arnold whisham

"Be honest, you just like it because it's short," Crete replied, completely uninterested in trying to hide her satisfaction at the compliment — and the attention. Her smile was wide, visible and bright. It was a nice change from feeling like the second option. Sometimes she felt like the Alderidges spent more time with her husband than her. "Oh shush!" An undeniably mean giggle escaped her and she leaned her forehead against his shoulder, the arm swallowing the loudest of the notes. "We can go. We can definitely go. I don't think I can take another sip of mediocre white wine." A harsh review on the selection of the night, the opinion merely fuelled by the taste she had adopted from him: the only truly good wine was red. "Alright, let's leave." She stood up in a way that could hardly be called graceful. The chair screeched as she pushed it backwards, her legs didn't easily slip from beneath the table and on top of it, the tablecloth snagged a bit as she slipped from her seat. Her jaw tensed at the mistakes. Even after a few glasses, the movement should have been easy to execute. "Alright. Give me your arm, will you? These heels are not being cooperative at all. They remind me of the old men at the table." How much longer could she say it before she was complaining about the two of them? "Where did you disappear to while I was getting ready?"

obligingly, his arm extended towards her and he waited for her before taking the first steps. the rosy tint on her cheeks explained the unsteady steps better than the height of her heels. he had seen her run in the shoes, they had seemed perfectly capable of supporting her ankles. but who was he to turn down the opportunity to play the hero she had so graciously presented to him ? " oh you noticed ? " he had not tried to sneak off but he had genuinely believed she had been too preoccupied by her beauty routine to notice his absence. apparently not. " i had a quick chat with bernard. i needed to get something cleared with him. " he had been foolish to believe the shift in their dynamic wouldn't bother him. the more their work lives kept bleeding into their personal lives, the more frustrated he was growing. he had accepted the price but he had not understood the constancy of it. how honest words felt like new betrayals. his best work the cruelest of slights. " it truly doesn't matter, " he slowed down and had them take a sharp turn. much of her weight supported by his arm to make sure he got her where he wanted. the dimly lit side corridor did not offer much privacy but it wasn't directly on the path of other guests. she fit perfectly between his body and the wall. " now mrs whisham, can we just concentrate on the two of us for a change ? "

"Dreadful weather. This humidity is worst than the actual heat."

" lovely to see you too, lia, " arnold greeted, setting his own glass on the table. " you should convince verity to move to norway. it's cold throughout the year there. "

❝ i don't doubt it. ❞ no, doubting meant he had some part of him inclined to believe the man. he simply did not. ❝ moderately well. we've had a few conversations before. ❞ but then again there were very few people in the industry bernard had not made himself acquainted to. ❝ tbc completely disregarded the career he's made there in favour of nepotism even after giving him false hope because, let's speak frankly here: if it were to be decided on merit, in-hye wouldn't even be considered for the position when you have him to compare her to. it isn't overconfidence, it's knowing the place he finds himself in. ❞

" when we start working at a family company, we accept certain truths. " arnold looked pointedly at the future ceo of comoedia. one could argue that the position that was being baked for bernard could go to someone else if the company wasn't the alderidges'. " he's not overly egoistical. it's an issue for us. he may feel overlooked and underappreciated but he has vested interested in the bulletin, jumping ship would require him to let go of a stable position and it's possible he'll be out of money. " so the question was... " how much do you think he's worth for comoedia ? "

“  i  don’t  know  if  it’s  maybe  because  i’m  a  foreigner  but  why  does  london  have  the  most  ridiculous  names  for  things  ,  “  eyebrows  furrow  as  she  stares  at  the  map  on  her  phone  ,  turning  her  body  until  it  matches  the  directional  arrow  on  her  screen  .  “  seriously  ,  i  mean  ,  why  is  this  called  piccadilly  circus  ?  ever  since  i  moved  here  i’ve  been  so  embarrassed  to  call  it  that  so  i’ve  just  been  calling  it  ‘  british  times  square  ‘  .  .  .  they’re  honestly  not  even  too  far  off  from  each  other  ,  don’t  you  think  ?  “ 

he, out of politeness, lowered his newspaper onto his knee and gave angelina his attention. " ridiculous such as... ? " he was expecting to hear her namedrop putney. not piccadilly. he could only stare at angelina as she continued. he was in complete shock. piccadilly was piccadilly ! never once had he spared the name a thought. if the name had seemed ridiculous to her, how did her nickname get a pass ? " as an englishman, british times square is possibly the worst thing i have heard in a while. in my opinion, times square should be called american piccadilly circus. but i suppose you're right and they are similar. piccadilly circus is just a bit smaller but we have a fountain. " and if you asked arnold, 'square' was a very generous term for the monstrosity in new york. " it has an anecdotal story behind the name. it's one of those things you just accept as is. have people really understood you when you've called it times square ? "

"  looks  to  me  like  they've  got  exactly  the  right  idea  ,  "  she  nods  as  she  raises  her  glass  to  her  lips  ,  she  needs  to  get  on  their  level  .  "  alcohol  is  the  only  thing  making  this  any  fun  ,  honestly  considering  the  open  bar  i'm  shocked  everyone  isn't  shit-faced  yet  .  .  .  since  when  did  the  upper  echelon  have  so  much  decorum  .  "

" day drinking is only acceptable if it's a side activity. golfing works as does gossiping, i suppose. " considering the age bracket, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. the level of tipsiness or drunkenness did not correlate with the amount drinks that had been consumed. the people around them drank daily and not small amounts. a glass of wine was not considered an alcoholic drink. it was like tea. " i'm more curious to see how they look tomorrow morning. if they show up for breakfast. it will be a different scene. "

"It's called a smartphone." She teased with a grin. "Granted, you can't really run a campaign on one but not everyone ended up here." At his question, she shrugged. "I made an appearance at the driving range and worked on my short game but I'm happier during the cocktail portion. You?"

" ah, of course, i had forgotten those existed, " arnold replied with shake of his head as if to say 'silly me'. " the point was to relax, i think you succeeded at that. i did complete the whole course. it had a few trickier parts but a fairly wonderful course as a whole. not the best however, but we'll see how i'll like the other facilities. a membership doesn't seem like too poor an idea. "

❝ you're worrying about empathy now ? ❞ he could feel the world turning upside down, the sunny summer sky turning gray and hell freezing over. he even chose to ignore the comment about wine, who knows what other sort of absurdities his comeback might bring out of arnold. ❝ funny you would mention that, i've been debating approaching him for a bit now. ❞ and it annoyed bernard how the other man had the same exact idea. ❝ it does not look like it would be hard to convince him to leave. ❞

" it's always been a concern of mine. " truth and a lie: empathy directed towards him had always been a top priority of his. " how well do you know him ? " bernard could do damage if he wasn't familiar with the way kang operated. " i'm not sure if overconfidence is in place here. he has made a career at the tbc, and even in-hye will be smart enough to hold onto him tightly. what we should decide is what we will be willing to offer him in exchange for his experience and expertise. "

❝ no one's ever that lost, arnold. ❞ but maybe he was giving the man too much credit. bernard watched as he placed the paper down while taking his jacket off and hanging it by the door, getting comfortable in his room. for the weekend, but his. ❝ are they about wine ? ❞

" that's a very unempathetic thing to say, bernard. " he sounded almost lazy, uninterested. the banter felt like a waste of their time but it was difficult to keep his tongue in check. he should have been better than this. " i wanted to exchange notes. you know so much about french wines. " he really really should have stopped. sarcasm was childish even if it was his first instinct. " this is about tbc. what are your thoughts on mister kang ? if i'm not reading him completely wrong, i think he's more than a bit dissatisfied with his current position. "

❝ the map of the property ? that's what you broke into my room to steal ? there's one in every corner of this place. ah, that's the thing: you don't know the corners of the place. ❞

" it's an incredibly handy thing to have. i don't mind a spare, just in case i lose my copy. " he inspected the paper in his hand for a moment before setting it back on his table. arnold folded his arms by his chest. " i actually needed to exchange a few thoughts with you before the tasting. "

❝ what are you doing in my room ? ❞

" robbing you. what does it look like ? " a scoff.