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Jesse was quite proud of her latest creation, a small delicate glass orb the size of a golf ball in the center of which was suspended a geared and spring-wound gyroscope that was almost imperceptibly trembling with tension. It didn't have to look so pretty but she took quite a bit of pride in her work and this had been a special order after all. It had been an interesting enough little commission that she didn't mind it was for an anonymous buyer.

It had taken quite a bit of magic to make the little trinket, a lot of different vials from different areas of collection just to produce such a simple effect. It was based on a regular null bomb, those were easy enough for Jesse to make, but this one was more of a null mine. It had taken a lot of research, some sleepless nights, and quite a few trial and error attempts, but she'd pulled it off. This particular bomb wouldn't go off until it was either broken or first activated and then a mage touched it, or at least a proper non-null mage. In her own hands it was quite inert, not that she would have noticed its effects either way. End magic for several minutes in the area? She already did that just by existing.

Now all she had to do was go meet the client, show off her little bauble, and then collect quite the tidy payment. She carefully set it in its little velvet lined box and tucked that away in her coat pocket before heading out to Red Oak Park for her meeting. Once she arrived and had found a spot for her car she made sure she had a couple other trinkets and a trusty pocket knife at the ready and in easy reach. While she didn't think she was going to be robbed, she also didn't want to be defenseless while delivering such a valuable trinket to a stranger.

A quick check of the antique Elgin pocket watch she carried revealed she was early, and an additional peek at her phone (Jesse didn't care that she also had a clock there as well) showed no new messages from the unlabeled number. She walked over to a park bench and took a seat, lounging lazily with her legs cross and arms casually draped over the back of the park bench as she looked around and took in the scenery as she waited.

Gavin knew he should have set the meet up time to an hour later. But he didn’t, mostly because he wasn’t used to how Canada worked yet and he thought there would be enough time to rise and reach the location before the odd little workaholic. Given his age, he wasn’t as tied to the sun’s pattern so he did manage to wake early and enjoy a nice hot shower, dress, and pass Karl’s inspection for looking presentable while he was told the rules of the nights. He was Karl’s sire but it often felt like their roles were reversed with how much care and concern he was given. It was why he always humoured the German and promised he would try to be on his best behaviour that night. Honestly, it did help. Constant reminders did keep him from slipping and laying waste to a neighbourhood or two.

They—because of course Karl didn’t trust him to stay out of trouble—arrived shortly after the woman but at Gavin’s instruction, they watched her for several minutes. He didn’t want to risk some kind of set up, though his research showed Jesse Vance was what she claimed to be and wasn’t affiliated with anyone. It was a slim chance he would be in for a nasty surprise but he still allowed Karl to linger and watch his back as he finally emerged from the trees and made his way to the bench.

He quietly sat down beside the woman, waiting a handful of seconds before he angled himself so he could fall into a relaxed position as he smiled at her. “Good evening, Jesse. Your message said all is well?” He knew the area was clear and there wasn’t a need to speak in vague terms but it amused Gavin so he continued playing along. After all, if she did an excellent job on this project, then he would want to use her more regularly and keeping her in good spirits made everything a lot easier. He hated having to exert himself with using powers or intimidation.

After waiting for quite some time, Jesse had turned her attention to her phone to keep an eye out for any messages and also so that she could entertain herself with a puzzle game. After all, it was her own fault she was early, she could keep herself entertained while she waited. She was so engrossed in the progress of one of her puzzles though, hand tapping away at her phone as she worked on the nonogram, that she didn't even notice the man who sat down on the bench next to her until he said something.

She blinked, looking up at the stranger, at first confused that he knew her name before she remembered she was here to meet a client. "Ah, hello! Everything is indeed well," she said with a friendly smile of her own and a nod. Before she even twitched towards the pocket the box was in though, she tilted her head curiously. "And of course you have the agreed upon payment?" It was only after she said the words aloud that she realized she should probably look around and get a better feeling for her surroundings. There was some stern man standing at the edge of the tree line glaring at the two of them, but the fact that she could easy see him at all made her not that worried. There were no odd vans in the parking lot or on the street nearby to indicate a police presence, so that was good too. Not that she thought anything would happen to her. If anything all the mundane police would find were a few trinkets that easily just looked like collectible little desk trinkets or toys.

"Is spooky guy your body guard or something?" Jesse asked as she gestured towards where the man was standing. That was probably something she should consider getting for herself, she thought. After all, trinkets and baubles could only get her so far and one day she might not bring the right thing for the right person. She wasn't even sure what this client was other than probably not a mage since she could tell she wasn't draining any magic from him.

Had he really been all vampire-silent as he approached? He supposed he had been since he hadn't put any effort into making noise as he did love startling people. But if her gaze hadn't been glued to her phone, perhaps he would have been visually spotted if not heard. He also enjoyed a lot of the technological advances made over the centuries but they almost took away the joy of a good hunt with how distracted the prey had become. Oh well. Jesse was currently only humouring his curiosity, not satiating his hunger, though a quick appraising look of her showed she could hit a few hunger spots.

He grinned at her just asking about the money and then glancing around. Was she new at this whole sneaking around for shady deals? He really knew how to pick his associates. At least he refrained from laughing at the slip up. It really didn't matter to him. They could have met over dinner or at the mall and no one would have noticed their interaction if he didn't want them to. But then Jesse was gesturing toward where he left Karl. Gavin sighed and nodded, "you would think he'd be better at staying out of sight after all this time. He's adorable though, isn't he?" Gavin gave Karl a little finger wave and then turned back to Jesse.

"Anyway, of course I brought payment. Do you accept Visa? Mastercard?" He was teasing her as he pulled out his wallet before sliding it back in his pocket and going for the envelope of bills and casually setting it between them. He didn't sense anyone around still but sometimes discretion was fun--even if it was a little obvious they were exchanging goods. "Have you considered doing wire payments? Paypal? Venmo? You could even get a down payment that way." Was he going to have to give her business advice? It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe he should do one of those online courses. Something about sharing skills? He’d ask Karl to look into it for him later.

"I don't know if adorable is the word i would have thought, honestly," said Jesse as she glanced back over a the glowering man just looming in the distance. At least he was with the client and not just some creepy third party. She turned her attention back to her customer with a smile. "Sometimes I do, depending on the size of the purchase. Special orders and other large purchases I prefer to conduct as cash transactions though. It helps with my book keeping."

She had an entire system dedicated to her records and keeping track of payments in a way that didn't indicate their magical nature, but Jesse was sure that he wasn't interested in hearing about those boring details. And gladly he did seem to have the cash in hand. At the question of paypal and venmo though she couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh softly since she was sure he was teasing now. "I do also use paypal, but it can get a bit obnoxious after a certain purchase size. I'm not a luddite, sometimes cash is just handy."

But since he had set down his envelope, Jesse supposed it was her turn to produce her part of the bargain and she pulled out the small wooden box from her coat pocket and set it down next to the envelope on the seat. "It was certainly an interesting little build. I'll tell you how to properly activate it once you've decided it's up to your satisfaction and I've counted the money and tucked that away." It seemed straight forward enough little arrangement, and hopefully he wouldn't be bothered by that little bit of caution. It was her first time dealing with him after all. Hopefully he'd become a regular customer and they could have much more straightforward transactions.

Gavin nodded, satisfied with her rebuttal. It seemed she did know a thing or two about running her business and that eased his mind for potential contracts in the future. It was one thing to be good at producing the goods but another to be good at that along with properly marketing yourself and handling the financial side. He was even more impressed since it sounded like she did everything on her own and didn't have a handy dandy Karl of her own. Jesse was definitely not from the upper class of his era, that he could tell even without looking into her.

As she counted her cash, Gavin lifted the lid of the box and smiled at the little item. Trusting it wasn't a set up of some sort, he plucked it up between thumb and index finger and held it up to further inspect it. He assumed the intricate pattern was more functional and how it operated rather than for aesthetics but Gavin appreciated it all the same. So many crafters over the centuries only had functionality in mind and didn't take the extra step into artistry. Jesse was an artist and he could see the pride she took in her work. She was worth her asking price, perhaps more if it worked as intended and Gavin didn't doubt that it would.

"Exquisite work, Jesse. Did it end up as a single target or were you able to maintain the small radius requested?" He didn't need to wipe out an entire block but a room or two, or even his whole home if needed would be handy since invading mages always seemed to travel in packs. On the flipside of that, he had been known to invade their little covens--or whatever they called themselves nowadays--in the past when he was bored so perhaps that was more where he drew from for the idea that they were pack creatures.

It wasn't that Jesse didn't trust the stranger, it was just a matter of professionalism that she always counted money to confirm it was correct, and also to make sure all the bills were neatly face side up, everyone in alignment and facing the same way as was proper. Once she was done she returned every bill back into the envelope just in case her client wasn't satisfied for any particular reason.

She grinned a the praise he offered and gave her head a small bow. "Thank you. I was able to produce the radius of effect requested, perhaps a tiny bit larger. There are two methods to activation. The first merely requires breaking it. The second requires purposeful activation, you'll want to apply a gentle but firm squeeze twice to the poles then hold for three seconds, it will glow briefly to indicate it's ready. After that it will go off once your generic mage touches it. It can be disarmed in the same fashion if you need."

Jesse grinned at that, she was quite proud of the little activation method she'd managed to get into the device. It was simple, discreet, and didn't involve any odd looking glyphs or buttons that would encourage people to fiddle with it and arm it on accident. In fact she liked to think that the clean lines wouldn't encourage anyone to just fiddle with it, except perhaps a curious child but for some reason this man didn't strike her as the sort to have a bunch of children around. She really should get his name. She pulled out a small notebook and pen from her coat's breast pocket. "Oh, and I'm sorry for not asking sooner, but what is your name?"

Gavin nodded in understanding as Jesse explained how to use the item. It was absolutely perfect—at least in design. He wouldn’t know about how well it worked until it was used and he hadn’t planned on needing it right away. Just a nice item to have on standby. He gave it one last appraising look and set it back in the box and debated tossing it off for Karl to catch but his friend always hated when he did such things to him. Besides, they had a lovely new friend to consider and Gavin didn’t want to scare her away. So he pocketed the box for the time being. Karl could carry it later.

As she asked for his name, Gavin gave her a wide grin. “I wouldn’t have given it if you asked sooner.” He wanted to see the woman’s work first and see what she was like in person before committing to anything, and that included giving a name. But he was pleased with everything thus far and felt she would be good to have on his payroll in some form. Once more he was pulling out his wallet but this time it was to remove a business card. The wallet was tucked away and the card presented to Jesse between two fingers to save her from jotting down notes. “Gavin Piers. This is the number we’ll keep in touch with from now on as I would like to commission you for a few more of these once this one has been tested properly and perhaps another unique idea or two.”

They had settled into a house not too long ago and while they did have means of protection already in place, Gavin had some creative ideas he wanted to see if Jesse could make reality. But those discussions could wait. He wanted to think about the details a bit more but also ensure she was back in top form in case this project had worn her out. He pulled out his silver Gotham pocket watch that was deceptively minimalistic on the outside as all the intricate details was hidden within. It was what he often selected from his collection when he was dressed down for more casual affairs. A check of the time had him nodding before standing as he tucked it away.

“I’ll be in touch. It’s been an absolute pleasure, Jesse.”

One more pleased customer to add to the books, and a job well done. Jesse smiled, delighted with how the exchange had gone as she reached out and plucked the card from Gavin's fingers. After a quick glance at it she tucked it into the same envelope as the money and then tucked that away in her breast pocket. "Well it was a pleasure to meet you, Gavin. I'll wait for you to get back to me after you've completed your tests, just in case you wish to change any of the parameters. And I look forward to any unique requests." She was especially excited for more custom orders since they made for such a great little puzzle to solve.

Jesse couldn't help but spot the pocket watch he pulled out, eyeing it curiously while she had the chance before it was tucked away. "Nice watch," she said as she also stood and gave a small stretch. "If you ever need it repaired let me know. I restore and service antique watches on the side." Really since that was the bulk of her legitimate business she shouldn't think of it as a side hustle. She gave a quick flash of her own pocket watch at that, showing off the pristine enamel finish on the watch face before glancing at the time as well and tucking it back away.

"You have my number, Gavin, I look forward to hearing from you." A grunt from his bodyguard lurking at the edge of the woods caught Jesse's attention and she gave him a wave as well. "You two have fun. Maybe we can do lunch sometime."