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Post by Madison Benson on Aug 13, 2015 4:06:54 GMT
She felt horrible for making him upset. Or at least, this is what she assumed upset might look like on him. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I just - I don't know. I got weirdly defensive coming into this place. It's weird how quickly high school starts flying back at you."
Somehow his admission of having been less than wonderful in the past had struck a chord with her. "I shouldn't have assumed. I just thought - well, with history as it is..." she trailed off, figuring that nothing good could come from that sentence. She toyed with the tiny black straws in her drink and swirled them around her glass, knocking the ice cubes around in a circle.
"I truly do hope that you're happy. Regardless of who you choose to spend your time with, or what path your career takes." She smiled at him in a way that she hoped would convey her sincere apology and the olive branch that went along with it. "It really was good to see you." And she truly meant it. He had always made her heart beat a little faster, but with his apology he had caught her more off guard than she was expecting.
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 13, 2015 4:24:03 GMT
Parker looked at her skeptically for a moment, before raising his glass in her direction. "You're a true class act, Madison. You've got a leg up on every other poor sod in this entire place. Because by all accounts, you don't owe me a damned apology." He grinned a bit. "You're always probably too nice for your own good, you should be more careful than that." He took a deep breath before huffing. "What I mean to say is..." he felt himself getting frustrated. "Run. Get the hell out of here with these people as you can. Because some how you didn't end up as toxic as everyone else, and that's a damn miracle because you spent a hell of a lot of time with the absolute worst bloke in the bunch," he pointed out, referring to himself. "Just don't let this place or them...just keep doing whatever it is you do."
He couldn't help but admit that, even when he'd been stupid and seventeen and toying with Maddy's emotions, she'd made an impact. She had a different, innocent and naive way of looking at things that he couldn't quite grasp. He was fascinated by her, and the small sliver of him that wasn't completely rotten wanted to do everything in his power to keep her that way, to keep the world from ruining her. He pushed the thoughts away, he could practically feel Liv's eyes on him and he knew he was dangerously close to saying something to Maddy he'd regret more than he already did.
Reaching into his pocket, he fished out another of his cards and placed it on the bar. "If you're ever looking to invest in a tech start-up," he joked before nodding at her.
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Post by Madison Benson on Aug 13, 2015 13:30:34 GMT
By all accounts she should have been pleased that he was complimenting her. Or she would have it had come across as a compliment, but something in the way that he said it did nothing more than make her feel seventeen years old again. Sure, she had never been part of this group - she had spent brief moments thinking about what it would be like to go with them to parties, to not care about whether or not what she was doing was illegal, to simply tell the voice in the back of her head to just shut up. But she never had. And somehow he made her feel as though she had been missing something, something that would have made her a stronger adult today.
She gave the business card a cursory glance. He was proving that he held a lot more surprises than she would have expected. She certainly hadn't expected to find him working for a tech start-up, assuming that he was going to take a similar path to the one that Brandon Finn had. In fact, she assumed that the majority of their class was just going to walk onto roles and into companies that their families had established.
"I don't remember you being that bad," she sipped on her drink, wondering what had posessed her to even make that comment. She could have left well enough alone and just accepted that this conversation was over, that they had moved on in their lives, and let Liv sink her claws back in. But she didn't want to. She didn't want the conversation to be over, she was second guessing having moved on, and she certainly was not going to let Liv sink her claws into anything. "I think it all comes down to the company that we keep. I mean, some influences in a person's life can certainly be more toxic than others."
Madison had really never liked Olivia. It was at the core of their personalities not to mesh, and yet somehow they continued to find themselves vying for the attention of the same man.
And Olivia couldn't stand to see Madison taking her sweet time with Parker's attentions. She smiled politely at the man she had been making forced friendly conversation with and announced that she needed another drink. Despite the fact that the man had been mid-sentence in his latest story or compliment, or whatever it was that she was meant to be listening to, he nodded and moved to order her another martini. Taking the moment to look over at the other pair, she formulated her next move. As soon as she had a new drink in her hand, she was going to let it do the speaking. She would make sure that Madison knew that she couldn't so easily assume that they could pick up where they left off in high school, fighting over a boy. As far as she was concerned, she was always going to win that fight.
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 13, 2015 14:13:31 GMT
Parker looked at Maddy for a moment and took a breath. He knew he should just end the conversation, go back to networking and paying attention to Liv, whose eyes he could feel burning a hole into his head. He knew that he should walk away from the conversation and be done with it, let Madison get on with her life in the way he’d meant to all along.
“I’m worse than you think,” he pointed out. He cleared his throat glanced at Liv, bracing himself for the worst based on the familiar look in her eye. “And I think we surround ourselves with the people we know we deserve to be around. People like us. Maybe I’m just impeccably self-aware,” he nodded before looking at the brunette again.
At one point, Parker had been most interested in her because she was naïve and innocent and he was bored and maybe thought it would be fun. And then, somewhere along the way he’d wanted to be better for her sake the more they spent more time together. But that was then, and he’d learned some crucial lessons about what kind of man he was, and if his observation skills were as keen as he thought they were, she was doing quite well without him.
“I should let you get back to enjoying your night,” he said gently.
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 13, 2015 14:42:19 GMT
With a new drink in hand, Olivia dismissed herself from the man she had been pretending to listen to. She thanked him for the drink and prompted him to call her the next time he was in town; though she was well aware she had neither given him her number, nor knew if he was local or not. She made her way over to Parker and Madison, making it just in time to hear him dismiss the other woman. She stationed herself at his side and looked at Madison with a smirk.
"Yes, we wouldn't want you to miss out on catching up with your actual friends."
Madison felt her grip on her glass tighten instinctively. "The same can be said for you, please don't let me keep you." She wasn't even sure if Liv had any other friends to go torment. The teenage version of the formerly brunette British woman certainly hadn't been one for making friends. More of minions, or henchmen, really. Madison was sure that Olivia felt that friendship was only worth the trouble when it benefit her in some way.
"Unless," Maddy wasn't sure why she was opening her mouth again. It could have been the perfect opportunity to make her escape and just forget this entire thing ever happened. "Unless unemployment has kept you from making any new ones."
Liv glared at the other woman, "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Madison."
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 13, 2015 15:18:57 GMT
Parker sharply inhaled when Liv stepped up beside him. His mind briefly flashed to sleepless nights, which were more frequent lately, watching the Discovery Channel, watching animals mark their territory and fight each other for it. Those animals in Africa had nothing on the women of the Upper East Side.
When Maddy took a dig at Liv, he was a bit surprised, and probably too amused. He took a sip of his drink and eyed them both warily. “Actually, Madison is working for Harper-Collins as an associate editor,” he pointed out. “Which, I’m sure someone from my company would love to pick your brain on your thoughts about the world moving away from print and towards digital. You should call the number on my card and set up an appointment,” he advised with a nod and a smile before turning to Liv. “We should find a bite to eat, yeah? I’m a firm believer that when we’re puckish we start…pecking.”
He cleared his throat and tried to gesture the women apart. Perhaps when he was seventeen, he enjoyed having two women vying for his attention. But now that he was nearly thirty and trying to make a good impression on some influential former classmates, he’d prefer not to cause a scene. That required both of them retracting their claws.
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 13, 2015 15:40:17 GMT
Olivia wasn't sure if he shared the other woman's title as a way of trying to make her seem more important, but she wasn't seeing it. What was it that an associate editor did in the first place? Did she truly get paid just to read someone else's novels and wish that she had thought of it first? It sounded dreadfully boring and all the more reason to remain entirely uninterested in her.
Though, at the moment it seemed as though Parker was trying to keep the two women's argument at bay, and where was the fun in that? Assistant, associate, whatever she was, she wasn't as familar with the game that was being played. Olivia supposed that being on the recieving end of it all of these years might have allowed for a thicker skin to form, which in all honesty only made the challenge that much more exciting.
She smirked at Parker's invitation to leave, "I certainly hope you're thinking of the same ... pecking ... that I am." She pressed herself a touch closer to him and ignored the other woman.
Maddy looked down at her glass, refusing to let Olivia see that her movement toward Parker has bothered her. She couldn't even admit to herself that it bothered her. Opening her mouth to say something she felt the words freeze in her throat. Her lips felt dry so she wet them slowly while trying to reform her next sentence. Damn him, she thought.
"Well, I'll let you two get to whatever it is that you'll be doing." She made to move away from them and stopped to place her empty glass on the bar. Finally grabbing his business card off the bar, she slid it into her clutch. "I'll be sure to pass your information along to someone to connect with your company."
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 13, 2015 16:05:25 GMT
Parker sighed, placing his hand on Liv’s and patting it gently. “I mean that I’ve had a decent amount of single malt and think that I saw some tapas floating around on a tray somewhere,” he answered dully before turning to Madison and nodding at her with a quick smile before stepping off in the direction of food with Liv in tow.
“You know, Liv. I get Amber Jacobs. She’s been nothing but a certifiable bitch to the both of us in the ten years that we’ve known her. But that girl has done nothing wrong and you know it. It’s in poor taste,” he advised under his breath as a classmate came by, offered him a handshake and a quick exchange of contact information. He then focused on Liv. “What’s more is that ten years have passed and if you’re going to attempt to take a piss on me to mark your territory, I’d like some advanced notice. Perhaps a text, an email, a mention on Twitter. Especially if you’re going to antagonize people I’m attempting to do business with for the fun of it. When it’s deserved, I’m all for it, but this is perhaps the down fall of being equal opportunity.”
He drained his glass and dropped it on a passing server’s tray before gesturing over another of the catering staff to take an appetizer from his tray.
“Madison is off limits. I could make a good deal with Harper Collins, and it won’t move if she doesn’t feel comfortable dealing with me.”
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 13, 2015 16:34:00 GMT
Olivia wasn't sure if she was more amused by the fact that she had, in some way, gotten to both of them, or that he was trying to pass everything off as business. She wasn't stupid. There wasn't even the slightest possibility that anything that he had been planning had in some way related to establishing a business relationship. And besides, hadn't he mentioned that she was some sort of ... Peon? An assistant something or other. Either way, it didn't concern her whether or not the poor innocent woman excelled in her job.
"Don't for one moment think that you can convince me that it was all business," she warned. "This was you and her, just like it had been before." She emphasized the you-and-her part as though it might some how emphasize that she was not part of it. Olivia had never been fond of being left out of anything, even as a young child. As an adult, she felt the need to carve out her own path and ensure that no matter what, she remained firmly placed in the center of the action. Perhaps that's why she had always felt that things worked out the best when she manipulated them to her benefit.
Parker stating that Madison was off limits pushed her over the edge. "Off limits? You can't possibly be serious."
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 13, 2015 16:55:27 GMT
Parker frowned as Liv spoke and he busied himself by chewing on his food. He let her talk about his history with Madison and then sighed. “My history with Madison is neither here nor there. I came to this reunion for one purpose and it wasn’t to catch up for old time’s sake. It was to get ready for what is sure to be a monumental opposition to rolling out a branch of my company in the North East. I’d prefer to do that without patronizing anyone that could be useful to have on our side.”
He frowned. “And my history with her is just that, history,” he added.
“And I’m quite serious when I say off limits. We’re not kids anymore, I pick and choose my battles.” He nodded.
He paused for a moment. “You could help me, you know. You’ve been in town while I’ve been away. You can help me decide who we know that might be the best to go after. Lawyers, politicians, CEO’s. I’ve neglected to read the alumni newsletter or the gossip columns. You could help me,” he offered.
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 13, 2015 17:05:45 GMT
It wasn't so much the exact history with Madison that had bothered her and caused her to strike, it was the ease at which he seemed to fall back into familar patterns. It has happened before, they were perfectly content playing games with the classmates who had always seemed out to get them, and then it had just stopped. Well, he had just stopped. In a way, every time he got closer to Madison, she had suffered. She was the one who had to continue the offense against their classmates.
Madison made him someone else entirely. Someone above all of the petty games and the trouble they would get themselves into. He became a nicer person too, and not in the way where he would bake her scones and make her a pot of tea, but in the way that he looked down at her for not changing too. He seemed almost disappointed in who she was. And she was feeling very much that way now. Especially as he seemed to offer her some sort of task - a job for keeping busy?
She sipped at her martini, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I could," she agreed, "Or your could do your own homework. I'm not looking for a job, Parker."
Looking up at him proved to be a little more difficult this time around, "Business or not, you can't say that this entire evening hasn't been spawned by history in a way. Why would you still be speaking with me otherwise?"
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 13, 2015 18:03:23 GMT
Parker looked at Liv for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. “Because I just offered you a job. But if you’re not interested, that’s all the same to me,” he replied. His eyes scanned the room once more and he tried to tell himself he wasn’t curious where Maddy had gotten off to, who she was talking to now, if she was at all interested in where he’d gotten off to. He reprimanded himself silently and turned back to the woman beside him.
“Regardless, I think I’ve done enough business for the evening. Perhaps it’s time to turn in.” He sometimes wondered about what it was he had in common with Liv and whether or not it was, indeed, the worst parts of him. But he was often drawn to her, like a moth to flame. Knowing that it would burn him up.
“Would you still like to join me for a drink upstairs?” he asked as he quickly checked his phone for any new messages or emails and pocketed it again.
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 13, 2015 18:27:45 GMT
She shrugged, contemplating what it would mean to take him up on his offer. Sure, it would give her something to do, and yet it absolutely meant more time with him, but was it worth it? "I never said I wasn't interested."
It might have also been the fact that he had mentioned using Madison for her business connections that had sealed the deal. If Olivia worked with him on this, in whatever capacity he needed, then it would that much easier for her to keep him from falling back into his Madison-tainted ways. The lines had blurred between whether she was doing this because she honestly had feelings for him, or because she couldn't stand to see someone else win a prize.
It's entirely possible that it was both things at once.
"Let's. This entire place is absolutely dull now."
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