There were points where Cooper enjoyed not owning a lot of things. This was one of them.

He was currently sitting outside the mayor's office with his single bag by his side, waiting to be seen. The secretary kept stealing glances at him as she filed paper work. He vaguely wondered if he had something on his face, or if his beard or clothing looked unprofessional. He quickly pushed the notion to the side. It was a small town, and he was hoping to get the carpentry job. If anything, his appearance helped even more. After all, a man with slicked back hair and a three piece suit certainly didn't look like he spent his days with sharp tools and wood. After the tenth or so look from her, he decided it was best to ignore her and focused instead on his hands.

They were rough hands, callused over the years from his work, but they were clean. His nails were trimmed and free of dirt; while he may not have been dressed up, he certainly made sure he was clean. He had even dabbed on a bit of cologne. He wanted this job, no, he needed this job. From the moment he had set foot on the ferry he had felt like this was going to be the fresh start he had needed since his mother's death. Of course, he could always go elsewhere and find another town that was in need of a carpenter. His light luggage made for easy travel. But it would be much better if he could just settle down here, even if it wasn't permanent.

He breathed out deeply through his nose. It was the closest thing to a sigh that he ever did, and the most emotion he had shown in quite some time. He wasn't the type of person to wear his heart on his sleeve, even in private. When he had grieved for his mother, he had cried for only a few minutes, and had sat through the funeral stony-faced and nearly unapproachable. He didn't think men shouldn't show their emotions; he merely did not feel the need to. He processed everything internally. It was probably a large flaw in his character, and probably explained why he had never had a serious relationship thus far, but, like the secretary, he paid it no heed.

He only hoped the mayor wasn't a man who wanted to see any strong emotion other than gratitude, provided he even got the job, because despite the fact he did feel rather nervous, his face was a blank slate. He breathed in deeply, trying to quell the fluttering in his stomach, praying that it wouldn't be too much longer before the mayor could meet with him.

He would never get over his shock and surprise about the constant influx of new people. The one question that was constantly on Zed's mind that never seemed to be satisfied was why people felt the need to come to this island and stay. Then again, his father was on the verge of being impressed with what he was doing...or what he wasn't doing. Throughout all his years here, the island had been thriving, but never like this. The thought had been on his mind for the past few days and the fact that he couldn't get it off his mind only seemed to further frustrate him. Zed had a pretty good feeling that it wasn't his leadership or personality drawing people in or keeping them around, maybe Saffron was going through on of her phases over at Pepper Town? All of the new islanders weren't from Pepper Town though, some didn't even list where they were from. It was frustrating, and Zed didn't like frustrating. He needed to know, but it wasn't like there was anyone he could ask. He was considered the mayor after all, who would be honest with him about their reasons for staying?

As he sat there sulking in his office, his secretary poked her head in and said something about a man waiting to see him. He mumbled something of a thank you to the woman, he honestly couldn't tell you her name, as he got up from his chair and followed her out. Zed studied the scruffy looking man who was waiting rather placidly and calmly, that was already a nice change from the annoying woman he had in his life lately...who enjoyed yelling at him. "Yes?" he said after a few moments of silence, "Can I help you with something?"

Cooper looked up from his hands after a man questioned if he could help him with anything. The man didn't fall into the appearance of a mayor at all. If Cooper had to guess, the man appeared to be younger than he, and his clothes were entirely casual. He wondered for a moment whether it was another assistant coming from the actual mayor's office, then pushed the thought aside. It didn't really matter, as long as he could speak to someone with a little higher authority than the secretary.

He stood, taking a few steps forward and extending his hand. Well, there was no point in beating about the bush. "I'm here to inquire about the carpentry position. Is it still open?"

Straight and to the point, he liked the way this conversation was going already. Too many people on this wretched island wanted to talk about insipid things like feelings or emotions, Zed didn't care for that talk. Small talk was just what it was, small, insignificant, pointless, and unimportant. "Just a moment." Instead of going over to look at the paperwork himself, the mayor shot a glance over to his secretary who quickly looked through the mounds of paperwork on her desk. "Uhm...y-yes. It appears the carpentry shop is still open and not registered. So, you'll even get to name the building." Zed nodded, as though he just told the man all that information. "If you just fill out this paperwork, the shop will be yours, Mr..." he trailed off, remember that he didn't know his name, and that he really didn't care.

Cooper looked to the secretary as well. She stuttered, leaving him to wonder whether she was naturally a nervous person or if this man in front of him was truly the mayor, and provided he was, if he was a demanding man to work for. He then told himself it wasn't really his problem, as the woman could quit if she wanted to, and nodded. Were he the type of man to smile, he might've been grinning ear to ear. Instead, the only indicator of his relief and delight was the unfurrowing of his brows. He looked back to the man whom he presumed was Mayor Harvest and nodded once more, taking the paperwork. "Bellamy. Cooper Bellamy," he said as he glanced through it.

"Mr. Bellamy." Zed responded with a nod as he let go of the paperwork. Thankfully, it seemed like this exchange would be kept relatively short, it was a good thing. "You can fill out the papers a leave them her with-" he stopped, not even remembering the name of his rather nervous looking secretary. "Leave them here." he finally said, it was better to keep things simple. "Unless there's anything else, you can feel free to go to the shop and run it as you see fit when you're finished here."

Cooper patted his pockets, checking to make sure he didn't have a pen by some random miracle, all the while nodding to show that he was following along with what the man was saying. He could hardly believe that it was going to be that simple, but he supposed that life in a small community would be, especially since there was no other carpenter there. "Understood. And that should be it, Mr. Harvest." He paused for a moment and glanced at the secretary. Her expression hadn't changed, so he assumed he had been correct. And if he hadn't, there was no point in worrying about it, really. With that, he moved on, and turned slightly toward the secretary. "Would you happen to have a pen I could borrow?"

When he heard the use of his last name for once, Zed would have lied if he didn't mention something about it shocking him. He was use to people generally not referring to him by any name, which was all fine in his book. Zed nodded as he confirmed that he understood, but glanced over as his secretary looked around her desk furiously for a pen for the man. "H-here you are, Mr. Bellamy." the woman replied, handing over a pen so he would be able to fill the papers out. "If you have any questions," Zed called, already making his way back to his office, "I'm sure she will be able to help you out." With that, he took his leave leaving her to help him out.