rpg_palace | palace_dom and <user site="livejournal.com" user="palacemiller" (Reply)

It's taken him a few days but Jonny's finally figured out his way around and so he decides it's time to tackle something else: meeting the people he's going to be working with. Shouldn't be too hard. So he wanders over to where he's heard people are working and knocks on it.

"Come in?" Wondering who would bother to knock on his door, Dom waits for his visitor with a slightly puzzled but welcoming face.

"Thanks, mate." Jonny smiles nervously as he walks in. "I'm Jonny Lee Miller. I'm new here."

"Well, hello there Jonny Lee. I'm Dominic, or Dom, or Dommie. I'm Sean's assistant which you may have known. Man, am I glad you found me. Harry told me you had started but I wasn't sure where they had stashed you. C'mon in, take a load off. Do ya want something to drink? I've got bottled water and soda here but I can ask the cafe to bring up tea or coffee."

Wow. And Jonny thought he talked fast. "Just Jonny," he says. "Or call me Miller. Easier for some people. I'm down a few halls and some doors. And, uh, if you have a coke? That'd be nice."

Dom jumps up and grabs the drink, a glass, and some ice, managing to turn down his stereo and put away a file all on the same trip. Might have had a little too much coffee today! "Do you mind if I call you Miller? Normally I don't like having to use last names but we've got like a hundred johns of some sort here. And no that's not a bad pun although it could have been." He smirks at Jonny as he hands him the drink.

Jonny grins. "Johns, yeah, get it. Right." He takes the drink and pops it open. "Thanks, Dom. Yeah, you can call me Miller. Lots of people do, like I said."

"So, are you getting settled in? Can I help you out with anything? Gods, has anyone even taken you on a tour?"

"Yeah, I got a tour." Bits and pieces and he'd put it all together later. The map had been very informative once he'd realized how to use it. "Just came over to meet you, say hello."

"Well, it's good to know we didn't totally abandon you. It's a little crazier than normal around here with the upcoming wedding, David Wenham's and Mads Mikkelsen's promotions, and of course more than the typical number of Royals running around." Dom pulled out a small stack of files. "These are just cheat sheets really. The files are all on central storage. But you can see some of the typical requests and events that have been associated with PR in the past. Frankly, they're pretty low key since we never had anyone with your expertise before. Harry was a smart wanker to hire you."

"Wedding?" Whose wedding? Jonny hadn't gotten any information about that. Promotions were not his concern, and he didn't know if there was any protocol for announcing them to the public. He didn't think so. It sounded like private business. "I could use a cheatsheet. Just of the last five or six years. Everything Palace has done, events, requests, anything so I know we're not repeating ourselves."

"Oh Gods, I'm blathering a mile a minute. Sorry 'bout that. Just a little wound up today." Dom took a deep breath and grinned at Jonny. "I only pulled stuff that's PR, like press release info, vidnews, pic requests. If you find anything in there, that you aren't responsible for handling just wing it back. Harry didn't exactly give me a lot of info. And I doubt you'll have to do any wedding stuff. Private and all. It's Prince Craig and David Wenham, Head of West Wing."

Jonny's smiling and nodding, leafing through the folder, and then he almost drops it. "Prince Craig? And the..." Ok. Calm down. You should have known about this, Jonny. Fuck, you might have, and it just hasn't sunk in. He presses his lips together and counts to ten backwards and in every language he knows. He opens his eyes and smiles brightly. "Ok, then. Not my department. Not my business."

Wondering at the response, Dom says "well, there's one matter I should ask you about. We seem to be having a problem with a spy who's been feeding a gossip hag named Sally. Sean's hoping you can counter any damage she might cause."

The change of subject is heartening. This kind of thing is his business. "Sally? Heard of her, but I didn't know she had a source. Do you have a print-out of everything she's written since it, uh, well, since it became obvious there was a spy?" Based on the information coming out, Jonny can try to triangulate the data and figure out what one person would have access to all this information, as well as the motive and opportunity to do it.

Dom grins to think that Sean will like hearing that Jonny is going to chase this down. "Yeah, let me get that for you. There hasn't been much but it's pretty serious. And we have some very sensitive things going on. Also, just so you know - Sally is #1 on Sean's Shit List, or close to it."

"Right. Makes sense." Anyone with the potential to embarrass people is someone with the potential to make many enemies in high places. "Is there any information she's spread that's actually illegal? I mean, that can be proved that it was obtained illegally?"

"Wow! I don't know that anyone looked at it that way before. I mean, I think we all have some type of confidentiality agreements we signed to work here, so if someone's talking, then it would be illegally right?"

"Yeah." Jonny shrugs. "I don't know all the laws, but I can start reading up on them. If you can prove it's illegal, I think she has to give her sources to cover her ass."

"Legal should be able to help you. They owe Sean a few favors right now. Call Bea down there and tell her you're working on a project for Sean. Believe me they will bend over to help you." Dom looks Jonny over. "Hey, I don't want to overwhelm you. If you want, we can just meet every few days, have lunch that kind of thing. I'd like to get to know you a bit better. I promise to show you the 'real' Palace, introduce you to the bartenders, stuff like that."

"That'd be nice," Jonny smiles. "Meet, touch base? I'd like that."

"I've been here 5 years so it's my home." Dom pauses and grins at Jonny again. "Course that means I know all the sexiest male and females in the building, so maybe over drinks the next time, you tell me what you like and I'll suggest a few names. You're on your own after that Miller."

"That's great." His smile aches up into a grin. "So, how did you find your way here?"

"Well, my Mum worked here with Sean. So, even though I didn't have a debt to pay off, I really always wanted to work here. And Sean will tell you he took pity on me, so here I am. What about you?"

"Grew up in a pleasure house myself. But I always wanted to work in Palace."

"Didn't Harry tell me something about that? Oh yeah, it was your Mum's place, I think? That must have been hard to leave her. Although my Mum would kill me if she knew half the stuff I've been up to lately, so it's a good thing I don't work with her! She excited for you?"

"Yeah, Mum's great." Jonny blushes as he remembers some of the things his mother warned him about Palace. 'You're going to fall in love with some expensive half-naked man and bankrupt yourself throwing yourself at him! So keep your dick in your pants unless you want to come home.' "It's in Balize, so I can visit when I want, and I talk to her. She taught me everything I know."

Curious to know the meaning of the blush, Dom smiles to hear Jonny and his Mum are close. "Seeing that she ran a pleasure house, that could make you a very popular man around here when the word gets out. I'm sure one of the servitors will be inviting you into bed in no time. When someone's free from clients, pretty much it's open game. Oh, there's a few in committed relationships but they'll tell you politely to bugger off so don't worry about it."

Jonny blushes harder. "Fuck, how did that come out? I meant administratively. Not sexually. At all. Fuck."

Dom giggles mischievously. "Sure, if you say so." He winks at Jonny enjoying the chance to tease him a little.

Jonny blushes scarlet. "No, I'm serious. I promise." He fumbles a little with the files in his hands. "Thought never crossed my mind."

There's a blush to rival Daisy's! "Oh Miller, I can see we're going to have to work on your teasing tolerance. If you haven't noticed yet, this office is filled with the snarkiest of wankers throughout the land. I think it's on the job description, actually. But I'll stop, seeing that you're a newbie and all - wouldn't want to scare you off. Harry would tear off my balls."

Jonny swallows. "Uh, thanks. I think." Personal note, he thinks, learn to take a joke. "Anything else I should know?"

"Well other 'must knows' should definitely involve liquor. I know you're still sorting out your office and such, but I wondered if you need an assistant? A friend of mine who's been working for her Dad's company, doing light PR work and general admin stuff, is looking. Sean and Harry have approved her for hiring but nothing specific's been slotted. Her info's here if you're interested. She's a smash up photographer by the way and she's visiting on Saturday so you could meet her if you're available." Dom holds up his hand, "but absolutely no pressure on you. There's always openings in admin type work."

"Uh, an assistant?" Jonny hadn't thought that far, but if it's someone else willing to wade through paperwork, he can't see how it would hurt. "Sure. I'd love to meet her. What's her name?"

"It's Keira, Keira Knightley. She's a great girl. Got lots of ideas and very creative. And she's very motivated to get to Palace. I think she's got like 5 years of service left."

"Right. I'll get in touch with her, then." Jonny smiles. "Thank you."

"Good. And thanks for coming round here to introduce yourself. Feel free to Com me or stop by anytime. You want to meet for drinks tomorrow night? Generally a group of us end up in the pub then. Hope you can come."

"Great, yeah, pub. I'll try to make it." Jonny gives him one last dazzling smile. "Thanks for everything, Dom."