And I will rise

The trek from the Olympic village to where her family had been staying wasn’t a long one. She rather liked Melbourne and was excited to explore more on her days off. Today however, she had something much more important to do. Emotions weren’t really her forte, she struggled enough to understand her own let alone understand others but she did know break ups were rough. Astrid said she was fine, Dom called bullshit. She didn’t know how to help her but she knew how to distract her. Tickets to a private tour of one of the best art galleries in Melbourne would do the trick. Just the two of them. She wasn’t a fan of art but she could deal with it for one day if that meant Astrid would be distracted.

“You ready?” She questioned standing in the door way, smiling at Astrid “Not to late to back out and take one of your friends” 

“long night,” rory stifled a yawn. “but good, yes. you got here early, right?” she wasn’t working tonight, but she would have to remember to set up an interview with her later. “Dominique, right? Van Renesslaer? I went to school with your sister.” rory had been valedictorian of their class, actually. she hadn’t spent too much time with astrid; the blonde seemed to prefer the company of her older friends, and once they graduated mostly kept to herself. “rory vanderbilt. i’m a journalist.” 

“I did, yeah” Dom nodded, she might have been a little eager to get out of the Olympic village and around others she was more familiar with. “Yes, that’s me” she offered her hand out for a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you. I apologise in advance if we have met before, I’m terrible at remembering people. Are you in Australia to work or just to watch?”

Finally, Dom was in her element. Competing on the world stage was where she thrived the most. She loved her day job, working at the bank with her parents was something she enjoyed but nothing brought her as much joy as competing. She had thought maybe this would be her last chance at the Olympics, that she wouldn’t return at 40 years of age for the next but after the opening ceremony she was ready and willing to work even harder to come back one more time.

She had brought with her her favourite black slit dress, wearing her team uniform in front of the grand archon just wouldn’t do and maybe just maybe by the end of the two weeks she’d have medals around her neck as a good accessory for it. She wasn’t usually fond of these dinners but this one...this one she could handle.

Dom moved through the crowd trying to find someone to speak with. It wouldn’t do standing alone in front of the grand archon, not when the Olympics were her stage. “It’s been a good night so far hasn’t it?” She said approaching someone with a smile. “Australia certainly knows how to put on a show.”

as amelia sat, yasmin reached over to press a kiss to the corner of her fiancée’s mouth. “that exciting then,” she drawled, her london accent mingling with the sarcasm inherent in the words. “your day looks to be productive, if a mite hectic.” yasmin had several meetings with high-profile clients and she was hoping to make a few adjustments to the high-yielding fund itself. “any chance you can fix his mistakes while making him look like the ass he is?” her eyes flicked over to amelia as she took another sip of her coffee. “quite a few meetings with clients and there are a few things i want to work on before the fund expands again.” she set the mug down. “i’ll probably order something in for dinner. are you ready for your dinner, darling? i’m only a phone call away if you need backup.”

“Productive? I’m not so sure of that” Amelia laughed, “Oh I can fix it but I can’t make him look like an ass. Father wouldn’t approve.” She hated she still needed his approval, the man who forced her to do so many different things she hated still had some kind of control over her life was but he had friends on the board still. Friends she’d need to convince to remove Richard Junior from his position. “Sound like your day might be a fraction easier than mine” Amelia said, sipping on her coffee. “To be quite honest with you, I’m not. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to avoid dinner with him like this before. It just...feels off.”

“yes he is,” astrid placed a kiss on his fluffy head. she’d gotten the goldendoodle puppy less than a year ago, but everyone (save perhaps her terror of a younger brother) adored paddington. as they should. he quite constantly demanded attention. “even though he’s always begging for attention.”

“it’s almost olympic time isn’t it?” astrid asked, placing her dog back on the ground and washing her hands. she removed the steeping leaves and padded lightly to the fridge to grab the milk. “are we going to get to come watch?”

a brief glance at the clock had astrid internally wincing at the thought of ‘a few extra hours’, though she kept her expression politely neutral as always. the mere thought of being on the hudson so early made astrid chilly. she clicked her tongue for her dog to come get his food, which she neatly scooped into his bowl, and stood up, glancing back at her sister to answer the question. 

“i have some…work to do,” astrid said hesitantly, moving the kettle onto the heat. “up at the cultural center.” whether her residency was classifiable ‘work’ was a hot debate topic amongst their family. mostly with dom and their mother, though their younger brother gladly took any opportunity to jab at his sisters and their father simply wanted to keep the peace. “did dad leave already?” if dom had the day off the answer was likely yes; without her, astrid knew their parents had to be more hands on. there was no doubting that dom was good at what she did. anything she did, really. 

astrid poured some of the earl gray tea leaves into her strainer and tapped the kettle to check if it was hot enough. satisfied that it was, astrid let the tea seep, picking up her much-too-large dog and cooing. “did you finish your food, good boy?” she asked in a soft tone, hoisting him up to show dom. “look aunty dom, he finished his breakfast!” 

“Sounds.....interesting” Dom replied, sipping at her coffee. She had no interest in starting anything today. Astrid knew how she felt about her ‘work’ and there was no need to ruin the peace to remind her. “Yes, he was gone by the time I got back. Mother too.” She enjoyed her job, would almost go as far to say she loved it and she hated having time way but her want for gold out weighed her want to work. She had to be the best in the world and if that meant not working again until after the Olympics she’d do it.

Dom chuckled lightly and tried not to roll her eyes as her sister cooed at her ‘nephew’. “That’s because he is a good boy, when he isn’t begging for attention”

growing up, maverick’s parents had often been absent. they were a bit hippie-ish, more new age than the parents of her friends, and as she’d become an adult, she realized just how much she’d missed out on with their permissiveness. amelia had been more than royce’s mother – she’d been the mother figure maverick had always wished for, and the breakup, and her actions during it, had soured things.

her lips quirked. “i had some work here,” she said by way of explanation. it wasn’t a lie, not exactly, but she left out the fact that she’d booked the work after deciding to visit royce and smooth things over with his mother. “but it was not too difficult for a layover on the way home either way. my parents still maintain a residence at the ritz-carlton.” not that she was staying there either. “how is everything?”

“Oh, well then. It seemed to work out for the both of us” Amelia nodded, it seemed to satisfy her suspicions for the time being. It wasn’t that she didn’t miss Maverick and the connection they had. In fact, she was rather hurt by the break up and even more so by how sour it ended up. She wouldn’t admit to anyone that she had missed her presence since then, despite her anger towards her. “Things are, well they as they always are. Always someone to protect, always someone to complain, nothing new. How are things with you? I have to admit this break in hostilities has come at a surprise. I thought you hated me?”

(  adrianne palicki, female, she/her  ) — a member of the  [  VAN RENESSLAER  ]  family claims membership to the society !  [  DOMINIQUE ]  is a  [ 36 ]  year old   [  BANKING EXECUTIVE ]  who hails from  [  MANHATTAN, NEW YORK  ]  ,  who call them  [  THE ACADEMIC ATHLETE ]  .  although their peers know them for being  [ AMBITIOUS ]  and  [  EVEN-TEMPERED ]  ,  their reputation for being  [  FUSSY  ]  and  [  TACKLESS  ]  might prove intimidating for new initiates. while the  [  VAN RENESSLAER  ]  family is known for  [ OWNING ONE OF THE OLDEST BANKS IN AMERICA  ]  ,  the society’s own  [  HERCULES  ]  is better remembered by  [  glass of whiskey sitting on an oak desk, three piece business suits, red bottom heals, ]  .  having been a member for  [  ELEVEN YEARS ]  now,  [  DOMINIQUE  ]  has managed to attain  [  A spot on the American Olympic rowing team ]  —  no doubt through the help of the society, wouldn’t you think ? 

@gildedward​ asked Send me a “📱” and I will answer the following:

What was my muses 5 last sent texts yours?

[ text: little prince ] baby why is maverick being so kind? [ text: little prince ] i’m meeting her for lunch today [ text: little prince ] it feels fishy [ text: little prince ] has she said anything to you? [ text: little prince ] I’m not sure what to make of it

What was my muses 5 last unsent texts yours.?

[ text: little prince ] i’m at my wits end here [ text: little prince ] I can’t keep dealing with him [ text: little prince ] he’s cocky and annoying and so incredibly stupid [ text: little prince ] you are the only reason i don’t just kick him out the board room window [ text: little prince ] even then it’s tempting 

What was my muses last snapchat to yours

I will be happy when i never have to see her on the Prince’s arm ever again.

What my muse saved your number as?

Little Prince <3

What contact photo my muse has set for yours?

What ringtone my muse has set for yours?

You are the Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder

How many times my muse has called your this week? Oh at least 10 

How many calls has my muse missed from yours?