Owner	Pose
Warpath	It is a slow night here in the bar. Lady's night is tonight, but the mutants of Bushwhick stayed in, and the perverts looking to pick them up have long since left.     Sitting at the bad with a couple of empty mugs in front of him, watching the football game on the TV. He is sitting there, all but taking up two spots due to his bulk. His hair is pulled back, and he is cleaned up okay, but he does not give the 'looking for love' vibe. He gives the weary, quiet, and tired vibe. He drinks from his mug, a few long swallows before putting it down and sighing contently.
Karen Page	It was another long day at the office. One of those where every file she went looking for wasn't where she'd left it. Some days she was certain there were office gremlins who moved things around after dark. More likely, it was one of her bosses - despite the fact they denied all accusations thereof. Whichever, she was beat, and while there was always Josie's... there was always Josie's where she wasn't just a known figure, so were Matt and Foggy, and tonight she just wanted to kick back where nobody knew her name. More to the point, where she wouldn't run into them, and she could actually work on putting together some of the information she'd been dredging up on a certain Danny Rand. A man who was proving increasingly difficult to drag up dirt on.     Which is how she ended up at Luke's. Not off the beaten track, but just out of the way enough.     Still dressed for work, Karen pauses just inside the entryway to Luke's and checks the place out for the most likely spot to park her butt. She'd forgotten it was Ladies Night, but there wasn't a crowd left anyway. And in a move she wouldn't later be able to explain to herself given the number of empty tables present, Karen opts for the bar itself, her satchel placed beside her and left unopen as she orders a pint of "Whatever's on tap." Even though it's the frou-frou drinks that are on sale. It's just that kind of day.
Warpath	"I'll buy her that drink." James says. "Just bring me another for me same time." He gestures at karen with a casual big hand. "I'm pissed at a couple of blonds. Seems like I can be nice to one. I'm not trying to pick you up. I'm not trying to seduce. I'm just lonely." Oh. He said too much. He frowns at himself. "So smile. Chat? Complain about your day? Remind me why I put up with this crap?" He gives her a little look. Smack dab on his chest, James has one of those annoying work name tags. The sort you have to wear at employee orientations. Frost industries. James Proudstar Assistant to Ms. Frost. He's a secretary. He realizes he is still wearing it. His low voice growls as he spits out a swear word and peals it off. he offers her his huge right hand. "James Proudstar. yes. I'm an Indian. I'm an Apache." he anticipates the questions. His smile is tight. He looks stressed out.
Karen Page	Oh, she's all ready to brush the offer of buying her a drink aside, when Karen sees the nametag. He's a natter on about his day, as she realizes that there is some irony left in the world that she can appreciate after all. Which is just as well, as she's grinning, "Well, that's either the best or the worst pick-up line I've ever had. James, is it?" She nods. "James Proudstar. Assistant to Ms. Emma Frost. Frost Industries." And she rattles off a few facts and figures about the place (she's done her homework since her last meeting with Ms. Frost).     Karen turns slightly in her seat and offers her hand. "Karen. Karen Page. Assistant to Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson, Esquires. Really, it's just a fancy way of saying I run the office, pay the bills, and make crappy coffee. Yes. I'm white. Totally pasty Wonder bread here." Oh, she's so making light of his own introduction. "Ugly crier. As bad as you can imagine and then kick it up a notch. So why are we pissed at blondes today? I'm willing to let you call me a redhead just so we can be on neutral ground."     The bartender brings her pint and she nods thanks at him with a smile, turning her attention bck on James.
Warpath	After finishing his previous beer, James nods his head. "Good. You are familiar with e company. You can only imagine why I am upset with blonds, given who I work for?" He sighs. "She's on vacation, soaking in sun right now. Yeah, she is dealing with things. But here I am, running the office. She is off." He frowns. "I shouldn't b***h so much. I'm sorry." His head gives a little bob. "I just. I had something happen. I would have loved to have taken some time on my own. Just to cope. But, hey." He shakes his head. "Not going to happen." he growls. "And her problems are hers. I know I am supposed to be strong/" He tilts a brow. It is all vague crap, but apparently someone messed him up a little.     He quirks a little smile. "I prefer the blonds to the redheads. I know all about the redheads. I prefer the more even temperament. What brought you into contact with Ms. Frost? No offense. I think I am the only secretary she deigns to talk to."     He actually looks her over. he hadn't checked her out before he bought the beer. "Ugly is not the word to describe you. even if you get blotchy while crying." he shakes his head. "definitely not ugly."
Karen Page	Karen just sits there and listens while the litany of complaints is issued, nodding with some sympathy, if amused sympathy. Her beer provides an easy way to hide the worst of her smiles, sipping when the urges to chuckle hit her, but even so, it's a battle.     "Me? Oh, I met your boss.." She pauses, wondering if she should relate the story as it happened. A negligent shrug is given as she decides why not. "Well, I think she was slumming it for the evening, to tell the truth. She bought one of my bosses and I beer and wings. I believe she wanted 'the biggest plate' of them she could buy. Seemed terribly interested in whether or not they were fatty - I think that was a criteria."     Another shrug, and Karen continues. "We ended up talking a little business. I've been trying to set up an appointment with her ever since. Almost managed it once." She'd have done so, too, if it weren't for the fight that broke out in the street that evening just as she'd made her hookup with the woman. "She has my number. But maybe I'll just set an appointment up with you since I have you here."     She winks as she says that, right when he checks her out. A brow raising as she's declared 'definitely not ugly'. "Uh.. thanks? I think?" Karen makes a face. "And you hate blondes tonight, remember? Not that I'm rightly a blonde. In the right light I'm positively almost a red." A quick grin is given as she adds, "Temper is relative."
Warpath	"Well if you are a redhead, I'll buy you two beers." James manages to flirt back. He settles his drink aside, and he nods about Emma. "Yes. She worries about those dress sizes, then goes on about how powerful she is. If she was powerful, she would not care so much about her weight. The vanity." He runs a hand through his hair. He pauses, and then looks himself over. 'I guess I have little room tot talk on that." he admits. Given his size and how sculpted his form is. He reaches into his pocket, and he pulls out a phone. He considers it for a bit, and he asks, "How about three weeks out?" He asks. "Wednesday? A half an hour, just after lunch?" he pauses. "You might want to skip yours. She gets growly around then. If you are early, I can insist you see her."     He tilts a brow at her. She got him while he was feeling a little vindictive. The meeting is hers, if she wants it. He starts to type her into the smart device. "Just pretend to find me charming or something for a little bit; we'll call it even?"
Karen Page	Oh, she's right business like when he pulls out that phone and draws up a date. "Fair enough. Let me give you one of our cards, and my number.." She opens her satchel, pulling out both cards and her own phone, pretending not only to see if she's free, but as though she's got to reschedule something to make herself free for the date. Date punched into her phone, and card given to James, she's back to much more casual.     "Well, given those choices, can I pretend you're or something?" Karen can't help a smirk as she says it. "You're just fine," she relents. "And your boss was actually wanting something fatty. I have no clue what was going on in her head. She sat with us for awhile and then left. I'm not entirely certain it wasn't a bit of a setup. And she seemed nice enough. Tell you what, you can call me blonde /and/ buy me antoher beer, and we can swap horror stories?"
Warpath	"I can do that." He agrees. James waves over another drink for them both. He purses his lips. "Well. I am called her sex-retary by the girls at the office." James tells her. He flips the card over, and he starts to put her number into his phone. He also puts the business number into his phone. He is pretty serious. Or he likes her, and wants to get her number in. Either way. He taps send. her phone gets a call. "That is me." he tells her absently, clicking end on the call. It's a good way to make sure he's got the right numbers.     "I mean, I can do their jobs, and to my face it is all smiles and flirting. I... hear things. I am just there to sleep with the boss. Boytoy. All that." he gives a soft sigh at that."Our office is big, though."
Karen Page	Karen winces. "Ouch.. aren't there laws against things like that, calling you her sex-retary? That's as bad as pinching butts and chasing short skirts around the desk. I thought we'd gotten past that?"     She's not too worried about the number. Emma has it in her own personal phone. Hell, Karen has /Emma's/ number at this point. And if he calls her on a personal note, she can decide then how she feels about the matter. Right now? He's still above board.     When he explains more, she can't help asking, "Why do you put up with it? I'm going to assume you don't sleep with your boss, not that it's my business, but she doesn't strike me the sort who would put up with that sort of crap."
Warpath	"Yeah. Big bad Apache man going to the little boss about the mean secretaries saying she is sleeping with him? If she does anything, it confirms it. If I complain, I I cannot handle it." He shakes his head. "It doesn't help matters I do not show up to office events alone." his frown is deep and honest.     His hefty shoulders shrug. "So, what is your horror story? A partner wanting to date the cute secretary? Office expense account hell?" he rolls his eyes at that one. "Being used to run errands, like dry cleaning? Or just living and working all hours of the day and night to keep things afloat?"
Karen Page	"I'm sorry," Karen says with some indigation on his behalf, "Why should your size matter? Or that you're a man. If they were saying that about another woman in the office, would you tolerate it? Oh, she works for Mr. Statten.. horizontally if you get my drift. Who or what you are isn't the issue, nor is your lack of office party dates! In fact, I bet if you wore a short skirt to the office and played that stupid Benny Hill music, they'd get the point.."     She stops herself there. "And you don't need someone to give you solutions, do you? I'm sorry. Occupational hazard. You work with lawyers with a strong sense of social justice and it rubs off sometimes."     The comment about dating the bosses gets an eye roll. "Quite the opposite, actually. I literally have a blind man for a boss. The rest, though? Oh, you have no idea. Try doing your job with no budget." Karen frowns. "Since we're being frank and all. Can we keep all this to ourselves, secretaries honour or some such?"
Warpath	He just sort of looks at her. "is that a thing?" He asks, then nods. "Of course." he offers her his big right hand to shake as if to seal it with a handshake. He nods at the blind thing though. "I grew up on a reservation. We had bad water. Lots of bad congenital birth defects. Some blind kids there. It was hard for them to get by. I am glad he can do function. That has to be trying though. He has to have things a certain way to navigate." He agrees quietly. "he needs a certain amount of quiet so he can have machines read and type for him, or do you have to type for him?" James appears to actually be a little on point over this.
Karen Page	James' hand is taken, Karen shaking it to seal the deal. Her grip is firm, but not too firm. No noticeable callouses or any other indication she's anything more than just a secretary, which would be the correct assumption. Her beer is lifted in toast to further seal the deal. "He does well enough for himself. Sometimes he's a cocky little bastard, though. I suppose he has a right to be. He's a very good lawyer. Both of them are. And I do most of the office work. He and Foggy have their own offices. Matt's got a reader, so I just take his dictation, or transcribe his notes directly. But I really meant I could be a rock for all he cared. Seriously, if it weren't for Foggy, I'd consider showing up in track pants and a t-shirt."     She smirks, because it's not really true. There would still be clients to dress up for. But her meaning might be clear.     "I grew up in Vermont." As though that explained a whole litany of evils right there.
Warpath	"Been there to ski." James says. "I attended a boarding school in Massachusetts. I won a scholarship. Miss Frost set that up. She also set up my college education." James says it simply. "Which is why I work for her. She has been very generous with me. It... does not help when the girls in the office start talking. they all know my background." he drains a large portion of his beer.     His hand is like iron though. calloused and strong. He lances at the card. "You dress up for Mr. Nelson?" he asks her quietly. His eyes actually take her back in. "Wear a shorter skirt. You hae nice legs." You cannot be Emma's secretary without learning how to dress.
Karen Page	Karen quirks a brow. "I'm not rightly dressing up for either of them. I'm dressing for the office. Not that there's anything wrong with Foggy. Actually, they're both nice. And both pretty oblivious. I think Foggy has a bit of a crush on your boss, to be honest."     Her beer is sipped at much slower rate than his is.     "So Ms. Frost has been working with the people on your reservation? That's interesting. Mind if I ask why?"
Warpath	"Charity." he answers. James doesn't bat an eye. "It was a public relations bit. Send the poor native boy off to school. She would have done more.. but an industrial accident pretty much killed everyone." His features darken. "You can google it. She... didn't have anything to do with it, but she did show up to comfort a teenage boy, and she held me while I cried." He drains his beer. He makes a face. "So, yeah. She's a good woman. He'll have no luck with her though. I don't think she feels the way about people the way you and I and other folks do."
Karen Page	Karen nods, looking sadly thoughtful. "I'm with the firm for similar reasons. They saved my life. I didn't have ties other places. I owed it to them, and they really do good work. So I'm not complaining, but sometimes it's hard."     "I'll have to guess you know your boss better than I do." She makes a mental note to look the incident up.
Warpath	"Cape Verde Reservation." James says. "If you go there now, mostly empty. Proudstar ranch is the biggest employer in the area with 7 employees." He pauses. "My ranch. She helped me grow my business. She sent me to Colombia university. three years I have my two degree. Agri business and anthropology." he pauses. "Okay the Anthropology major was kinda bullshit." He admits. "But the agribusiness? That is on point. So, I have that going on back home." He sighs. "But... I can't go back. No family. Nobody I knew growing up. The medical clinic detonated. Took out tons of people. Toxic release poisoned the others. Most folks killed themselves after they saw how they were going to die." He drains the other beer from start to finish.
Karen Page	Karen works hard not to look the horrified she feels inside, but some of it leaks out in her positioning. The line of her lips. How her eyes carry saddened notes to them. "I'm so sorry. That sounds.. But you know you make your own family, right?" It's not like she can really go home again. The peculiarities of her case making it dangerous, even if she wanted to return to that rural life. "How do you grow things there still if the area is still toxic, or is that gone now." All the while wondering if someone had paid for what had been done.
Warpath	"Frost Industries paid lawyers. The ground is clean. The water? Clean. Seems the medical facility there was not entirely on the up and up. Might have been causing the problems with its research." His sigh is soft, drawn out. "I had a family. Mom, dad, older brother, grand parents." James answers quietly. "Unless you are talking about a wife and kids..." he makes a face. "I want my family. Not a bunch of white folks who I am their token ethnic pal. I mean absolutely no offense, but that is what I am to a lot of people."
Karen Page	"I'm sorry," Karen says softly, offering a weak smile, "I didnt really mean it that way. So easy for me to say oh, just make a family. I suppose it's not that easy. And I wouldn't want to feel like that either, but surely there are others? Other indigenous people?"     To lighten the mood, she tries, "And we're not all that bad, we white people. Some of us are cheeky and cute. You could do worse." Clearly teasing him.
Warpath	"Drink more. I get better looking if you do." James flirts back. He adds, "No. Most of you are good, honest, hard working folks who do not understand how hard it is when you are not white." He doesn't lecture. "How could you understand that? Most of you are good folks and do not understand how it takes just one bad one to really make life hard?" He actually winks at her. "If you do not drink a little more, however are you going to fall for my wiles?" He teases her.
Karen Page	"Damned with faint praise!" Karen's smile is an easy thing, and she sips, but is in no hurry to finish her beer, barely halfway through it yet. "Women have it bad, but you're right. I have no idea what it's like to be you. No matter how I look at it, still generations of white privlege going on here, so I'm just going to say I'm sorry for those of us who are assholes."
Warpath	"I hate to call it that. But, you are right! Women get the same thing." He admits trying t e fair. "I mean. I catch myself doing it. Apache? We're binary. A part of me really thinks you should be at home." James admits it. "I am sure it impacts my decisions. That is why I do not blame anyone. We are all just flawed people muddling or way through this world."
Karen Page	"You and generations of rich white men. And I'm not lving my life to please them either. What are we but the sums of pur choices anyway. And I thought native cultures were supposed to be more egalitarian than that? Clearly I was misled." Karen doesn't sound upset about it, though. More observational than anything else.