Jack Of Arts

October 18, 2011 Thursday 10 a.m. Ironstone East Ouigab

"I see. Thank you very much." Tayaw was just talking to an employee of the US Embassy in Kangpan. He just received a notification of his passport finally receiving a visa stamp. He can now travel in and out of the United States. As long as the companies he invested are still in business and that he has at least 51% of the shares, he can renew his visa every two years. Happy with the news, Tayaw immediately made preparations.

He opened his laptop and looked for a freelance business lawyer to assist him with his investment matters. He chose to hire a freelance lawyer because he knows that freelance lawyers are more willing to do extra work outside their law practice unlike the lawyers belonging to those famous big law firms.

The name Alexandra Garcia caught his eyes. Alexandra, according to her online profile, for two years, worked as a contract lawyer a year each under two famous law firms before deciding to freelance. Deciding on her, he e-mailed his intentions of hiring her and enclosed a photo of his visa and the copy of DS-160 form that PinkApron prepared on his behalf, to assure Alexandra the legitimacy of his status.

It's still 5pm in New York so Alexandra responded promptly expressing her availability. Tayaw then made an international call to talk to her more spontaneously. He told Alexandra to start her meter on the 20th of October at 8AM, two hours prior to the time Tayaw wants to arrive on New York. He gave her that extra two hours because Tayaw asked her to pick him up.

After talking to Alexandra, Tayaw looked up the time difference between Teungeb and New York City and the flight time of a direct flight. He found out that Teungeb is 17 hours earlier than New York and a direct flight to New York from Kangpan will also take 15 - 17 hours. With this information in consideration, he booked an Air Teungeb flight that will depart on October 20th at 9AM which will arrive on New York on the same date and roughly the same time as the departure time.

Tayaw then contacted the people from PinkApron and Cognito and told them to prepare everything needed for his investment.

Finishing his important preparations, Tayaw drove to the city proper and looked for the best suit tailor in the city. Tayaw in his present life never needed a good formal suit. He doesn't need it now either but he at least wants to look respectable in front of the people from the companies he will invest in. Tayaw never liked wearing suits but unfortunately for him, it's still the early 2010s and wearing sports casual to business meetings hasn't caught up yet in the business world.

A few hours later, he walked out of the suit tailor's shop with five sets of well-fitting three piece suits made out of high quality wool. Tayaw almost refused the tailor's recommendation of getting a trench coat but after remembering that New York is getting cold this time of the year, he bought two just in case.

He moved on to look for a high end clothing store and bought five dress shirts, five neckties, five pairs dress socks, and five pairs of long wing brogues that would go great with his three piece suits. In addition to the clothes, he also bought a good quality leather wallet to match his formal attire.

He over-shopped because he realized that he looks very handsome in formal / business attire after his body and features were enhanced.

After buying the clothes, he wants to go all in so he went next to a store that sells vintage watches. From what Tayaw can remember, watches that has luminous hands and numbers made before the 1970s used radium, a radioactive element that has a glow in the dark property. To avoid radiation poisoning from a mere watch, he decided to buy a non-luminous vintage Rolex and had the strap replaced with full grain leather.

He still felt something was still lacking and thought for a moment before immediately shopping for a big set of suitcase and carry on, coated in leather, spacious enough to fit all the clothes and shoes he plans to bring with him. He also does not want to look funny by carrying the cheap duffle bag he's been using while wearing a three piece suit.

His last stop in the city is a barber shop. He decided to cut his long fade styled hair into shorter military style fade for a cleaner look. With his new haircut done, Tayaw had enough of spending for the day and headed back to Ironstone to pack his luggage.

OCTOBER 20, 2011 8:30 a.m. Thursday. La Guardia Airport, Queens, New York City

Tayaw finally arrived in the Land of the free and the home of the brave. The flight took shorter than he expected and he was left with a lot of time. Tayaw just alighted from the plane and picked up his luggage at the baggage claim. He then headed for the nearest airport lounge, a facility that offers some luxuries for first class passengers like Tayaw, and asked for a room.

While he can take a nap in the room provided to him, he opted not to as the first class treatment in the plane was comfortable enough for him to have plenty of rest and sleep, so he went for a shower instead. He also decided to change into a mocha colored three piece suit and everything that goes along with it.

Tayaw looked at himself through the full body mirror in the room. "Damn. I wanna take over some sh*t." Tayaw said to himself as he saw his reflection look like a rich and powerful young business man.

Looking at his vintage Rolex, Tayaw figured there's still a lot of time before Alexandra picks him up. He went to look for an AT&T store to buy a phone he can use during his stay in America. While purchasing his phone though, he noticed that the employee in the store seems to be charging a lot of extra. Tayaw would have spoken out but he realized he could afford a few dollars of extortion. The store is in an airport too. He would rather not spend his time and mood arguing.

It's already half-past nine so Tayaw gathered his luggage, wore a pair of aviators and walked out of the terminal and headed to the waiting area where he and Alexandra agreed to meet. He forgot one important thing however. Tayaw does not know what Alexandra looks like and he also covered the photo in his visa when he sent a photo of it to Alexandra, so Alexandra also might not know what Tayaw looks like either.

He didn't panic and looked around the waiting area to see if someone is holding a sign of his name. With his enhanced senses and brain's faster processing speed, it only took a second or two for Tayaw to spot a gorgeous Hispanic lady in a dark blue pantsuit, sitting on one of the waiting area's benches, holding up a sign with his name on it. He figured it's exactly Alexandra Garcia, his lawyer.

Tayaw did not approach immediately even though he saw that she's already looking at him. He walked past her while pretending to take a phone call. Behind his sunglasses, he saw with his peripheral vision that the lady's gazes follow him, but because she did not call out to him, he figured she did not know him as her client. After feeling that the lady looked back on the entrance, Tayaw looked at her directly for a simple assessment.

Tayaw is surprised at how young Alexandra is. He guessed that she is only in her mid-20s: basically a rookie in the legal world. He shook his head. He doesn't want to underestimate the lady as he doesn't like being underestimated either as a rookie even in his previous life. In addition, if everything in Alexandra's online profile is true, then she must at least be a competent lawyer. She managed to work as a contract lawyer for two famous law firms after all, despite not graduating from any of the best Law Schools in the United States.

He also could not help but appreciate Alexandra's physical features. She has straight dark hair and a sand beige complexion that is pleasant to look at. Her bright eyes, wide lips, and slightly upturned nose gave her heart-shaped face beautiful features. Wearing an intelligent expression, she lets out a strong and successful impression. Because she's wearing a well fitted pantsuit and white inner shirt under her blazer, Tayaw also noticed her lean but healthy figure adorned perfectly by her well-proportioned, not overly large 'assets'.

A minute later, he finally decided to approach Alexandra to introduce himself. "Good morning, Ms. Garcia." Tayaw said hello. Alexandra surprised at Tayaw appearing suddenly, dropped the sign she was holding up. "OH! Mr. Dagem? Hello. It was you all along." Alexandra said as she stood up, held her hand out for a hand shake. "Yes. Sorry, I missed your sign. It was me all along? We haven't met before, haven't we?" Tayaw asked as he took off his aviators and shook Alexandra's hand. He asked what she meant just to tease her; he already noticed that Alexandra was checking him out since he walked in the waiting area. "Well, no. I was just… Anyway, it's nothing. How was your flight?" Alexandra changed the topic quite forcefully, which amused Tayaw.

"Good. I'm well rested. Did you wait long?" Tayaw asked as he gestured to Alexandra to sit down. "I was here about half an hour ago." Alexandra replied. "I see. I forgot to ask for your cell number so I couldn't text you earlier. By the way, did you drive here?" Tayaw asked, hoping that he can start his matters immediately.

"Yes. Owning a car is a lot cheaper than riding cabs." Alexandra explained. "Good. Let's go." Tayaw said.

A few minutes later, Alexandra led Tayaw to her car in the parking lot. After stuffing his luggage in the trunk, Tayaw entered the car.

"Where do you want to go first?" Alexandra asked after Tayaw settled himself in the back seat. "How far is the hotel suite you booked from here? Let's drop off my luggage there first." Tayaw said. "We'll be there in half an hour." Alexandra replied.