it is my duty to inform you that we took a vote, all us women

[trouvaille]

WHO: Padme Amidala & Gwen Wynne-York
WHERE: Maurtia Falls
WHEN: Recently
WHAT: A coffee date between ladies who do more than lunch.
WARNINGS: Just Gwen's personality.

On brief acquaintance, it's not hard to see why Baelish hired Gwen, nor why he's kept her on through the transition from ambassador to mayor; brisk, efficient, organised. The files she'd provided are meticulously detailed, and when she says she's going to be somewhere, she's there: slightly early but only just enough that she's slightly ahead of Padme, sliding an email out on her phone and putting it away in a hidden pocket where she'll feel it if it goes but won't be constantly looking at it on the table in the middle of a conversation.

'More charming' is comparative. Mostly, she just prefers to make sure that as much as possible she's rude to people on purpose. It cheapens it, you see, if you go around doing it by accident all the time.

“Ambassador Amidala,” she says, warmly, standing up when she arrives and offering a hand (unusually cool and smooth to touch, though nothing about her looks inhuman). “Gwen Wynne-York.”

Comments

[functusofficio]

The files sent over had already been of great help, making the transition into inhabiting her new office in the physical sense fairly easy. The actual job itself would take more growing accustomed to, but that was something she had already expected. Even so, the information Gwen had already provided seemed like it would make that simpler as well. And a meeting with her could only be of more benefit.

Padme herself is almost precisely punctual, early by maybe a minute. She's been trying to fit in to the crowds at least a little, but her version of casual meeting clothing is still rather far from it.

She'll get there, in time. Maybe.

"A pleasure to meet you -- what title is it that you prefer?" Her hand shake in return is warm and even, her smile friendly. "I'm so pleased you were able to meet with me."

[trouvaille]

Seeing as Gwen's definition of 'business casual' involves thigh-high sheer lace boots, she's in no position to look askance just because Padme's prepared to wear more than one colour at a time.

“Ms,” she supplies, smiling, “but 'Gwen' is fine.”

It's important to build a good working relationship—a rapport. Network, right? These things come in useful, down the line, even if the last time she made a point of leaving a previous place of work with a handshake and a smile to be remembered pleasantly she ended up with a hangover and a bag full of ill-gotten money she's been slowly and intermittently depositing into her account to avoid raising any red flags. (Christmas came in useful, there. People are always getting money at Christmas.)

Sitting back down, she says, “We all benefit from a smooth transition, and hopefully being able to work together in the future. Assuming we're all still here.”

Honestly, she'd rather be somewhere else; but it's a pain in the arse, being the one left holding the bag when other people disappear.

[functusofficio]

They'll get along quite well, then. It's not a fashion style she's used to, but she finds it interesting, and she really does need to learn new approaches to clothes than she's used to for here.

"If you're certain. Gwen, then." She prefers Amidala herself, more and more lately, and in some ways regrets introducing herself as Padme here at any point. But it will be easy enough to stress Amidala, she feels.

And this is a good connection to have made, so she sits, her smile remaining even. "You are entirely correct in that. A smooth transition makes things easier on the population. You mentioned Bruce Wayne as someone I should be reaching out to?"

[trouvaille]

“That's right,” she says, crossing her ankles and tucking them to the side of her seat—ladylike, that is, all her little learned, polished habits. For having such a fucking mouth on her (when she's not at work—mostly, anyway), at a glance (even a glance that includes all that lace) she'll always be the ladylike thing molded by the kind of money that can be careless.

She's not got it, now, but some things don't change just because circumstances do. No one's ever going to mistake her for anything but what she is.

“Mr Wayne,” she doesn't have to drawl it like that, it definitely sounds like she's slightly making fun of him out of habit, “is expanding his business and philanthropic operations into Maurtia Falls—I'm guessing you'll agree it's a city that could use both. I've worked with him and his team closely on the project, as Mayor Baelish's point of contact and support, so I'm very familiar and I expect we'll stay involved moving forward, but I'd highly recommend him to you as a place to start for local interests. Have you been in the city long yourself, or did you relocate for the elections?”

There's no judgment in the question, but Gwen does find the entire process of the ambassadorial elections...interesting.

[functusofficio]

She recognizes the movements, is mirroring them in some ways herself. They're both ladies of habit when it comes to decorum and appearance, it seems.

"Maurtia Falls is a city that could certainly use more investment, and I hope that I'll be able to provide my help as well. What is he working on, specifically?"

A slight gesture of 'oh, well' at the last question.

"I think you could say we all relocated. But no, I was placed in Maurtia Falls when I first arrived here a few months ago. October, more precisely." If she understands that it seems surprising for her to be already in office, her face is serene and calm, showing no indication of that. "Have you spent most of your time in Maurtia Falls as well?"

[trouvaille]

“Not the first few weeks, but most of it since I got here,” she says, with a shrug—taking the job with Baelish had necessarily meant committing to the city, but it's not as if it was a hardship. Of the import cities, Maurtia Falls is where she's most comfortable; the place that feels the most familiar, the easiest to get by in. Her kind of place.

She chooses, mostly, not to examine that too closely.

“I was doing a lot of freelance work at the time, and our then-ambassador made me a better offer.” A very generous one. Gwen is a forward-thinking kind of a girl. “Anyway, Mr Wayne is building new locations through his own company, storage facilities to, ah, facilitate speedier recovery efforts when emergency aid is required, that kind of thing. He's got some business partnerships where he's supporting existing local charity groups—he's developing methods of making sure people who need help get it faster. I met him when we were doing front line support work after a crisis, he's pretty big on putting significant amounts of money where his mouth is, and then also his mouth.”

So to speak. Gwen isn't, herself, a diplomat.

[functusofficio]

"It seems Mayor Baelish has a good eye for talent, then. I'll have to remember that."

A compliment to both of them. She feels certain Gwen can pick on it without Padme having to spell anything out for her - she's sharp, certain of herself. It's refreshing and pleasant. She hadn't realized entirely how much she'd missed the professional setting until she was back in it, as many frustrations as it could hold.

"Those all sound like extremely useful endeavors that I'll have to be sure to speak to him about. Particularly the crisis recovery - that seems like something this place needs with rather high regularity." She doesn't have to be happy about it, but it's important to not pretend otherwise. In time, maybe, that will change, but for now reality has to be lived with. "You said you were both doing front line support work? That's impressive. I have to admit, depending on the crisis I'm not sure I'd be able to provide much use in a front line. But I'm glad that we have people like you and Mr. Wayne."

[trouvaille]

“My father likes a barfight and he doesn't like a doctor,” she says, dryly, “so I have some applicable skills as far as basic field medicine goes and if you give me resources, I can organise the fuck out of them. Which is,” neatly, “an overlooked frontline skill. For the record.”

Padme might be more useful than she thinks; it just requires a different kind of thinking. Someone has to keep their head in a crisis, know who can do what, what to prioritise, where to go. When everyone looks around, wondering what the fuck they do, what they're looking for—it's someone to tell them.

Sometimes, it's Gwen. It'd probably pay for it to occasionally be someone with slightly more of a soul.

“Bruce likes to do things himself, his own way,” after a moment, unconscious of her more casual familiarity. “Those partnerships are temporary; he's bringing his own infrastructure, which is why it pays to be involved from the ground up. It's very likely that if he wanted to—if he felt it were necessary or more expedient—he could go around all of us.”

He doesn't want to, but Gwen doesn't think that necessarily means he wouldn't ever. A good working relationship means being the loop, rather than just what Bruce Wayne feels like disclosing—and she is well aware that the man can keep a fucking secret. Would he screw with people for the sake of it? No. Would it be inconvenient if in a moment of crisis they were all pulling in different directions? Yes.

[functusofficio]

"That sounds like extremely useful knowledge, if perhaps the manner of acquiring it was not all that pleasant." Mild and even. It's not judgment on Gwen's father, by any means. The second part makes Padme smile a little. "While I consider that crucial to the support of a front line crisis response, I hardly find it front line itself. One rarely tends to find one's hands dirty managing resources."

Unless you happen to be caught in the middle of a battle, but that's not a likely situation here, she thinks.

She hopes, more accurately.

It is interesting to note that Gwen feels comfortable enough around Mr. Wayne to refer to him by his first name, and while Padme doesn't make any comment about it she notes that down. Someone dedicated as it seems Mr. Wayne is to aiding others will hopefully not be too difficult to speak to and come to an understanding with, but if things become complicated being in touch with Gwen will clearly prove helpful.

"Goodness, he sounds like a very thorough businessman. Or -- philanthropist, perhaps. It does not seem like these are projects that will net him revenue. Good will, certainly."

She pauses, considers.

"It seems you trust him, though." It isn't phrased as a question, but it is one, regardless.