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Post by Trix on Sept 13, 2017 5:10:59 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used Wedding planning was far more grueling of a process than he ever imagined it could be. He'd done a lot worse things, perhaps even more mentally taxing things, but this still did a number on him. It was all worth it, by far one of the better decisions that had been made for him in his life. Miles got to marry his best friend and the woman that had so easily wrapped him around her little finger. If that meant he had to pick out stationary, food, the cake and flowers (none of which were up his alley) he was going to do it without hesitation and without complaint. No matter the harsh jabs he took from his brother, Miles knew that Levi tried to get under his skin and would not let him succeed if he could help it. For the evening, Miles need not worry about his brother, as the older Shepherd had gone to the East for whatever mischief he could find.
Sitting at the table with a display of different catering options, Miles was far more focused on his fiancee than she seemed to be on him. Nothing out of the norm, she was a busy woman with much on her mind. He might have been busy too, but something about her always distracted him from pressing matters. He liked her ambition, it was what made her so striking and so powerful. There was nothing more beautiful than a powerful and stable woman. Miles believed that to be Cassidy.
He found himself smirking the tiniest bit after asking her whether they should do a land and sea menu or if that would be too much and she completely missed his question. "Earth to Cassidy? You in there?" Miles tapped her nose to pull her back from the papers that were in front of her. Not wedding planning papers. "I would have more luck getting an answer from my father about the arrangement than you. Miss Distracted." He laughed and leaned back in his chair, unbuttoning the blazer that was starting to make him hot. Or maybe he was just nervous. Levi was always saying that he had puppy eyes for someone who didn't even notice him.
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Post by Nu on Sept 13, 2017 7:44:25 GMT
Once in a while, however, the world provided a better distraction, one she found difficult to resist. Picking a menu for a wedding that didn't benefit her was not one of those times.
Her fiance, her best friend, was all too eager to see the wedding through but she couldn't care any less about it. She wanted to have the connection to Miles he apparently felt he had with her but try as she might, she just could not feel that way about him. He was a perfectly lovely man with flaws that were tolerable and yet she didn't see him giving her what she needed most.
Right then, she needed to finish the paperwork that was due in three hours for a company in Singapore that her father had just started doing business with. The legal jargon alone was making her eyes cross. It wasn't until the tap on her nose that she realised there was food in front of her and people were looking at her expectantly.
She dropped her pen and rubbed her face, feeling a little sheepish that she was so distracted someone had to physically pull her away. Especially in public. "I'm sorry." She said, her voice muffled behind her hand before she turned to look at Miles with an apologetic smile. She reached a hand out to cup his cheek, rubbing it lightly. "Food, yes?" She asked, turning to the array of food in front of her.
"What are we thinking, one vegan one meat option?" She asked, reaching for a fork to taste the chicken on the plate.
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Post by Trix on Sept 13, 2017 15:00:53 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used Miles gave her a reassuring smile when she apologized. He could understand the business end of things as well as anyone. It was exactly what he'd been raised around, just as much as she had. With his older brother being the family screw-up and wanting nothing to do with the company, Miles had been bred as a businessman who could run an empire. Ryan had found him the perfect partner in running such an empire in that she was as focused on making it succeed as the rest of them were. He might have been skeptical of her feelings towards marrying him, but at the end of the day, it was a necessary thing.
Of course he'd have rather courted her, taken her out and given her the kind of love story that everyone dreamed about. But their circumstances were different than those people. He didn't regret their situation, as long as it kept her close to him, he couldn't withstand the struggles. Besides, even with an earful of Levi, he knew that Cassidy cared about him in some regard. Even loved him. That was all he needed to make it work.
His eyes remained on her as she took a bite of the chicken and he nodded, "Vegan and meat could work. Should we offer multiple meat selections? Perhaps chicken and a nice salmon? At least that would widen our horizons. I know a few men on the panel prefer fish and need the natural oils for health reasons." Miles waved his hand dismissively at the thought, but he knew as it was mostly a business arrangement, they should probably cater to those invited rather than just themselves.
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Post by Nu on Sept 13, 2017 15:48:41 GMT
True to form, Miles was patient as he gave his suggestions, skimming over the fact that she hadn't been paying attention to anything they were presented with. He would make a mistress very happy one day.
Cassidy sighed inaudibly as she realised this was a complete waste of time. This was a business deal, who would even care about the food and the flower arrangements? She paused in her thoughts before musing that this was, after all, a wedding for Westies. They lived for lavish luxury. The more garish the better.
"Why not throw in beef and pork. Our fathers can afford it." She said dismissively. "Oh you have to try the sirloin." She cut a piece and moved the fork to his lips. "I think I prefer this to the chicken." She looked at him expectantly.
"Oh I have to go to the East tomorrow night to talk to a weapons dealer. Do you think you could accompany me? Show a united front so they don't try to pit us against each other?"
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Post by Trix on Sept 19, 2017 3:16:01 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used Miles was used to a distracted Cassidy. He imagined that wouldn't change even after they were married, but he was happy to pull her back when needed. He sort of frowned at her comment of their fathers being able to afford it. While he knew it was true and a statement of fact, he also knew she was a little irritable about the whole situation. All he could hope was that she was irritable for the same reasons he was, but his brother's voice in his mind told him otherwise.
She offered him a bite of the steak she had tried and he took it with a smile, making a satisfied noise. "I would have to agree, chicken is overused anyway," And a filet or sirloin would likely go over better as more money would need to be spent. The extravagance was something that was assessed by businessmen in the West. Money was everything to them. Miles supposed he fit into that category, but he liked to believe that he cared about more than just extravagance and over-the-top things. However, he couldn't imagine dabbling in activities on the other side of the wall the way that his brother did. In fact, it sort of made him sick to think about living like that.
When Cassidy brought up the East as he thought of it, he let out a sigh. He wasn't keen on going East often, but it was business and it was necessary. Besides, he definitely didn't want Cassidy going alone to deal with those people. "Yes, I will. It'll go faster if we're both there as well. I'd like to be in and out as quickly as possible," He grimaced and his nose scrunched up. "Any lingering will be unnecessary in that area."
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Post by Nu on Sept 24, 2017 5:20:13 GMT
It wasn't her idea of a good time either,
going into the grimy side of town but at the very least, the proposal her father had outlined for the arms dealer there was an exciting one. As much as the dark haired young woman would show excitement anyway. Miles was most likely the only person who had seen her genuinely smile and even then, it was always in closed quarters.
Miles being with her served many purposes, least of all being the 'united front' she had presented to convince him.
She knew William Spencer had a female partner of sorts that Cassidy wanted to pawn Miles off on so she could work her way with the owner. Miles was effortlessly charming so it wouldn't be much of a stretch to expect the girl to be drawn to him, no matter how strong and independent she claimed to be. And according to Cassidy's research, that was who she was dealing with.
His clear disdain for the place was mutual, to be frank. She didn't like staying there more than she had to,
but unfortunately business always brought her there. Her father said it was to build immunity. She just thought her father hated her the most among her siblings.
"That's why we're getting married." She looked at him with a wink. "Okay I'm willing to commit to the dessert. Bring it on." She rubbed her hands as a few choices were presented. Looking at Miles gleefully, Miles must have realised this was the happiest and most child-like Cassidy would ever be in public.
She was surprised to find that one of the choices was a light blackforest cake,
her favourite. She looked at Miles with a raised eyebrow. "Is this your doing?" She asked, sliding the plate close to her. "They usually don't do blackforest for desserts."
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Post by Trix on Sept 25, 2017 15:14:15 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used Miles gave a small smile at her comment accompanied with a wink. It grew once he noted her excitement about dessert. He'd planned a surprise option for her, though it hadn't taken much effort on his part to arrange. He could splurge a bit on the dessert for her, especially since the cake was supposed to be the most extravagant part of the wedding. He knew the cake decorator personally and he was going to make sure, even if Cassidy wasn't sold on the wedding itself, she would love the cake and its contents.
When she looked at him suspiciously, he couldn't help but laugh, "Stop looking at me like I committed some kind of crime. I don't know what you're talking about." Of course the smirk on his face said otherwise, but he didn't feel it was necessary to give away all that he was willing to do for her all at once. In time she must have known that he would go above and beyond for her, he had always been willing to. Based on her home life, he knew she never got everything she could want, but that what he was trying to do for her now.
"Well? Are you going to keep giving me the eye or are you going to eat it?" He narrowed his eyes at her, inching his fork closer to the cake that she had claimed as her own already.
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Post by Nu on Sept 26, 2017 8:04:15 GMT
She was quiet as she savoured the cake, enjoying the fresh cream and the black cherries with the very light sponge cake mingling in her mouth. She licked her lips slowly, trying to capture every last bit of the cake before taking another chunk. "Okay you can have the rest.
I don't need to taste the others." She grinned up at her childhood friend and soon to be husband. She knew this was a political alliance but Miles did make her happy. She knew he was willing to do anything for her and honestly, it was true the other way around, but she wasn't ever going to be able to genuinely love him the way she knew he loved her. It should make her feel crummy. It should.
"Okay what's next?" She asked before a buzzing from her phone caught her attention. "Fuck. I'm sorry, I really need to take this." She scooped her phone up and squeezed Miles' shoulder before going to the other corner of the room to take the call.
After sending a threatening message to the subordinate who tried to tell her that there had been a mistake in one of the weapons shipment to Tokyo, Cassidy pocketed her phone and returned to the table, visibly upset.
"What the fuck is the point of having employees if they can't handle a simple shipping?" She muttered under her breath before looking at Miles for support.
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Post by Trix on Oct 2, 2017 18:40:42 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used As she slapped his hand away he laughed and raised his hands as he surrendered the cake to her. She looked elated and pleased with the cake as she took a bite. He watched her with a small smile on his face. She pushed the rest of the cake towards him and declared it the obvious choice, as he had already guessed. Just as he took a bite for himself he heard her phone buzz and it cut her off from the original thought she had. Miles nodded, not that he ever gave her permission for business.
His eyes followed her as she walked away, her phone an extension of her hand. The tension in her posture was apparent even across the room, but he knew her, he knew every single sign of distress. She was clearly upset, though more angry than anything. He glanced down at the table when she began to walk back towards the table. When she sat back down, he looked back up and reached out to take her hand. It was the only real physical contact they ever had unless she initiated more. He knew where his boundaries were, and there were plenty of them with her. Boundaries that Levi didn't seem to take into consideration when they were nearby, but Miles chose to ignore the lack of protest she gave him during those moments. Levi did what he wanted when he wanted and she must have known that as well as he did.
"They're merely employees for a reason, if they were smart enough to do anything without any problems they would be in our positions," Miles gave her a tight smile, the remnants of his bitterness towards his brother still lingering. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine now that you've directed them to do what they should have been doing in the first place."
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Post by Nu on Oct 4, 2017 9:22:04 GMT
Cassidy almost pulled away from the touch Miles offered but she stopped herself, aware of the eyes around them. In time, she squeezed Miles' hand back and nodded at his assessment. "You're right. You're absolutely right. I should just..." before she could finish her sentence, her phone buzzed and she looked at him.
"How do you put up with me?" She sighed before switching off her phone. "You would think my wedding planning would take precedence over my fucking job to my dad, seeing as he was the one who pushed us together." She pulled his hand up to her lips and placed a well-meaning kiss over his knuckle. There was a point in time where that would have been a natural gesture, instead of a calculated one.
Everything she did now with him was calculated.
"Okay. I'm here. What do we need to do next?" She looked up at him with a reassuring smile.
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Post by Trix on Oct 6, 2017 14:47:54 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used Miles' eyes dropped to the table when her phone buzzed again and then traveled back up to hers when she went on her tangent about the way her family worked. He was aware of the demands her father had for her because they were similar enough to Ryan's demands of him. With Levi slacking off to do whatever he did, Miles was working towards taking over the company. Of course it was what he wanted, Ryan's approval meant more to him than he'd ever admit, but at least his father knew where to draw the line...or perhaps Cas hadn't asked for there to be a line drawn when it came to planning the wedding.
The lips against his knuckles, while familiar, weren't the same as what he'd remembered from a long time ago. As he looked her over, he found that she was familiar but not the same as when they first met either. She was colder now, almost to the touch where back in school she'd been a beacon of warmth and smiles. She had such a beautiful smile when it wasn't tight-lipped or forced. He wasn't sure he'd ever see it again. "You would think," Miles answered with a small frown.
He straightened up and retracted his hand gently, folding them in front of himself on the table, "I believe we still have the invitations to go over. Fonts, paper-type, eggshell, ivory or snow." He waved his hand dismissively at the amount of detail that was expected to go into the invites alone.
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Post by Nu on Oct 7, 2017 1:23:49 GMT
Unlike Miles who wanted the position he was going to gain, Cassidy didn't. She had been groomed to do so and she was groomed well, but it wasn't the life she envisioned for herself. There was a time when all she wanted to do was become a veterinarian. It felt like another lifetime now.
She saw the shift in Miles which she knew stemmed from her lack of commitment and she wanted so badly to just walk out of here, find Levi and hatefuck the living hell out of him. Or maybe she could just enjoy a bottle of Jameson later.
Cassidy let him move away from her and nodded, gesturing for the attendant to bring in the stationery. "Let's do eggshell. Just to shake things up." She teased, leaning against him as she moved the sample cards on the table closer to them. All of it looked the same to her and she couldn't, for the life of her, sum up enough care to give.
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Post by Trix on Oct 9, 2017 15:10:56 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used It was near impossible for him to remain cold or distant with her. She was the one person he could never truly be upset with. At least, not for longer than a minute. All she had to do was look at him and all frustration melted away. He had never bothered to make many ties as close as the one he had with her. In school he'd been popular enough, well-liked and social, but he refrained from sharing any personal information. They were surface friendships while the one he'd had with her all those years ago had been a deep connection. She was the only one he had told about being adopted, although he knew some of the men in the company had been working for Ryan long enough to know that he was not biologically a Shepherd.
She leaned against him and as he had expected, his shoulders relaxed and he thawed. "Eggshell would certainly do that," Miles scrunched his nose. The very name of it didn't sound very appealing and it was more of a warm tone of white than he preferred. Not that he supposed it mattered, they were just invitations anyway. He glanced down at her and saw the bored expression written all over her face. He couldn't say he much enjoyed this part either, but he obviously cared more than she did about the appearance of their wedding because it meant something very different for the both of them. He almost felt bad that she was being forced to marry someone she clearly didn't love, but if he was going to feel sorry for her, he might as well feel sorry for himself, too. Ryan had taught him never to pity people.
He nudged her shoulder with his, "Lets go do something. Get away from all of the planning and do something fun." They could always pick some random font later.
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Post by Nu on Oct 10, 2017 9:25:09 GMT
Cassidy had tried her damndest to feel the way she felt about things before her mother passed. She had loved Miles with every fiber of her being. He was her person at one point in time but everything was stripped from her when her father decided she was the one to lead their company when he was ready to retire. The things he had made her do hadn't been pleasant and the part of her that held that compassion died. Nothing made her feel good anymore. Even Levi fell short at times.
Suddenly she was tired and her face showed it for a mere second before she forced herself to perk up at the idea of ditching their planning. "Yes." She practically jumped out of her seat and grabbed his hand. "You're a genius. There's a drag racing gig down at the Pacific and I've been eyeing a blue Camarro that purrs like a dream." A glint in her eye was the only indication that she was actually alive.
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Post by Trix on Oct 23, 2017 15:10:47 GMT
The good, the bad, the Used Miles was always gauging her reactions closely. Whether that was so he could prepare for how to counter her reaction with his own, or whether he hoped to see just the smallest inkling of his best friend, he had yet to determine. But he could tell she was struggling against something within her at all times and he had seen that struggle for years. Of course he wasn't dense enough not to know what had changed. He could pinpoint the day that he'd started to lose her. While he watched it all happen, it didn't make it any easier and sometimes he still couldn't figure out how to react to her. So most of the time, he just surrendered his own feelings for making sure it didn't make things harder for her.
She jumped out of her seat and it caused him to smile because he had been hoping for some kind of reaction. And seeing as it was a positive one, he could finally feel relief of some kind. Her idea of getting away was extreme, but then, so was she. She took his hand and the way she looked at him could make him cave on anything. He squeezed her fingers before standing up, "Okay, drag racing it is. What is it with you and Camaro's though? Didn't they have any nice Maserati's?" He smirked giving her a nudge.
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