Fresh Pastries and a Friend

[Charlotte Williams]

For Charlotte Williams she was right in the midst of leading the sort of life she had always thought about. She had been between a lot of schools and a lot of places but in the end things will really shaping up for her. She had up until about 8 months before been living in Paris doing fairly random jobs for a fashion studio, which employed her to both help fix the clothes, but also for time to time to actually model. It had been good, but when she had received an even better job offer in New Zealand the girl had packed her things and made the move. She had been moving around for most of her life this had honestly been no different to any of that. True that she missed the friends she'd made in Paris, her work colleagues and the friends from school, but she was no stranger to having to readjust herself to a new set of people. The move she had made was really paying off too. She was rising in her new work much quicker and it had the added advantage of also being run by witches and wizards so a lot of things were done by magic,it was just a much better place for her. It was great. But in saying all that she did miss Paris, she missed the way the city had felt and run. She missed the bad driving and the smell of fresh bread. New Zealand was just not the same. It was why she was incredibly happy that through a strange friendship with an excitable prankster from Beauxbatons she'd ended up being introduced to someone who was proving incredibly use to her. Not just that but he was actually turning out to be an great friend. She had been pretty surprised about it considering who had introduced them, but that was something she realised she was now thankful for, and she was pretty happy to keep him around since he was whenever he came, bring Charlotte those parties that she desperately missed. She had used to live in a nice block of flats with a cake shop not two steps away, now she lived in a small house near a wizarding village, the closest shop was a few miles away. It had been quite the change. Though with a little house of her own and a new good job she wasn't complaining too much.

It was midday when, Charlotte realised that her friend would be arriving any minute. They had arranged for him to come, mostly as a social call, but also because she had a few things that she wanted him to look at, but she had also prepared a small lunch, mostly as a thank you for what he was doing and because of what he was bringing her. Because he was visiting she had opted to work from home for a few days, it had just allowed her to be able to get a good number of things in order. She had given her little home a once over and gotten the guest bedroom ready, just in case he ended up staying for more than just lunch. Charlotte's home was a mixture of many things, it was a modern newly built house, where the outside looked quite old but the inside was much more modern. The house was in her name, but it had admittedly been a birthday present from her family. She loved it, it was mostly open plan, with a hugely modern kitchen, muggle of course. It had large windows and an overall feel of fresh air. It was a beautiful house. She couldn't actually remember if he had seen it before, but she was definitely looking forward to him seeing it now, as she hurried around, putting the finishing touches on the home, Charlotte also finished getting ready, despite the fact that this was her home, she was still as ever dressed very politely, a dress with a pair of heels. She knew this was her home, but she always made the effort. Finally, after spending a few last moments on her hair, she heard the doorbell. Charlotte wandered down and opened the door, "Sam! It's so good to see you, come on in. Let me take your jacket." she greeted him warmly opening the door and motioning for him to come inside. "Make yourself at home." Charlotte smiled brightly at him! really happy to see a familiar face.
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[Samuel Phillips]

The past fifteen hours had been stressful to say the least. Samuel had forced himself from a comfortable slumber bright and early to start his day productive as he prepared for a social call with Charlotte. The beginning of his day was taken up by collecting various macaroons and charming the box to hold a lot more than it appeared and the evening quickly flew by as he mentally prepared himself to try to match her elegance with a smile. By now they had been friends long enough to be relaxed around each other however as quickly as they became acquainted he learned she was extravagant at the most casual of times and he could do so little to match that. When they first became acquainted through Jonathon's persistent nagging the first thing he noticed was her elegance, kindness and good hearted nature and do unto time his lack of elegance would slowly become more obvious the longer he stayed in her presence. Samuel was a polite and well mannered person when he desired to be. He could easily put on a mask and assume the role of noble gentleman when the situation called for it however most of the time he was a homebody if anything else. He liked to dress up and express himself through fashion and was a neat freak in many respects but his overall lifestyle was entirely relaxed. The way which Charlotte carried herself was unsurpassed and any act he put on to feign politeness was nothing compared to her. It was a difficult concept to grasp. He was laid back and informal in every possible way and this girl wanted to keep him as a friend. Many times he questioned himself; she was a young woman with purpose and an appearance above reproach. Apart from providing her connections to the fashion industry from his long list of acquaintances and dragging pastries to New Zealand with him, he had nothing else to offer their friendship. Why she still wanted him around made no sense to the twenty four year old however he wasn't about to throw away the little friendship they had built the past few years. It was a diamond in it's own respects and honestly, the conversations they had were other worldly. In spite of their obvious differences they shared many tastes and opinions on the world. He could only hope to dream of finding another like minded person to be around.

It was about one in the morning when he finally checked the clock. He had calculated the time zone difference earlier in the day, so it was almost noon in New Zealand and definitely time to leave. After throwing his coat on and leaving a note for Mari he made sure not to forget the box of macaroons and headed out the door in the space of a heart beat. In a weird way he was overly proud of the box of macaroons under his arm. In the few hours it took to accumulate them he ended up with more than one hundred he charmed to fit in a small, easily transportable box. He often only took pastries along with him when meeting up with his younger friend however today he was going to her house for a change, a change that called for a more special kind of sweetness. Samuel thought macaroons were the perfect choice and he greatly anticipated her reaction. He quickly apparated to what he believed to be her doorstep, taking a moment to get used to the sudden change from night to day before ringing her doorbell and ginning widely as she opened the door. "It's good to see you too!" He smiled at her appearance and pulled her into a one armed hug. Immediately upon walking into the house he felt under dressed and out of place. Her houses' interior not only matched but overshadowed what he saw on the outside and it was mind blowing, to put it simply. "This house is stunning, really." They had very similar taste in interior design. In many aspects the simplicity made this house a close, if not exact replication of his dream home. Shaking his head from his thoughts, he handed her the box of macaroons and took a moment to look around and admire the house further as he removed his coat. "Those are for you, by the way." He pointed to the box, hereby moving the subject to the macaroons. "There's like one hundred and seven?" Unsure of the exact number he collected for her, he made a safe bet knowing there was upwards of one hundred but no more than one hundred and fifteen. With regular snacking it could easily be a year's worth of macaroons and he was prideful of that. What other person could say their friend brought them one hundred macaroons? Nobody, he assumed.​

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[Charlotte Williams]

Charlotte was really happy to see Sam as he stood in front of her. The girl was always happy to see her friend, it had been a while since she had seen him, and since Charlotte had moved to New Zealand she did miss seeing people from France. She hadn't really been incredibly close to him while she had been in France but they'd become so much closer during the time that Charlotte had been in New Zealand. First it had really only been for work, but now it was becoming more likely that they were meeting for social visits, that and she was always incredibly thankful that he brought her pastries. It was definitely one of the things which she missed most about living so far from a half decent bakery. Their relationship was now strong, and better. Though she did still need his help a little bit with what she was actually doing in work right now and she trusted Sam to always be honest with her. More than she actually trusted anyone else to be honest with her. Most people in her work were always trying to please her, he wasn't like that at all for which she was incredibly thankful. Which was why she was so glad to see him. She smiled happily at her friend as he put his arm around her in a half hug, and she responded by lightly kissing Sam on the cheek in the usual French greeting. She knew that she really didn't need to do that, but it was polite, and a lot more casual than how she used to act around her friends. She would've kissed him on both cheeks but he pulled away before she could, it was also helped by the fact that she knew to at least attempt to tone it back when around him. "You look great Sam," she complimented him with a smile. But as Charlotte spoke she realised that he was looking at her home. At the expression on his face she could tell that this was the first time he was seeing it. Charlotte was very eager to find out what her friend actually thought of the place. He was one of the first few who were seeing it, and she really cared about his opinion. She wanted him to like it. Really Charlotte wanted everyone to like it. She had spent a lot of her time decorating it properly and she spent a lot of time keeping it clean. She tried her best to keep it as spotless as possibly. Which was why when he finally said something about the house Charlotte couldn't help but blush and smile. "Thank you, Sam." Charlotte stepped beside him as she only then noticed the little box floating beside him. She took the box just as he said they were for her. She was incredibly happy to have them, although the box didn't appear to have one hundred and seven in it.

"Oh Sam, you should not have gone to all that bother." She said though she pulled him into a small hug and kissed him lightly on the cheek again, "But I am most grateful to you." Charlotte smiled at him before stepping away and then motioning for him to follow her to the kitchen. The house was open plan, but she had laid out the table in the kitchen so they could eat rather than either the coffee table or the dining table. Charlotte knew that Sam was vegan, which was why she had made a few salads as well as making a vegan pizza and some vegan cake. She had laid out the table just the way she was used to at home, with her family. She had a bottle of white wine sitting in a box of ice as well as a bottle of red sitting on the table. She knew it was a little early but she had invited him over she wasn't going to let her friend go hungry or thirsty. She had used her nice table set, perfectly laid out in the way she had always been shown. "I didn't know if you'd be hungry, so I just made a selection of things." she motioned to the table and the food which was sitting on it. "Help yourself" she quickly glanced at him, realising that next time she invited him to her house she should maybe try to pick a time that would suit him a little better. "Let me know if you need anything else Sam, anything at all." she told him while picking up a cake display, and using her magic to make the macaroons come out the box and neatly put themselves on the cake display. "How have you been?" Charlotte asked with a polite smile. "How's your partner? Goodness Sam, it has been too long!" to her it really had been too long. She really enjoyed spending time with him, and she had begun trying to persuade him to move out of Paris. Paris was a beautiful city, but for a magical person New Zealand was better. She knew he would be happier in New Zealand. Or at least just out of France. "How is Paris?" she asked, she did genuinely miss the city of love. Though she was attempting to persuade him to move here. "I stayed up to watch the Bastille Day parade, it was beautiful as always. Made me want to go back, but out here I have so much more. My Paris apartment could fit into one room of this place" Charlotte knew she was rambling a little but it didn't matter to her. She was happy to see her friend. Happy to see him doing so well. They were incredibly different people, in appearance as well as personality. Charlotte loved colours and she had golden blonde hair and lightly tanned skin, whereas Sam preferred a slightly darker colour. But Charlotte didn't care, he was her friend and she cared about him a lot. She was incredibly happy to see him. That much was clear by how much she was smiling.
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[Samuel Phillips]

Samuel was still in awe of Charlotte's home. Taking in all the elegant, minimalist and sleek surroundings proved a great task as there was so much for him take in the space of a few moments. Sam was fully aware of her high end tastes yet this was on a whole other level to what he was used to. Quite frankly, he was overwhelmed. In the brief few visits he made to her home in Paris he noticed her tastes were modernized, yet this new home was twice as spacious and modern than anything he had seen. Not only did her house closely resemble his dream home, it exceeded anything he expected prior to this visit. He had no idea how to react, so he merely observed his surroundings and feigned interest in what Charlotte was saying, mind too distracted by her house to hear her polite tone of voice. Eventually his thoughts shot down to earth at Charlotte's unexpected display of affection. Shaking his head to cynosure he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to return the hug. He was no stranger to affection, as it was the French custom to greet one another with a kiss on the cheek and fleeting hug. However the fact she caught him in the midst of distraction or rather completely off guard triggered his late response. "You're welcome." He finally spoke, slightly dazed yet attempting to focus on Charlotte. He knew she was polite and pristine and spite the obviety his body was still on French time and thought it was past midnight he urged himself to match her behavior. If his tiredness didn't easily force him into distraction he would make much more pleasant company. Sadly, this was a near impossible task until he consumed some caffeine. Prior to arriving Samuel was far too distracted with getting the box of macaroons ready to plan his outfit and remember a cup of coffee and now the tiredness hit him like a tonne of bricks. Once more, he shook his head away from his thoughts as he followed Charlotte into her kitchen. Much like the rest of her house, the kitchen area was extremely sleek and modern and his jaw loosened at the sight. Charlotte was wealthy; he knew that much. Though the interior of her house made him question the extent of her wealth. Surely, a house this modern and spacious didn't come cheap. He stifled temptation to ask knowing it would be rude to bring such a shallow topic to the forefront of conversation, and instead forced a polite smile as she gestured towards the food spread along the table.

He expected extravagance when they organized this visit, but still couldn't accept Charlotte made all this effort for him. It seemed pointless, a waste of her time that could be more productively spent. He wasn't worth such royal treatment, couldn't she have been working instead? The amount of food she had prepared could feed an army in Samuel's opinion and the worst part of it all was the fact he wasn't even hungry. "You didn't need to make this much effort." Charlotte was over the top in many amazing ways, but it was times like this that Samuel didn't find so amazing. He didn't have the heart to accept, nor refuse her food yet he had to react somehow. "Thank you though, that cake looks delicious." The least he could do was thank her, and compliment her if he had no plans to indulge himself with food today. Honestly the tiredness and got the better of him, his hazed mind caused him to feel nothing but deary eyed. He hadn't yet turned into a zombie but he was getting there and until he felt the slightest bit more awake he couldn't consider eating. "Coffee would be perfect, please." He sighed, glad she asked if he needed anything else. She seemed to have everything laid out on the table, wine, cake, salads. Too much effort in his eyes, when all he really expected was a quiet coffee accompanied by macaroons. "That was quick." He said as she placed the cup in his hands. "Thanks so much." Immediately he pressed his lips to the cup, took a sip and sighed. This was definitely what he needed after a stressful day of getting ready. He continued sipping at his coffee as she spoke, using the cup as an excuse not to answer her questions. Honestly, he didn't want to. Everything back in Paris was the very cause he needed to organize this visit today. Normally he wouldn't be so eager to leave France but he needed a momentary getaway and talking about his life right now came dead last on his list of priorities. "Let's not talk about me." He finally said, hereby moving the conversation from the very subjects he wanted to avoid. "How are you? How's life in New Zealand?" He nodded, smiling as he continued to sip at his coffee while prodding her with questions. Samuel was certain her life was all the more interesting than his, and he didn't want to put her to sleep by talking about himself during this visit. "Do you like it here?"
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[Charlotte Williams]

Charlotte knew that her home was to Sam's tastes as he seemed to just be in awe of it. Silent awe. She was pleased for such a reaction, mostly as she had spent a lot of time with this home, making it her own and no one else's. She had spent her time finding all the right bits of furniture. It was just a good thing that at the base of it, her parents were well aware of Charlotte's tastes. Ever since moving in, few people had actually been to her home, her home she usually kept for things that couldn't wait, that were exceedingly private or for good friends. Sam always falling into the latter. She pulled away from the hug and just motioned for Sam to follow her further into her home. She had never really shown him her home in Paris, though it was pretty different than this. Her old apartment while it had been fairly modern was still quite classically Parisien. It was spacious but still small. Her old flat would easily fit into this place twice over. On just one floor. She knew that so much space for one person was perhaps a little counter productive, she spent a lot of time cleaning and keeping it tidy, and there were rooms of this house that she simply didn't use, but that wasn't so much of a problem she found. This place unlike her place in Paris, was a settle down kind of place. It was the kind of place where you could have a family, something stable. Not that Charlotte thought of such things, but it was there. As she motioned to the food that she had sitting on the table, she didn't notice Sam's slight discomfort. She had made the food, on the off chance that he was hungry for something. She knew that for her it was lunch, but for him, it would be about midnight. Possibly too late to eat, but as this was the first time she was visiting her home, and she thought it would be the height of her own rudeness to not have prepared at least a little something for him. "Oh, it was no effort. You are a guest in my home, it would be rude of me to not prepare something." She assured him with a bright smile, though it was as she said this, that she actually noticed his slight discomfort, and she glanced back at the table of food. Perhaps it was a little overwhelming for some. She hadn't intended for that.

"The cake should be delicious, but don't worry about not eating any of it. I've put a spell on the food to make sure that it all stays fresh and warm. Or cold in the case of the salad" she assured him with a smile. Knowing that perhaps now wasn't the time to eat. As he asked for coffee, she went to her machine, and began to make two. One for Sam, and one for herself. It wasn't too long, since she always had coffee ready to go, since it was something that she too drank often. She knew that Sam took his coffee black, with nothing else in it. Fairly similar to her, only she generally only drank a small espresso. She handed the cup to him and smiled. "Come on Sam, you know me, I always have fresh coffee ready to go" she laughed lightly before taking a cup of her own. She held the cup in one hand, and then took her wand with the other, and summoned the work she wanted to ask him about, as well as then also levitating the macaroons. "Come on, it is not too cold, we can sit outside" she told him, as she proceeded to ask him about France, and his life. Charlotte opened the doors to what was a decking area just outside the house, and to a small, but nice looking garden set. "Have not been able to use it much since the weather has been so horrible recently" she told him, motioning for him to take a seat, just as he said, that he'd rather not talk about him. Which was strange to her, but because he was her friend, she would respect that he didn't want to talk about himself. "I'm good, thank you. Life in New Zealand, it's busy but it's good." she told him, with a smile. "I could never have gotten a place like this in Paris. I love the city, but, this is more peaceful, I do what I love, but I also get to practice magic openly and have a beautiful home." she glanced back at the house. She raised her small coffee to her lips and took a long sip of it. Leaving not much in the cup. "I love it here. Sam, you should consider moving. Paris is great, but, there are so many opportunities here for witches and wizards." she said to him, before reaching for one of the macaroons. The stand had placed itself in the middle of the table, and despite the fact they were outside, the area was still heated, clearly by magic. "As much as I want to catch up, I do need your help" she passed the papers towards him, inside were several pictures of models and they all appeared to be wearing the same clothes, "See, I cannot decide which gives the best image for the label. The first one, the guy looks great but he feels a little awkward, the second is the one I'm leaning with because he seems very natural, and the entire point I want is to be natural in the clothes you wear, and the last one, is great, the model looks great, he seems at ease. He is clearly very good at his job, and for most he'd be the easy choice" She explained, she had been hitting a brick wall with this and had little time to decide.

Charlotte gave a little sigh, "The people I work with, have not been helpful in the slightest. I want their opinion, but they just tell me to go with what I think. They still dancing around me, telling me what they think I want to hear. It is driving me a little insane" she laughed lightly, she was new at her work, and unlike most of those other people she'd come straight from Paris, and she got the impression that a lot of them treated her differently than each other because of how polite she was. How much she strived for perfection even just in social situations. "I need to make this decision soon, my brother's wife is pregnant so, I have to go back to my family in London soon and congratulate them both. Which reminds me, I need to buy them a gift, and I am not sure what to get. Since I know I must get something, but should it be for them or for the baby." Charlotte stopped herself from continuing, and just laughed lightly, she knew she must be boring him. "Oh Sam, I'm sorry for rambling, admittedly I have not made many friends as of yet."
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[Samuel Phillips]

Samuel frowned. He was slightly bothered they ventured outside, but he wasn't about to suggest they retreat back inside. Charlotte's honest confession she didn't use the deck was enough convincing he needed to follow her, spite his tendencies to typically avoid the outdoors. Being a person more comfortable inside wasn't something Samuel hid, though it also wasn't something he was about to rudely throw in the air. Being a guest in Charlotte's home was a huge honor in his mind so showing rudeness around a friend so prim and proper wasn't close to a consideration. She deserved better than him rudely calling her out, and he knew it. He wanted to give her better. As long as he stayed out of the cold there was no problem. The area was obviously heated by magic and sipping at his hot cup of coffee warded off shivering. In all honesty, being in fresh air didn't bother him at all today. He continued to sip at his coffee, eyes unconsciously shifting from Charlotte's to the garden surrounding them as she spoke. Once more, he found himself entirely in awe of her home. Usually he paid no mind to a garden or any form of foliage when looking at a house though today it was obviously too beautiful for his mind to pass the thought by. He shook his head when she mentioned moving from France, responding in kind with a polite tone of voice so he didn't reveal anything more than he needed to. "That's the plan actually." He sipped at his coffee and cleared his throat before continuing. "Because of all these career issues lately, I really need a change of pace. So I'm talking about moving in with a friend so I can start over." Clementine was a friend in the loosest of terms, however spite the obvious fact they were very different people, he trusted and respected her enough to give her the role of roommate and business partner. "Not going to move here though." He gestured towards the scenery. "Not unless I have no choice." Moving back to New Zealand was such a surreal concept. It being the country he grew up meant he would surely move back one day. However, that day wouldn't pass until he settled down and started a family. Which, opportunities for magic aside, wouldn't happen in a blue moon.

Akin to moments ago, talking about himself still wasn't in Sam's favor so he was relieved when Charlotte finally changed the subject to something impersonal. Talking about his career in it's terrible state was out of the question, however talking about Charlotte's career was far more interesting in his eyes. He nodded, eyebrows perking as she handed him the papers. For the most part Samuel was acquainted with the fashion industry, but not on the same level as his blonde friend. It was her career, these choices fitted her realm more so than they could fit his. Honestly, he had no idea which model to pick. In their own respects they all fit but whether they should be chosen or not was something different entirely. Sam understood that much, but was still rather clueless who to suggest. He agreed with Charlotte that the first model looked awkward, and that the second was much more relaxed. The third model was, like Charlotte said, the best choice though spite that obvious fact his attention remained on the second model. After placing his cup of coffee on the table between them, be began speaking. "I'm really not the person to ask this." He admitted. "But I like the second one the most." Turning both the second and third pictures towards her and discarding the first, he compared them both. "See, the third guy is great right? Really good looking and he fits the clothes well." He pointed to the picture as he spoke. "But he seems too perfect, you know?" Gaze shifting from the picture to Charlotte, he momentarily gauged her reaction before continuing. "The second guy seems more relatable and I think that's what's going to sell the clothes." He was over thinking this, and stating his opinion in a more detailed fashion than he probably should considering his lack of knowledge in the fashion industry. But the fact was obvious he didn't want to talk about himself and keeping the subject delicately on Charlotte's career was his safest bet. "So I like the second guy." Unsure whether or not she would turn his opinion into a consideration, he neatly shuffled the pictures together and handed them back to her. Sam couldn't help but chuckle slightly as she mentioned the people she worked with. "Well be glad I'm not like them." People that agreed to everything without hesitation were none but pushover's in Sam's opinion. As a twenty four year old he had developed many negative traits, but at least he could proudly say being a pushover wasn't one of them.

He picked up his cup of coffee from the table, expression suddenly turning cheerful at the mention of Charlotte's brother. "Oh, say congratulations to your brother for me!" In no way was he excited or happy for her brother because he had never met the guy. In the smallest fraction he believed he owed a congratulations for Charlotte's sake. Only a terrible friend would show no interest in her family. "It could be for them and the baby." His suggestion was dumb, as he knew little about children and babies but in his head buying a gift that would benefit all of them made the most sense. He held back the urge to suggest more as Charlotte stopped herself talking. "No. It's okay!" He removed one hand from his cup and lent over the table to gently grasp his hand around her shoulder, apologetic yet humorous smile gracing his features. "You can ramble all you want, doesn't bother me at all." He confessed as his smile grew. If she wanted to, he would listen to her talk until her mouth turned dry. "I'd rather listen to you talk, your life is so interesting and worth talking about. So I want to hear about it."

ooc: laughs because unquality. the next one will be better <3​

 

[Charlotte Williams]

Charlotte was not bothered by the slight discomfort that Sam seemed to show over sitting outside. Her home was beautiful inside or out, and she knew that they'd be better outside in the fresh air. It would help with Sam's time zone issues. Plus, she'd spent so much of her morning cleaning and cooking, that this would be the first time she had had a moment to just sit down, and what better place than outside really. She brushed a few stray strands of her long blonde hair from her eyes as she carefully watched Sam take in the garden. Half the reason she'd taken this house over the others was because of the just huge amounts of space that this place gave her. It was simply stunning and so spacious, it made her wonder some days how she'd ever managed to deal with living in Paris, a city famous for the fact it was compact. She looked out at the garden just before looking back at Sam as he spoke. She had been preparing a much longer spiel for him, to convince him that moving out of Paris was a good idea, but it seemed as he spoke that he'd had already decided that he was moving, and this caused a small smile to erupt on the girl's face. Paris was a beautiful and great city, but there was so much more out there, so much more for people like them. Charlotte nodded at him, taking a sip of her coffee. "Even if you do not move to New Zealand, I have more than enough room for you to stay here if you need it" she gave a warm smile as she spoke, meaning what she was saying. She would honestly open her home to him if he wanted to stay at it for any length of time. It was not an issue for her in the slightest. "You can stay as long as you want!" She added, even though they hadn't been friends that long, Charlotte would've thought it rude to not open her home to him. She would find it rude of herself to not invite him to stay with her if he was even just on holiday in New Zealand. Extending an invitation didn't mean that Sam had to take it, but that it would always exist on the table. "My home, no matter where it is in the world, Sam is always open to you"

As the topic moved on to the work that Charlotte had to do, that she was presenting to Sam to ask what he thought. While Charlotte did draw a lot of her own designs, and helped make a lot of the clothes, she had always had her weakest spot in the modelling side of things. She had ideas that didn't often translate on to paper. It was just not possible for some and it was why she generally had a team that would help her with the modelling side of things and when none of them could help her, or were of any use to her, Sam was her next port of call. He was an artist after all, and an artist's eye was much better than her own. She knew that really she was an artist to from the fact that she had to draw most of the things for the label, but she wanted the opinion of someone who was more specifically into art that she was. Someone who was better at it. Which was why, Charlotte generally turned to Sam. Though the first words he said after being presented the pictures and what she needed from Sam, was that he was the wrong person to ask. "Nonsense, you are the exact right person to ask about such things" she told him with a small laugh and a shake of her head. But, then listened carefully to what he was saying. Expressing mostly the same issues that Charlotte had been having with them. She really liked the second one, but she was only 6 or 7 months into this job, and she did not want to be making any major mistakes or anything. Now was not the time for such things really. "I like the second guy too" she said with a smile and a small nod, and then nodded again when he said he was not like the others. She gave a small sigh, "I am very glad Sam." She raised the coffee to her lips and finished the beverage in one quick drink. She had to admit that working in that place had been incredible, but people there were still nervous around her, she didn't really know why they still were. They were all in the same position really. "I don't know why they are still like that after six months." She gave a little bit of a sigh. "Am I unapproachable Sam? I mean, they dance around me rather than saying things. It is not helpful, maybe I should be more friendly or something" Charlotte finished with a glance back out at the garden. Thankful that the conversation was moving on again.

Charlotte had been sort of waiting for this moment, for her brother to get his wife pregnant. It had really only been a matter of time, as it generally was in her family when people got married. It just meant that she had to find a gift and spend time with them. She listened to his suggestion and smiled slightly. "I did think about getting them a nanny for the child, since both of them work, and it will likely leave my mother to look after the poor child when it is born, I am thinking that I will just buy it clothes" They didn't know the gender of the boy, or well, Charlotte didn't, but it was the best idea for her. Clothes were simple, they were easy. They could be returned and replaced easily really. "I was thinking of buying the child clothes. Just lots and lots of clothes" Charlotte giggled slightly, "Goodness, it's such a predictable gift" she shook her head at herself. As he said that she could ramble all she wanted, Charlotte shook her head at him, "Rambling is unbecoming of a young lady" she said, sounding rehearsed and directly quoting her mother, which was why she laughed a little after. "It is still rude for me to go on about things, and give you no room to tell me about you. My life is no more interesting than yours I am sure" she reassured him, "But, since you are a guest in my home, I am more than happy to talk you to sleep with tales of my life. Where are you thinking of moving to? Any ideas, since it is not New Zealand" she gave a smile at him as she asked this. Knowing that while a little more personal, it was just another way of moving the conversation. Getting to know her friend better.
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