11) Deep and Meaningful
Heather and Katherine talk business, relationships, and adult toys.
Players:
heather..katherine..

Katherine is staring down at her phone, waiting for the text notification to ding again. Her attire makes it clear that it's her day off, and the kitchen is a mess, casserole and pie still out on the counter. Tupperware is sitting out, Kate is probably about to put stuff away.

After their text conversation, and an invitation, Heather has headed on over after completing the Sunday evening news - hence being dressed very well and make-up applied. She walks right in…everyone does. "Okay, so what brought on this hotel idea?" Straight to business is the businesswoman. "Oooh…that casserole need eating?"

"Yes, it does, have a seat." Katherine scoops casserole into a bowl and puts it in the microwave to heat it up. "It hasn't just been brought on, it's something I was considering for a while actually. I just didn't have the funds to do it myself, well… I think I have a group of interested investors who thinks I can make a hotel profitable." The machine beeps and Kate gets the bowl with the now steaming food, adding a spoon, and placing it before Heather. "You can have a piece of the pie, if you believe in me."

"I'll have the pie for dessert" Heather replies before a slow smile forms. "Teasing." She takes a mouthful of stew. "God, you could always cook, Katherine. One of the reasons I hated you" she smirks, "And a reason I believe in you." She wipes her mouth before business discussions resume. "Who am I getting in bed with? And how much for? I could also bring free advertising too."

"I'll have to introduce you to Xavier Westin, he's a developer who's been in town for a lil bit. He's going to get the investors together. He said I should get a lawyer, know one?" Katherine asks, taking a seat at the table and crossing her legs. "One of the reasons? Jesus woman, how many do you have?" She props her chin on her palm and shrugs. "I think he said a hundred thousand, but you would have to discuss it with him, the advertising as well. Please though, don't get into bed with him. I might have developed a small tiny crush."

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Heather asks with a curious look. "Though I understand the havoc that crushes can cause. And, no, I won't get into bed with him. Have you not noticed the type of person who I /have/ been getting in bed with?" Another mouthful for herself before she nods. "I know lawyers. Oh boy, do I know lawyers. A hundred grand? That all?" She shrugs at that. "And where do I find this latest crush of yours?" A pause before she adds, "I had a few reasons for not liking you."

"Yeah, I do. Which is why I'm conflicted. Duh." Katherine leans back in her chair with a sigh, squinting her eyes at Heather. "Yes, I noticed. I'm happy that you're happy, I said that the other day." She says, sticking out her tongue toward Heather. "Well I need a lawyer, I can pay and stuff, I do have a pretty substantial savings from the life insurance still." She brushes her hair back and her eyes flit toward the upstairs. "He's staying in my chocolate room, I think I might have grumped him up a bit so he went to bed. Maybe come by at some point tomorrow?" Slender fingers move to fiddle with the neckline of her shirt. "What are a few of them, hmm?"

"Anyone he's asking to invest, will be bringing a lawyer with them. No need to find your own, just use one of ours" Heather suggests. "Wait…this grand investor is staying…here? No offence, Katherine, but when you think of high flying wheelers and dealers who actually /have/ money, you don't think of them staying in a B&B. I was expecting him to be up at the resort or something. Hmm…Xavier Westin was it?" Yes, she will be looking very thoroughly into this man. "I don't want you to be fleeced by some fly-by-night guy. /I/ don't want to be fleeced either." Another mouthful of food as she considers that last question. Then a deep breath. "Okay…we can do this conversation. We're all adults now" she smiles. "You were popular, Katherine. And you were popular by being nice and beloved. I was popular by being feared. And the fucking idiots I used to get following me around. I was jealous. Why couldn't I get people to like /me/ like you did. Hated you for it."

"Heather, I've got word of mouth on my side. People won't send him up to the resort when he'll be treated like gold here." Katherine chuckles softly, holding up both hands. "By all means, Heather, look him up. I already have, and I've all but confirmed almost everything he's told me." She watches heather as she speaks, eyebrow quirked. "I didn't want to be popular. I just wanted to get through school, go to college and get away from here. I never understood why you were so mean to me, back then, I guess you were just trying to get me to fear you too." She gazes down at her hands, folded on her lap. "In school that all seems so important, looking back on it, it was just…stupid." She gazes up at Heather, a slight smile on her lips. "Now you're the one to be envied."

"I won't argue about the stupid part" Heather smiles softly. "See, there you go. You didn't even want to be popular and you were. I /wanted/ to be popular and had to do it through fear. Guess I learned that from my parents." A snort about the gold standard. "I think they're treated pretty well up at the resort too. That's your competition, you know? And here, in the B&B, you get to give the personal touch. When you're running a hotel, you will need every staff member to give what you give personally. You think you can do that? I suppose I should look at this hotel too. How much work does it need?" More of that delicious casserole. "You won't be able to cook for three hundred guests either…and I guess you'll give up on the show too." Heather chews on her lower lip a moment. "Okay. There was another reason I hated you. And don't worry about it now, it's all in the past. But…" A deep breath. "I had a crush on you so bad…and you despised me. Unrequited affection can really fuck a person up."

"That's why I'm still considering the offer. I …love what I have here, but it will always be me. Just me, and sometimes I can't manage it." Katherine looks far away for a few moments, a serious look on her face. "I think I can build something amazing if I can find the right people to help me. This has always been a deep down dream of mine. When the original owners of the hotel put it up for sale, I considered it, then that faceless company bought it, didn't do any renovations and just coasted on what they had. I even applied there to manage it once and was turned away." She gazes over at Heather, a smile forming on her lips. "I probably won't give up on the show, but I probably won't be able to run this and the hotel. So this would just be my home again. Which I would sell. It's too big, and I don't plan on having a family." She blinks at Heather. "Heather, you were so mean to me, I couldn't help but despise you. Why didn't you just talk to me back then? We never ever sat down and had a good conversation. Not unless we needed each other for something, and then that was the focus."

"Would you have said 'yes' to a date?" Heather asks with a soft laugh. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to be. I dated way too many guys…had to give them a chance…and then spent most lunches watching the cheerleader girls practice. And I wasn't interested in the routines or the school spirit. You just completed the confusion. It was bad enough being attracted to the girl who blew out my candles, but it was confirming things I wasn't ready to deal with. College…that was a different story. Everyone experiments there, but you never came along. For obvious reasons. Which I'm still sorry about. Even if your sister beat me up." A wry smile before another deep breath. "We were talking business, sorry about that distraction. Are you sure these owners will sell? Interesting they did nothing with it. Is it a heritage building? Their purchase contract may have listed they had to do something by a certain time."

"We'll never know. I was so terrified of you, had you asked me at any point during our exchanges, I probably would have thought you were pulling something on me." Katherine aims a look of sympathy at Heather, her brow furrowed. "Yes well, my sister did it because she couldn't stand my crying. We shared a room." She waves away the apology. "We should have sat down and talked like adults a long time ago. We still don't act like it sometimes, you know?" She nods at Heather. "I heard it was losing business, people haven't been staying there very often. They're losing money on what they spend on food now because of the low occupancy and the food they buy for the lounge and room service that they're not using." She squints and glances toward the computer. "I'm not sure about the heritage thing, I just know that it needed more work than they were prepared to do, decided to put out feelers to sell instead of continue to mess with it."

"I think we hated each other for close on half our lives, Katherine. Or at least acted like it. It's tough to just stop. So, if I still snipe, I'm sorry. You bring up a lot of conflicting emotions" Heather explains with a smile. "I'm sorry I made you cry. That /was/ my intention, but I was a mean bitch. If it's any consolation…I cried too. Just for different reasons." Best stick to business. "Do you know why it is losing business? Is it because of the service slash owner…that we can fix. If it's because of the location or the competition, that will be harder to fix. We need to screw them for the cheapest price we can. And check their contract with the city. Hmm…do you think it is being used to launder money?"

"It isn't tough for me to stop. I see redeeming qualities in you, Heather. I wouldn't have agreed to work for you if I didn't." Katherine chuckles and aims a smile at Heather. "It's okay, I cried a lot about a lot of things when I was a teenager. Life seemed so unfair, and I had it a lot better than I realized back then." She taps her fingers on the table and wrinkles her nose. "I want to say that it's a bit of both. Service, ownership, and competition. I made sure to undercut their price, hard. I should be charging more than I do for a room, but because I've always had a cushion in my savings plus now with a second job? I could afford it. I was still in the black if I was really careful." She leans on the table and quirks both brows. "With the amount of work that needs done, talking them down to a decent price should be easy enough. I hope it isn't being used for any crime in the city, but it might be, worth checking out."

"I'm glad I'm not all bad. Though my ex-wife might disagree" Heather laughs in reply. "It sounds like we need to do more investigation into this hotel. Try not to go too cheap. People will wonder what is wrong with the place. You're up on Trivago and such sites? Getting good reviews I guess. You'd think whatever corporation bought the place would have the cash reserves to destroy a B&B if they wanted to. They could undercut you right back. My hundred thousand, how much of the pie will that get me? Is it just you and this Xavier person? Christ…don't have an affair with a possible business partner. Please." She flutters her eyelashes at Katherine.

"Well your ex has reasons just like you have reasons to not think she's the bee's knees." Katherine props her cheek on her palm and listens to Heather. "I think I've had one bad review. In two years, and it was an old man who tried to show me his sausage." She shrugs at Heather. "You have to discuss all of that with Xavier. I know he has a group ready to do work, so I don't think it will be just you two." She frowns and leans back in her chair, gazing down at her lap. "I can't promise that. I'm kind of conflicted about Ethan right now. I…really like him, but I also spend a lot of time listening to people gush about how cute he and Luke are. It doesn't do a lot for a girl's self-esteem." She fidgets, her eyes still on her fingers. "I mean, you like women Heather, but…when you meet Xavier it will kind of make sense why ..I mean, he's kind of…magnetic might be the word?"

Katherine quickly adds, a frown on her face. "What the fuck am I saying, there is no way he's going to be interested in me anyway. I'm a bumpkin. He's money, and he's not from here and I doubt he means to stay."

"Are you seriously worried that Ethan is going to run off with Luke? You know it is all a joke, right? Okay…honest conversation time. Have you slept with Ethan yet? I remember the horndog that is the male from my time in high school. I don't think it changes over time. That isn't a reason to sleep with him, that he expects you to and won't like you if you don't, but they're a shallow breed" Heather muses before rolling her eyes at Katherine putting herself down. "You can stop with that crap. You are not a bumpkin and the way you thought you were, made it easy for me to make you cry. And easy for anyone else too. So enough of that. If he has any sense, he will be interested in you, but, yes, this might be a temporary stop. If he does this for a living - development - then he's always after the next big payday. Having said that, a desire to hang around and own something rather than just selling it on again…maybe there is something in this town he likes. You won't know unless you ask. Don't make my mistakes."

Katherine shakes her head at Heather, a frown on her face. "I don't think he's going to run off with Luke, but it ..is frustrating when I hear people talk about how cute they are. Even if it's a joke, some people actually think they're together or something." She looks embarrassed, her face red. "I haven't. Every time we've made plans, something has happened." She gazes down at her hands. "It's become like a running joke at this point and …" She trails off and shrugs. "Things are very…almost innocent with Ethan. We don't talk about feelings very often, we don't really…go out on dates." She runs fingers through her hair and exhales softly. "Maybe I just should sit down and talk to Ethan. If we're just dating because it's easy, uncomplicated, and neither of us are getting anything out of it.." She gazes at Heather. "He's the type of man who would go for someone like you. Someone who has edges and doesn't let people push at her without shoving them over. I don't think he'd be interested in someone like me. It's reality, rather than putting myself down."

"No, it's /your/ version of reality. I tried to destroy you for a decade and you always pushed back. You might like to do stuff for everyone, to care for everyone, and there is nothing wrong with that, but you will protect those you love with a vengeance. You have edges. Sharp edges." Heather scrapes her bowl to get out the last of the goodness. "Yes, talk to him. If it ends up that you're better off as friends…then so be it. But you care about him, Katherine. I remember you were ready to poke my eyes out when I first saw him at the Junction and expressed an admiration for him. You've got it in you." She pushes the bowl to one side. "Do you talk about feelings with /anyone/, Katherine? Real feelings I mean. Hidden feelings. The ones that count." A wry smile appears. "And if he goes for me, then he's out of luck."

Katherine puts her head down on the table with a thump. "He's so not a feelings kind of guy, and I think this talk might be a bad idea." She's muffed as she groans, gazing up briefly. "I do care about him, but ..I'll figure it out." She sits up and cradles her face with her hands. "I haven't really…no. I guess I don't. I have a lot of feelings, but I always feel awkward or wrong expressing them." She smirks over at Heather and rolls her eyes. "This Xavier is the type who doesn't stay in one place, so.. unless something changes I should get my head in the proper space. It would be tacky to like someone and then get bummed when they take off."

"Unless Xavier's soooo magnetic that you'll just take the electric sex" Heather teases with a grin. "I'm sure he has a plug that needs your socket" she winks before shrugging. "Up to you, Katherine. And that's the important thing for you to remember. It is up to /you/. I know you kill yourself to do things for others but that alone is not going to make you happy. You don't want to live with regret…you certainly don't want to die with it." Heather purses her lips. "You want me to ask Ethan if he likes you? Maybe give him a slip of paper with 'Yes' and 'No' boxes. That usually sorted things out back in the day. Though it really should be an app these days."

Katherine laughs out loud, her cheeks flushed red. She covers her face with both hands and groans softly. "You're so gross sometimes." She peeks at Heather and wrinkles her nose. "I don't want to live with regret, so no, I'll talk to Ethan. We're going dress shopping for this charity thing that's coming up with Luke, Angela and…Xavier." She sighs, laughing as she scoots her chair back, picking up Heather's dish. "Pie? It's a Calvin Shay original."

"Calvin bakes pies as well? Hmm…not the usual pie rumor around him" Heather muses before shaking her head playfully at Katherine. "You really need to come out of that shell, Katherine. Enjoy life, it's the only one you have. Dress shopping? Hmm…red might be Ethan's color. And you always looked good in green. The two of you will be very festive themed." A pause. "Which charity event? Did I get invited? Hey, doesn't Luke have a girlfriend? A doctor? Does she think that he's about to run off with Ethan? Does it bother her? Might want to have a chat with her too about how to handle things." Another of those wicked, teasing smiles…along with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Pie is my favorite. I'd love some."

"Everyone is invited, so yes, you are too. If you bring cameras, you'll probably make Xavier's day, but don't quote me on that. Ask first." Katherine laughs and shakes her head, exhaling a soft chuckle. "Ethan and I are both wearing red, sort of. I'm going to wear a red dress, he's going to wear a red tie and a black tux. I bet he's going to look absolutely amazing in a suit." She stands still, thinking about that for a second before she cuts a piece of pie for Heather. "We're planning on…spending some time alone together after the event." She raises her eyebrows at Heather, her look full of meaning. "No, I don't think Abby is bothered by it, I think she finds it funny." She brings the pie to Heather and retakes her seat. "Though, Abby is so very busy at the hospital lately."

"Ah…so after the event is the main event" Heather surmises as she jabs at the pie to break off a chunk. "Hmmm…want another suggestion from the woman you hoped never to see again? Maybe have the talk /after/. Don't ruin the sex before it begins. You're going to be the Scarlet Woman? I'm sure you'll look beautiful." She tries the pie. "Calvin's not a bad cook" she allows. "If it is a public event, then it is a news event, and Channel One will be there. They're probably running ads. I don't know /everything/ that goes on at the station."

"Calvin said he might perform." Katherine lets out a gusty sigh, nodding at Heather. "I'm nervous, how dorky is that? It's been almost three years. They say it's like riding a bike but I never did that well either." She snorts a laugh and slumps in her seat. "Ugh. Just ugh."

"Yeah, I never liked that 'riding a bike' analogy either. I used to keep falling off. And if I tried to do on a bike, what I do in my sex life now, there would be scrapes, bruises, and tears before bedtime" Heather sighs in agreement. "Three years? Okay…you beat me. There was a gap between the ex-wife and Kris, but not three years. Oh…umm…forget I said that name." A blushing smile for Katherine before she clears her throat. "And with a guy…now /that/ is a long time. Nothing wrong with being nervous. You know what, I bet he is too. Just…" She purses her lips. "Having a set time like that really increases pressure that isn't needed. Ideally it should be when the mood takes you. Not a, eight o'clock Friday night or not at all, kind of thing."

"Every time we try to be spontaneous something happens, I think we scheduled it to kind of aggressively shove off anything that might get in the way." Katherine smirks at Heather and chuckles, shaking her head. "I won't say anything." She taps her fingers on the table, frowning. "I might explode if we don't somehow manage to make it happen soon. I'm only going to get more nervous." She groans and rubs her hand over her face. "You know what Julian said to me the other night, Heather? Which makes me feel…like a real loser, by the way, he said… if I'm not married by thirty, he'll marry me." She raises her eyebrows and laughs as she stares across the table. "I don't know if I should be flattered or finding a gun to shoot him with." She blinks and then aims a sharp look at Heather. "You and Kris? What happened, are you two still kind of sort of seeing each other?"

"Yeah, you don't want to explode. The frustration can get quite bad. Umm…Katherine…do you have any…how shall I put this…toys?" Heather asks with a little wince. "There was a time at the start of the last century where they thought sexual frustration in women caused maladies. In those days, it wouldn't do to have a woman sleep around with men…and women with women didn't exist…so they gave them sex toys to relieve their stress. Just a thought" Heather offers between bites of pie. "I can even give you some recommendations…" Her eyes go wide. "Julian? Married? Hmm…I wonder if that was the inspiration behind Logan's Run. The film where everyone was killed off when turning thirty…so they could avoid marrying Julian. Don't marry your 'brother', Katherine, it's weird." A fond smile for a moment. "I went up to Kris's cabin to catch up. There was weed…alcohol…and I guess I decided to do something about one of my high school crushes. She didn't say 'no'. It's /very/ casual, trust me. I've noticed the women around here really want to avoid relationships. We haven't done anything since I hooked up with Solo. And even Solo told me she might have a guy on the side." A shrug, "It's fine, I'm in no hurry to get married again or anything. But…I like Solo. A lot."

Katherine narrows her eyes at Heather, trying very hard not to burst out in nervous laughter. "I uh.. don't have any toys. No." She swallows and her cheeks are bright red now. "By the time I get to bed at night I'm usually so tired that I'm asleep within five minutes, or less." She twists a curl around her finger. "Julian. Julian is super safe. He has a job, he's okay looking and he practically lives here half the time anyway. No, I would murder him within a week, if not sooner. He'd get a pan to the head for some smart ass comment." She listens to Heather, a grin on her face. "Geez, all these people are having all this sex and I'm sitting here feeling like a kid who's training wheels fell off her bike." She raises a brow and watches Heather for a few minutes. "Have you told Solo how you feel?"

"I've told her what I've told you. In that shy way we did when we were sixteen" Heather smirks. "We have admitted there is a relationship happening but there's a lot going on in both of our lives that we don't have a lot of control over. Hey, I can't complain about dating a woman who takes me flying…and that's even before we get to the planes." She screws up her nose a little. "I did actually feel guilty about having sex in your house. Noisy sex at that. Forgive me?" A single eyebrow rises once more. "Julian is 'okay' looking? Even I can see he's quite the hunk. But, yeah, I wouldn't encourage trying to kill each other in a marriage. Been there, done that." She finishes off the pie and pushes that plate aside too. "Maybe you need different training wheels? Seriously, the Lovehoney Jessica Rabbit vibrator. It won't matter how tired you are. You will find energy for that baby. If things don't work out with Ethan…I'll buy you one for Thanksgiving. You /will/ be giving thanks."

Katherine gets to her feet, taking the plate to the sink. "I can forgive you for the noisy sex. I guess." She sets the plate down and turns to lean against the counter. "When I was little I was pretty sure I was gonna marry Julian. Mostly because Louis wanted him to be our brother for real. What a dream." She crosses her legs at the ankle and considers for a moment. "I think things will work out with Ethan, I just need to nudge him into gear. We've fallen into a rut, of sorts, and I want to be taken out sometimes and …I don't know, romanced?" She shrugs, turning to run hot water over the dishes. "I'm going to bed though Heather. I've got so much to think about, and now ..a vibrator." She snorts and laughs, loading the dishwasher with quick efficiency. "How about you come for dinner tomorrow night, and we see about introducing you to Mister Westin. You can give me the thumbs up or down on what you think of him, because you're going to go home and google him and likely do a background check. Let me know if the results are fucky, yeah?"

"Sure, I can do that…and I will do that" Heather replies as she rises. "If Ethan knew what a good person you are, he wouldn't need nudging. You okay for the show in the morning?" She makes her way over to her frenemy, standing in front of her and looking slightly uncomfortable. "You take care of yourself, okay?" Heather is trying to figure out if a hug is appropriate - it probably is - and then whether she can do it - and not get punched by Katherine. "I'll see you tomorrow. In the morning or for dinner. Sleep well."

Katherine exhales and she shrugs at Heather. "Ethan…is…Ethan. He's not like other men, and I can appreciate the good and bad parts of him. We fell into a pattern, and it takes two to tango. Two to get into a rut." She watches Heather look uncomfortable and she reaches out to pull her into a gentle embrace. "Heather. I'm going to take good care of myself, or maybe I'll fuck it up, it's the joy of life. You never know until it happens, right?" She pulls away and grins before she slips past her guest. "Morning, I'll be okay for the show. Five hours of sleep is all I usually need."

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