𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄 ╱𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑹

              the moonlight shone through the studio’s windows as ariel finished packing everything inside her duffel bag. the sudden sound of a voice made her jump slightly but she relaxed once she realized who it was.“i could but what would be the fun in that?”she questioned with a small chuckle,swinging the strap over her shoulder as her eyes focused on his features.“as you know,sleep is not a part of my schedule…enough about me,what are you doing here so late?it is,at least,midnight.”

           Bethenny felt her body begin to show her discomfort towards her fathers tone towards her right now. She put down the knife, looking up at him with wide confused eyes. “Look after me?!” She repeated loudly, throwing her hands in the air and bringing them to her temples, shaking her head. “Dad, seriously? What are you talking about? I don’t lie to you. I just don’t tell you about every move I make, okay, don’t call me a liar!” She said, sadness overcoming her expressions. “Wh-what do you mean you don’t recognize me?” She asked, with a guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

            they had each other , just them and that’s it and yet he felt as if bethenny was slipping through his fingers and he didn’t know what he could do to make it better . ❝ I’m calling  YOU A LIAR  because that is exactly what you are doing . ❞ he says as he cleans his hands and makes his way to his briefcases pulling out the pictures and throwing them across the kitchen island , different time stamps and dates of her partying adventures ❝ is this you telling me the truth because I don’t think it is . you can have everything , I give you everything that you could ever wish for . you have whatever you want and yet  YOU DO THIS ?  ❞ he stops himself and takes a good look at her ❝ I honestly though we were closer than that . ❞

          “Are you trying to get rid of me?” She asked, winking up at him and letting out a laugh. She nodded her head, guiding the way and ignoring the fact she probably should’ve been home an hour ago. Walking into the warm cafe, she smiled at the familiar faces. “The usual, Jay,” she said towards the barista. “The chai here is beyond delicious, plus, their almond croissants are out of this world. Yes, I spend quite the amount of time in here,” she admitted with a grin. “How’s Beth?”

             ❝ wouldn’t dream of getting rid of you . ❞ he muses towards her and he watches her ordering , looking towards at jay " how about you mister mayor , the usual " beckham shakes his head as he looked at the male ❝ let me get the same as hers and an almond croissant. ❞ he says as he places his hand on gia’s back directing her towards the small table ❝ beth is .... ❞ he stops as he looked at gia running his hands through dirty blonde hair ❝ I want to punish her and ground her but I know that will only make her rebel more , so at this point I don’t even know what to believe . ❞ he says with a shrug of his shoulders ❝ I would ask you to see if you can talk to her but I know she’s not your biggest fan , so that has bad idea written all over it ❞

             Lucia opened her mouth to speak when he asked about her name but quickly shut it when he continued talking anyway. She arches a brow as she continues to listen to him. “I give her all the advice she needs, like you should have fun while you’re young, for example,” she adds, becoming slightly annoyed. "Like, when’s the last time you had any fun?” Lucia asked before becoming slightly distracted by watching Beckham pull on his tie, her eyes drifting up to his hands. Why was she thinking about his hands right now? She quickly snapped back to reality, realizing that once again she said something she shouldn’t have. “That was out of line Mr Beauchamp, I’m sorry.” she apologizes, cringing inwardly at her words. “I’ll try my best to keep Bethenny on the straight and narrow,” she says as runs her hand through her hair. “Enjoy whatever it is you decide to eat,” she comments with a weak smile as she turns around to walk out.

      ❝ sadly lucia , I am a man who has a lot of things to do and I don’t have time to have any fun , I have a town to take care of as well a child , so having fun is at the end of the list I am afraid . ❞ he says looking towards her with a small smile as he sees that her words are immensely regretted ❝ it wasn’t out of line , you were being honest , that’s not a crime . ❞ he says as he looked at the blonde before him . standing up as she does as well , he peels off his suit and makes his way to the door but makes a stop and thinks ( a thought that could backfire but he goes with it regardless ) ❝ hove you had dinner ? ❞ he inquired with a tilt of his head ❝ if not then I’m sure we can order something but if your busy I understand . ❞ he says as he points towards the door.

             Lucia would be lying if she said that the Mayor didn’t intimidate her a little bit. While she had grown up around men of influence, Beckham Beauchamp just had something she couldn’t put her finger on. “You’ve made yourself crystal clear, sir.” she nodded as she listened to him speak. “Mr Beauchamp, I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Bethenny or her future,” the blonde replied, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I admit that maybe, sometimes, we go a bit overboard but we’re just having fun. It’s all harmless, you shouldn’t worry so much,” she said, realizing then that maybe it wasn’t the best thing to say. 

                 dee wasnt really a fan of these events,sure they always had great food and even better alcohol. asides those two things though the people were so dreadfully boring that all she could do was get wasted as she paraded on her dates arm. though she was getting a little bored as he had took a lot longer than she had expected and she was left by herself. she replyed the words of her date in her head over and over as he begged her not to get messy drunk tonight as it was a big night for him.. though while the mouse was away.. dee had no intentions of sitting here sober, that was for sure especially alone. “thank you, thank you. as is yours.” she said trying her best to not show just how tipsy she already was. “well you would know i wouldnt be here all by myself. no offensive.. these just arent my type of things. you can only fake knowing so much..” she explained as she took another drink from her glass staring at the lipstick stain as she sat it down. “but the poor soul is somewhere.. doing who knows what.. so i suppose you get my company for a little while.” she half joked. “and how are you? you look- a bit exhausted, if im being honest.” she explained.

             franklin used to be so good at talking to people, he honestly didnt know what had happened to him. when his dreams got turned upside down it was like his whole life and personality went with them. he nodded, “well you know bradley as well as i do. he loves to do things on his own time.” he said shaking his head. “however not everyone else in the town enjoys being on will’s time.” he admitted with a chuckle. “he’s let me sit in on a few things. i think he just wants to wait until i have a few more classes under my belt before really letting me dive into things. part of me feels like he is worried that im not serious about this.” which frankie didnt blame him, he didnt have the best track record in the past. “but i am more than serious about doing something with my life. hell i am nearly thirty. “ he pointed out. “how is everything going on your end? the town behaving?” he shook his head. “god that was a terrible question… sorry i’ve never been good at small talk.” he laughed once more.

“well you know now,” she grinned widely, really she was just teasing him. “when a gorgeous man with blue eyes is staring at you; sure people might be a little scared to get weak in their knees,” she continued as she sat down. “just tea,” she nodded and listened to the male carefully. her chin almost dropping down. “what?” she questioned. “are you —- s .. serious?” she questioned as she immediately looked at the piece of paper he was sliding towards her. her eyes immediately filled with tears. her job was her life. she had loved her job so much that she didn’t even see it as work anymore. and with the reward she was receiving really hit her differently. a sign. a sign that what she was doing her job right. “oh my god,” she whispered.

             it wasn’t a shocker that mayor beauchamp would strolling through the halls of almeda highschool , his presence was always needed . whether it was for money or just to give a talk to the students , he remembered his talk at graduation when his own daughter had left with honors . strolling past the familiar blonde he smiles ❝ nurse fenton, good afternoon. ❞ he says , hands in his pocket and his usual smirk on his features ❝ not too chaotic , TODAY  ? ❞

         hands rest inside his pocket , the breeze that identified wickery falls brushing up against his person VIOLENTLY  , walking inside the studio to find a very familiar face ❝ you look tired . ❞ he states with a tilt of his head as he lets grassy hues , scan over her features ❝ maybe you should go home and takes a rest days off , do you ever sleep ,   ARIEL   ?  ❞

            his hands tap on the desk in front of him as he takes a good look at lucia , he’s never been one to enforced the law too much but after bethenny’s news landed on his desk , he needed to make sure that the people around her were not making her  ACT A FOOL  ❝ I get it that girls want to have fun but you see lucia, I am hoping that you are after my daughters best interest because I would hate to find out that you are guiding her the wrong way , she’s my daughter . ❞ he says with a cock of his brow ❝ do I make myself CLEAR ? ❞

               bethenny leaned on the marble counter, taking a break from her chopping task as she chewed on a slice of cucumber ranting about her recent political science exam to Beckham when he spoke up and caught her off guard her a bit. Her eyebrows furrowed and she put the rest of the cucumber in her mouth, scratching the top of her head and standing up straight. “Dad, I went in for like… 2 minutes! Give me a break. Everyone was literally begging me to go in, I swear,” she began. “Who told you?” She asked him, beginning to slice the onion in front of her. 

                    If there was anything that displeased the oldest beauchamp, it was certainly lying and at this very moment , bethenny was lying to his face . ❝ bethenny it doesn’t matter who told me . ❞ he says as he places the knife down and turns to his daughter ❝ that’s the thing bethenny , you are not just anyone and people are WAITING AND WAITING  for you to fail , do you think that people actually want me as mayor . under the sweet smiles and the congratulations . they don’t want me here but I’ve worked too hard to let this go . ❞ he says as he runs a hand through his hair ❝ this is not what we do , do you really want me to assign people to look AFTER YOU ? is that what we have come to ? because honestly I do not recognize my own daughter , when did you start lying to me ,   BETHENNY   ?   ❞

          gia had been working through her days with the Mayor’s reputation on her mind. Having to go against many claims and disputes everyday as his lawyer, she always had his best interests… even his physical appearance. His tie was constantly crooked and she felt like before every meeting, she was adjusting his freaking tie. Finally exiting the stuffy room, she indulged the crisp air as it hit her cheeks and she listened to him. “Um, you would be a big old mess!” She said, letting out a snicker and looked over at him. “But hey, that’s what I’m here for. I don’t know what I’d do without you, either.” 

                 he hears her and lets a chuckle  ESCAPE  his brims ❝ you are 100% correct but where would you be if not keeping my LIFE INATCT ?  ❞ he inquired with a tilt of his head as he lets grassy hues scan her features ❝ please ... you are holding back being with me , believe it or not I see great things coming your way , whether I am part of it or not . ❞ he confessed as he sends a wink her way and sees the golden mug ❝ how about we go for a cup , I could really use one right now . maybe even a blueberry muffin . ❞

                 franklin was deep into his studies looking over the book in front of him when he heard the bells to the office chime. “good afternoon.” he muttered softly as his eyes still stayed focused on the book in front of him. “Mr. Bradley is out for lunch and wont be back fo-” his eyes glanced up to see the man in front of him. “Oh Mr. Beauchamp!” frankie shut his book and perked up a bit. “sorry, we weren’t expecting you until after lunch. William is out for lunch for another twenty or so minutes.” he explained to beck. he had knew the mayor was coming, his boss had requested some meeting over getting some more funding for his office. though william had just stepped out to get his lunch with his wife. “please take a seat, no sense in you having to come all the way back.” he offered the comfortable couch across the desk from him. “if you dont mind waiting it out here with me. that little diner down the road usually is pretty quick.” 

                   as the maid guided her towards the big table of the mayor’s house she smiled as she saw him sitting there. “why? can’t i come and see the mayor by myself? i don’t need jo by my side every time i come see you. you’re not that scary,” she teased him, a small smirk playing on her lips. “hm … i’ll just take some tea,” she mentioned as she sat down onto the chair to which he pointed to. “oh really? what’s it? i also had a few things i wanted to discuss with you.”

             dee hated attending these type of parties. she was young and felt full of life and these type of dinner and business parties felt so.. old and boring. sure there were plenty of young people here but they were business women and men. dee had never worked a job a day in her life and wouldnt be able to tell you the first thing about working in any aspect. however if there was something she was good at it was faking things. she could fake and lie her way in any conversation. so as her date for the night had snuck away to talk business with some important big wig there she had found her way to the open bar. that was always the only good part of these kind of events. she had sat alone on the barstool where she was now working on her third glass of champagne. she held the flute up and swished the red coloring around as she looked at in the light before pushing it to her own red lips and let it flow down her throat. when she turned she nearly spit her drink out as she tried to swallow it. “mayor.. “ she said covering her full mouth. she reached her hand out to shake his. “please take a seat, if you’re not too busy. i am might fine company, if i may say so myself.” she joked tooting her own horn.