For a brief moment Drew wondered if Erika had come to the decision to pursue fashion design on her own or if it had been laid out in front of her from the very beginning. He did consider himself lucky in many ways to have not been forced to struggle with what he wanted (or was going to do anyway). His transition into adulthood had been relatively easy and had come with few surprises.
"They do." Drew agreed with a smirk that showed he did, indeed, catch the sarcastic wit Erika had presented. "I've never wondered what it would be like to wear one, though." But the girl hadn't seemed to take offense to his potentially misguided view of the fashion industry so he at least had that going for him. "That's smart." He said honestly. "I'd imagine the most successful fashion designers are the ones that make stuff people would actually buy." Though he didn't know that for sure the simple laws of marketing and sales were enough to go on. "It's very ambitious." He was almost impressed by the obvious intent intent that shone through even in brief, almost flippant discussion of her chosen career field. "Fashion is a tough industry to break into if you're not developing a generic clothing line for the latest rapper with dreams of becoming an entrepreneur."
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Jan 10, 2017 11:03:45 GMT
There was a reason all those people with their fancy suits got shown on the catwalk and then broadcast across the world. However, Erika didn't think that getting into a discussion about the schematics of things would be interesting for either of them. Especially not something as foolish as whether or not wearing a bird suit would be considered profitable.
"I could start the very first mutant clothing line. I would have to come up with a good slogan, though. Or maybe a pun." Still, the brunette's expression remained neutral. Almost apathetic. Whether or not she got into the business didn't matter to her at this point in time. She still had a few years of school to go through and who knew if that was what she even wanted to do when she graduated?
Right now, she was really just taking the only course that seemed to interest her. Besides, a little hard work wasn't enough to scare her away. Knowing her family, though, they already had their own plans for her future. "Definitely a pun."
Drew let out a light chuckle. There was something to be said for having a passion in life and even more to be said about not taking said life too seriously. In many ways Drew felt he'd lost the ability to do just that. No, he hadn't resigned his position and returned 'home' on some spiritual journey to find himself. Drew knew what he wanted and how to obtain it. He simply needed to step away and figure out the best way to reach his goals on his own terms.
"I was sold right up until 'puns'." Drew admitted, the smirk returning to his features as he looked to Erika. He was finding this direction of conversation to be far more amusing than the last. "Maybe a witty slogan." He lit up as a thought crossed his mind. "Oh, I know. why don't you get one of the music majors to write up a catch jingle. You know, something real earwormy. I'll bet you they'd even get extra credit for it."
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Jan 10, 2017 11:24:26 GMT
"Man, you are old," she said with mock disappointment. "If you want to sell a product, you need to know the market." Gesturing to herself then, she shrugged. After all, teenage girls (Or women in general) were the ones who bought the most clothes. "I'll let you in on a little secret, though," she continued. "Puns are the rave right now. You should keep that in mind," she added as she tapped her temple with the point of her index finger.
"Besides," she said casually. "I just happen to be capable of writing my own jingles." After all, most of her life had gone away to piano lessons. At least it looked like it might come in handy after all. Figure that.
Unlike most people he knew that were on the wrong side of their mid-20's Drew didn't actually feel old in the slightest. Maybe it was because he'd spent most of his life around people who were in their 50's, 60's and older who were still power players in their respective industries he had a different perspective on age and where it stood in the grand scheme of things. That being said he found it amusing this girl was attempting to school him in the fundamentals of marketing and business.
If only she knew the truth.
"Oh?" Drew's head tilted a bit in curiosity. "Artistically inclined and musically adept?" There wasn't a whole lot he could say to that. What Drew was good at he was good at, his focus was just far more narrow than most. Pursuits of an artistic nature had always escaped his capacity even though he respected those who flourished within them. "I'm impressed. Tell me." He said, arms folding across his chest as he watched Erika with an amused smirk. "What can't you do?"
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Jan 21, 2017 12:30:19 GMT
With furrowed brows, Erika looked at the older man for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. She saw no point in outlining her childhood. It was her mother who had first pointed her in the direction of taking piano- and drawing classes. She didn't enjoy playing the piano nearly as much as she enjoyed drawing and painting, but playing the piano offered its own kind of solace in times of need.
Smirking then, Erika leaned against the table, elbows firmly planted against the smooth surface. "Well, according today's society, women can do everything," she said, pursing her lips. "At least, we're expected to, no?" Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she shot an amused smirk in his direction before standing, arms crossed.
Drew paused long enough to study the young woman. Her reply had been enigmatic, as he was beginning to expect, though he was starting to wonder if she was merely messing with him rather than simply vaguely avoiding deep conversation with a stranger. Either way the conversation was sort of refreshing. After spending so much time slogging through the bland corporate landscape Drew was content to have a conversation with someone who didn't seem to have a distinct agenda.
"Expected to, yes." Drew agreed, joke or not. "But I've found society's expectations to be a little extreme at times." He admitted. It wasn't as if he had first hand experience regarding that, after all. It was these same expectations that drove him to step away from a very comfortable life. "I mean, who wants to live their life according to the words of the proverbial 'they'?"
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Jan 25, 2017 22:19:36 GMT
Shrugging, Erika hadn't much to offer. Sure, the expectations of society might have been extreme - though, only if you cared enough to let it bother you. It was such an easy thing to simply shrug off if one had the mind to. After all, the society they lived in might not have been applauding individualism, but it didn't exactly shun it either.
"A lot of people do - otherwise the laws of society wouldn't have been there to begin with," she replied. If it had been proved ineffective, it wouldn't have been a problem to begin with, right?
Drew stood for a moment, amused yet impressed at the way the young woman had matched him at every turn. There was often a tendency for people to waver under such circumstances and ultimately begin to outright agree with him. It was commonly used tactic in boardrooms and negotiating tables around the world. He'd made use of such methods many times himself but nothing seemed to be getting by without some sort of retort.
"Do you sit around and think up all these witty responses?" He asked, the smirk on his face showing his amusement with the situation clearly. "Or do you just come up with them on the fly?"
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Jan 31, 2017 15:46:57 GMT
"Ah yes," she nodded and gestured around the room. "I don't have much else going on with my life than sitting around, thinking of all plausible witty remarks to all possible encounters and topics." She arched her eyebrow then before shaking her head. She almost wished she had that little going on.
Tapping her temple then, the brunette returned the smirk. "Some of us are simply born for greatness - or in this case, wit." She gestured towards him then, eyes lit with genuine amusement. "And then there's..." Cutting herself off, she smirked and shrugged.
Drew issued a soft chuckle. Despite the witty banter he was able to pick up a few things here and there about the enigmatic girl he was speaking with. The more she spoke the more he was convinced there was far more going on inside her head than he had given her credit for at the very beginning of their conversation. What, exactly, remained to be seen but he was quickly becoming more interested in finding out.
"Born for greatness." He repeated, shaking his head. "That's true, some people are." It's not like he hadn't been subjected to such perceptions. That was part of the reason why he was here in the first place. He was sick of being the 'wunderkind'. Tired of carrying the label of 'prodigy' that had been slapped on him from the start of his career. The worst had been being referred to as the 'Golden Boy' after unexpectedly securing a major contract for his parent company. None of it appealed to Drew. He knew his future was firmly planted in the corporate world that had been laid out in front of him from birth but the path he'd take was still up to him.
"Usually such titles are given and rarely embraced by those who receive them." He mused. "Is the cliched 'greatness' a direction you'd want to go in, or is there another path in your future?"
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Feb 6, 2017 15:09:27 GMT
Amusement layered the brunette's brown eyes once more. The man surely didn't know what kind of loaded question he'd just asked. There was a whole lot more behind it than what he'd though, though, then again, he likely didn't realize it. "That sounds like a very personal question," she mused. "Not exactly something you discuss with a stranger you've just met."
She couldn't blame him, though. She suspected he knew a thing or two about what he was asking herself. The question in itself seemed to come from experience and the way he had worded it made it sound as if it was filled with reflection.
It may have been a strange way to do business but Drew often found he could glean more about a person's true intentions and inner workings by the things they didn't say as opposed to what they did. In this case Erika's response to his question spoke volumes and only strengthened his belief that the two of them had more in common than he'd originally thought. The confident, self assured way in which she spoke hinted at a certain amount of refinement that usually came with being part of an affluent, or at least socially relevant, family. If she wasn't part of either then she played the part remarkably well.
"Maybe." Drew replied with a bit of a shrug. He let the simple response hang in the air for a moment before glancing down to his watch and exhaling sharply. "Well, I've taken up enough of you time. I should probably be on my way." He started backing toward the doorway. "But thanks for humoring me." He said with a smirk. "It was nice meeting you." He spoke politely even though the two hadn't actually introduced each other.
Post by Erika Bellefonte on Feb 8, 2017 3:00:12 GMT
Offering the man a nod, Erika turned her gaze back towards her work. "You're welcome," she offered before continuing. "Likewise." At least it hadn't been an unpleasant encounter that had kept her away from her work. She could be happy about that, if nothing else.
Now, though, now she had to finish her work so she could get out of here before midnight. She'd rather not spend another night rushing through work.