daphne styles

"I'm sticking with my version of the facts." Phil said in response, a light chuckle leaving his lips. "Just a lemonade. But order what you want, I'll cover it." The man said, giving her the go-ahead. "Are you on a lunch break?"

"If that helps you sleep better at night, by all means." No harm, no foul. Just a slight ego bruise, but at least he was apologetic. "Oh, perfect, cause I was definitely vying for top shelf!" A lemonade did sound rather refreshing. "I guess you could say so. The luxury of working for yourself, I can take lunch whenever I feel inclined." It was different, but she did find herself enjoying the flexibility of this new season. "What's on the agenda for today?"

He stood leaning against a wall, smile on his face. He hadn't seen Daphne in a while, even before he packed his bags and waved New York goodbye almost two years ago. When was it, his brother's funeral maybe..or was it a fundraiser?

"My apologies, did I strike a nerve?" she chuckled. Most of the men in their industry were practically mirrors of their counterparts. Dressed in unison, embodied the same faux-charisma mannerisms and wore cologne that most noses would find appealing in the slightest. However, there were a handful she didn't mind conversing with, knowing full well the misogyny would never strike. She appreciates Colton.

"I think she wouldn't know what to do with herself without knowing everyone's business." It wasn't that big of a town, so he was sure that while she was heavily involved in some things but probably still didn't know all. She'd be unstoppable if so. "She seems to keep herself plenty busy though, from every time I hear about it."

"Probably would get into podcasting and have listeners send in gossip just so she could talk about it." Retirement had given that woman far too much downtime, despite her packed schedule; it was mostly social hours with friends in the same season of life as she was. "She's always been happy as far as I can remember as a kid, but she definitely has an unlesashed amount of joy that I one day aspire to embody." There was a reason that woman was one of her favorite people in the world.

Kiho shrugged before taking a sip of the soda he stole while walking out of the couple's condo, walking with Daphne to hers. "All the time. I swear the wind blows and it gives them something to argue about." It was strange but none of his business. "I have to say, I'd much rather hear them arguing, though, than some of the other sounds I've heard come from the walls." He said as he made a face at her, horrified.

"How do they have the energy?" She knew some people loved toxic relationships, but she could not imagine having to deal with that on a daily basis. She barely enjoyed the company of her ex towards the tail end of their relationship. She most definitely wasn't in the business of make-up sex if they pissed her off. "You should knock back on the wall or even better, mimic their sounds right back." Not everyone needed to hear a terrible version of an R-rated movie. "Enough about them... what's new with you?"

"Well that's the thing, not everyone likes the beach, but a lot of people still like summer." She was sure there were people in landlocked states that loved summer even if they weren't around a beach. Adile loved the water and even if the nearest actual beach wasn't that far away, but it wasn't a beach like the ones in California. "That's fair. I think spring is so interesting." She wasn't sure how she felt about winter anymore, but she did love spring and summer. "Winter is so annoying. Are you looking forward to the flowers blooming?"

"This is far more relaxing than a summer in New York, trust me." Stickiness, chaos, and the wave of heat that smacked you in the face due to the congestion. It was unforgiving. Thankfully, they had a house in Maine they could escape to in the summer. Especially visiting her grandparents here in town. "Winter is only acceptable if you have somewhere fun to enjoy it and not bring it back." Jackson, Wyoming, made it perfect for that. "I can't wait to restock my home with fresh flowers. If you know any good spots, I'm all ears."

"Whatever the fuck that means," Jo said dryly, almost wincing from her own financial insecurity. The blonde looked polished and well-off, certainly far from Jo's semi-decent appearance. She'd gotten accustomed to a lavish life briefly before Aurora Bay, just for a handful of years, but that all quickly vanished and now the woman before her just seemed to be a visual relic of that. A painful reminder of what life used to be. "Well, for starters, for my iced latte. Then, I guess we'll see where the wind takes my remaining forty-three dollars. You got any suggestions? Surely, it won't get me a fuckin' Prada bag."

"Could maybe get a knock-off on Canal Street if you put up a good fight." It always amused her to run through the district to see what new counterfeits they had for sale. She could respect their hustle and do whatever it took to get dinner on their plates. No shame in the game. "Surprised you didn't mention something more exciting, like a one-way bus ticket to somewhere new." Granted, a bus with a bunch of strangers was rather something random, but the closest she did get to that was throwing a dart on a map and flying to a random city in Kansas on a whim. "I appreciate your barter, but a simple question. Is it a yes or no?"

"That sounds so fun! Do you guys have anything else in store for your date?" It sounded precious. Having a little miniature version of yourself. Whether she had kids or not, Daphne was very content with either route to her future. However, it did warm her heart to see this kind of bond, especially since all she knew was such a lack.

"You've never seen matchstick men?" Shiloh questions, a soft frown appearing on her face. "Nicholas Cage plays a conman who is reunited with his long lost daughter and he teaches her to play a nasty trick on a lady at a laundromat and, well, to be honest... I don't remember much else from the movie..." she trails off. "Oh, except..." Shiloh leans in, whispering with one hand covering the side of her mouth, "spoiler: she isn't really his daughter." Forgetting the reason why she brought up the movie in the first place, she's already digging through her purse again and pulling out cash, "here, I hope it's enough."

"No, my childhood and quite frankly my adulthood have been preoccupied with a handful of other things for cinema." Gosh, she barely made it through half of the Disney princesses, although she did find that she enjoyed Merida out of what she's viewed thus far. Daphne was trying her best to follow this plot line, but she found herself a bit at a loss. "So a con artist outconned another con artist?" It wasn't anything groundbreaking. Just a different scenario. Her parents were perfect examples of schemers if she'd ever known one. "Thank you," she said with a small smile. "I owe you a movie ticket now. Is that what you enjoy? Films?"

"Why win something shitty when you can just buy something slightly less shitty for five times the price?"

"Why would I spend money on a cheaper version of a shittier item when the original is just as shitty, if not more?" Capitalism had a strange grip on people. Perhaps those who lacked originality or were so consumed by having much as if that equated to the worth of a person. Or was it simply just a peer-pressured fabrication of popularity and value? What a pity for those who fell into that trap.

"Hey good memory!" he only could give her a wide, toothy grin in response. It had taken him a minute too, to slot in the memory of years past encounters with his grandparents' friends' grandkids during the summer to an actual adult person. "Though my last run in with your grandmother, she did mention you were back in town. So maybe that's cheating a little," he teased. 

"Yeah, yeah...subtly sneaked my way back here a couple months ago. Needed a break from New York." That, amongst all the skeletons in her family's closet that she was methodically digging out and hoping to put to rest once and for all, to never be revisited again. There was always a chance she could go back, but to what state of her former self and identity remained unknown.

Benj's first instinct is 'no'.

"Well...most people are so self-centered that if doing something isn't advantageous for them, they are more than likely to ignore or decline a request." They lived in a very egotistical, driven world that was shaped by the undercurrent of capitalism and the pursuit of success. In attempts to keep up with the Joneses, individuality and authenticity were practically nonexistent.

“No worries. We’ll call it even - from that time I stole your parking spot. Which, again, I didn’t realize you were backing into.” Phil said as he looked at the blonde. While he didn't know all his neighbors, there were always a couple that he happens to run into more often than others. Daphne also happens to move in the same social circle.

"Mhmm...that's what we want to call that. Don't think I'll forget how subtle you move, Mr. Dubois," she jests. Daphne may have flipped both fingers his way after he took her damn spot, considering she was late to a Zoom meeting. But that was a week ago, and she had gotten over it. At least for now. "What are you drinking?"