Seven Districts: Old Temple

[DUEL Rory Laurent]

Rory glanced down at the slip of paper in her hands and then back up to consult the address on the sign. They matched. Rory remained fixed in place in utter disbelief. “Oh, my Lord,” she murmured softly.

Old Temple was known for its spectacular churches and the stone cathedral overlooking Morehead Street certainly did not disappoint. The building was the former home of the Morning Glory Ministry which had been a thriving center of worship a decade before. The head pastor, a charming man named Benjamin Stewart, led rousing prayers, gave stirring sermons, and raised a sizable amount of money for the Glory’s missionary work. Unfortunately, a local investigative reporter discovered that the Glory’s “missionary” fund was actually a slush fund that Pastor Stewart used to live the life of a wealthy playboy. The ministry immediately crashed and Stewart was run out of town by the very people he swindled.

However, Rory’s shock had nothing to do with the building’s history or it’s grandiose design. Instead, she was shocked that the friend she was here to meet had ever stepped into a church much less owned one.

Rory’s gaze soaked in the building’s grand architecture as she stepped through the gate and up the path towards the stairs. Many of the cathedral’s priceless stain glass windows had been broken by thoughtless vandals. The structure was immense with a beautiful bell tower which seemed to scrap the bottom of the clouds. The great wooden double doors of the building had been thrown open and Rory quietly stepped inward. Rich, historic tapestries hung from the wall as Pastor Stewart had been a grand religious art afficionado. Pews lined the church, leaving several aisles clear for foot traffic. A balcony loomed overhead with enough room to fit a forty person chorus.

“What a stunning sight for sore eyes,” a clear voice from the front of her church drew her from the examination of the building. G’nort Dragoon-Talandor stepped down the stairs of the altar and approached Rory. She, of course, was not the first woman to get buttery whenever he leveled his daring green eyes her way. However, Rory prized herself as being one of the few female patrons of the Arena that G’nort had not bedded. Yet that was in large part due to one being in a relationship whenever the other was single and interested.

Rory flashed a playful smile. Although if asked she would vehemently deny that she had dressed differently this morning, she was in fact baring a bit more skin than usual. Rather than cargo pants, jeans, or sweats, Rory was wearing a pair of crisp black dress pants which sat low on her hips and a soft white midriff-baring sweater. “The infamous G’nort in a church? Perhaps I should keep my distance in case you’re struck down by a sudden bolt of lightening,” she teased lightly.

G’nort’s smile widened. She doubted there was much he found sexier than a woman whose wit could keep up with his own. “You, Ms. Laurent, have no room to talk,” he answered back in the same tone.

“Then I hope God can pass up the two-for-one shot,” she replied as her gaze once again took in the magnificent architecture. “So... you’re willing to sell this place?”

Business. Despite G’nort’s flirtatiously entertaining reputation, he could get serious. However, the number of issues which induced seriousness were quite few. On that short list, business came in a clear first. G’nort had made himself a comfortable fortune by being enterprising and creative. As Rory questioned him, he sobered immediately and slipped his hands into his pockets.

Nobody had wanted anything to do with this property after the scandal so G’nort had scooped it up at a considerable discount. Now he was hoping to turn over a sizable profit. How much of a profit depended largely on how Rory worked her end of it. “I don’t know. It will be hard to part with,” he said wistfully.

“Oh, really?” Rory asked spinning her pale blue eyes his way. From the impish twinkle in the look, he could tell that negotiating was all a gigantic game to his sugar-high friend.

“But perhaps I might be willing to if the price were right,” G’nort mused after Rory shifted the majority of her weight to one foot and hooked her thumbs through her belt loops. As a rocker constantly on the cusp of real fame, she had been the subject of enough photo shoots to know which pose men found her the most alluring in.

Rory’s gaze lingered on G’nort. He was impeccably dressed with a wide charming smile and a mischievous air. However, Rory had always had a feeling that this playboy reputation did not permeate beyond the first layer of his personality. For if there ever was a man of many layers, it was G’nort Dragoon-Talandor. No, the man-about-town lifestyle wasn’t all there was to this man. He had a deeper core; a core which valued friendship, loyalty, and history.

Perhaps that’s why G’nort had purchased this piece of property. He and the grandiose cathedral were similar in a way. Despite gossip-producing pasts, both he and the property had a richer, deeper, more meaningful layer waiting for the right person to peel open.

“I’m sure we can work something out,” Rory teased, giving a coquettish wink.

G’nort finally gave up his act, chuckling at the wink. “I’m sure we can as well,” he replied with a nod.

Rory grinned brightly and brushed her palms off on one another as if just completing a load of hard, dirty work. “Well, that’s it then. This church makes seven.”