fandomtownies | The Arms Hotel Lobby, Tuesday afternoon

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The Arms Hotel Lobby, Tuesday afternoon

Mary was back at the front desk for the afternoon shift. Gunther brought her a plate of bruschetta using a recipe that he saw on TV, explaining that he thought it would be a perfect appetizer for his new "Vegan" restaurant. The concept certainly worked because Mary hadn't seen any other places in Fandom specializing in vegan food, but she was curious as to how Gunther came up with the idea. "Simple," he said, "because ve are from Las Veegas so we are Veegans."

The lobby is open for anyone checking in or out or if you want to talk to Mary and try Gunther's bruschetta.

[OOC: I'm around but might be slow responding. My dog had a minor stroke last night so I will be sitting with him as much as I can.]

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After a long day in the clinic Stan walked to the hotel, pausing a minute to ~~clean the sleep-drool off his tie~~ adjust his tie before entering the lobby.

"Hi there!" said Mary when she spotted Stan. "I thought about dropping by the clinic to see you this morning but got distracted."

"It's probably for the best. Wasn't a productive day. Caught up on my fantasy sports leagues, and that's about it."

"I don't know how not to be productive. I'm a planner," joked Mary, gesturing at the pile of papers she was going through. On top was a list of possible restaurant names, many of which had been crossed out. There was also a stack of photographs that she had been looking through and a ~~diagram of the remodeled hotel still in progress~~ half-written letter to Nessa.

"I see," he said, eyeing the pile without being rude. Rudish, sure. "Still working on the name, are you?"

"Yes, and not making a lot of progress," said Mary with a sigh. "I keep going back and forth between Mystique, Corinthian, and Montecito Grill. Of course, Gunther hasn't been much help either. So I'm focused on what I can get done -- remodeling the rest of the hotel. The restaurant already has a fresh coat of paint and I'm in the process of replacing all the furniture and linens in the unoccupied rooms."

"How many rooms are occupied?" he asked. Purely for conversational purposes. "And Corinthian?"

"Gunther's restaurant in Las Vegas was called Corinthian until his new partner came in and changed the name to Mystique," explained Mary. "As for the hotel, we've got three permanent residents including myself ~~I think, because I haven't met the others yet!~~. I understand that the bulk of the business comes from conventions and visitors during graduation and Parents Weekend."

"Hrm. So you're looking to create an empire here that mirrors the west?" Stan was not looking forward to Parents Weekend.

"It's more that I wanted to re-create something that was familiar," said Mary. "Put me in a Vegas resort and I know what I'm doing, but I have to admit that I'm not quite in my element here."

"Me neither," Stan admitted. "I'm more used to a clientel that is a bit more removed from high school, not worrying about flunking out of French. Assuming this school even has French classes. I can see the draw of the familiar."

"It must be different, if you weren't working with teenagers before," said Mary. "What made you come to Fandom, then?"

After all, she knew exactly why came here and it had more to do with running away than wanting the "challenge" of a hotel in a small town.

"I needed a break from the non-teenagers I was seeing. I expected a few snotty fights and 'my parents don't love me' stories." That's the story.

"Has it been what you expected?" Mary asked.

"No. None of this was in the brochures," he joked.

"Oh, I should add that to my to-do list!" said Mary excitedly as she picked up her clipboard and jotted down, "Come up with brochure for why tourists should come to Fandom."

"Maybe the cuisine?" he offered. "Or the ambiance. Or? Invasions."

"Adventure tourism," said Mary as she added that to her notes. "It's a big thing these days. The big casinos in Las Vegas used to offer rides in actual NASCAR race cars to their big spenders. I'm sure someone out there would pay money to run for their lives from -- what is it that I have to worry about here?"

"Gremlins. Snow, if some stories are to be believed. Future children. Becoming a child. The list goes on," he said wryly.

"I'm sure there's someone out there willing to pay money for a chance to run from a gremlin just for the adrenaline rush," said Mary. "And if not, there's always Gunther's idea to add a topless pool."

[And I'm just about ready to drop so I think I will pick this up in the morning.]

"I can't wait to see people's faces when they run from a gremli--" Stan abruptly stopped as his eyes boggled a bit. "Did you just say topless pool?"

[drop away! I forgot i have to be up in 7 hours]

"It's another one of those Vegas things," said Mary. "I don't think it's going to happen. For one, we don't have a pool, and two, I don't think the locals would be old enough for an adults-only pool."

Mary certainly wouldn't be going topless either, but that remained unspoken.

"Here on the stuffy East Coast, we've finally embraced the two-piece," Stan joked. "And I'm sure you can contract out a pool from the construction crew at the high school." He paused. "There's no pool at the hotel? Or hot tub? Sauna?"

Stan may be going topless, if he was interested in blinding people from the pastyness.

"Not unless they've hidden one in the basement," said Mary. If there was one, she certainly wasn't going down there to check. "But we do have this lovely beach nearby and that certainly makes up for it. I'm thinking of putting cabanas out on the beach and renting them out, actually."

"Again, might want to contract that out to the high school people. They have those cabins, and they're up in a jiffy. Modify the design a bit, and instant cabanas," he suggested. "Not sure what the local bylaws are on cabana building and such," he joked.

"I do have the name of a company that sells them to high-end hotels in Las Vegas," said Mary. "There are some really nice ones that include options for ceiling fans and televisions (http://www.resortcabanas.com/wailea.htm). Plus the new owner is giving me a lot of ~~cash~~ leeway to purchase whatever I think the hotel needs."

"Of course. What would a cabana be without a TV and a ceiling fan?" he joked. "Savagely roughing it without them!"

"I'm also thinking that they need to be stocked with mini-bars for the ultimate beach experience, not to mention the extra revenue for the hotel," said Mary.

"Now that is an excellent idea," he said. "I'm glad that Doc Troy hasn't put one in at the Clinic for the end of shift rush to the Nest or Caritas."

"Well, part of the fun of Caritas is the environment. I go there and I don't even drink anymore," said Mary. "As for the Devil's Nest? Haven't been there yet. The name alone makes me nervous."

"It's a different clientel," he said. "Very... interesting. Different from Caritas."

"Not so many kids? And is it really owned by a devil?" Mary had been hearing a lot of unusual things and after a couple of weeks in Fandom, she wasn't sure what to believe and what to dismiss.

"I've not asked. I'm afraid the answer may be yes," he admitted. "More of an adult crowd. They card."

"I should check it out for myself one day," said Mary.

"It's an experience. I hope I haven't hyped it up to be a dissapointment," he said. Maybe he should offer to take her?

Mary would be a lot more comfortable stepping into the Devil's Nest with back-up, just in case it really was as devil-ish as she feared. "It might be fun," she said.

"It might. Let me know if you want backup. In case the rumors are true." There. Nice and noncommittal. And totally not desperate sounding.

Mary was amused that he wasn't actually coming out and asking her. The amusement faded when she remembered the conversation she had with Ed Deline.

"So, I had some interesting news from my former boss and his wife this weekend. They want a place outside Vegas for the summers and they're thinking about buying a condo on the East Coast. Apparently their proximity to me is a factor in their decision," she said.

Stan? So suave. "So is this good news or bad news? Close proximity?"

"They used to live in Virginia and want to return," said Mary. "Personally, I'm betting that they'll end up choosing Hawaii, but Ed told me that his biggest concern about Hawaii was that it's an awfully long flight in case I need him for anything."

She sighed. "I'm not sure if it's good news or bad, but Ed told me that he and Jillian think of me as their daughter and they want to be close enough to keep an eye on me. Part of that involved Ed wanting to do background checks on people that I, um, associate with. And your name came up. I thought I should warn you."

"So I should be cautious of my kneecaps?" he teased. "I check out. I could tell you know I know, but you don't have the security clearance." My, that was a twinkle in his eye. "Should I be worried? That we're... associating?"

"Your kneecaps should be just fine. It's just that Ed is ex-CIA and has a lot of resources. Although now that I think about it, maybe he doesn't exist in your world," said Mary. "He did managed to find Fandom, though, so if he and Jillian do end up on the East Coast, they might show up at the hotel from time to time."

"Either way, I'm sure my credentials transfer as well as I do," he said assuredly. "So I've nothing to worry about on that end. Did he indicate when he would visit?"

"No, he didn't. And their actual daughter is in really bad shape ~~from the cliffhanger ending in the season finale~~ so I don't think they'll be around anytime soon," replied Mary.

"Ah, I see," he said ~~freeing up a block of time for the daughter~~. "That's a difficult thing to travel, that situation."

"But just in case Ed does show up, I thought you should be warned," said Mary. Inwardly, she was relieved that Stan didn't seem to have anything to hide.

"I'll wield my special CIA shoe. Possibly my FBI boot," he said with a straight face. Completely straight. You're just imagining that smirk at the corner there.

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The Arms Hotel Lobby, Tuesday afternoon

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