Lunch breaks were without a doubt the most enjoyable moments of Larry's day. All his employees took a thirty minute break to eat, talk or whatever they did in their free time. Sometimes Larry stayed behind to talk to his employees, to hit on Deborah, or to make some weird gambles with them. On the rare days he felt like it, he would visit his brother and actually said a nice word or two about the advertisments he made. A little praise every now and then was always beneficial! But he also had to think about himself, didn't he? Larry loved his work. Sitting in his leather chair behind his big desk, filling out all kinds of forms, it was amazing. He only had to move the muscles in his hand - and in his brain, not to forget - to complete his work. It was heaven. Yes, this was what he had worked so hard for all these years. To be the president of his father's company.

But one thing Larry loved more than bossing people around, was food. He allowed himself multiple snack breaks at work and went out for dinner approximately 5 times a week. He liked to eat good, to eat a lot. Food was like a hobby to him. At least, acquiring food, not making it. And that was why Larry had decided to venture outside during this break, to purchase some new sandwich they would be sold in his favourite store. Hmm, he was already looking forward to it! Apparently, the new sandwich consisted of spiced chicken, lettuce and bacon, with a mystery dressing. It seemed to be very hard to describe the taste of the dressing, which attracted curious buyers. Larry was definitely one of them.

However, he was stopped in his tracks on the way there. Just when Larry had lighted his cigar, a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him in front of a camera. For a moment, he looked puzzled, but as soon as he realized he was on TV, he plastered a smile all over his face. He didn't mind a bit of publicity. 'Could you repeat the question, doll?' he asked the woman with the microphone. At the same time, he showed one of his simply dazzling smiles at the camera. Yes, Larry was absolutely made for the spotlight.
While the woman was struggling to comprehend why Larry had suddenly appeared in sight, he looked at his mystery abductor. It only took Larry a second to recognize the man. 'Ah, Mr. Peak!' Yes, of course he knew his family. Even though Larry wasn't closely related to the Peaks in the least, he took great pride in his descendence from roughly the same family tree as the President and the Game Master of Panem. He doubted they even really knew him, but it was not like he cared about that. He was family and that was more than enough. 'How nice to meet you here! I bet the public is very curious about the Arena,' Larry said. Smooth. So smooth. In the mean time, he tried to pay attention to the woman. Had she asked the question yet or was that just never going to happen?

Normally, it would greatly disturb Larry to be interrupted during his lunch time, but now his oh-so-closely-related-family-member had dragged him in front of a camera, he couldn't think of any reason why he would be feeling sad. Hopefully he could mention the name of his company a few times, advertise a little. That would work better than any of the advertisements his lousy brother, Patrick, made.
That aside, Larry faced Tyrell, ignoring that the man probably wouldn't know him. Because of course the Peaks knew about him! Larry liked to think there were other things beside his weight that made people remember his face. So his smile was turned to "maximum charisma" as he shot another look at the woman who was interviewing them, before realising that there wasn't going to be a lot coming out of her mouth.

Attention back to Tyrell. The man agreed with his earlier statement - that was good - and the camera team decided this was a very good development in the current situation. They moved back, tried to catch everything that happened. How cute. It made Larry want to ask Tyrell a totally different question, just so he could play a little game of waiting with the journalist. But that chance had quickly passed. The conversation went on.
Tyrell shot a remark right back and Larry nodded, deciding this was the perfect moment. 'Yes, of course! Just as curious as all of my employees at Plastic Perfection,' he said, shooting a quick smile to his invisible public. They knew about his company, they just needed a little reminder that their faces wouldn't be looking any younger tomorrow. They just had to come for quick and easy maintenance. He would bet that a few ladies had run to the mirror now and were checking for any wrinkles. Maybe a few of them were calling Deborah already. Or no, they would of course wait for this thrilling conversation to be over. And thén, undoubtedly, they would call for an appointment.

The next question of the journalist wasn't a hard one. Larry didn't even wait for Tyrell to answer. 'As a matter of fact, we do!' Larry laughed, heartily. 'We are family!' He let that sink in, because it was the most prestigious detail in his whole life. He was very proud of this little fact. 'Not directly of course,' he then clarified, waving his hand and laughing to the journalist as if she had said something very funny. 'But we are most certainly related,' Larry smiled. He also shot a smile at Tyrell. No matter how fake the smile, it was always better than a frown.
Then Larry decided that the precise detail of how much he was related to the Peaks didn't really matter all that much, no, not at all, and that he could better return to the question at hand. 'So, Mr. Peak, can you give us any exciting hints about the Arena?' The journalist seemed to agree with this course of the conversation as she inched closer, nodding but not saying anything. Journalists. Always hungry for every irrelevant detail they could get their hands on. Larry wanted to shake his head, but he kept his composure. He had an impression to make and to maintain.

OOC: Sorry for the long wait! Hopelijk kan je er wat mee, ook al zijn de Spelen al begonnen o: Larry gaat voor dat familie diner man~

Larry didn't hesitate and directly told the charming woman next to the camera that yes, OF COURSE he knew Tyrell Peak. That in fact, he also had the right to claim he knew Cecilia Peak, since they were all related. One happy little family. He decided to leave out the tedious facts that he had never really spoken to either of the Peaks in person, or that they had never even been in the same room before. Also, the little matter of how much he was in fact related to them was not really important. Luckily, neither Tyrell or the woman asked him about that. They'd only get an evasive answer, of course. Larry was no stranger to talking his way out of things. Still, he sincerly hoped it wouldn't come to that. He was enjoying the shocked stares of his companions too much for that.

His change of subject worked and Tyrell decided to go along with it. Well, Larry concluded, apparently it was in their genes, to evade important questions. Tyrell made very clear that he had all the information but wouldn't give any of it up. Shame, shame, but he hadn't expected anything else. Furthermore, there wouldn't really be any thrill in watching the Tributes get transported into the Arena when you already knew where they would get stuck, right? Larry grinned when Tyrell reminded him it wasn't very likely that he'd give any answer in front of a camera. True, very true, but Larry was a gambling man. And he'd even take his chances when the odds were low. So he just nodded at Tyrell. 'Still, it never hurts to try!' From his mouth, these words sounded less like the encouraging statement they were probably meant to be and more like a slogan for rich people with too much time on their hands. It fit him exactly. Try it, because what else are you going to do with your time? Larry thought he knew the answer to that.

His attention drawn to Tyrell once again when he asked for his name. It was a good thing Tyrell instantaneously solved the problem Larry had been facing; if they were family, why didn't the good Mister Peak recognise him? Well, because it had been so long since they last met. Thank you very much, my good sir. Larry firmly believed that Lady Luck was looking out for him. 'Ah, that is completely understandable,' he told Tyrell, ignoring the camera now. He had already announced his company on television, now it was a better idea to show all people watching how well he got along with Mister Peak. At least it was something to brag about at his next dinner party. Also, this was one firm step closer to meeting the other Peak. They were like a pair; most valuable when you had both. If Larry played his cards right, he might even get somewhat closer to those two.

For a moment Larry considered not telling his name at all, but he figured that Tyrell could easily find out after he escaped from this whole scene. 'I am Larry Bauer,' he said, with a confident smile. 'You are completely right though, that it has been too long since we spoke. Perhaps we should fix that. When is the next of your outstanding parties? I'd love to attend. Or maybe it is time for another family dinner?' It didn't bother Larry at all that all of his words were plain lies. He had never attended any party hosted by the Peaks, he had never been invited, he doubted they even had family dinners. But why should he care? This conversation was directly influenced by the presence of the camera and as long as Larry could use that to his advantage, he had the upperhand in this conversation. Not that he knew exactly what he was trying to achieve, but any chance to be shown as close to the leaders of the country was no bad thing for your popularity. All these happy thoughts kept Larry's smile on his face. 'Why, I could invite you over for lunch or dinner some time, Mister Peak,' Larry concluded. Now it was time to observe and see what steps should be taken next..

Larry did not feel any remorse, or guilt, that he was just lying in front of the cameras. What did they know? As long as Mr. Peak was entertained, he was unlikely to stop the charade. And if he did, oh well, then it was a game well played and well lost. Larry wasn't exactly the 'poor loser' type. He took it with a smile and a promise to defeat the other next time. Because what was life without its challenges? Larry just loved it. And that's why he was lying, plain and simple, to anyone watching the tv. His relatives and his employees knew none of this was really true, but what could they do? Poor, helpless, stupid at that. No, he was safe where he was. As safe as a gambling man could ever be.

It pleased Larry that Mr. Peak had not directly walked away. Okay, there was a camera, but he had captured Mr. Peaks attention long enough to get the media attention he wanted. Oh, and the tiny winy detail that the Peaks (one of them, but he saw them as a pair) knew of his existence. The goals of his conversation were satisfied.
Larry even got to the point where he practically invited himself for a family party. Yes, he was that kind of person. He was very good at making sure he would be somewhere. Many people had suffered from this before and well, Mr. Peak was no different in this respect. The camera practically forced the good man to at least say something within the social conventions. Larry's smile never faltered.

'Of course I understand,' Larry replied, confidently. He was family of the Peaks, of course hé knew how busy they were. That would stand to reason, would it not? 'We will keep in touch,' Larry told Mr. Peak. Yes, they would, naturally. That was what family did. Mostly. But that was something the viewers didn't know. Larry reprociated the greeting from Tyrell by nodding to the man. 'Yes, we are all looking forward to the splendor of the Games!'
He then remained silent as Tyrell walked away, but was not leaving yet. Why would he stop gracing the viewership of the most important Channel of the Capitol with his presence? He saw no reason to leave. He would convince - or just order - Deborah to get the newest sandwich for him and he would eat it at work. He had to judge his brothers commercials then anyway, he could eat during that. No shame. So, Larry remained in front of the camera and generously shared his views on the upcoming Hunger Games with the eager journalist. What a day. A good day, at that. Sometimes things just went your way; he was loving it.

TOPIC END

OOC: Teehee, ik heb ook niet echt specifieke plannen meer! Maar het was leuk om m'n oh so close family te ontmoeten~ Next: family partyy