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Post by Adam Tyler on Aug 18, 2015 20:07:07 GMT
It wasn't the sort of charity event he had ever necessarily prepared himself for. Black ties and cocktails were much more common to encounter, and yet he found himself out in the woods, staring at a hunk of fabric that was supposed to be some sort of tent. Whoever had been in charge of establishing events and activities which would keep the Upper East Side occupied as they found themselves out of their normal routine must have also had a sense of humor. Not long after the official start of the event, they had found themselves being placed in small groups. Adam had been relieved when he had found that his group consisted of his old law school friends. Well, mostly relieved.
He sighed, flipping through the instruction booklet that had been provided for them. "You would think they would have at least tried to make this a little easier on the people donating money to their cause."
There had been something about this event supposed to showcase the beauty of nature and connect them with their roots, blah, blah, blah. But Adam had barely heard a word as he kept watching Riley in the aftermath of their recent interaction. A small voice at the back of his head kept trying to remind him that he needed to just let it go in this setting. Especially with her fiance here.
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Post by Riley Tyler on Aug 18, 2015 20:16:44 GMT
Riley heard Adam complain half-heartedly about having to set up their own campsite and laughed. "You know, writing a check is easy. Getting your hands dirty for a good cause, that's the rewarding part," she told him over her shoulder. She didn't quite turn to look at him though, because if she had she knew that could be dangerous. She knew she'd start thinking about how nice he looked in casual clothes, the way they'd all been a bit more relaxed and less professional during study sessions at law school - and then possibly thinking about how good he'd felt pressed up against her the other night, his lips on her skin and his hand in her hair. Well, too late, now she was thinking of it. She rolled up the sleeves of her red flannel shirt and started to work screwing together two tent posts and assembling the damn thing.
Garrett had come along this time, but he was off taking photo opportunities and wouldn't actually be participating at their camping site.
Eliot stood by, wholly uninterested in the entire event. The only reason he'd actually shown up was because he knew it would pay off later. He rolled his eyes at Riley's preaching comments. "Adam's right, this entire thing is pointless."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Aug 18, 2015 22:48:00 GMT
He nodded his agreement with Eliot but watched as Riley seemed to be one of the only people piecing together the tent without staring holes into the instruction booklet. She had rolled up her sleeves and he had started thinking about how soft her skin had felt under his hands, how nice her laugh had sounded as he had teased her and kissed her in his apartment. He had to clear his throat to stop from thinking about as he wasn't sure that he could trust himself to say hell with it all and kiss her right there in the middle of everyone.
"You could help, you know," he suggested to Eliot, picking up to pieces of the tent and just following Riley's lead. With all those in attendance he was convinced that even if he didn't didn't know the difference between any of these parts, their tent would still probably stand standing longer than any of the other groups.
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Post by Riley Tyler on Aug 18, 2015 22:58:52 GMT
"I could," Eliot sighed even as he glanced up from his phone and saw Garrett approaching and beckoning him over to the side. "But I've got to see to something, you two keep going though, you're doing great," Eliot nodded before stepping aside to talk quietly with his childhood friend.
Meanwhile, Riley smiled at Adam while he joined her. She laughed for a second and stepped closer to him. "Like this," she said, placing her hands over his and showing him the right way to assemble the pieces. "Okay?" She knew that it was a little risky, especially with Garrett and Eliot standing so close by, but part of her couldn't help but want to stand a little closer to Adam. Pulling her hands away, she tucked her hair behind her ear and grinned at him, resuming what she'd been doing. "Have you ever been camping before, Adam?" she asked. "I mean, obviously you've never built a tent before. But not even one of those pop up ones? Or some swanky cabin?" she questioned.
"My family and I used to go a lot, we'd drive upstate or out east. It used to be a lot of fun, hiking, fishing, s'mores, sleeping under the stars," she nodded.
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Post by Adam Tyler on Aug 18, 2015 23:28:12 GMT
He laughed whe she already had to correct him on the right way to assemble two pieces. Adam had to remind himself where he was when she pulled her hands back as his gut instinct had been to move back closer to her.
Answering her question he shook his head. "Our vacations were generally a little less ... outdoors. My mom's never been too fond of sleeping anywhere without solid walls so the closest we ever got to camping was renting a lodge in Tahoe one winter on a ski trip. And the only rustic part of that trip was that the only heat in the place came from the fireplace in the middle of the main room."
Sometimes he had forgotten that Riley had a much different childhood than he had, or a lot of his friends had. He respected her a lot for having gotten to where she was, for being who she was, and having done it without any of the hand-me-outs or the privilege that generally came with these sorts of things. "It sounds really nice. You'll have to show me the ropes on all of this."
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Post by Riley Tyler on Aug 18, 2015 23:40:28 GMT
Riley listened to to him and grinned, "Did you build the fires yourselves, or were they one of those ones that turned on with a switch?" she asked teasingly, but then shook her head at him. "Don't worry, Tiger, by the time we're done, you're going to be able to live off the land. Just stick with me," she nodded confidently as she went through the motions of assembling the tent. "Maybe later, when we finish and beat everyone else, I'll even take you on a hike," she mentioned, lifting her eyebrow at him and then glancing away.
Eliot, meanwhile, was off to the side, talking to Garrett. The two men were prone to talking shop and despite Riley's dislike for Garrett's childhood friend, she didn't think much of it because it was typical. Eliot thought that put him at a great advantage. "So it should be good to go by tomorrow morning, we leaked the story but embargoed it with the press until then. It's going to boost your numbers in the polls for sure, so congratulations Mr. Congressman."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Aug 19, 2015 0:04:41 GMT
Hoping that what she was implying by taking a hike was something much more along the lines of something they had last done in his own apartment, he smiled at her. "That would be good. I could use some extensive cardio."
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 19, 2015 1:38:43 GMT
Well, this entire night seemed to have gone completely down the toilet. After getting bored with her own teammates and their apparent unbreakable infactuation with each other, Olivia had set out to try and find something that would occupy her attention for the rest of the night - when that failed horribly she found herself wandering around the event, mingling with acquaintances and promising them lunch dates that she was sure she would only ever follow through on if she was looking for a slow and painful way to end it all.
She recognized an unfamiliar face with Garrett DeLuca, the man whose fundraiser she had also attended, and decided to say her hellos to them as well. "Mr. DeLuca, lovely to see you again." Turning to the other man, she cocked her head to the side slightly. "And you are?"
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Post by Eliot Quinn on Aug 19, 2015 1:44:06 GMT
Eliot was tapping out a quick message to some of his press contacts with Garrett by his side when they were approached by another person. He glanced up, eyes raking down her form for a lingering moment.
Garrett chimed in, "Ms. Warren, this is my long time friend Eliot Quinn. I'd love to stay and talk for a minute, but I have to run over to the other campsite for a photo opportunity with the volunteers. I hope you understand, I'll be back in just a moment," he nodded as flashed a smile at Olivia and walked away.
"Olivia Warren," Eliot echoed, offering out his hand. "That name sounds familiar," he tilted his head at her. "Are you enjoying yourself this afternoon?"
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Post by Riley Tyler on Aug 19, 2015 1:47:02 GMT
Riley had been busy working, occasionally stopping to give Adam instruction or lend him a hand. However, she took a step back and let out a loud laugh of triumph as she examined their handiwork. "Well, Adam Tyler, I believe you have just constructed your first tent," she nodded before turning over her shoulder. "Attention Cooper Benson, you've lost!" she called with a giggle before bouncing on the balls of her feet and clapping her hands together. She beamed at Adam, who was actually still standing there with the instructions in his hand. "Well, how does it feel? Are you at one with nature?" she asked teasingly.
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Post by Olivia Warren-Blye on Aug 19, 2015 1:59:23 GMT
Olivia smiled politely and nodded her understanding to Garrett as he excused himself. She had never much cared for the man in the first place, assuming he was just another vapid politician, so his company was not going to be missed.
She shook Eliot's hand and smirked at his remark about her name sounding familiar. "I should hope so." It was the follow up question of her enjoyment of the day so far that she had to force a small smile for. "Absolutely not. Everyone here is dreadfully boring."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Aug 19, 2015 2:03:08 GMT
He grinned brightly at Riley as she excitedly finished the tent and called over her win to Cooper Benson. Amused by her enthusiasm, he watched her with interest as she bounced and clapped her hands together. "I think I might still have a long way to go - but at least now I know that I've got a great coach."
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Post by Riley Tyler on Aug 19, 2015 2:19:31 GMT
Riley smiled briefly at Adam. "Yeah, I'm kind of great," she grinned. "Now that we're done, maybe we can go on that hike," she suggested.
When Olivia called people in attendance boring, Eliot chuckled heartily. He'd heard enough stories of Liv Warren, and knew of her mostly from the fact that sometimes Brandon took her home - back in the good old days before Brandon decided to tie himself down. "I almost want to take offense to that." His phone chimed and he glanced down at it, reading his email before a Chesire cat grin spread across his features. "And if you want some entertainment, stick around," he winked.
"Riley, sweetheart," he called out. "I need to speak to you for a moment if you don't mind."
Riley frowned, cringing a bit when Eliot called her over. "Hold that thought," she said to him before approaching Eliot Quinn. Her eyes narrowed on the sight of Olivia before she focused on her former law school classmate. "What, Quinn?"
Smirking, Eliot shook his head at her. "Always with such little respect," he nodded. "I just wanted to give you a little bit of forewarning that tomorrow morning a story is going to run in the press about the affair that you've been having behind Garrett's back," he nodded, watching her face change with delight. "No one is going to be named, except for you. But I wanted to warn you because we thought it might be best that you go back to the city, pack up your desk at the campaign office before the reporters start showing up to ask you questions. Then you're probably going to want to get your things out of the apartment."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, but knew there was no use in playing dumb. "How did you know?"
Eliot laughed, casting a glance over his shoulder at Adam and smiling at his friend. "How do you think I know, Riley? You didn't really think..." he trailed off and then chuckled. "You did, that's so cute. Anyway, tomorrow, Garrett's going to give a press conference to talk about some of his platforms and then address the fact that he's extremely disheartened but believes in perseverance in the face of personal setback. Polling indicates he should win a lot of the previously undecided vote because of this, so we thank you for everything you've done for the campaign. But it's time for you to head back to Queens now and picket for whatever pathetic little do-gooder cause you think of next. And just in case you were thinking about going to the press with your side of the story," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded check. "I think you'll find that your severance is more than adequate to keep you comfortable. I even threw in a little extra on Adam's behalf, as I'm sure he appreciated your services."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Aug 19, 2015 2:33:22 GMT
He had watched closely as Eliot had drawn Riley away. It was probably the way that she had cringed at the sound of their former classmate's voice, but the action had made him smile encouragingly at her. More often than not, Adam had assumed that Eliot's bark was worse than his bite. Sure he had seen him become truly ruthless in the court room, but that was a different situation. They were paid to win cases and it was normal to do whatever they could to ensure that outcome. There wasn't any reason to be that ruthless outside of a case.
It was only because he had already been looking in their direction that he had even caught pieces of their conversation as Eliot glanced over in his direction. Adam heard him say something about Garrett experiencing personal setback, and something about Riley going back to Queens before Eliot reached into her pocket and handed her something.
He took a few steps closer to them, not liking the way that this was shaping out. "Everything okay there, Quinn?" Looking between his co-worker and Riley, he was growing concerned. "Riley?"
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Post by Riley Tyler on Aug 19, 2015 2:40:05 GMT
Riley heard Adam's voice and it shook her out of whatever trance she'd gone into. Staring at the check in her hands, she scowled and shoved it forcefully into Eliot's chest. "Keep your fucking money, Quinn," she practically shouted.
"Hey Adam," Eliot grinned. "Riley and I were just discussing that Garrett and I had decided the campaign would no longer be needing her services."
"I have to go," she said stiffly, taking a step back and trying to take a deep breath. The first thought in her head was what she was going to tell her father about the story in the paper tomorrow about her. The truth? How would she explain lying in the first place? Imagining the disappointment on his face was enough to make her feel sick.
"Nicholls," Eliot stopped her. "The ring?"
Her face flashed with anger before she pulled the ring off of her finger and threw it down on the ground, she took another step towards Eliot Quinn, pointing a finger at him. "You think that you can just run the world because you have money, you can't. I'm not going to tell my story to the press, because I won't stoop to your level. But you tell Garrett DeLuca that he's a fucking coward because he couldn't do this himself and because of every other reason he already knows." And with that, she turned on her heel and started to storm off as quickly as possible, well aware that they'd just created quite the scene.
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