" did you put this here ? " he was pointing at the sole can of soda that was on his shelf in the fridge. right next to his protein drink and his ketchup — the only other items on the shelf. it had made it too easy to notice the alien product. " who even drinks that ? " ( @seomarine / @zephvrs )
“ why don't we all go to the country club this weekend ? ” he suggested after taking the first sip of morning tea. “ have a family retreat of sorts. ” / @doushenka @seomarine @pyrctic
barron paused, his reach extended yet not far enough to commit to grasp his cup or fork, leaving him in an awkward in-between that neared elbows on the table. “ a family retreat wouldn't entail any of those american bonding exercises, would it? ” one of the american interns had suggested company bonding via email with far too many exclamation points just a few days prior. needless to say, it haunted him ever since. ... @seomarine , @pyrctic
beatrice set down her cup of tea and rested her chin on her hands. had the suggestion come from her younger children, she would have let a wide smile spread across her face — but bernard had unwittingly made a mistake with his suggestion. " no. if you have free time, you should have dinner with lord ashmore's daughter. and if lady fortuna favours me, you'll be having family retreats every weekend. " she turned to barron. " and you. you might want to cheer up a bit. even the worst misandrist would be put off by you. " it was hopeless !
― “ aren't you going to do anything for your birthday ? a ball, a soiree, even a dinner for close friends and family... it feels like nobody wants to host events anymore, i miss the days when people were getting married left and right. ” it was just strange going from a very busy social calendar to an extremely dry one, she was still adapting and barbara imagined her cousin could share the sentiment now that she wasn't just a few houses down from her friends. or she was hoping it was the case so leonor would have less of a reason to decline her idea. “ i'd be speaking about a christmas party but that's still two months away. ” / @pyrctic
" nobody wants to host events anymore. " a bemused snort. " if you need my soirees to fill up your social calendar, things are looking very dire. " leonor hid her smile underneath an intense look of worry. the sort used for broken arms and sick puppies. " i think i've officially given up on big parties. i'll do new year's, weddings and one random celebration that has a cool theme a year. it's gotten so boring, don't you think ? but you know what i might want to do for my birthday ? go to a good concert. i just haven't had time to google who's performing and were that weekend. " she sighed softly and closed her eyes to get rid of the prickling sensation that had come with sleeping way too little the previous night. " maybe this is a sign i'm finally acting like my age. i'm not chasing the shiniest thing. trying to look the coolest. it never did me any good. "
" i'm sending out the invitations to our christmas party tomorrow. by then i need to know if you are bringing someone — because if not, i have people i would like to fit at the table. and by someone, i mean a perfectly suitable person who will not speak too loudly or giggle frantically at every little joke you make. i need my guests to have more than three braincells. "
" the queen is inviting one of us for afternoon tea... " beatrice squinted at the cause. " for the poppy initiative. goodness gracious. maybe the veterans needed less money if the queen had allowed the real heir to remain the heir. " beatrice looked between her sons. " who will go ? i do not have the temperance to pretend to like antonia ives. "
" you pay that woman to do her job, not to make your quality of life considerably worse. you look depressed. " she'd be out of a job if aurel would just follow her thousand-page guideline on keeping a spotless image ! it was in everybody's best interest for aurel to continue to have fun. it shouldn't have to be jelani's personal mission to bring life back into aurel's shell of a being. " the one two seasons ago... " he feigns deep thought, pretending to recall just the person in question. " you think i should call her ? i didn't know you were cool like that man... alright, i guess, let me pull up araya's number. "
" the point is to– " aurel let out a loud huff of frustration. he was going to lose this fight: there was no way to sound mature without sounding boring as fuck. he slid further down on his chair, far enough for his foot to reach jelani's shin. far enough for him to give the man a sharp kick. " uncool. so uncool. at this rate i'll start hanging out with silje. " but there was no competing against oli for silje's time, and aurel was not used to being the second option. he'd have to put up with jelani for now. " doesn't get boring ? i don't know if i could put up with having to learn the basic shit about someone new all over again. "
" it's a twenty-minute panel and ten minutes of q&a at the end. they're hoping to get three other speakers, so you'll really only be speaking for like... five minutes...ish ? " in front of hundreds of people ? even a meager five minutes would be a hard fucking pass for charmaine... but luckily charmaine isn't feyza ! " so far, they've only sent us a little blurb and the working title – redefining minds: social media's dual role in mental health. i'll forward you all the info after this and i've put a hold in your calendar in case you say yes. the panel moderator is keen to set up a meeting with you early next week to discuss potential questions. " the festival should hire her for how well she's selling it ! but there's truth to it... it'd be good for the company, even if there were no freebies involved ! " i mean... i definitely wouldn't say no to a free pass... but there are heaps of people in this company so i totally get if you want to do a raffle or something to incentivise the team, " false humility ! she hopes it works.
" five minutes. anyone can talk for five minutes ! " at least that was what she was going to tell herself from now on. " five minutes seems like a soft landing into public speaking, right ? i just don't know about the subject... that's a can of worms we might not want to open. they'll roast me like a pig at a barbie. " she wanted to consult lucas. really did ! but it she didn't want to be known as dead weight, the person who couldn't make a single decision, the only co-founder who needed a second opinion on everything. " maybe this is just my next professional challenge ? i can't evolve if i just sit at my computer, can i ? " she straightened her back and took a deep intense breath. " i will do this. we will go there. the question is: who'll be third-wheeling us ? we could do a table tennis tournament over it or something fun. the hunger games. we're not a meritocracy. "
" do you have a black blazer or dress i can borrow? i need it for work and i don't have anything. " nor could she really afford a whole new wardrobe just for her new job.
" honey! have you seen my glasses? i can't read this damn letter— " he moves the paper back and forth, away and toward his face multiple times as his eyes squint to try to focus on the tiny font.
" this is why you need a chain for them. this house is too big for you to be losing glasses. let me see. " she reached over his shoulder to snatch the paper from his hand. her hand slipping into her left pocket in search of her own glasses. the motion was easy and natural but when the tips of her fingers could only slide against the soft cashmere knit of her cardigan in the empty pocket, she stiffened. " have you seen my glasses ? "
" they are going to eat me alive. why did i think i had anything to offer at a panel about social media and mental health ? look ! look at my list ! " she held up her small sage green notebook that had exactly two bullet points: photograpp-h bad :( and algorithms bad :(. " i'm fucking screwed. no one's dumb enough to believe me if i tell them we have no idea about social media's effects on mental health. "
Sadly Gregg left IG again a while ago, so here's one of his latest posts! I thought I would share it here now that it disappeared from its original location😁 Happy Chillin Sunday everyone, let's hope he comes back soon😉
" —doesn't it seem cool ? they've offered a few media passes to the festival if one of app-h's ceos agrees to speak on their tech panel. they need confirmation by friday. it's the month lucas gets married so i'll assume he's out. would you do it ? "
" wow wow wow ! " a lot of words. a lot of information. a lot of scary suggestions ! " that's a lot of people hearing me speak. all of whom are more or less my competitors ! i don't know... " lucas and lucas' fucking wedding. " this is one of those things where our presence is kind of expected, isn't it ? " one of those things that required feyza to see the bigger picture. " did they send more info on the panel ? i really want to read it before saying yes. " no worse thing than having to speak on a subject she had no opinion on ! " are you interested in the media pass ? " feyza asked with a quirked brow.
" naaah... " what happened to his enabler ? " please don't tell me the pr bitch has lobotomised you, " he should not have gotten so defensive... but it's a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black ! " should i do a cleanse of my socials too ? "
" you know all i'm saying is... " jelani was being dangerous in the grand scheme of things. irresponsibility that could turn into trouble for the mwezis. " it's always extra work for other people when something happens. " aurel dramatically rolled his eyes and flashed his middle finger at jelani. " sure. might inspire oli to get in touch. i rather have her around than the flavour of the month. though i'll admit the one two seasons ago was actually fun and you should call her. "
" aren't you worried if you continue like this... you'll ruin our relationship with the croÿs for good ? what i mean is... " he took a deep breath. he did not know what he meant other than that he did not like where the plot was going. alexander and ignác were in too deep. " in some situation an apology goes a long way but we're headed towards irreparable damage. "
