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Post by Adam Tyler on Oct 8, 2015 4:10:06 GMT
Their conversation felt strangely forced, but he was hesitant to crush whatever eggshells they were walking on by being the first one to bring up the history that they had together. There had been a reason why they hadn't spoken, and after the brief conversation they had at the Finn Penthouse, he wasn't sure that she even really wanted to talk to him anymore. For now it seemed to be enough to at least try and have a nice, casual conversation. Especially since on some level it seemed like she was open to at least talking about all of this. "Yeah," he nodded, "I can imagine that it probably hasn't been easy for either of you." It was still much easier for him to not focus on the part about Brandon and his job, particularly when he knew that it was a large part of the reason why his own fiancee has become so absent in this situation. He supposed that he could be mad at Brandon about that part if nothing else. "Congratulations, by the way. I'm sure there's a lot of exciting things that go along with getting ready to have a baby. I don't know," he shrugged again. "I would maybe just focus on that instead of what some petty social circles were saying. Besides, just think of how much of a bitch they'll all feel like when it's all said and done." He had heard a little of what Riley had said about a paternity test being requested, but he hadn't paid it much mind. Regardless, he doubted that it was going to prove anything other than the fact that Brandon and Amber were having a baby together.
When the conversation turned to his upcoming wedding, he smiled softly, "It's been going really well. At least that's what I've been told. Riley, Maddy and my mom have been working pretty hard on getting everything all set so I'm doing my best to stay out of it unless Riley really needs me. That's just a group of three pretty strong women that I do not want to end up being on the wrong side of because I picked the wrong font for the wedding invitations." The wedding, he realized, was actually a pretty uncomfortable topic around Amber. Not for any reason other than the fact that he knew that she and Brandon were going to be invited considering Riley's friendship with Brandon, and of course their inclusion into the same social circles. Adam wasn't sure how much Amber wanted to hear about it, but he felt uncomfortable talking to her about it without at least assuring her that she was going to be invited. "Actually, the invitations should be going out relatively soon. I'm sure you and Brandon will be getting yours soon enough."
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Post by Amber Jacobs on Oct 8, 2015 4:27:09 GMT
She did smile brightly when he congratulated her. "Yeah, I mean, it's still pretty early on and I was going to tell everyone around Christmas but..." she gestured and shook her head. "You know how that went. But it's exciting. And kind of terrifying. I mean, I'm going to be responsible for a whole new person and ten years ago I could barely be responsible for myself. But, I don't know, you'll see when you and Riley decide to have a kid, it's weird and wonderful. Like hearing the heartbeat for the first time or picking out names or just imagining what they're going to be like. We have an appointment in a few weeks to find out if it's a boy or a girl. And that I insist on making a big deal about and revealing myself" she grinned.
Amber couldn't help it, she laughed. "Adam, it's okay," she reassured him about the wedding invitations. Smiling warmly at him, "I wasn't hinting for an invitation. I was just curious. The girly and sappy side of me loves weddings and I think it's great. Riley's great and you seem really happy and I'm glad," she told him sincerely.
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Post by Adam Tyler on Oct 8, 2015 4:49:30 GMT
He did feel sorry for her for not getting the opportunity to tell everyone about the baby the way that she had wanted to. He couldn't imagine how it felt to have something that important taken away from you, especially when Eliot Quinn was to blame. Though he supposed it more solidly placed Brandon and Amber in their anti-Eliot camp so he figured that they at least had that in common if nothing else. He smiled at her hearing her talk about the baby, "I'm excited for it someday," he admitted. Having kids had been something that he and Riley had agreed on pretty quickly into their engagement. When they sat down and talked about what they wanted their future to hold, being married to one another and starting a family had been the only things that either of them had outlined as being truly important. It wouldn't have surprised him at all if Riley wanted to start trying on their wedding night, and he supposed that in part that thought made him even more excited for their impending wedding. "Do you have any gut feeling about what it is?"
At her laugh, he found himself feeling more relaxed around her. "She is really great. And thank you, we are really happy." He nodded, thinking about how lucky he had actually gotten to have wound up with a woman like Riley. Had he known in law school that she was the person that he was going to marry and the person that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, then he figured that things would have gone a lot differently than they had. "I'm sure that with the way that things are you and Brandon are going to be planning your own wedding soon enough."
Maybe it was the mention of Amber and Brandon planning their future together, coupled with his own plans for the future with Riley, but he started thinking about how they had gotten to this point. He sighed softly before taking another drink, "Look, I just want to apologize for making things more difficult than they should have been over the last few years. I shouldn't have let the past get in the way of trying to wipe the slate clean."
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Post by Amber Jacobs on Oct 8, 2015 13:57:22 GMT
Amber bit her lip and shrugged. "I think it's a boy. Or, part of my hopes it's a boy. I think a little version of me might actually be a nightmare," she laughed softly. "But, either way, I think we'll be happy. As long as the baby's healthy," she agreed. She'd avoided really admitting she'd been hoping for one gender or another, given the fact that her doctor had emphasized how important it was that she watch her stress levels and be careful. It had worried her a lot over the recent months, but it seemed things were going well. So maybe it was okay that she was imagining what a nursery for a boy would look like.
At the mention of her own wedding, she shook her head. "I don't know, Adam," she admitted. "Marriage is one of those things that - I just don't really know if that's going to happen. But we're having a baby and we're living together. It seems kind of superfluous," she nodded, completely sure she was trying to convince herself and not Adam.
When he apologized, though, she looked up and smiled softly Adam. "It's okay. I get it. And you know that I'm sorry for the way I treated you when we were younger. But I'm happy you're doing well."
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Post by Adam Tyler on Oct 8, 2015 14:53:46 GMT
Adam shook his head, "I don't think a mini version of you would be a nightmare at all." Realizing that it might have come across as a little more complimentary than he intended he added, "I think that either way it's great that you guys are having a kid. Really." The truth was that everyone that they had gone to school with seemed to be growing up into lives that they were really happy to be in. And while he couldn't say that he had always been necessarily thrilled to find himself in the company of Amber Jacobs or her boyfriend, he had to admit that he was happy that they were finally happy and together. If anyone outside of the two of them had known what sort of cat and mouse game they had played from the beginning, he supposed it would have been him. Deciding that it wasn't worth dwelling on, he instead chose to just continue to try and put it all in the past.
"If you both don't think you want to get married, that's fine too. I think that wedding planning has just put me in a state where I assume that everyone else is next now. But if you're happy in your relationship with the way that things are, then I don't see a reason why anything should have to change unless you want it to." He didn't know whether it was her decision, Brandon's decision or a mutual decision between the two of them, but he supposed that marriage wasn't necessarily for everyone. It wasn't as though either of them had ever taken the most traditional path, so just because he and Riley had felt like this was the right thing for them to do, it didn't have to mean that it was the right thing for everyone.
He took another drink from his glass and smiled at her, "I'm glad you're doing well too."
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Post by Amber Jacobs on Oct 8, 2015 15:22:43 GMT
Amber smiled at Adam, nodding at him. "Thank you, that means a lot." And it really did. It meant a lot to her that they seemed to be able to put the past behind them and have a normal conversation. She appreciated the fact that he kept her company while Brandon went off to work too.
After Riley had made a few phone calls, mostly angry ones, while trying to come up with a plan with Brandon. They'd made some decent headway but had a lot more to do. Riley had a plan forming in her head, but until she was able to meet with some of their shareholders, she knew things were still uncertain. But she also knew it was probably better for Brandon to continue showing his face during a corporate event right now, until she was able to solidify a plan and get it into action. When they returned back to the ballroom to find Amber and Adam, she was honestly surprised to find them still talking to each other. Walking over to him, she slipped her hand into his. "Hey, I'm sorry about that," she told him.
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Post by Adam Tyler on Oct 8, 2015 15:59:59 GMT
He couldn't pinpoint what had changed between the last time they had tried to speak with each other and this time, but it had seemed to be much easier to have a casual conversation with her now. Maybe he had just needed a little bit of time, or maybe the hotel ballroom just felt a lot more like neutral territory than being in her apartment, either way it was sort of nice to feel like they had at least broken down some sort of wall between them. That didn't change the fact that he was pleased to see Riley come back. Adam smiled at her and squeezed her hand, "It's fine. Everything okay?" he asked her softly, not sure how much of the situation they would have really been able to resolve in such a short time, and being so far from what he assumed were necessary documents to peruse.
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Post by Brandon Finn on Oct 8, 2015 16:01:03 GMT
Brandon could feel his stress levels rising as the evening carried on. First from the fact that he knew that Amber didn't want to be here, in a room full of people that seemed to question the very nature of their relationship. Secondly, because whatever seemed to be going on behind closed doors at his company seemed to be orchestrated to put him in a very precarious position. One that he had never been prepared to handle, and on that quite frankly, made him much angrier than he could allow himself to be. Thank goodness for Riley, he supposed, she at least seemed to be keeping a perfectly level head about it. But the third thing, he realized, was perhaps the pettiest and most selfish of them all. Maybe it had been naive to think that in his absence Amber would have gone to find Cassidy, who he assumed was here with Jeremy Thomas, or at the very least had mingled with acquaintances. He hadn't thought that she and Adam Tyler would use this opportunity to become more sociable with one another.
"Everything is fine," he dismissed Adam's question, perhaps a little more forcefully than he had intended to. It had been a long and unpleasant night already, he told himself. "I'm surprised to see the two of you talking to each other, though."
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Post by Amber Jacobs on Oct 8, 2015 16:19:14 GMT
Amber's eyebrow ticked up at Brandon's comment, she turned to him and tilted her head. "Seriously?" she asked him, completely turning away from the other couple to look up at him, keeping her voice low and a pleasant forced smile on her face. "Adam and I were talking because I didn't really have anyone to talk to once you had to go off and work with Riley. I figured it was my best option rather than giving a piece of my mind to your Board of Directors, dealing with water cooler gossip about me, or interrupting Cassidy and Jeremy's date - because I figured someone should enjoy their night out. It also seemed like a better option than going home. So, I personally think talking to Adam was the best choice I could have made."
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Post by Brandon Finn on Oct 8, 2015 16:57:47 GMT
Brandon frowned, more upset over her defensiveness than he was saddened by having upset her. Truthfully, it may not have been that he was necessarily angry with her for speaking with Adam. It was probably just the culmination of all of the stresses that he was experiencing at the moment. It wasn't her fault, he knew that on some level, but at the moment all he could think of was that she kept listing all of the reasons why she didn't want to be there and all of the problems that she was having herself. There didn't seem to be any understanding on what he was going through now. "I had to go off and work with Riley because there are serious problems that need to be handled." He snapped at her quietly, trying to match her tone so they didn't make a scene. "Sometimes there are things bigger than your own problems, Amber. I think that in the grand scheme of things that you dealing with gossip or interrupting Cassidy pales in comparison with everything else that's going on. Just because you're so busy worrying about yourself doesn't mean that there aren't things that I'm worrying about now too, so if you could just try and not make things anymore stressful than they already are, I would appreciate that."
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Post by Amber Jacobs on Oct 8, 2015 17:12:51 GMT
She looked up at him and frowned. "I make things more stressful than they already are?" She shook her head at him and looked down. She took a deep breath and crossed her arms in front of her. "Right," she nodded and took a step back from him. "You know, Brandon, I think if you actually thought about it for a bit you'd realize that I've been doing everything I can to not make things more stressful for you," she snapped back before shaking her head. "I think I should probably go, to avoid causing a scene. You should stay, tell everyone I wasn't feeling well and we can finish this conversation at home - though, it feels like I have a pretty good grasp of how you feel now." Tucking her hair behind her ear, she nodded. "I'll see you at home. Sorry," she added in her apology tersely before turning to Adam and Riley. "Have a good night, guys."
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