zephvrs

[zephvrs]

" thank you, again, for closing this for me, " he is a miracle worker ! two months ahead of schedule (she turns a blind eye to the initial six month setback). " it's finally coming together ! sophia will get the paperwork over to you by tomorrow afternoon. " she slams her binder shut, hand patting the cover as if to say 'good job, nevaeh!'. now, onto the more important topic of conversation. " —speaking of sophia... " she starts, with caution. " she's had some personal matters — whatever that means — conveniently come up on sunday. i know this is terribly unprofessional, so just say the word and i'll be on my way, but do you have any interest in joining me at the criterion baftas party ? i'm sure you could do quite a bit of schmoozing, find yourself new clients. if for nothing else, i hear the catering is quite good. "

[zephvrs]

" you mean to say you're not camping outside the palace for the first public sighting of the baby ? can you believe he has a baby now ? a little mini arnauld. or a mini fanni. either way, what a fucking nightmare. "

“ where are you off to now that fashion week is over ? i'm afraid of staying in paris too long after that one time i had to steal a kiss from arnauld for the dares game. ” / @zephvrs

[zephvrs]

" you're lying. you're lying ! " she snatches the phone from her sister's grip, squinting at the screen. " ugh, how do you see anything with your brightness this low. " a couple of quick swipes and the text illuminates. " oh. my. god. how did she find me ? i can't not do it... right ? " ooh, jamie will be livid ! this must be his karma for texting his little groupie while they were on a break...

" ate! " she walks into her sister's room unannounced. " i've been trying to reach you all day! you see, right — my friends agent — here — " she scrolls through her text thread, pausing at a specific message before turning it around for her sister to see. " she said you're a perfect fit for love island! "

[zephvrs]

" honestly, can't you read ? " she strides into the kitchen to snatch the pouch from his hand. " char-maine, " a bedazzled claw underlines the sharpie with each elongated syllable. " it's bae juice, and it's 100% natural, thank you very much ! i'd have offered it to you, but for all the headaches you've caused me, you deserve every hangover to come your way. " she places the drink back onto the shelf, right where he'd found it. ( @pyrctic )

" 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 )

[zephvrs]

" darling, i have a charity luncheon this thursday and i'm to give a welcome speech - the jins will be attending. do you know what this means ? " the jins and their silky hair and their sharp eyes. " snooty bunch, they are... you come highly recommended by my daughter. i simply do not have four weeks. i'll need a quick fix, the rest can come later. "

“ and your last hairstylist suggested you use this product daily ? that's absurd, this is a once-a-month treatment, that's why it looks so dry. but we can fix it, four weeks and it'll be looking a lot healthier. but you need a whole new haircare routine, you cannot keep using this. first: a good nutrition mask. ” / @zephvrs

[zephvrs]

" you ? i should have fucking known, " a guttural groan escapes her with hands tossed into the air. she lives with not one but two kitchen bench dictators ! what crimes did she commit in her past life to deserve this ! " i was eating them ! " they were placed on the kitchen bench when her phone began buzzing in her pocket – jamie's name lit up her screen, signaling that he was waiting in his car downstairs. there wasn't a clip or elastic in sight ! what was she to do ? make him wait ? that would be so rude. " ugh, whatever. you two are literally the same person and i mean that in the worst way possible. "

" for one, those were my crisps. and for two — i threw them out. " they need to do something about sean? no, she needs to do something about charmaine and sean! they're both horrible roommates! " i told you to use an elastic or a clip if you're not eating them. and you know sunday is my deep cleaning day so if anyone is going to scream it's me! "

[zephvrs]

" okay, we need to do something about sean, " her grumbles are heard long before she enters the living room. "– because what the fuck ! can someone explain why my truffle crisps are in the bin ? i literally opened them yesterday ? " and a good handful still rests within the enticing shiny plastic that's now nestled in a morning's worth of garbage. yes, she did leave them opened on the kitchen counter, opened, but a fair warning before he'd disposed of them would have been nice ! " i am going to scream. "

[zephvrs]

" oh, i wouldn't dare go toe to toe with a future king. some might say poaching you from right under his nose might be considered treason, " head shakes, arms raised in surrender. nevermind the fact that her generational wealth couldn't possibly hold so much as a match to his, let alone a candle. besides ! this whole conversation started because she's in need of investors with deep pockets. " if you could arrange a meeting though, i'd be indebted to you. "

   ― “ a future king ! ” was spoken with just as much disbelief as the woman before her. dahlia still has a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that she managed the image of a future monarch. “ that depends on whether you can match my salary or not. ” a joke, of course. “ you'd have to ask him, you seem to be very good with people, you might just convince him very fast. ”

[zephvrs]

" okay... " a slow nod trails along with lilah's recap. pregnant teen?? her genetics have kept her skin glowing and plump and youthful, and the silver screen will always take liberties with casting older actors to play young... but she simply struggles to picture it ! lilah was a middle aged mother in a twenty-seven year old body. she was far too bossy and cranky to be playing a teen ! but with her scrawny shoulders slouched on the couch, she looks so tiny and helpless ! maybe charmaine can believe it. a television teen is always actually in their mid-twenties anyway ! " no, no, no, girl, stand up ! netflix is a huge deal ! plenty of actors blow up after a silly little netflix show ! all it takes is a few tiktoks and posts on p-app-h for a show to go viral. besides... look at bridgerton ! that could totally be you and uh... taipei expectations... " it's a working title, it must be ! " adoptions happen... or maybe your parents fell in love in taiwan and decided to move there ? the setting is totally not a dealbreaker. emma stone has played chinese for god's sake. at least you're from the same continent ! " she bundles her hair into a ponytail and dips into her room, plucking a cap and a large jacket (jamie's) from her closet. she returns to the couch in full-costume to pry lilah's hands off of her face. " okay, baby daddy boyfriend is ready. up you get. "

" i'm a pregnant teen who is telling my boyfriend that he's not the father and then i go to taiwan to find my birth parents in order to heal emotional trauma from my childhood —" the script sounds absolutely terrible. " this is a bad idea, right? it's a netflix show, but netflix shows are hardly regarded as good anymore. i'm doomed! i'm not taiwanese, what am i doing... " she plops onto the couch, face in her hands.

[zephvrs]

" ooh... exciting ! " nails tap a quick final word onto her phone, but the other hand juts out, splayed fingers awaiting the script. send. click! the screen goes to black and the phone is tossed beside her. " what's the role ? "

" i have an audition next week, can you help me run lines? "

[zephvrs]

" don't play smart with me, araya, " she counters. she refuses to entertain it ! " i thought i had also raised you to have more respect for yourself, had i not ? " a gentle hand brushes araya's hair behind her shoulder, then readjusts the pendant of her necklace. " he can come ten– five minutes earlier ! it's improper to be waiting in the car outside of my home to take my daughter away from me without so much as a greeting to your lonely mother. "

" you've met him plenty of times before! " years ago, before they were dating, hardly counts, but still! " — but then we'll be late to our reservation? that's so rude to the restaurant staff. you literally raised me to treat normal people nicely. this would literally be going against your moral principles. "

[zephvrs]

" you've been home for quite some time now, darling. when will you be introducing aurel to me ? he really should come inside, when he picks you up, and walk you to the car. "

[zephvrs]

" right... " he's already losing interest in the conversation. what's in it for him ? " there was a lawyer working in-house at rhodes a few years back. i think he owns his own firm now or something. good guy, successful, humble... attractive man. i can set it up but the rest is up to you. " the man had a resume packed full of his own achievements ! aya would need a little more to boast than simply her title.

   ― “ did you not just hear my rant ? me, i'm asking. i don't see you with regular girls which means whatever relative they might have that could interest me is easily google-able. ” again, she was not lying, just omitting the fact that his mother might hear whatever comes out of him in the conversation. “ the apps only have freaks, even the famous ones. it's a let down. ” and she was sick of disappointments. “ i'm not trying to narrow anything down, i want to keep my options open and you know your mother won't be happy if she sets me up with someone and it doesn't work. i can't disappoint her like that. ” the favourice niece title was one aya took very seriously to put at risk for a dude.

[zephvrs]

what did she wear to the climate change luncheon ? she can hardly recall what she wore to antonia ives' brunch last week ! the bag, however, she is very fond of. " well, trisha diosa, the bag looks much better on you, doesn't it ? " she taps her phone against the machine. " can i get the cannolis packed separately, please ? and my husband will pick up the other pastries first thing tomorrow morning. for you, " she hands the first bag to trisha and awaits the second. " can i ask a little favour in exchange ? i'd love to take a photo with you, but in case you do post it, could you maybe wait until tomorrow ? "

" trisha, trisha diosa! i have to say, what you wore to the climate change luncheon last month, so gorg. like sososososo gorg. " it was to die for! " i bought this loewe bag after i saw you wearing it on your vacation to saint-tropez! it's so chic! " she doesn't care if she's being overbearing. when is she ever going to talk to her idol ever again! any impression is an impression! " could i get a selfie? just a quick one if you don't mind! after you pay of course. " — @apclogue

[zephvrs]

" i mean, if anyone can, it's you, " a meager five minutes of speaking in front of a meager few hundred...? thousand...? —people. at charmaine's age, feyza had already founded one of the world's most used apps ! what's a little public speaking to her ? " oh there's plenty you could talk on ! they want you for your expertise. they literally called you a pioneer when they first reached out to me, you have nothing to worry about. at all ! plus, it would be totally unprofessional and such a bad look for the other speakers to be roasting a hotter, younger mogul. they'll look so jealous and bitter ! that'd be so embarrassing. " if the other panelists are experts in the field, in their own right, they'd simply have nothing to gain by it. she's rambling. now's a good time to stop. " ok... " she swipes between screens to open feyza's calendar, colour-coded events flooding the screen. " so for the briefing call, he's offered 10am-3pm on tuesday. you've got meetings until 2pm. otherwise, you're both free at 11 on thursday, but you have a lunch with dulaan at 12. do you have a preference ? " she moves the cursor around the two dates, awaiting a response. " oh, table tennis could be fun ! and maybe a scavenger hunt ? or... some sort of coding challenge ? " it's a brilliant idea ! very very on-brand for a tech company... and that way, maybe her work-husband from the it department might have a chance at scoring a pass...

" 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. "

[zephvrs]

" a prince ? " a brow raises, not bothering to refrain her tone of surprise. his name warrants such a response, after all ! " well that must look good on anybody's resume. there goes my chances of poaching you, huh ? " it's all said in jest. " so... does your client have any particular interest in film, theatre...? "

   ― “ you have no idea. he is right over there: aurel hohenzollern, heir to the german crown. ” it felt insane to say that to someone else removed from the royal bubble. especially back in the business crowd where people expected her to be working with an actor or pop star. “ well, congratulations. ” she raised her glass as if to toasting the other before sipping from it. “ of course, i couldn't wait to get back to gloomy and depressive looking london. no, his highness is staying here for indeterminate time and i follow wherever he goes for too long. ”

[zephvrs]

realisation clocks and he pushes his chair to dodge the kick, half a second too late ! the pain jolts up his leg, barely comforted by his hand grasping the bruise to come. " fuck ! " he winces through a laugh. " oi, that wasn't very media-trained of you. careful now, " he reprimands, jokingly. he drags the chair back under the table. " the 'learning the basic shit' is fine, " he always liked meeting people. " it's the everything after that gets boring. the girls our age are desperate to settle down. they'll do or say whatever if they think it'll keep me happy. "

" 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. "