THE CITY OF SIN

“i mean, when was the last time we had a good party around here? we need one.” sierra grinned, reminiscing on the past events that master’s had held. “i mean, maybe i need to throw one myself. i’d be surprised if anyone shows up, but hey — at least they would have an option to have some fun, right?”

Ezra hums, leaning against the bar, picking at the salted peanuts in a bored way as he just lets sierra talk, “At this point, I don’t think you’re the only one who feels that way. You may just get people showing up because they miss getting messy in large groups.” he scoffs, tossing another peanut into the air and catching it in his mouth, “Are we forgetting the fiasco that was the Hawaii trip?”

@ezrayordan​ // closed

maya was used to being wooed––persistently. dinner and the hunt for bubblegum ice cream went really well, so she had been expecting a call from jude once they got back to new york. perhaps, she’d lost a bit of her charm over the years, or maybe their date hadn’t gone as well as she thought it did. she glanced at her reflection in her compact and pursed her lips––or maybe jude valentine was a complete moron. “i’m pretty, right?” she pouted her lower lip and glanced up at ezra through her lashes, “tell me i’m pretty.”  

Ezra had gotten the couch in his office because clem had good ideas sometimes, he hadn’t expected it do double time as a psychiatrist chair as well as a napping local. Looking up at the woman draped over his couch he chuckles, leaning away from his desk he turns to face her, “Maya, calling you pretty is a crime against humanity. You’re gorgeous.” he leans his cheek onto his closed fist, raising an eyebrow, “Is there a reason you need me to be some kind of pseudo-replacement for whoever refuses to call you pretty? Or did you just need to be reminded?”

chasen arched a brow and actually stopped his assault on the punching bag for a moment. the concept of someone taking a shot at him and not returning the favor was incomprehensible. survival was all about proving you were the alpha predator––immediately. “not really,” he brushed his fingers through his damp curls and shook his head slightly, “i guess i don’t really have the patience for cold revenge.” besides, nothing was quite as satisfying as the ache in your knuckles to remind you of the face you smashed in the day before. “it also doesn’t fight back, and current appearances aside––i’m not into kickboxing.”

Ezra puffs out a chuckle, pushing through his final lift before he’s allowed a minute break, “I’m hard wired for cold revenge. Dude can’t punch you if he’s busy going bankrupt, or crying because his girl left him, or looking for a job somewhere else because he got fired. Bigger fish to fry at that point. I like being that bigger fish.” he admits, bending over his knees for a moment before reclining back onto his bench, head lolling to the side to look at Chase, “Systematic obliteration. It’s a bit eye for a leg but...meh.” he shrugs lazily, smirking casually as if he just pulled a ‘that weather, amirite?’. “You gonna cry about it, fighter boy? Aw, the punching bag wont punch me back, I’m too powerful, the fight isn’t fair.” he chuckles, leaning down to start a new set.

as her prada heels clicked and clacked down the hall towards him she couldn’t help but smile at his mini-temper tantrum. “lucky for you i am simply timeless.” she winked as she planted a small kiss on his cheek before taking his elbow. naturally she snuggled her cheek to his arm, taking in a deep breath of his cologne. “baby, you’re worth the four seasons and a bag of chips. we are going to the garden!” she said with a baby squeal. the garden was probably one of her favorite lunch spots in the city.

Ezra scoffs at her response, rolling his eyes dramatically just to bother her, “And humble too, just the way I like it.” he chuckles, tucking her arm close to his body as they walk in practices sync to the elevator bay. He nearly stops in his tracks when she makes her announcement, he’d been expecting one of their favorite bao places or maybe even a noodle shop with the Gen Park stamp of approval, “The garden? Gen, that’s insane!” though he definitely lets a little surprised chuckle escape his lips, unable to hide his excitement, “The only crime I can see here is that our lunch hour definitely wont be long enough to enjoy it.”

“And how do you know my crepe batter is any good?” Because Eliza had to be difficult, because she had to be a brat. Things would be weird if she was just…nice to him, for no reason. It’d be too easy and nothing about their game was easy, which was why she liked playing it so much. Which was why she wasn’t willing to mess it up by being…weird. “Oh, fine, you can make me blintzes when I’m done.” It was a little easier to hide her smile if she was acting put out about it. At least, that was what she kept telling herself. When the bottle cork popped, she flinched, the noise loud and surprising even though it shouldn’t have been. “Glasses are in that cabinet,” she gestured with the spatula in her hand, “and the orange juice should be out. I like it a little on the sweeter side.”

mardra’s eyes grew wide and she gasped, looking at ezra in utter disbelief. she stopped dead in her tracks and pulled out her phone to look up the peanut butter baby for him. “ it’s a pivotal moment for internet culture, ezra. i hate you ! ” she exclaimed before frowning at him again and shaking her head. “ i will have you know that i won an award for algebra in sixth grade. want me to march in there and do the math for them ? my phone has a calculator if i get stuck, ” she offered, although she hoped he would ask her not to since sixth grade was over ten years ago, and she hadn’t used math since she was a freshman in college.

Ezra takes her phone and watches the video as they walk, “And i think you’re being overly dramatic...that can’t all be from that jar....” the last part he mutters in concern, looking at the screen oddly before slowly handing the device over like it may explode. “Wow! Such a big award only two years ago? Insane. You’re so tall for your age, too.” he chuckles, “Despite your obvious competency, I have to decline. They called me in to do the job and I really should do it.”

𝐃𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄. it had been easy to transfer her work given throughout her day as in intern to home, but the tasks and projects she was receiving nowadays were robbing her from her silk sheets and chanel bunny slippers. that’s why she found herself staying late again at the office, writing up the teleprompter script for that morning’s broadcast. when the printer on their floor wouldn’t work, she let out an irritated huff and pressed a random button on the elevator that took her to a new floor. she’d been halfway down the hallway to the floor’s workroom when she recognized someone familiar in their office, even at this ungodly hour. he had to be about the only other person there with her in the building, besides security. grinning as she leaned against the office’s doorway, daisy crossed her arms and said to ezra with a lazy grin, “ hey. staying at the office late to attain the favor of rolfe is my thing. you’re stepping on my moment. ”

closed for @ezrayordan​

Ezra squinted at the glare coming off of his computer monitor before sighing, leaning back in his new ergonomic office chair. Reclining back he was able to turn his face up and away from the blue light giving him a headache. Massaging the bridge of his nose, he was just contemplating how much work he could take home before he’d eventually knock out in bed when he heard heels walking up the hall towards him. He chuckles when the familiar voice fills up the once quiet office, “Daisy, please, you really think you’re the only person who ever thought to kiss ass in this company?” he teases, lifting the recline in his chair to look at her, “That’s more close minded that what I expected of you.”

Kai searched her closet for hours trying to find something decent to wear to work. However, all she could ever find were surf shirts, surf shorts, and some jackets she’d worn to meetings in the past. She could get the nicer looking shorts to pose as work shorts. Slowly, she’d built a good work clothes collection, a whole five items that were all buried in her hamper. So now, she was back to trying to find something that worked. Luckily, she found one pair of pants and a jacket, but the Rip Curl Sunshine Always On My Mind shirt was obvious. When she saw herself in the mirror, she thought it would pass. Now, not so much. She covered herself by pulling the opposite sides of her jacket, leaning forward on the counter and finding the first person she could talk to so she wouldn’t feel like people were staring at her, “How about that weather? Or the Jets? Or Mets?” What sports did people who aren’t surfers like? She hadn’t even looked at the person in the face yet.

Ezra’s morning hadn’t been particularly different. He woke up alone and got through his morning routine without any major hick-ups before getting to the office early so he could look over some left over paperwork from last night. He’d only realized how early he’d really come in when someone called out to talk to him. Looking up from where he was scanning his employee ID to get into the building, he looks over to the stranger confused, “Word of advice? the proper defaults are Giants and Yankees and if you want to really sound like you know what you’re talking about you can even say the Rangers. Just a heads up.” he says with a patronizing wink before heading towards the elevator bay.

maya blinked for a moment before her face broke out into a bright grin. it was always a pleasant surprise when a good-looking gentleman actually some wit behind long lashes and a pretty smile. “it’s not all about skin tone, you know. it’s also about having the confidence to pull it off––and that doesn’t seem to be a quality you lack.” 

Ezra can’t help but laugh, shaking his head after a moment of processing what she just said, “I think that’s the nicest way anyone has ever called me a cocky bastard in my life.” he grins, “...and I’ve been called much worse but the sentiment has stood the test of time.” Her smile is beautiful, it just makes him want to make her laugh, keep her attention...but that could also be because he’s a greedy bastard.

What the hell was she doing? Something stupid, probably, to be honest. “I’m a home chef,” she laughed, tucking a stray bang behind her ear. Maybe she just wouldn’t bother finishing getting dressed: they were just going to get undressed at some point today, right? So why should she even bother? “What? You wanna cook?” Never mind that this was supposed to be like, for him, her paying his dinner forward, her celebrating his success, but…just, them cooking in the kitchen…together. Sharing a kitchen. It felt a little too fast, a little too…sweet, and after what had happened with Luke, Eliza wasn’t sure she wanted to be sending that kind of message to him. But…this was Ezra, right? He knew it wasn’t anything like that, right? “You don’t have to.  But I would appreciate it if you’d open up that champagne bottle.”

Ezra laughs, looking around the kitchen, already unable to just do nothing, it left his mind room to race and that had already proven dangerous...god, he’d only been here for fifteen minutes, “I know very few home chefs that can properly make a crepe batter so maybe you’re a gourmet home chef.” he teases, because he can never just concede to her, that’d be too easy. “I don’t have to but I’m also very good at making Blintzes.” he knows she means ‘don’t’ but opening the champagne bottle will only take so long. With said bottle aimed away from them, the cork flies with a heavy pop that he feels right in his chest and suddenly he feels settled, like the cork hitting him in the face was scarier than whatever he was feeling right now, here with Eliza, “Show me where you glasses are and I can get to mixing us some mimosas. Do you like yours sweeter or more alcoholic?”

DENVER WAS PROUD OF HIS BOY, EZ. HE KNEW HE CLEARLY HAD BEEN WORKING HARD AND WAS READY TO POP BOTTLES OR WHATEVER HE HAD PLANNED TO CELEBRATE. Spotting him on his walk through the big glass front window, the red head walked right into the coffee shop and wasted no time hopping onto the couch the other man was sitting on. “Maybe if you didn’t have your head buried into all this shit, you would have seen me.” Patting his shoulder and making himself comfortable against the cushions, he decided against a coffee because he wanted to take a nap soon. It had been a long day and he needed to power sleep before heading out tonight, caffeine would go against that plan. “Don’t you know that this is what Sunday nights are for, dude?” Elbowing him in the gut, he let out a sigh of fake disappointment and a long blink before contemplating grabbing something to eat. He’d never been here before, not really his typical type of place, so was unsure if the grub was even good. “You recommend anything food wise?” The man asked as he knew someone would come around soon enough to ask if he’d like anything.

Ezra huffs out a laugh, instantly turning back to his work as he gets over the initial shock of having Denver suddenly there, “It’s not shit, you dick.” he grumbles, fighting a laugh, “Its my new responsibilities as manager of the floor really beating my ass.” though he’d get used to them eventually, this was just the adjustment period. He was a man that prided himself on getting work done so looking any bit incapable was, essentially, his worst nightmare. This further explains why he’s been working himself into the ground and taking home work from the office to get it done in, what he thought, was a timely manner though, could just as easily be him trying to feed his overachieving tendencies. Looking up from flipping through his file again, he glances at his friend and grins, “I don’t know man, this place is pretty delicate for your he-man sensibilities.” he teases, knowing full well Denver was one of the sweetest guys he’d ever met and happy-go-lucky enough to not turn his nose up at most food.