☾ FUCK ZUCKERBERG ☽

What had started as a simple conversation with the producers, barreled into an avalanche of suspicions and that ever gnawing sense of jealousy. Claire had banned the camera crew from entering her home, citing privacy concerns for the kids (who weren’t kids anymore, by the way). So they had to generate their drama in some way, and that was guiding Claire’s mind. She had gone out of to coffee with Madelaine Walker, and now here they were. “Yes. I am mad at you because of my dream, but also because dreams are only a manifestation of what we think and feel during the day. I will quote notable sleep experts and maybe even indulge you in some bullshit psuedoscientific studies, but I’ll spare you the boredom. You resent me, don’t you Topher?” She was never one to pull punches, choosing to face things head on and straight in. “You resent me, and it wasn’t in what you said, but the tone you said it in. Just say it, come clean. Who are you sleeping with, and what has she been telling you about me?” It wasn’t outlandish for Claire to excuse Topher of cheating, since everyone in Catalina seemed to indulge in that, but…but she knew her husband. The lawyer knew the man she had married would never disrespect her like so, so why was she listening to bullshit? Maybe it was something in the air. 

      Sparring with his wife took level of energy Topher simply did not possess after a long day at the office but avoiding Claire when she was in one of these moods was impossible. When she wanted to argue about something with him, she was a dog with a bone. It didn’t matter where in their large home he attempted to hide from her, she’d sniff him out and continue right where they left off. Carelessly tossing his keys into the bowl by the front door, the blonde closes it behind him with a sigh. Slender fingers absentmindedly reaching for his tie to loosen it. Hurricane Claire was on the loose and if he had to burrow down to survive it then he might as well be comfortable. “Exactly, what you think and feel during the day.” Nowhere in her explanation did it say anything about Topher’s actual thoughts and emotions only what she had convinced herself he thought and felt. “Resent you? Claire, do you hear yourself?” He only barely kept himself from pointing out she sounded insane, while his wife didn’t particularly care for his balls Topher was quite attached to them and didn’t want to give her any reason to put them in jeopardy. 

Miles was nothing if not silently hostile to the intrusion to his privacy. It was as if all of these people had signed a contract to ruin his life, given that he was for all intents and purposes, Reina’s son. And yes, even as the cameras lurked outside the restaurant, he didn’t care if he was conversing with Evelyn Halliwell herself, even though he’d rather throw himself into the azure body of water instead. “I mean, it’s a work thing mostly. One of the servers is just…I don’t wanna talk shit because I have a feeling it’s going to come back to bite me in the butt, but yeah. I’m thinking it through and honestly…” He paused in his seat, before letting out a loud sigh. “It’s not…I’m not very good at confrontations. I’m a manly man, I see problem and I either yell at it or punch it till it goes away. I’m not the best at…what do they call it? Shade? Yeah, not the best at throwing tea or spilling shade or whatever. But apparently, that’s more polite than outright screaming, so I guess I have to give it a go, and fuck whoever thinks otherwise.” 

      Conflict resolution remained to be a skill set that wasn't necessarily taught to young boys. Girls learned to talk through their feelings while their counterparts were taught to either ignore them completely or use fists to resolve problems words couldn’t. He could understand why it was something Miles struggled with. Especially due to the fast paced nature of his occupation and the amount of people he had to interact with on daily basis. He wasn’t sure what Miles exactly did before his position at Iris & Eve but if it didn’t involve managing a diverse group of people then it only made sense why there were some hiccups now. 

     Finishing off the contents of his glass allowed Topher a couple moments to think before offering any further advice. They were only a couple years apart age wise and the last thing he wanted to do was come across condescending. He happily allowed himself to be that around the boy’s father but that’s because he couldn’t stand Jason Rhodes, his son on the other hand wasn’t so bad. “I don’t think you have to be shady to communicate your frustration. There is an art to being straight-forward without coming across angry. You just have to find that line for yourself. Usually I count to ten to in my head but that trick doesn’t work for everyone.”

“So I said, ‘if you’ve got a problem, buddy, you can leave, ‘cause this is my goddamn bar’ and then he said, ‘actually, I do got a problem’ and then, uh —” Jason smirks as he takes a gulp of his whiskey, recalling the memory of how he’d beat the shit out of that pompous asshole with ease. “Let’s just say he didn’t come back again. Anyway, I ain’t allowed to do that anymore.”

      Holding a conversation with Jason often felt like a test of Topher's patience. One the investor continuously failed time and time again. Ocean hues scan the establishment for any means of escape but his main one was preoccupied. Why his wife insisted on being picked up from her rendezvous with Reina and the rest of the ladies before she was actually ready was beyond him but next time he’d make sure to send Matty in his place. “Usually I don’t ask this but something about you makes me feel like I have to. The guy in your story, is still alive correct?” Topher asks, his tone sarcastic despite the validity of his question. 

     If someone were to tell him tomorrow Jason Rhodes had been arrested for a slew of crimes, it wouldn’t surprise him in the slightest. He just seemed the type and unfortunately for Topher since Claire seemed in no rush to leave, he’d probably have to keep talking to him. The knowledge of that is enough to force him to down half the beer he’d been nursing for the last hour. “It’s not my business to tell other people how to run theirs,” yes it was, “but maybe next time don’t beat up a customer? He could sue, or, god forbid leave a bad yelp review.”

“Well, I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge, so hit me with your best shot. C’mon…” 

      As entertaining as it would be to watch Christian Howard attempt to take on a bunch of hooligan teenages, Topher wasn’t particularly in the mood for a trip to the ER. “Listen, kid,” the blonde intervened, gaze shifting from his friend to the punk with a smug expression etched into his pudgy features. “Just give us the wallet back. You may have a couple inches on him but I guarantee you’ll be on the losing end of this fight. The last kid he decided to teach a lesson to ended up inviting him to his wedding. Do you want that for yourself? Do you really want to tie yourself to this man for the rest of your life?” 

     Christian’s habit of picking up strays was usually a detriment to their friendship, since Topher usually avoided anyone under the age of twenty, but today it seemed to be a benefit. Thrown off by both men’s vastly different approaches of solving the problem the young thief evidently decided it wasn’t worth it because in an instant the wallet in question was abandoned on the diner floor as the group of teens made their escape through a side door. “Jesus, Chris. I leave you alone for a second to use the bathroom and you get robbed? If you didn’t wanna pay the bill that badly you could have just told me so.”

— RHOCI PRESENTS FAMILY TREES: THE MARLOWES.

SIR IAN MCKELLEN starring as Francois Andre Marlowe — Engineer, age 80.

JESSICA LANGE starring as Clementine Marlowe — Psychiatrist, age 70.

BRAD PITT starring as Cornelius ‘Neels’ Marlowe — Plastic Surgeon, deceased.

REESE WITHERSPOON starring as Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Marlowe  — Novelist, age 40.

RYAN GOSLING starring as Christopher ‘Topher’ Marlowe — Investor, age 39.

@pclyhistor​:  if there is one thing i learned in my life, you can’t control what other people are going to do.

“Honestly, amen to that brother. That’s some solid advice if I’ve ever heard.” Swallowing the rest of his mouthful, Miles replied before taking a swig of his beer. He was never the type to hanging around with Reina’s friends and the like, avoiding the cameras as much as he could, and as a side effect, even the other housewives and their husbands. But since him and Topher were already sharing a table, Miles decided that a little conversation wouldn’t hurt, and he was right.