Expansion

[Joza Perl]

Given that her recent condition kept her far away from the frontlines (though it didn’t necessarily stop her from getting into trouble), Joza had a bit more time than usual to put into Heartbeat House. Specifically, expansion of her dance studio into different avenues. She’d recently had an impromptu meeting with a masked Hellyni man and his more personable female associate in her studio on Lianna, the pair representing Cerberus Enterprises. After some conversing, she’d discovered that they desired her blood—Zeltron blood. Zeltron blood from which her pheromones could be extracted from. Apparently, her unborn child’s connection to the Dark Side via the paternal half—and probably a bit of the maternal side as well—made it that much more potent.

The idea had made her uneasy. Even if her baby was not directly involved, it worried her on some level she hadn’t been exposed to before. Was it an early sign of a mother’s protectiveness over her child? The thought made her squirm with uncertainty. But she’d been pacified enough in the end to agree to their terms. They were generous, after all—her pheromones would be imbued into clothing that would give the wearer a Zeltron-esque allure, and the clothes would be her own to do with as she pleased. Naturally, Cerberus Enterprises would get their cut of the profits, but the distribution rights would exclusively belong to Joza Perl.

Thus, an idea was born—if her pheromones could be applied to clothing, then why not cosmetics and other body products? It couldn’t be insanely difficult—she’d managed to imbue hair pins for her dancers via the Force, though it was not anything grandiose. But their hair would be kept neat and stylish during performances, which was important in their line of work.

“Miss Perl? I’m Kukul Ban.”

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza looked up from her drink, plain ice water in a delicate glass. Standing to her side was a neatly dressed woman with tanned skin, dark hair and a girlish smile. One could tell from first glance that Kukul was not an exquisite type who enjoyed finery—but rather she was more laid back with a natural sort of beauty about her. Joza wasted no time in subtly eyeing the woman up and down; usually she would be more overt in doing so, but this was a business deal, after all. At least, she hoped it would be.

“Oh, Miss Ban! It’s good to finally meet you in person. Please, call me Joza.” The Zeltron smiled and stood to take the other woman’s hand, giving it a firm shake before gesturing to the chair placed the opposite of her own at the small round table. The pair were meeting at a small café in downtown Lianna City. Joza had arrived early to procure one of their outdoor tables—the inside of the restaurant was fine, but a bit stuffy. It was a beautiful day after all and it would be a waste not to enjoy it. “Please, sit.”

As both women made themselves comfortable, Joza passed a menu over to Kukul and sat back in her seat. “How was your trip, Miss Ban? Did you find the place alright? I got lost the first time I tried finding Impresso Espresso.” She had to laugh a little at the name of their meeting place. They made good coffee, though Joza was more privy to the economical canisters filled with ground beans she got at CostMo’.

“I did! Almost managed to get lost thought. Downtown can get a bit confusing with its one-way streets and all that. And call me Kukul, if you’d like.” The dark haired woman flashed Joza a dazzling smile before glancing down at the menu. Her pink companion seemed less interested in it, having had the time to read through it a bit beforehand.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Can I get you ladies anything?” Joza turned towards the waiter and tapped the menu. “A garden salad, please. And could you bring more water? Thank you.” The waiter—a young man in his teens—nodded idly why jotting something down on his datapad. “I’ll have the same, and a small cup of stimcaf, please.” Kukul looked up from her menu, folding it and handing it back to the waiter who wandered away to fill their orders.

“Alright then, Kukul.” Joza took a sip of her water, placing it down with a little refreshed gasp. “I hear that you’re looking for a buyer for Naturalius?” Her tone was light and pleasant, and all together non-intrusive. This was supposed to be pleasant meeting, and Kukul seemed like a pleasant woman.

Naturalius was a small local company that produced soaps, lotions, serums—items that had to do with body care. The company itself had never really gotten off the ground and was failing to the point where Kukul decided to cut her losses and sell it to a willing buyer. She’d found one in Joza Perl, who was slowly becoming a more ambitious businesswoman.

“I am.” Kukul nodded, smoothing her mane of dark hair to one side. “I own a chain of restaurants on the continent. I’ve always had an interest in cosmetics and the like, but I just couldn’t seem to make Naturalius work. I suppose I just don’t have that touch that I have in the food industry.” She gave Joza a self-depreciating smile as a waiter meandered over to the pair of women.

 

[Joza Perl]

“I’m sorry to hear that things aren’t working out, Kukul. But I am interested in procuring your company. And visiting one of your restaurants, in the future.” Joza gave her a pleasant smile, both hands curled around her glass of water.

“I’d love to host you, Joza. And I certainly hope that you do better with Naturalius than I did! Can I ask, out of curiosity, why you’re looking into the cosmetic industry?” Kukul twirled a hand in her hair, smiling in thanks at the waiter when he returned with their orders—two salads, a cup of stimcaf and a pitcher of water.

“Mm,” Joza paused after another sip of water, swirling the glass and listening to the ice clink against eachother. She too smiled at the waiter when he returned, but her focus was quickly drawn back into their conversation. “I own a dance studio, Heartbeat House, and I’ve been working in the entertainment industry for quite some time now. I’d like to try my hand at producing lotions, balms and the like—I have plans to open up a boutique that sells a line of clothes under the Heartbeat label, and I thought that I’d expand into body works and the like.” Picking at her salad, Joza had to hide a grimace. It wasn’t gross by any means, but she was feeling a mild wave of nausea that made nearly everything unappetizing right now.

“Well, I’m certain that you might be better suited than a foodie like myself.” Kukul smiled politely. “Just to inform you, it’s a tiny company. One store, and it’s rather small. We can go for a visit after we’ve finished here, if you’d like?”

“Of course! I’d love to see it.” Joza swallowed a bit too thickly, suddenly feeling like gagging if she so much as looked at the salad. Still, she wasn’t feeling too bad—excited even at the prospect of seeing what she was potentially about to buy.

 

[Joza Perl]

The women spent some time chatting and eating—or in Joza’s case, not eating—before paying and heading on their way to the Naturalius store a few blocks away. The Zeltron had picked up the check, insisting that it was her treat considering that she was the one who called for the meeting in the first place.

The pair made their way to a small shop, sandwiched between another café and what appeared to be an electronics store. Kukul unlocked the door and led Joza inside. “Closed for repairs right now. We’ve been having issues with heating, but that will all be fixed by the time our deal is closed, if you’re still interested. On my dime.” Offering a smile, the tanned woman ushered Joza around the storefront. “We’ve got some soaps, lotions and fragrances on display here. Come on in to the back…” Holding the door to the back room open, Joza was greeted with a more sterile, clinical atmosphere.

There were several large industrial stoves, heat proof containers, cabinets of supplies and chemicals used for producing their products. “This is where we make pretty much everything. I can give you the contact information for my suppliers. Wax, oils and the like. Most of my employees work in production as well as sales, though we do have a chemist that works exclusively behind the scenes to ensure that our products are safe.” A pause, and Kukul gave Joza a thoughtful look. “Will you be keeping the staff as well?”

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza’s eyes roved over the equipment in the back room. It was a fairly small space, and she couldn’t imagine there being more than 10 employees here. “How many do you have working here now?”

“Four full time, another three part time. Like I said,” Kukul shrugged with a little smile. “Small.”

Seven total. That wasn't too bad. And provided they knew their stuff, Joza wouldn't need to hire any extra help. She could do with a few more sales people though, depending on how well her future boutiques did.

“Mm. I think I could do that.” Joza gave a light nod, her mind drifting towards the future of Heartbeat Boutique. She’d already purchased the building space above the current Heartbeat House and was working on getting it remodeled as well as the proper licensing for retail. Her gaze shifted over toward Kukul. “I’ll need experts, after all.”

Retrieving a datapad from her purse, Joza tapped hastily at the device in several places before showing the screen to Kukul. “Is this amount agreeable?” Kukul glanced at the screen and after a moment, nodded. “So it’s a deal then?”

Joza grinned and pressed the transfer button. “Deal. Pleasure doing business with you, Miss Ban.”

 

[Joza Perl]

Kukul smiled, seemingly a bit relieved but also a little unsure as to whether or not she’d made the right decision. Her little business hadn’t been making money, but was there a way to save it that she hadn’t been thinking of? It was common to experience regret and uncertainty after such a transaction, but Kukul wasn’t about to back out on the deal. Instead, she looked over to the Zeltron tapping away on her datapad. She seemed nice enough, so there wasn’t much to worry about. Unless she was one of those vicious mogul types who sucked up small businesses in order to swell her own organization’s growth. Then again, she hadn’t asked before, so…

“You run a dance studio, right? How did you get it started, if I may ask?” Kukul’s voice was polite and curious as she gently prodded the other woman.

The question was a bit unexpected, but not unwelcome. Joza looked up from her datapad and cocked her head to the side, putting thoughts of credits and forms aside for the time being.

“Well since you asked…” She drawled, tucking the datapad under the crook of her arm as a slow smile spread across her face. “I’m a dancer by profession. I thought it would be fun to teach and make a few credits on the side, so I bought a little space and had a small studio. I guess Zeltrons have a stronger off-world reputation than I’d imagined, but I had to move to a bigger location after a few months.” Her smile stretched into a grin. “I ended up having to expand operations. Hired on a few more instructors and added different classes. It’s a lot of fun, but a lot of work, too.”

Shifting on her feet, she idly smoothed the fabric of her skirt. “How did you get into the restaurant business, Miss Ban?”

 

[Joza Perl]

Kukul nodded slowly. Perhaps the Zeltron had sensed her unease given that they were known to have such talents, but Joza’s words eased her mind a bit. She had nothing against the other woman, but wanted to know that she was leaving her little shop in the right hands.

As Joza turned the question back to her, it was Kukul’s turn to smile fondly. “I met my fiancée in culinary school. We actually hated each other at first and developed sort of a rivalry, but somehow…well, we ended up together.”

Chuckling softly at some untold memory, Kukul leaned back against one of the counters, palms braced behind her. “We decided to open up a restaurant. The Line. Not really a mom & pop sort of place, but not a luxury eatery either. The first location in Lianna City ended up doing well, so we expanded into Anxarta and Lola Curich. We’ve got plans for Sky City, as well.” A slow grin crept across Kukul’s face. “You’ll have to visit some time.”

A comfortable silence settled between the two for a few moments before Kukul piped up again.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Would you like to try a few samples? Maybe you have an idea for some products you’d like to make already?” Turning towards one of the display cases, she pulled out a jar of pastel purple cream.

“Of course.” Joza stepped closer to inspect the product. Her lips tightened into a thoughtful look a she considered telling Kukul her plans of creating a pheromone infused lotion. It’s not as if she didn’t trust Kukul, but she was hardly an old friend and Joza was admittedly a bit paranoid over patents and all that. She also didn’t want to go through the motions of explaining how the pheromone infusion happened, given that she had her own issues with the process. She would keep those thoughts to herself for now.

 

[Joza Perl]

“This one’s base scent is lavender. It has notes of sandalwood, rose and a bit of spearmint in it too. We’ve got a little stock of essential oils and extracts here, but you’d have to order some of the less basic scents specially.” Kukul opened the jar and held it up, allowing the gentle scent of the lotion to permeated the air between the two women. “Go ahead, feel free to try some.” She held out a wooden tester stick with a flat edge to Joza. It was more sanitary than having customers dip their fingers in the jar themselves.

Taking the stick, Joza retrieved a small amount of lotion and spread it on the inner corner of her wrist where one would normally spritz perfume. “It smells nice. Sort of calming.” She complimented, finding it a bit awkward to comment on the scent of a hand cream but spread it along her hands nonetheless.

“This one’s my favorite. Passion flower and vanilla with hints of cinnamon and cloves.” Taking another, smaller jar out from behind the counter, Kukul opened that and brought the jar up towards her face, inhaling deeply before passing it to Joza. Taking the jar, Joza briefly mused on how this was vaguely similar to a private party she’d been to on Nar Shaddaa. Nevertheless, she breathed in the warm scent and decided that she liked it better than the previous lotion.

“Oh. That is nice.” She complimented with a nod. “What’s it called?”

“Passionate Nights.” Kukul responded without missing a beat. “It was one of our best sellers. Which…isn’t saying much, but it’s still a fan favorite.” She chuckled a bit awkwardly. “I can put some in a sample jar for you if you’d like.”

“I’d like that, thank you.” Joza smiled politely, watching idly as the woman spooned some of the lotion into a smaller container.

“So,” Kukul began. “How far along are you?”

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza paused and an uneasy silence spread between the two women.

“I’m sorry, what?” She hesitated. “I’m just fat.”

“Oh.” Kukul looked apologetic, but unconvinced. “I’m sorry, it’s just…you’re skinny, but…oh gosh, I’m really sorry! I didn’t meant to imply anything.” Backpedaling, she flushed in embarrassment and gave Joza a genuine look of regret.

Even though she’d been caught off guard and decided to have a little fun, the Zeltron immediately felt bad for embarrassing Kukul. She wasn’t even entirely sure why she denied it—usually her people skills were on point.

“No, please, don’t. Ah, I was only teasing. I’m about thirteen weeks.” She placed a hand over the slope of her baby bump. Still small, but the tight clothing she wore helped it to stick out against her wiry frame.

“Oh. Oh, thank God.” Kukul’s look of concern melted into a shade of relief as she continued to prepare the sample jar. “I’m sorry. I’ve got a daughter of my own. She’s 18 months. So I’ve been through it all before. Morning sickness still getting you down?” She glanced over at the Zeltron, having remembered the way she picked at her salad earlier.

“Yeah. A little bit, yeah. It’s not as bad as it was before.” Joza laughed an awkward little laugh. “A month ago it was like..yeesh, you know? Now it’s not as bad.”

“I’m sure. Glad to hear it, Miss Joza.” Capping the bottle tightly, she held it out to the pink tinted woman who slipped it into her purse. “Alright then. I’ll send you the paperwork so that you can sign for ownership electronically. Take care, alright?” She smiled, mentally going over the deeds and licensure links she’d have to provide the Zeltron with.

“Sounds good. You’ve got my contact info, right? Good. Thanks again, Miss Ban. I’ll see you around.”