2012-10-01 The Artist and the Socialite

The weather's finally taking a turn for the cooler with the oppressive heat of the summer all but past. The sky is slightly gray but not so much that the Big Apple can be mistaken for Gotham, the clouds thin enough to let light through at the same time it seems to want to threaten rain. This is the time of year Selina loves and tends to forget about unless she's outside of the place she calls home.
Currently dressed for a casual lunch meeting she just got out of, Selina is all but picture perfect in a cashmere, cowl-necked sweater of light green, a pair of perfectly tailored black slacks and heels that are tall enough to push the lady over the six foot mark. She is currently standing before the restaurant, looking through her cell phone's web browser for options as how to occupy her time now that work is over.
Kyle isn't really paying attention to where he's going. The lanky artist looks like he just got done with a business meeting- he's wearing a very nice new suit with the sort of care taken that makes it seem like he's not ever owned a suit quite that nice before. He's constantly adjusting cuffs and collar, and taking special care not to scuff his shoes.
Unfortunately, that's not exactly conducive to not running into people, and Kyle runs right into Selina's back. "Ow. Sorry- sorry!" Kyle reaches out to stabilize the woman's shoulder, out of reflex. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
Being jarred by other people is something Selina's used to, it being an unfortunate side-effect of being in a crowded city such as this. But while Kyle bumping into her doesn't startle her what does is when he touches her to make sure she can keep her balance, the touch keeping her in place while she looks up. "Oh..." she breathes out, an airy exhale of shock. The surprise ebbs once she can figure out his intentions, her paranoia running slightly rampant today. "No, it's my fault," she offers along with a smile. "I shouldn't have stopped on the sidewalk like I did."
Kyle's looked at a bit fully now that she's given her apology, his own brushed to the side easily, her eyes held to his at first only to then have her gaze filter down. "Always a pleasure to be bumped into by a man who cuts such an impressive image," she adds once her eyes return to his face, a playfully quipped comment.
Kyle looks a bit taken aback, but gives Selina roguish sort of 'well, how do you do?' look. "I should run into good looking women more often, I guess," Kyle says with a quick and boyish sort of grin. "I am sorry- didn't mean to bump you there. Wasn't paying attention, I guess," he admits ruefully. "Nothing broken? No cracked ribs, right?"
A lot of women might find such forwardness off-putting but not Selina. It is something else she is used to and she can not help but to find it endearing at times. This is one of those times where she can find it to be such at the same time it is thought of as amusing. "You are entirely too kind, Mister..." The words falter and she falls silent, that left open-ended as she has no name to use. A brow is lofted, arched slightly as if he's being prompted to fill in that blank.
"Kyle," the lanky man provides, smiling. He offers her polite, gentle handshake. "Just Kyle. You're awfully friendly for a New Yorker- most of the folk I've chatted with range from 'tolerable' to 'asses'." He glances over his shoulder at the doorway, then sidesteps out of the path of travel. "Are you from here originally, a transplant... just visiting...?" he asks, trailing off the question to let her supply her own answers.
The handshake is accepted; gentle, there's still a hint of strength to her grasp, a very minor detail he might pick up on. "Kyle. That is a very nice name. I am Selina. Pleasure meeting you." As he moves she does as well, a fluid side-stepping that moves her out of the line of those who are not as careful as her conversation partner is. "I am here on business," she answers once sure she's not going to get bumped into by someone else while they chat. "I call Gotham home."
"I'm a transplant, actually. I came here from LA, on business. Working an exhibit at The Met." He jerks a thumb roughly in the museum's direction. "What do you, Selina? Let me guess- advertising executive." He looks over her snappy outfit and overall demeanour, then nods again. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Or am I way off base?" he says, reconsidering his guess.
"An exhibit?" Selina's not as artsy as some people but her interest is piqued, especially when Kyle indicates the museum he is working with. Turning to face the building a bit more fully, she is so distracted by it as well as Kyle and almost forgets to answer his question. "Hmmm? Oh. Myself?" Cue throat clearing and a sheepish smile over her inattentiveness. "I run a foundation, actually. I raise money for charities that protect endangered big cats throughout the world." She must have one helluva second job to be able to afford to dress as nicely as she does. Either that or she's siphoning funds from her foundation to allow herself to enjoy a lavish lifestyle.
"Charity worker, huh?" Kyle doesn't look like he's buying it. "I need to spend more time doing volunteer work, then," Kyle says, managing a quick grin. "The whole 'starving artist' vibe gets a little old, once you're done with school." He apparently has no qualms about his financial issues. "How long have you been doing the cat protection thing?" he inquires politely of the woman.
There is a chuckle, a slight bit of polite laughter from the dark-haired woman. "I wouldn't say it makes a lot of money," she points out lightly. While she speaks she cocks a hip to the side which lets her weight be braced against a wall. "I got lucky, came into a bit of money which, in turn, got invested." Now asked another question, Selina decides to tread carefully, not wanting to risk a misstep here. "Several years. Long enough to get my name out there and get the money0givers' attention, at any rate." There. Hopefully that'll be enough to sate his curiosity without being too lacking. She doesn't want him to get too curious, after all.
"You're the /second/ inheritor I've met in as many days," Kyle observes. "New York must be loaded with trust funders and old money. Or, is leftover from... a husband? Boyfriend?" he inquires, arching an eyebrow inquisitively. "It sounds like you've been making a good run of it, if you're running a charity too," he observes.
And now Selina's defenses come up. In an instinctive raising of 'shields', she starts to tread carefully. Yes, her personal financial records are kept private but Kyle is a stranger and she's not sure what kind of resources he has to his name. He just might be able to sniff her out despite her having been careful in the past. "It is not polite to talk about money," she points out evasively, the refusal to answer softened with a wink and a smile that could melt the heart of many men. "Let's just say I'm doing alright for myself and leave it at that, hmmm?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," Kyle apologizes, backing off the topic. "Just trying to figure out this lady I'm talking to," he says, grinning again. "I'd hate to make a fool out of myself by chatting up the hottest girl in the restaurant, only to find out she's taken. Hard on a guy's ego, you know?" he sallies, the brilliant emerald of his eyes nestled in smile crinkles.
The quickness in which Kyle drops the subject is a relief but at the same time it also invokes a pang of guilt. Poor guy was just trying to get to know her better and here she is, all but biting his head off. "You can get to know me better by taking me out to dinner," she points out, her defensiveness no where to be heard in her voice now, nor is it seen on her features. "Be a win-win. We can get to know each other better that way."
"I /like/ New York ladies," Kyle says with another quick, ebullient grin. He produces an older-model 'dumb' phone and flips it open. "Send me your digits. Maybe we can pick a day to get together. You like Greek? I know a great Greek place over by the Met. I've been there a few times in the last few weeks." He looks up at her, thumb ready to start punching in numbers.
Selina's number is given swiftly and without hesitation, it something she has done so much in her recent life that she can do so with ease. She then offers to take Kyle's, again doing so without any problem. "Greek sounds good to me," she replies honestly while waiting for him to give her his own number. "I love a good gyro."
Numbers are exchanged and everyone's caught up. Kyle snaps his phone shut and pockets it. "Well... I'll give you a call on, oh..." he checks his watch. "Today's Monday, so... how about we plan for Wednesday night, and I'll give you a call in a day or two and make sure we can still meet up?" he asks. "Does that work?"
"That is positively perfect," Sel all but purrs, sounding rather feline-like. There's even a cat-ate-canary smile paired with that to further the cat-esque nature that one can often see in her. "I look forward to your call, Kyle." And she is. There's nothing like platitudes there. She is very sincere. Selina honestly can not wait.
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