Roxie entered Club Ember, alone. She was impressed, despite herself. It was a very... nice strip club. Better than everything she'd ever worked in. She wondered if the dancers were turning tricks in the back. She doubted it.

She headed back to the private room the stewardess-hostess-whatever-they-called-her-here directed her to, knocking on the door. She smoothed her jeans out, getting rid of imaginary wrinkles. She hated dealing with things like this.

Heathcliff heard the knock on the door and checked his watch. Thank goodness she's on time. He can't keep the private room reserved all damn night, he doesn't have Asa money. He needed to find a place he could receive Kindred business, and soon...he had been looking through his files for landlords with multiple complaints, that might be amenable to having their property put to the bottom of the inspection list. To be honest, he was spoilt for choice, but there were so many details in this sort of thing...

But the woman on the phone had sounded pretty, and her need urgent, and so...here he was, paying for a room without a stripper. Well, currently vacant of a stripper. If she had arrived five minutes prior, it would have been a different story. Heathcliff was again glad she hadn't, since he didn't feel he could pull of the Asa playboy look. Yet.

"Please come in," he calls through the frosted glass door. The room itself was as large as a bedroom, dimly lit, and featured three brightly colored loveseats. Heathcliff sits at the one facing the door, furthest back to the wall. Heathcliff wears his typical dull gray suit. The Prince had obviously considered the neonate's knack for going unnoticed when he gave him this responsibility, so Heathcliff felt no need to upgrade his wardrobe for the position, since it suited the task perfectly.

When Roxie entered, she didn't feel his beast. So the amazingly unpleasant sensation came from him. She didn't have a problem with Nosferatu in general, beyond the whole skin-crawly sensation thing. She was glad that she had dressed better than usual for the meeting, denim jeans and jacket instead of her prefered short skirts.

"Good evening Seneschal Staley, thank you for seeing me on such short notice." She repressed her visceral distaste the idea and extended her hand to shake his before sitting down.

Heathcliff took Roxie's hand and shook it, gauging the pressure he applied to match her own. His eyes made a speedy reconnoiter of her body to confirm his impression of her over the phone was correct. Heathcliff marveled at his kind's unerring instinct for Embracing the most beautiful women. This, in his opinion, meant that it was extremely likely the first vampire had been male. "Hello, Miss Hart." Then he gestures for her to take one of the open seats and, as pleasantly as his curse allows, asks, "How can I help you?" The clock is ticking, pretty lady...

Don't slap him, don't slap him, don't- He let her hand go.

Roxie took her seat, immediately disliking whatever material the seat was made of. She had no doubt that it was easy to clean, but it was slithery feeling. "Thank you. As I mentoned before, I have two things I wish to discuss with you. First, my acknowledgment in this Domain. I was Acknowledged by the former Seneschal, but a few nights later that she had been removed from the position." And it couldn't have happened to someone with nicer hair, she thought privately.

"Since I have not dealt with any other of our kind since then, I was not sure if my acknowledgment had been passed up the chain of responsibility."

Heathcliff nods. "I think it is entirely likely that your acknowledgment is official, but I can understand your concern. Have you been told the all the Laws of Sacramento, and do you feel you understand them fully?" The Nosferatu's eyes shut, and he begins to read questions off the form he had created in his mind's eye for the purpose of acknowledging new Kindred arrivals. "If so, then please let me know who your Family is, what Organization you work with, the city of your most recent residence and your reason for coming to our city. Then we can put any uncertainty regarding your status behind us, and we can discuss your second item of business," he explains, his face drawn into a tight little smile.

Roxie sighs. "Yes, and yes, Gangrel, unbound, Nomad since forever, I want to stop being a Nomad." Roxie hoped that was all and that she could move on, this acknowledgment crap was such a fucking chore.

Heathcliff disregards her sigh. Very few people find as much excitement in seeing every ‘i’ dotted, every ‘t’ crossed, as he does, though he feels she could try to contain her boredom with the process. Ah, well, he thinks to himself, at least she’s not boring to look at. "Good, good. Now, please tell me what's on your mind, Miss Hart."

"About the Court that is coming up. I have an Announcement that I wish to... uh, Announce." Stupid, stupid Gangrel! "I intend to announce that Father Benton Black of the Lancea Sanctum owes me a Blood Debt."

Heathcliff nods slowly, keeping his opaque, iris-less eyes on her face, despite the magnetic quality of certain other anatomical regions, relying on his seventeen years of marriage experience, and, when that begins to falter, willpower and the added focus from self-inflicted pain, by using his middle teeth to clamp down on insides of his cheeks.

So Father Black owes Miss Hart bigtime. And I still have to call on him...I mustn't wait too long, or I'm certain to hear from *mental shudder* Mother... As he ruminates on how this new information might create an advantage for him, he asks Roxie, "A debt? I see. May I ask how the Father came to be in your debt, Miss Hart?" he asks innocently.

Roxie, bites her lip in what could be, if she knew the word, vexation. "I... performed a service for him. Out of... respect for the man himself, I would really rather not..."
she looks for a proper word. "Expose the situation more than necessary unless he forces me to. If he contests the Debt, I will have to explain myself of course."

Heathcliff's little smile never changes, and he nods amiably. "Certainly, your attitude in this matter is honorable. I will see that you get to make your Announcement at the Meeting, Miss Hart. Is there anything else I can do for you this evening?"

"No, but again, I thank you for your time." She briefly considers adding some additional pleasantry like "I look forward to working with you in the future" or something similar, but she doesn't and even if she did, she wouldn't have ever said it. She gathers her legs underneath her, like she is ready to get up but doesn't want to look like she is running away from the Nosferatu.

Heathcliff doesn't get up. "Of course, Miss Hart. I'll see you at the Meeting then." So many, many things to do...

Roxie nods her head and leaves. After the doors close, she shivers, and decides to take a shower to clean the icky feeling off.

Heathcliff waits several minutes after Roxie leaves to exit the room, and with some reluctance. However, his wallet wasn’t up to the extended rental, and he had more pressing issues to deal with…