It's not /quite/ as simple as just calling up the company and getting straight to Razi's extension, but it's also not too crazily difficult. He's not the CEO or something, and he's not in a position that vendors are likely to be cold calling that he'd need secretarial protection from. But Javi /does/ have to get through an executive assistant at first, and there's a definite moment where they put him on hold and very obviously are checking with Razi about this total rando on the phone.
So when the phone finally picks up again, and it's Razi's voice now on the line, he sounds the /tiniest/ bit baffled when he says, "...hello?"
Javi is happy to wait on the phone -- or, if he isn't, there's no way to tell. Since it's a phone. However, when he finally gets through and answers, he sounds perfectly fine (though again, phones are not quite as conducive as in person to discern every little thing he's thinking).
"Hey." And before Razi can say anything else, he launches into a further explanation, which at least may clarify one or two things. That it may also raise additional questions can't be helped. "So I know this is weird and I'm sorry to bug you at work, but I have kind of a lawyer question and you're the only lawyer I know, so I was wondering if you could maybe help me out with it. Or like...maybe pass me a name of someone who could." He doesn't sound exactly like he'd sounded at the aquarium, or even the cafe. He's still upbeat, but definitely more serious. "It's a building thing. Like, a lawsuit about an apartment building."
Razi blinks. Javi can't see it, because this is a phone, but he blinks. "Kind of a lawyer question," he echoes back. Testing the words. "So...you gave me your number after meeting me twice, and now you've hunted down my work line for legal advice because I'm the only lawyer you know?" He doesn't actually sound /offended/, per se. He's not angry. He's just a bit baffled, and there's a clarity to his language as it to assure he's heard Javi correctly.
There's a long pause after Razi finishes, so long that it //might// seem like Javi isn't there anymore, except that there are a few faint 'other end' sounds that give away that he is. That, and the fact that it's so awkward it's as if he's actually capable of projecting that constant and barely-contained energy through the line. But eventually -- //eventually// -- he replies, and he also doesn't try to deny that that's exactly what he's done.
"Yeah," he confirms, "pretty much." He's clearly embarrassed, even in voice only, but he also doesn't just hang up to go die in a shame hole, which is...well, something. "I mean, you don't really need to hunt stuff down that's right there on the internet but basically." Another pause, and when he speaks again, he's still a //little// embarrassed, but mostly resigned. "Yeah, you know, thought you were cute and I saw you like two days in a row so I took a shot but I promise this isn't about that. Just...kinda came up unexpectedly. I get it though, so yeah, if you wanna say no that's fine, and I'll leave you alone."
The deep inhale of Razi's breath may or may not be audible over the phone. He's silent for a moment as well, although not as long as poor Javi was. "No, I don't suppose it would take much effort to find the main Omega line and then offer my name," he finally says, and /maybe/ there's a hint of the /tiniest/ bit of amusement. "Although I could say that it /also/ doesn't require much hunting to Google housing lawyers, but--" He pauses. "I can understand wanting a recommendation." Tap tap tap go his fingers on his desk. It's more of a thoughtful pause this time. "Well, I can't take off in the middle of the day, or take meetings in the office about things that have nothing to do with my work. But if you can wait until the end of my day, you can give me more detail about your situation."
Despite some lingering embarrassment, Javi has to laugh -- a lot more freely than Razi's razor-thin amusement, even if it's also somewhat wry. "Yeah, okay, fair." The Googling, that is. However, he is also content to wait through all the pauses, whether they be amused or awkward or thoughtful or anything else, especially when he ends up getting a 'yes.' "Oh, great," he replies, and it's coupled with an audible exhale, an unmistakable sigh of relief. "Right on. That's fine, whenever. I can wait. Thank you, for real." He offers the name of a coffee shop that's somewhat near to the Omega offices, close enough to potentially be convenient for Razi, then adds, "Just let me know what time is good and I'll be there."
The coffee shop has Razi considering longer than might be expected for such a simple offer, and then he says, "We can get a proper drink. There's a decent bar near here." Which he offers the name of. "5:30, then? I'll let you know if something keeps me late." There's another beat, a consideration, and then he says, "I'll cover the drinks." It's said with particular neutrality and diplomacy, as if he's given thought into not offending.
Javi's precise thoughts can't truly be discerned over the phone, of course, but it's very possible he considers that pause to be Razi reconsidering. When Razi makes his counter proposal instead, the silence on the other end can't be anything but surprise. "Uh, yeah," he finally replies, a little quickly and with some attempt to cover that too-long pause that doesn't quite do it. But he also can't hide that he's pleased with it. "Sure. That sounds good." Another little pause, and then the tone shifts a bit more toward what it had been in their other encounters as he adds, "I'll get it next time." But it also sounds like he's joking -- mostly -- and the sign off is more serious. "Thank you. I'll see you later."
"Right. See you then." And Razi hangs up, leaving him alone in his office once more to contemplate what he's just agreed to. But only for a few moments, and then he redirects his focus wholly to the work at hand.
Once the end of the workday comes, he is not out the door on the dot at five, but he's also not late enough to need to update Javi about it. At worst, it's all of four or five minutes past the designated time before he steps into the bar. It's not one of the highest end corporate bar types, and maybe he chose it for that reason. It's sleeker than a dive or a pub, though. Still catered to the business types that tend to populate the neighborhood. He scans the room to see if Javi has beaten him here, looking as neat and presentable as usual; his three-piece suit is a medium charcoal, white shirt, wine red tie. He looks classic and well-tailored.
Javi has, in fact, beaten Razi here, but he probably wanted to make sure he was not late, since the other man is doing him a favor and has already rightly called him out on it being odd and perhaps slightly uncomfortable. Or maybe the only one who had been slightly uncomfortable was him, but either way. He's here. He is sitting at the bar, but he isn't pre-gaming -- he has a glass of water in front of him and he's scrolling through his phone to occupy himself while he waits.
He is not quite as sleek as Razi is, coming straight from work as he is in his very nice suit, but he does look quite different than his jeans-tee-sneaker combo that he'd been in the other times they'd met. Black pants and shoes, a dress shirt with subtle white and very pale lavender vertical stripes, and a light grey jacket. No tie, but there's nothing careless or haphazard about his outfit today, and it all fits him quite well, too. While he might not look exactly like the businesspeople who are in here after work, he does not stick out in any sort of embarrassing way.
He looks up from his phone absently, just in time to see Razi come in. When he does, he smiles, and lifts a hand to wave, sliding the phone into his pocket again.
Is Razi the tiniest bit surprised to see Javi having cleaned up decently? It's possible. But he's too composed to allow something like that to reach his expression, particularly where Javi might /see/. And so he just steps up to the bar where Javi sits, a hint of a smile -- friendly? polite? YOU'LL NEVER KNOW -- crossing his lips. "Hello again," he says, his voice that same sort of mild and subdued Javi has heard from him before. He takes a seat, hooking his messenger bag-slash-briefcase on a hook underneath the bar. "You doing well?" he asks, polite in his greetings even if he's not effusive. "Apart from needing legal advice, that is." The bartender comes by, friendly and professional, and Razi orders some whiskey for himself -- not the most expensive thing on the menu or anything, but he does order specifically by name rather than just take whatever they might offer. And then he adds, "And whatever he'd like," in general invitation to Javi.
Friendly or polite or whatever it is, Javi takes the smile as an opportunity to return one of his own. Shockingly, it's a lot brighter than the other man's -- but that's just how his ace is. It's probably not that it's //particularly// extra-wide upon Razi's arrival. "Hey," he replies. "Pretty good, yeah. You know, nothing too crazy. Except the whole building situation." He pauses when the bartender comes over, waiting for Razi to put in his order as his eyes scan the bottles displayed at the back of the bar. He hesitates a moment when it's his turn, especially in the wake of that very specific whiskey, but ultimately he just orders what he probably orders every time: a beer. Pacifico.
"How 'bout you?" he asks once he's done it, turning toward Razi again and resting an elbow on the bar. "Any other exciting lawyer things going on?" There may be some amusement in his tone, but he does sound interested, too.
There's perhaps the /slightest/ bit of skepticism that Javi is truly interested in the Exciting Lawyer Things Razi may have going on. He considers him in a moment's study, and then he says, "Things are always varied, I suppose, although that's not as important to my professional satisfaction as the type of work I do. But there's an ongoing acquisition that is proving an interesting challenge as far as the contract drafting goes." Is that exciting? Is it INTERESTING? Razi seems to think it's at least a /little/ interesting, but he also /doesn't/ seem to think Javi -- or maybe most people -- are liable to agree.
Whether he's //actually// interested or not, Javi is at least paying attention. Considering how easily everything shows on his face, he probably is on some level, even if it's just listening to a person in whom he's already made his more general interest clear. His demeanor is also slightly different -- while there's still some sense of constant energy below the surface, it's mostly contained right now in more subtle movements, mostly in his hands, rather than shifting on the stool or anything else that looks like he's about to jump up and start to pace. "Oh, cool," he replies. "Like you guys buying another company?" One of those gestures follows, palms lifted to face toward the other man. "Not asking which one. I'll search it up later." He grins, a little self-deprecatingly -- he does, in fact, know how to Google things, as the other man had pointed out over the phone.
"Corporations this size are always acquiring something," Razi says, and is that a hint?? Of humor??? Maybe. The bartender comes back with their drinks, setting them down, and Razi slips a credit card over to keep a tab open for the time being. In contrast to Javi, Razi is remarkably still; there is a sense that, in both words and physicality, everything he does is deliberate. "But, at this point in the process, it won't be something you'll find on Google." He takes up his glass, taking a careful sip of whiskey. It's a sipping drink, after all. "And how are your classes going? Perform any emergency tracheotomies with pens?"
Javi's eyebrows raise at the...joke? Did he hear that right? He takes it as such, though, letting out a little snort and pointing toward Razi as he nods. "Kinda seems like that, yeah," he agrees, reaching for the bottle to take a pull -- longer than Razi's sip, but he's not trying to rush through it. "Not yet," he admits with another short laugh after he's swallowed. "Maybe in a couple weeks. I'll let you know." A slightly bold assumption that he's going to see Razi again after this whole thing, but it's more absent than pointed. "It's going good, though." There seems to be some slight surprise at that admission, but it's brief. "Like I said, not really that great at memorizing stuff but when they demo it and have you do it after, I'm good at that. So hopefully it's gonna balance out." His hands turn again, palms toward the ceiling as he lifts and lowers them in a weighing motion.
It seems to remind him of something, though, and another huff escapes him. He doesn't leave the other man in suspense, but he does look away, focusing on the bottle instead. "Oh yeah. So I'm not sure if it's weirder for me to tell you this or not tell you, but I met someone who knows you yesterday. And I feel like you guys are the kinda friends where you're definitely gonna find that out from her, so, yeah. Fiametta?" He taps his finger against the bottleneck, studiously observing it. So interesting. "I'm really not tryna like...I dunno." Stalk him? Maybe. "Just one of those weird things, I guess."
And /that/ actually does have his brows twitching the tiniest bit, as if they might have swept upwards if he were a more expressive person. "You met Fiametta?" He seems to find it an interesting curiosity, at the very least. "I guess even big cities can be small towns sometime." At the very least, he doesn't seem threatened or worried about being stalked. For some reason. "We live together when she's in the city," he says. "We're family." There's so much wrapped up in just the one word. Not something specific like 'she's my sister' or 'she's my cousin' or anything you might expect from a blood relation. Just...family.
"Mm hmm." That he did. Javi casts a brief glance toward Razi again when he answers, and when it doesn't seem to have weirded the other man out, his shoulders relax and he straightens up a little more on the stool again. "Yeah," he agrees more easily, "sometimes. And I'm kinda all over the place so I meet everyone." In many senses of 'all over the place. His gaze is more steady on Razi when the man gives the connection, and that deceptively simple statement has his smile softening noticeably. "That makes sense," he replies. "She seemed really great. Gave her some places to take you so let me know if you have fun." It's a lot easier to tell when //he's// teasing, but it also sounds true.
He shifts more purposefully on the stool now, pulling out his phone. "So, the thing," he continues. "The building thing. You kinda have to...go with me here a little, yeah?"
"She is," Razi says, and that agreement compliment is surely EFFUSIVE PRAISE coming from him. He takes another sip of whiskey as Javi starts to get down to business, as it were. There's a hint, a /suggestion/, of one brow lifting the tiniest bit. But all he says is, "All right." And he waits. One might get the impression that he can be patient for a very long time.
"Okay." Well, at least there actually //is// a thing Javi needs, and this is not all just an excuse to get Razi here. He probably couldn't really pull that off, anyway. "So," he continues as he scrolls through his texts, "you hear about that fire over at that building down on the South Side? The Crestwood?" He snorts again, though this time there's not as much actual amusement. "A lot of fires going on right now so it's kinda hard to keep track, but yeah. Started in one of the apartments and they don't really know why."
He finishes his scrolling, stopping on what looks like one of those ads looking for people to join class action suits and sliding it over to Razi so that he can look at it if he wants. "So there was some kinda accident like, a while back. Couple years. But it's kinda hard to get a whole lot of details about it? Like, weirdly hard." His brows pull together now as he frowns, shaking his head. "Then they rebuilt it, like a year ago. But there's been all these fires and stuff since then, too. And there's that, trying to find people to sue the building owner, right? But I can't find out if there actually was a lawsuit. So I dunno if I'm just not looking it up right or what."
It's probably hard to keep track of all the accidents that happen in a big city like Chicago, but Razi says, "I might recall." He probably has a real good memory, to be honest. He reaches to draw the phone a bit closer when Razi slides it over, taking a look. "There are definitely fraudulent notifications about class action lawsuits sometimes," he says. "It a company opts to settle privately, the results won't be public record like they would be if it goes to court. Although, even then, generally news goes around in /some/ way. At least in some sort of initial filing." He looks back up to Javi. "Were you a resident there at the time of the fire?"
Javi is watching, and listening, the energy buzzing underneath the surface suddenly focused in the same direction. He nods slowly, leaning a little bit closer toward the phone like Razi could unlock something there that he can't see, but the last question has him straightening up again.
"No." He takes a breath, letting it out slowly, and his eyes shift away from Razi again. The movement has that purposeful feeling again, like he's looking at //something//, rather than just letting his gaze unfocus, even though the air is empty. His lips press together briefly, as if considering some decision, but whatever he sees has him coming down on a particular side, and he looks back to the other man again. "But I know there were kids that died." He doesn't say //how// he knows, but he sounds sure. "I grew up in buildings like that, you know? Not that one, but it might as well be. I know how it is. These guys don't care. They just do whatever to squeeze out as much money as they can, and then maybe they pay like fifty cents on some fine if they get in trouble, but then they just keep doing the same shit. And that sucks." He might have said more, but for whatever reason he cuts off, and his mouth twists as he shakes his head. "Anyway, yeah. So if you knew someone who could look it up in some database or whatever it is, I'd appreciate it. And maybe help figure out what to do with it after. I'm fine to pay for it."
Razi's study becomes rather...focused, there. He notices the way Javi's gaze shifts away. He notices that it seems to be /focused/ on something else, despite only seeming to look at air. Javi's eventual answer doesn't seem all /that/ strange, however. Presumably it wouldn't generally require insider knowledge to read some news about the casualties of such a disaster. His expression is hard to read at all the talk about asshole building owners not caring if people live or die, but that seems to just be -- him. "It's not my legal specialty," he finally says. "But it's not so big a deal to do a few database searches. Like I said, any filing /should/ be available, even if they settled later."
He takes out a small notebook from an inside pocket -- black, Moleskine, nice -- that also has a pen clipped to it, slipping off the elastic and turning to the fresh page marked by the ribbon. He uncaps the pen, which is a nicer fountain affair, and begins to write down some notes of what Javi has told him. His handwriting is /startlingly/ elegant. Precise and impeccable may have been expected, given his manner, but he writes with the ease and fluidity of a calligrapher. And his notes seem to follow a very precise format. Endlessly organized. His fingers seem to bear some of that elegance as well, long and graceful and occasionally touched by ink. In those short moments, he gives all of the impression of one who could live entirely by pen and paper. "I wouldn't be the right person to handle the case, if it turns out that it needs handling, but I could ask around to come up with some reputation recommendations for firms to approach."
There's a very slight relaxation of Javi's shoulders when Razi doesn't ask any follow up questions -- another breath out, relieved, and then even more so at the acceptance. It's not weird. None of this is weird. It all makes sense.
Razi takes out his notebook, and Javi watches him do it. Well, he's here to see him do things, right? So surely //that's// not weird, either. But that focus is still there, dialed to an intensity it might be difficult to imagine him capable of, with his wild leaping grins and his ray touching and the constant buzz of energy barely contained beneath his skin. He watches those lines come into being on the page, following those subtle, deliberate movements of the fingers that create them, with a //hint// of longing. It's not necessarily a longing that speaks to a hope of something beyond a meeting in a bar with an attractive relative stranger -- though yes, there is some of that. However, it's a little wistful, too. The sort of longing that comes with observing something beautiful that you know you could never get hope to imitate. His hands can probably do a lot of things, but nothing like this.
He's so caught up in it that he almost forgets to answer. He only realizes it a few seconds after what might be strictly usual in a conversation. But he gets there, and when he does he laughs. It's bright, delighted rather than embarrassed, even though he's just caught himself staring. "Okay," he agrees once it's faded, though just to a smile. "That's fair. Thank you." He nods to the notebook, with all its organization in elegant handwriting. "Always kinda wished I could organize my life like that," he admits. "But I'm way too messy." It's not phrased as a put-down of his messiness, though, just stated like a fact.
If Razi is conscious of Javi's particular focus, the palpable longing of him, he gives on indication of it. He just keeps writing until the brief notes he wants to keep and remember for later research are completed. He doesn't close the notebook right away, as the ink is still wet, but he does look back up to Javi. Something about the words leaves him smiling very faintly, but in a particular sort of way. It's not a simple, easy smile. He considers his response for a moment, and then he says, "I suppose it's habit now. It helps me...work." He falls silent a moment, studying Javi as he seems to weigh something in his mind. And then he says, "I hope I didn't offend you by not making use of your number. It's only that I doubt I'm really what you're looking for." And there, again, is that faint hint of a smile. But this time, it's polite.
"Hm." Javi's study of Razi shifts a little bit now, his eyes searching the other man's face, rather than his hands. This time, he doesn't get lost there -- his head tilts to the side as his brow furrows slightly, but he doesn't reply to the question of habit. He just nods, filing it away somewhere for later use. Or not. Who knows what he's doing with it.
The rest of it does get an answer, though. He shrugs, a movement that has his hand coming up to wave away the idea of offense, his gaze meeting his companions. "Nah," he says, "you didn't. Like I said, took a shot. It didn't hit. No big deal." He does seem to be fine, at least from what can be seen. But he does add, "I mean, you don't really know what I'm looking for, right? You don't know me, I don't know you. So It's fine for you to say I'm not your type. I get that."
Razi takes Javi's point with the barest uptick of one brow. And then, after a moment, he inclines his head the slightest bit as if to say, 'Fair enough.' "I only really meant that I'm not all that much fun." And thus, the implication that /Javi/ seems to be fun. "But you're right, I shouldn't make assumptions." Even though he's absolutely going to continue doing so. He marks the page in his notebook once more with the attached ribbon, smoothing his fingers down the fabric and paper to lay it flat, and then closes the notebook and slips the elastic back around the cover.
Now Javi's smile has shifted a little bit, tilting crookedly on his face as his eyes narrow //just// slightly. Amusement, clearly, though not //at// Razi. Well, okay, it is at Razi. But it's warm, not derisive. "Oh, you're not that much fun, huh?" His eyes drop, then make their way back up slowly to the other man's face. Speculatively. "Okay, sure. I get it." Yes, this is all making sense. Never mind that there's a laugh somewhere in there, too. "Well, I'm a lot of fun. I got enough fun for like, five people." So some of the assumptions are true, but he doesn't seem to think it means what Razi thinks it does. "But just 'cause I like to touch the rays 'cause I never got to go to the aquarium when I was a kid doesn't mean I'm looking for someone to go cliff diving with." He shifts, leaning slightly forward, toward the other man. He doesn't get //that// close, but closer. "If you don't want to call me 'cause you're not into it, that's fine. Like I said, I'm not offended. But if it's //just// that you think you know what I want and you're not it, maybe just think about it. I'm not changing my number any time soon. I'd have to let too many people know."
"I'll take it under advisement," Razi replies, and perhaps the /only/ hint of it being a joke is the grave solemnity with which he says it. He tucks the notebook back in his jacket pocket, giving Javi one last assessing look. "I'll text you so you have my actual number, at least," he finally says. "For when I have news." He slips out of his seat, getting the bartender's attention with a glance. "You can order another before I close out if you want." Either way, he'll eventually sign off on his check, tipping a precise amount so that the total sums to a round number. "Have a good evening, Javier," he says before he goes.
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