RP: Scouting

[shh_draco]

Date: May 17, 2005
Character(s): Draco Malfoy, Eloise Midgen
Location: Streets of Stoats, Just Desserts
Status: Semi-public (they'll be at the shop)
Summary: Draco needs a suitable place to handle his business.
Completion: Complete

One would think that since he'd been present at half the battles in the bloody town, Draco wouldn't have been surprised that

Comments

[shh_eloise]

"Bloody fucking buggering hell," Eloise cursed as she dropped the pan onto the counter. Her fingers were burned, but that wasn't the problem. She'd been working on this idea for days, but it just wasn't going well. The chocolate had finally become the right flavor, just a little sweet, but the peanut butter wasn't cooperating. The peanuts themselves were either overcooked or undercooked, and the peanut butter wasn't hardening properly. She wanted people to enjoy the sweet, not break a tooth taking a bite

[shh_draco]

Draco stepped into the shop proper and looked around. Eloise was helping a customer, and he took a brief moment to wonder how the hell he was going to do that same thing every day. Perhaps he could hire someone before they opened?

He didn't have time to examine the foolishness of that thought before she was looking up and greeting him in a voice that was far too cheerful. His eyes flitted to the customer she'd been helping briefly before he inclined his head. "Begging your pardon," he drawled. "but I'm here for chocolate, unless you've an underground gambling ring below your floorboards."

[shh_eloise]

Eloise waited for the customer to leave before she gave Draco a saucy grin and winked. "Trying to see below my floorboards already, Malfoy? It takes more than a smirk from a good looking bloke to know all my secrets."

"So, chocolate? Did you want more mint fudge or are you feeling adventurous today? There's a milk chocolate with strawberry filling that I've been selling a lot lately."

[shh_draco]

When she grinned and winked at him, he scoffed, though he might have lifted a corner of his mouth, slightly. "Make no mistake, Midgen. I want no part in your shady dealings below the floorboards. I'm an upstanding citizen, of late."

He smirked and moved to the counter, browsing a bit. "Yes, I suppose I'll take the risk." He glanced around again before he turned back to Eloise. "How's business?" he asked casually, resting an elbow against the counter.

[shh_eloise]

"There's not a bookkeeper in town. I already checked, and I've not got friends lying about who happen to be good at that sort of thing, so trying not to worry about it means I don't spend my life stressed out," she told him honestly

[shh_draco]

Draco tilted his head and looked balefully at her. "Customers? In a coffee shop? Yes, Midgen, I believe I've come across that in my reading sometime," he said sardonically, and smirked slightly before he gave another half-shrug. "I intend to deal with complaints in a proper manner. Whatever that is. I'm not overly concerned with that, since for the moment I haven't even got a premises," he continued.

She gestured to the shop next door, and he eyed the door shrewdly, curious enough to walk over and have a look through the door. He'd not noticed that the last time he'd been here. "This is yours as well?" he asked, slipping a hand into his pocket as he peered into the area.

He nodded slightly at her next words, turning back. "Well, I plan to make it work," he said simply, and glanced at the bags of coffee lined up on the counter. "Is this a decent brand?" he asked idly. There seemed to be a lot of flavors. She might have contacts with some suppliers, he realised.

[shh_eloise]

"Eloise," she muttered, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm. "It should be easy enough to find a location. They've got a list at the Ministry, you know? So all you have to do is find out what's not claimed and choose something you like."

When he walked over to the doorway between her shop and the former studio next door, she leaned against the counter and nodded. "Yes, it's mine. I went ahead and took both shops because I needed both of the flats upstairs, so Marian could stay with me."

"It's supposed to be," she told him. "My mentor, Hanz, sent me various kinds from Austria. He's in Austria, but the coffee's not necessarily from there, I mean. When I told him I was starting my own shop, he gave me a few names and sent me a shipment of teas and coffees to try out, so I'd not invest in flavors that weren't as popular."

[shh_draco]

"Yes, I'd heard about the list," he began, glancing at her. "Eloise. However, there's the matter of finding somewhere suitable first. Everywhere I've seen thus far needs far too much work for my taste."

The place next door didn't need very much work at all, though, he noted as he looked around. A bit small, but he didn't need anything huge. To start, anyway. He looked back at Eloise. "And where does this Hanz get the coffee? Or is he your main contact? Have you a coffee machine?" He paused, getting a bit ahead of himself. He studied her a moment.

"I haven't got much experience in the area of coffee," he admitted, speaking as unconcernedly as he could. "I would imagine you've some contacts and suppliers you deal with occasionally. I could certainly make use of them, should you be willing to share. I could make it worth the effort, if you were so inclined."