[gracin's apartment] The things you do for family ...
[Set in Doctors. wantedtobepatch and cliche_iknow are mine to use and abuse. Cormac is an NPC.]
“This painting doesn’t make any sense.”
Leah turned in her brother’s direction, trying to figure out what he was looking at. They really weren’t supposed to be here. Cormac had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want them there. The O’Malley family wasn’t the best for making first impressions due to them being … them. But Cormac was being honored by his boss, and Leah and Kieran both felt that this was a family matter and should be celebrated as a family, even if that meant calling his boss behind his back and getting themselves invited the sneaky way. As far as Leah was concerned, this sort of stunt had been a long time coming after everything he had done to her, and now it was just a matter of a little payback.
Right now, however, she was trying to keep an eye out for Cormac so that they didn’t blow the surprise too early. If Cormac found out they were here, he would have them escorted off the premises before the champagne even came out and well-Leah loves good champagne.
“Sorry. That was during my blue period,” she quipped, before inching closer to him. “I wasn’t much into making sense then.” Kieran flashed a smirk, before draping an arm around her shoulders.
“I can sense your torment. It’s very impressive.” He paused again, before glancing back over his shoulder in search of his brother. “Any sign of Cormac?”
“Nope. And we should probably keep it that way,” she sighed, before glancing back at him. “I still can’t believe he didn’t invite us himself.”
Kieran gave her shoulders a squeeze as they continued to stare at the painting. “We’re loud, we drink too much, and we swear like sailors. We don’t exactly fit in his new little world.”
Leah knew that her brother was right. That didn’t stop the rejection from hurting any less. Leah had practically raised him. To be pushed out of something that was obviously important to him for the sake of decorum made her feel like he was ashamed of her. She was capable of being good. She didn’t want to embarrass herself any more than she wanted to embarrass him. But all it took was one award getting received behind her back, and the gloves were coming off. Leah didn’t care. She was ready, willing and able to make her brother’s foot land in his mouth, and she didn’t care who was there to witness it.
It was just what she did.
She reached out to snag one of the glasses of champagne that were wandering by, before turning her and Kieran away from the painting and back towards the rest of the room. “Isn’t it customary for people who make it big to acknowledge where they come from , and the sacrifices that other people have made in order to get them where they are?”
“Generally, yes. But Cormac has a habit of not mentioning any of the sacrifices that aren’t his own.” Kieran shrugged. “Our brother is a little self-focused. It’s good for the business that he’s in, but it’s bad for us.”
“Well, now he’s gonna learn that he’s gotta widen that focus a bit,” Leah said, taking another swig of her champagne, before a tall, well dressed man made their way over to them, giving her a smile.
“Leah. So glad you could make it.”
“Gracin,” she said with a nod and a smile. “Thanks for inviting us.” There’s a pause before she gestures to her brother next to her. “Gracin, this is our brother, Kieran. Kieran, this is Gracin Collinsworth, Cormac’s boss.”
“Ahhh-the reason for our invite to this little soiree,” Kieran grinned as he reached out to shake Gracin’s hand. “I have to say, I am impressed. You do know how to throw a party.”
“Well, when someone’s achieved as much for me as Cormac has, I feel it’s only fair that I break out the good champagne and invite a couple dozen of my closest friends.” He gave them a grin. “As I said earlier, please. Feel free to help yourself, and we should be presenting the awards soon.”
“Where is that happening, exactly?” she asked, holding up her glass. “We want to make sure we get a front row seat.”
Gracin directed them to the area where the podium was, and the two of them settled into seats near the front. They made a point to chat with whoever was sitting next to them, rubbing in how proud they were of their little brother in the most embarrassing way possible. The whole brilliant plan came to a head when Cormac stepped up to the podium. He smiled out over the crowd, before glancing down at his notes and starting to speak.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to thank you all for coming. When you choose to devote your li-Leah!”
Cormac had chosen that moment to look down at the front row, and when he spotted his siblings, he choked on his words. Leah and Kieran both beamed up at him from their seats in the front row, and he huffed, shaking his head, before continuing.
“Sorry. I saw someone I wasn’t expecting in the front row.” His tone, to the average listener really wasn’t conveying anything special, but for those who knew him, it was the clear I’ll deal with you later tone. And Leah, honestly was looking forward to it. “As I was saying, when you choose to devote your life to a firm like Collinsworth and Ford, you hope that you can achieve only half as much as those that come before you-”
As he rambled on, Leah leaned back into her seat, and watched her brother speak. Pissed or not, she was proud of him, and she always would be. All she had to do now was get him to be just as proud of her.
987 words
“This painting doesn’t make any sense.”
Leah turned in her brother’s direction, trying to figure out what he was looking at. They really weren’t supposed to be here. Cormac had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want them there. The O’Malley family wasn’t the best for making first impressions due to them being … them. But Cormac was being honored by his boss, and Leah and Kieran both felt that this was a family matter and should be celebrated as a family, even if that meant calling his boss behind his back and getting themselves invited the sneaky way. As far as Leah was concerned, this sort of stunt had been a long time coming after everything he had done to her, and now it was just a matter of a little payback.
Right now, however, she was trying to keep an eye out for Cormac so that they didn’t blow the surprise too early. If Cormac found out they were here, he would have them escorted off the premises before the champagne even came out and well-Leah loves good champagne.
“Sorry. That was during my blue period,” she quipped, before inching closer to him. “I wasn’t much into making sense then.” Kieran flashed a smirk, before draping an arm around her shoulders.
“I can sense your torment. It’s very impressive.” He paused again, before glancing back over his shoulder in search of his brother. “Any sign of Cormac?”
“Nope. And we should probably keep it that way,” she sighed, before glancing back at him. “I still can’t believe he didn’t invite us himself.”
Kieran gave her shoulders a squeeze as they continued to stare at the painting. “We’re loud, we drink too much, and we swear like sailors. We don’t exactly fit in his new little world.”
Leah knew that her brother was right. That didn’t stop the rejection from hurting any less. Leah had practically raised him. To be pushed out of something that was obviously important to him for the sake of decorum made her feel like he was ashamed of her. She was capable of being good. She didn’t want to embarrass herself any more than she wanted to embarrass him. But all it took was one award getting received behind her back, and the gloves were coming off. Leah didn’t care. She was ready, willing and able to make her brother’s foot land in his mouth, and she didn’t care who was there to witness it.
It was just what she did.
She reached out to snag one of the glasses of champagne that were wandering by, before turning her and Kieran away from the painting and back towards the rest of the room. “Isn’t it customary for people who make it big to acknowledge where they come from , and the sacrifices that other people have made in order to get them where they are?”
“Generally, yes. But Cormac has a habit of not mentioning any of the sacrifices that aren’t his own.” Kieran shrugged. “Our brother is a little self-focused. It’s good for the business that he’s in, but it’s bad for us.”
“Well, now he’s gonna learn that he’s gotta widen that focus a bit,” Leah said, taking another swig of her champagne, before a tall, well dressed man made their way over to them, giving her a smile.
“Leah. So glad you could make it.”
“Gracin,” she said with a nod and a smile. “Thanks for inviting us.” There’s a pause before she gestures to her brother next to her. “Gracin, this is our brother, Kieran. Kieran, this is Gracin Collinsworth, Cormac’s boss.”
“Ahhh-the reason for our invite to this little soiree,” Kieran grinned as he reached out to shake Gracin’s hand. “I have to say, I am impressed. You do know how to throw a party.”
“Well, when someone’s achieved as much for me as Cormac has, I feel it’s only fair that I break out the good champagne and invite a couple dozen of my closest friends.” He gave them a grin. “As I said earlier, please. Feel free to help yourself, and we should be presenting the awards soon.”
“Where is that happening, exactly?” she asked, holding up her glass. “We want to make sure we get a front row seat.”
Gracin directed them to the area where the podium was, and the two of them settled into seats near the front. They made a point to chat with whoever was sitting next to them, rubbing in how proud they were of their little brother in the most embarrassing way possible. The whole brilliant plan came to a head when Cormac stepped up to the podium. He smiled out over the crowd, before glancing down at his notes and starting to speak.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to thank you all for coming. When you choose to devote your li-Leah!”
Cormac had chosen that moment to look down at the front row, and when he spotted his siblings, he choked on his words. Leah and Kieran both beamed up at him from their seats in the front row, and he huffed, shaking his head, before continuing.
“Sorry. I saw someone I wasn’t expecting in the front row.” His tone, to the average listener really wasn’t conveying anything special, but for those who knew him, it was the clear I’ll deal with you later tone. And Leah, honestly was looking forward to it. “As I was saying, when you choose to devote your life to a firm like Collinsworth and Ford, you hope that you can achieve only half as much as those that come before you-”
As he rambled on, Leah leaned back into her seat, and watched her brother speak. Pissed or not, she was proud of him, and she always would be. All she had to do now was get him to be just as proud of her.
987 words