pj-cortez

[pj-cortez]

"Ouch—" PJ winced, wrapping her arms around herself, not sure why that stinged. It's not like she had reached out or anything. "Jeez, I think that's worst than you telling me you've been actively avoiding me all this time." At least she never forgot that Jasmine lived there too, just— couldn't find the right time to maybe talk to her. "I see you around sometimes." The truth was, PJ saw her frequently, she just avoided her, telling herself that next time she'll say hi but that then wasn't the right time. Or tell herself she must be busy. So she always stays away. Seeing Jasmine, knowing she lives in the same building as her but they never talk, it always brings up something in PJ. Feelings, which she usually tries to avoid at all costs. But now they're trapped in this metal box going up with nowhere else to go and has to face the fact that for some reason, they're now strangers when they used to be best friends.

Looking down at the floor of the elevator, Jazzy tried to ignore the heaviness in the air. The awkward silence was broken when PJ, her former bestie spoke up first, something Jazzy was going to do. "Yeah," she said, with a nod, pressing her lips together in a thin line, "it's been a while." Not that Jazzy was losing sleep over it, at least not now. But when they first drifted apart, it tore into her. "I forgot you love in this building too," she kept the conversation short and sweet, wondering what was running through Pj's mind.

[pj-cortez]

"What? No, no I do! I want to. I want to join your company so badly. I want to go tell Susan she's racist, classist asshole before I tell her I quit! There's absolutely nothing in the world I want more than that. I don't want to stay at my job." PJ was ranting as she opened a new bag of corn chips and emptied it in a bowl before going to the fridge and grabbing a jar with salsa. It was homemade by her actually, she always had a fresh jar for whenever she didn't feel like cooking and this was her dinner. She brought everything to the table where Imogen was sitting and put it down in front of her, then grabbed her glass to refill it. Making a face as she heard Imogen had to ask if she could have queso, she commented, "Really? There's certain things you can't eat while pregnant?" The displeasure was vivid on her face, never being one to pretend when she didn't like something except at work where she had to learn how to keep her facial expression in check. Finally sitting down with Imogen at her table, her designs on display in front of her, PJ did look at the woman as if she'd grown two heads but for the opposite reason. "Look, I don't know what I've done to get this lucky but believe me when I tell you— this is my dream Imogen. I would do anything for your brand." She said honestly.

“Well…I mean, don’t you want to actually join the company? If you would rather just stay at your other job I’m not going to make you come over here if you don’t want to. This is entirely your choice PJ. I just think you’re incredibly talented, not to mention this company is going to need a US arm if I’m going to be living out here and your passion shines through stronger than most people I work with back in the UK.” Imogen shrugged, sitting down because actually that sounded like a pretty good idea, taking the designs with her. “Water is fine…really. Don’t do anything special just for me.” Then chips were mentioned and she looked up instantly, because yes she very much did want some chips. “I don’t know if I’m allowed queso because …. I’m not sure on the rules with which cheeses I can have, I’ll have to ask Theo. They know everything about this pregnancy thing - it’s actually very impressive.” She chuckled softly, smiling at the thought of the other and how much she loved them. “Salsa though, yes…please. At the moment I swing wildly between feeling like I’m going throw up and wanting to eat everything in the vicinity … honestly sometimes one can help or cause the other but still.” She flicked through some of the designs, already seeing things that she’d like to see if PJ would be willing to incorporate into the designs she’d been working on herself recently. “Don’t be sorry - it’s really okay. I’m thrilled you’re excited, truly. I was worried you might look at me like I’d grown two heads or something and … wouldn’t want to come on board.” 

[pj-cortez]

[pj-cortez]

The Sex Lives of College Girls — 3x10 "Essex"

[pj-cortez]

"I can't afford to loose my job since there aren't a lot of opportunities for what I do here." PJ commented while chopping the chicken. "I'm a fashion designer so options are limited here but something came up recently that has me very excited." The brunette couldn't help the huge grin spreading across her face as she thought about her future. She didn't talk about it much, not wanting to jinx but she was so excited about working with someone she looked up to so much for so long. A dream come true.

When the chicken was all cut up, she passed the board to Navy for the next step as she listened to her. "Mi abuela put me in the kitchen ever since I could walk. I grew up cooking with her so it's second nature to me. I can manage almost anything. But I'm no chef and I hate doing the dishes so most nights it's some kind of salad or taco. Very much a one pot kinda girl." She chuckled. "Whenever I want to eat something more elaborate, I invite a friend so they do the dishes." PJ let out a loud laugh that made a few people turn to them so she whispered a quick sorry.

"Ah, yeah, I guess that makes it a little harder to stand up for yourself." Navy nodded as she listened. She herself had never let that stop her, but, she understood not everyone was that way and she respected it. Respect your elders. But what happened when they weren't respecting you? She brushed the thought off, letting her attention return to the other. "Well that's good then. What do you do?" she questioned, looking at the other as she read the instructions, using the opportunity to season them, preparing them for the next step in the recipe.

"I'm decent. I can cook but I wouldn't consider myself a chef." she shrugged, eyes fixated on the other. "I definitely don't cook for my family a lot; my work schedule and my mom's desire to feed her family often keeps me out of the kitchen, so, maybe that's the case. That or my dad is tired of my mom's jambalaya recipe and wants me to learn to make it, who knows." @pj-cortez

[pj-cortez]

As soon as PJ heard someone asking to hold the door, she moved quickly to make everything in her power to keep it open, pushing the stop and lobby button so it wouldn't go up, trying to help which backfired rather spectacularly when she finally saw who stepped into the elevator, letting out a sigh. There was a time when Jasmine and PJ were attached to the hip so much that if one or the other were out of town, they would still talk every day, all the time, text non stop in the early days of cellphones. Now they were practically strangers. So much that PJ was even surprised when, one day without Jasmine noticing her, she saw her ex-friend saying goodbye to a woman with a peck on her lips. PJ had tried to bury that image in the back of her mind ever since, not wanting to deal with analyzing what she was feeling about that even for a second but she hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. "Long time no see." The brunette let out of her mind without thinking. She stood a step behind Jasmine feeling a little suffocated in there, breathing the same air as her for the first time in a long time.

Who: @pj-cortez and Jazzy

Where: Cedar Pointe

When: February 2025

Having a rough day all around, Jazzy had been looking forward to getting home and begging out in front of the television with a bottle of wine and maybe a pint of ice cream. She had been barely paying attention to anything or anyone around her, jetting for the elevator to take it up to her floor. Sticking out a foot as the door was closing, yelling to hold the door, she barely made it inside. And she wished she hadn't, cursing the timing gods, she definitely would have preferred to wait for the next available elevator car. Stepping inside, realizing the only other occupant was someone she had known for years, someone she once called a best friend, Jazzy looked down at her phone, internally screaming that she forgot her headphones. She wasn't about to strike up a conversation with the woman beside her for fear of what might come out of either of their mouths.

[pj-cortez]

"Don't mind if I do." Before Emerson finished offering, PJ was already diving into the bag to take one slice out for her. "Your sister will be very happy if I take some chocolate cake back to her." When the oldest Rhitt put down his fork, the brunette stole it to try a bit of his cake herself, humming and nodding in approval. PJ was pretty much the opposite of shy and it didn't matter that she'd seen Emerson only once before in passing, she was already stealing food from his plate. "Oh, it's good." Licking her lips, she moved to grab the bag she had with her, putting it on the table and pushing it towards him. "These are the clothes Imogen sent for your fiancée, by the way, before I forget because of cake."

based on the fact it's National Chocolate Cake Day (capping at 4 - 1/4)

"I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things about this town is the delicious food and the talent that the chefs, bakers, etc. put into it." Emerson started, utensil lifted to mouth as he took a bite of the cake in front of him. "I didn't realize today was national chocolate cake day, but I went to Blissful Bites for a brownie and came out with -" a pause as he counted the larger bag in front of him having taken out the slice he picked out for his fiance' and son already. "About 3 more slices of cake in here than I actually need so please do me a favor and take one of these off my hands." @newbellevouxstarters

[pj-cortez]

Hearing she was the one doing the hurting but that the other was still there for her made PJ soften up a little and think that maybe that guy was worthy of Imogen but jury was still out. But she, for sure stopped questioning the woman's choice, especially as she talked about a contract and making things official. "Shit, sure. Okay. A contract sounds... sounds like a big deal, I just thought you'd boss me around while I kept two jobs but no, yeah." PJ was barely keeping her shit together so she needed to do something. "Why don't you sit down or a bit with those designs? Wanna eat something? More water or I can make some lemonade?" Hell, she was feeling like opening a beer but it seemed rude to have one in front of Imogen. But food they could both have. "I'm not a chef but I'm latina so it's close enough." The brunette joked as she went to the kitchen that had a window to the living/dining room area so Imogen could still see her. "Want some chips and salsa. I have queso." She asked with her head inside the fridge as she pulled out some stuff. "I'm sorry, I'm freaking out a little and I need to be doing something before I start bouncing around all over the place." It wasn't hard to admit, PJ wasn't someone that would hide her feelings which had caused her problems more than once.

As they asked if Theo had a golden dick Imogen couldn’t help but giggle because…well clearly PJ had no idea what was going on but that was kind of even better of a situation - it was certainly entertaining the woman. “Yeah, yeah something like that.” Eyebrow raised at the look of disgust on her face, because that was the fucking opposite of what her reaction was every time she thought about or looked at Theo. Also the mention of giving her their firstborn - the last thing the woman needed since she was getting her own. “Yes, I don’t think I need anymore newborns on my plate anytime soon, but thanks for the kind offer anyway. Your held with the company will be more than enough.” Hand going to her stomach as PJ waved at her body, conscious about if she could actually see the bump or not, she’d not been trying to cover it exactly but she’d also been very aware of not making it known. “Please don’t…no that won’t be necessary, if anything I think I should be the one punished when it comes to Theo, I’m the one that is always doing the hurting. But not anymore, we’re exactly where we need to be. And London isn’t going anywhere, I can fly anywhere I need to go for fashion week, and visit for work and everything. So it’s not like I’m in a cadge just because this place is a little smaller than London.” She shrugged, all smiles as they said something in Spanish, pointing to the sky. “Okay well great, I’ll have a look at getting some official papers and contract together for you so it’s all above board.” 

[pj-cortez]

She wished she could have done that but sadly, she had to fake a smile and move on. "Nop, I didn't. Just clenched my teeth and said thank you. It was one of my superiors." PJ moved the veggies she had been cutting into a bowl and grabbed the chicken to shop next. "It's fine. If things work out, my time there is coming to an end." The brunette really hated her place of work as well as her job, truly feeling her talents were wasted there.

"You good in the kitchen?" PJ asked curiously since she said she was upset about her family thinking she needed to learn how to cook cajun food. "Maybe they wanted you to cook for them more, it was a hint." She chuckled to herself. "Not a complete waste of time though. You've met me and we'll be eating gumbo at the end of this, so." She shrugged and gave the blond a smile.

"Oh, that's beautiful." Navy emphasized, smiling as the other spoke her full name, Penelope sliding off the other's tongue with the most beautiful accent. "And - maybe I'm a little insane for saying this - but the way you said it was -" she paused, bringing a hand, all fingers pinched together to her lips and kissing it with the slightest flick to emphasis chef's kiss. She hoped that the other wouldn't find her comment offensive - the accent was obvious - but Navy had always been a sucker for someone with an accent. "Sadly it doesn't." she spoke, shaking her head as she looked at they other. "They're blue but sadly not navy." she smiled.

She listened to the other rant about her co-worker who clearly tried o place Penelope into a place she didn't belong and her eyes widened, shaking her head. "Please tell me you but her in her place. She really called cajun food the 'food of your people?'" she questioned, raising an eyebrow as she felt herself grow more heated with each second. "I was a little upset that my family thought I should learn to cook cajun food as someone that grew up in Louisianna but I'm even more upset for you." @pj-cortez

[pj-cortez]

Her head tilted to the side like a dog trying to see if it was getting a treat or not as she made sense of the things Imogen was telling her. It was hard to believe for PJ that some guy was worth all of this as Imogen thought. If she dumped him the first time she was probably right about that, no clue why she was willing to loose everything for him. "What, he has a golden dick or something?" Confusion and a bit of disgust written all over her face. PJ wasn't one to believe in fairy tales or people made to be together. It was all bullshit for her, especially nowadays, so she was still a little weary of Imogen's perfect love story but it brought the woman she admired all these years, here to her town so thank fuck for those love sick fools. "If it's a ye-? Imogen I would give you my first born if you asked me to. But I guess you already got that covered." The brunette waved vaguely towards the other's body. "I'm actually internally freaking the fuck out here so, yes. It's a yes please. I hope that Theo guy is worth all of this or I'll cut his dick off personally-" Completely missing the part where Imogen didn't refer to her partner as they and simply assuming what with the pregnancy and all that. "-but I'll make sure your label is still amazing and I'll work my ass off. *Lo juro por la virgencita de Guadalupe, mira." Kissing her index finger and pointing up to the sky, PJ promised her.

Imogen immediately wondered if she’d shared too much, especially if she and PJ were potentially going to be working together as long as they accepted her offer which wasn’t very formal yet but she’d make it so if the response was positive. She’d just blurted out about everything, including the baby, which she hadn’t planned. Then again at least it shed light on why she’d been feeling so horribly sick since they’d met up. “Is that your way of saying yes or….?” She raised her eyebrows, listening to the way she was questioning pretty much everything she’d just said, a small laugh escaping her as they told her she deserved better. “Thing is, I can’t actually get any better than Theo. Not in London, or anywhere else, so as fucking corny as it sounds I’d rather be a fish in a puddle as long as I’m with them, the size of the pond is irrelevant. Plus it’s not like we live in the victorian era, I can Zoom, call, visit London anytime. I’m not going to stop running the label, fashion is worldwide. If anything I’m closer to New York here so.” A shrug of her shoulders, looking at PJ matter of factly. “And to be honest, if I had to give up my whole label for Theo and the baby I’d do it in a heartbeat. So it’s not really a question. I made the mistake of not doing that once before, I’m not doing it again.” Maybe it sounded corny but it was true, and hell it was corny. They were a fucking corny couple. 

[pj-cortez]

In theory, PJ knew she could do better and that she deserved better. In practice, it took too much effort to find one decent guy that would stick around. She also knew she wasn't the... easiest woman to be with. Nice, quiet, agreeable. She was everything but that and was tired of hear her family say that she would never find a man if she continued to behave like that. Whatever, as if she ever needed a man for anything in her life. At him questioning if she might be single by the end of the night, she gave him a small shrug. "I could be interested and it could be fun to see Trevor's head explode when I leave here with his friend instead of him." Yes okay, maybe she was a little bitch but she honestly didn't give a flying fuck about being a nice girl to dickheads.

───he couldn’t help but laugh a little at her words; there would be a serious issue if she did, with Trevor of all people. “fair, but you could do better,” and that was being said when he didn’t know her, but it was plain to see. sure she could handle herself, but for whatever the reason, he didn’t want to pry, she still put up with it even just to pass the time. “good,” he laughed before taking a sip of his own drink. they could joke about it, but he knew it for a fact there were women out there who genuinely thought that they could change a man like that; make them better, fix them. another laugh fell from his lips at her following words. “you might?” he teased, meeting her gaze as she bumped her shoulder against his. “I am,” he nodded with a faint peal of laughter. “why, you interested?” he was just teasing though —he had a lot of personal matters to tend to at the time, aside from his interest in someone else ( though, perhaps that he should discard from his mind altogether ).

[pj-cortez]

PJ wanted to scream at Imogen's complement but kept her lips pressed shut together as tightly as she could and just nodded like an idiot. Her heart was hammering like crazy inside her rib cage. This wasn't even close to being her dream because she would have never been so delusional as to dream about this but it was close to every one of her reams coming true.

The brunette's eyes opened wide as Imogen info dumped on her. She wasn't expecting that at all. It was hard to believe that someone like Imogen fucking Rhitt would leave everything behind and come settle down in a stupid small town for some dude and have his baby, so she couldn't help herself and made a face. "I can be anything you need me to be for your label but-" PJ was the worst when it came to keeping her thoughts to herself so she couldn't help it and asked. "Are you sure you want to leave everything behind for some dude? Don't get me wrong. I'm- fucking thrilled about this but I think this pond is a little small for a fish like you and you deserve better" She hoped it didn't come out judgmental. She absolutely knew it did.

Imogen let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, a smile spreading onto her face. “Good…that’s good. And it sounds like she did the world a favour sitting you down to sew in order to keep you still, look what we all got out of it.” Holding up the folders of sketches, genuinely excited to get to dive in and see what they had in store for her. Especially since she was hoping that PJ was going to come on board as her kind of right hand over this side of the pond. Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t expecting the reaction it got because … well Louisiana was hardly a fashion hub. Especially compared to London say. 

“Yes, staying here in Louisiana. My partner is the head chef of a restaurant here and um…I broke up with them five years ago in a stupid bout of idiocy…and I’m lucky enough that they’re willing to give me another chance so I don’t want to screw it up this time. So, I will be wherever they need to be - and that restaurant is their baby.” She swallowed, adding onto the end. “Speaking of, I’m also pregnant, so we’re having baby….which is mad i know but also feels, totally fucking right.” PJ the first person she’d actually told out loud since it became something they were excited about rather than terrified of. “But did you say yes? You’ll come work with me? I need someone strong next to me to make sure this label doesn’t suffer from my move, and you clearly have a fuck load of talent.” 

[pj-cortez]

PJ CORTEZ is looking for her BROTHER!

OOC Name: N

Character Name: PJ Cortez

Faceclaim Suggestions: Taylor Zakhar Perez, Rafael Silva, Ryan Guzman, Anthony Ramos

Age Range: 28-36

Type of Connection: Familiar

Connection Title: Brother

Brief Description of Connection: These two would be ride or die type of siblings who would do absolutely anything for each other. Coming from divorced parents, they were everything to one another growing up and that extended into their adult lives.

Do You Need to be Contacted Prior to Applying: Can be but don't need to!

[pj-cortez]

"Abuelita is still kicking yeah but she lives in México." A nostalgic smile on her face as she looked at one of the pieces there, a vest that was actually crochetted by her abuela and she brought back and in one of her trips to see her. "I'm always saying I'm going to go back more but you know how life is." PJ gave her a little shrug. "We talk all the time and she's the one who taught me how to sew to keep me still." She laughed as she moved to grab one of her folders with sketches and passing it on to her. "To you? Yeah I'll make an exception." The brunette smirked. If Imogen would have asked, she would have shown her even her bank account details.

It surprised PJ to hear Imogen was choosing to stay in town because if it was for her, she'd get the fuck out. Except now she was grateful she never did. "You're staying here? In Louisiana? Why?" She asked, hertone between shocked and a little disgusted. "Not that I'm complaining, my answer is yes, I would love to be a part of anything you want me to but... I'm confused. Why would you leave London for... well, this dump. Nothing ever happens here." PJ knew that for a fact.

Imogen was oblivious to the effect her words were having on PJ but that was probably because she was so distracted by the clothes, plus trying to keep the contains of her stomach inside herself. “Oh stunning. I did something like this one a pair of jeans for a friend recently. On the pockets so it looked like the flowers were growing out of them, I think it went down well.” She chuckled, Alice had seemed to like them at least. “Your Abuelita - she’s still with us or…?” Imogen didn’t want to outright ask if the woman was dead but…well it certainly sounded like she was. Either that or just far away which of course was an option. “I’d love to see more of your sketches as well - if you have any you’d be willing to share. The ones I saw in the bar were great.” Fingers moving to toy with the blue ribbon on the corset hung there, smile playing on her lips because she knew exactly where that had come from. 

The reaction she got however was more than encouraging, a smile coming onto her lips which was soon followed by a small laugh as she clarified that she dropped men fast. Good to know. “Please don’t drop dead, I don’t think that would be very helpful. Having said that, a few developments have happened and I don’t think I’m going to be going back to London anytime soon. Which means I’ll need to base myself here in terms of a studio, which is a very hard thing to do single handedly. I’ll still have a team in London to push through designs, but in terms of their conception, I’d be looking for someone who might be able to join me a little closer. If that was something you might be interested in.” 

[pj-cortez]

PJ passed her phone unlocked to Harley, nodding at it. "Promise this isn't me making a pass, that'd be gross." Just in case she clarified because, objectively, she knew how this all sounded. Hell she would have told herself to fuck off honestly. "We're still settling down and looking for a bigger space than her small office at her partner's apartment but as soon as we have something more solid, I'll be happy to contact you." The brunette offered with what she hoped was a genuine smile.

Harley couldn't believe what he was hearing - but this time it had nothing to do with his Deafness. He was having no problem understanding the words, but they felt so surreal. Artistic collaboration in fashion? He had always considered his love of fashion to be a separate interest from his art, but the skills were transferrable. Still, he never thought someone would offer him that opportunity. And then everything else she was saying - a big fashion house, London, exclusive. "Imogen Rhitt?" He repeated, stunned. He knew that name. "I....yes, this all sounds amazing. I'm definitely interested!"

[pj-cortez]

[pj-cortez]

Hearing Imogen-fucking-Rhitt say the clothes she had made were beautiful wasn't something PJ ever even dreamed of hearing. Let alone that she'd be here in her apartment looking at them in person in America. It was pure insanity. For a moment, all the brunette could do was blink at her as she talked and looked at her clothes before coming back to herself a second later. "What? - Oh! Yes, I've dawn and sewn all of these myself. Some from scratch, others are vintage pieces I found and modified." As she explained that, PJ pulled a pair of jeans she had sewn patches of flowers into and then a denim jacket that the most of the back was cut out and replaced with an embroidered tulle. "*Abuelita loves flowers. Whenever I miss her, I sew some flowers into something. You can tell it happens a lot." PJ snorted a laugh because almost all her designes had some sort of flower intervention.

At Imogen question, PJ's eyes went big as plates, wondering if she was picking up what the other was putting out. "Well hypothetically, first, I'd drop dead. And then after I return three days later like Jesus I'd say I'd fucking drop my job faster than I drop men." There was a small pause because Imogen didn't know her, obviously. "It's fast. I dop them fast. It'd be faster than that."

“I can understand that. If your creativity is put on a leash at work then why would feel comfortable there? It’s like a form of…censoring you.” She remembered when she worked at the big fashion houses, as much as she’d loved it she did sometimes feel like her hands were tied to what they expected from her rather than allowing her creative vision to truly be free. It was one of the big reasons she’d ended up breaking away from that and setting up her own line - even if it was fraught with stresses. Following the other through the various racks she remained attentive, it was a good distraction from how sick she was feeling, every few moments taking a sip of water. “They’re beautiful, and you sew them all yourself? Draw them all up yourself? Or do you not work from sketches?” She knew they’d been doing some when the two of them met but that didn’t mean every design came from one. Some designers didn’t work like that. Imogen didn’t understand it but she also didn’t judge it. “It’s really beautiful.” Taking the hanger from her as she looked at it more closely. “Hypothetically - would you ever leave your current job if another was put on the table. Where you might get more freedom when it came to your designing.”