I went home, the energy of the office giving way to a frantic disbelief. Theodore. Julian. Vance. The names were stuck in a repeating loop in my head.
I went into the house, through the back door just to find Kenya and Aisha already at the kitchen table, snacking on leftovers and swapping campus gossip.
Simone: "Stop. Both of you, I need to tell you what happened today. It's unbelievable."
Kenya and Aisha immediately sensed the tension.
Kenya : "what is it, S? Did your boss say you have to start wearing a name tag that reads "Anti–sentimentality on it?"
Simone: "worse. I am Theodore vance's shadow. He is the owner of the publishing house, and Theodore Vance is Julian Vance's older brother."
Aisha's fork clattered onto her plate, and Kenya stared at me with shock written all over her face.
Aisha: (speaking first and connecting the dots) "Julian? The campus king? The party host? The guy you danced with? And also the same guy who told you to focus on yourself? You… you are working for his brother?"
Simone: "Yes! I didn't know until Theodore put Julian on speakerphone during a contract review. Julian was talking about being the one to take over the firm and the 'cyclical' market. Theodore was furious, calling him 'chaos' and a liability. Ooh god girls I had just realized, I had walked into the Vance family circle, completely by accident.
Kenya: (standing up, pacing) "No, no, no. You have to quit Simone. You can't stay there. This is too much proximity. Julian will find out you are working for his bother, and he will assume–"
Simone: (cutting her off, with a strange, excited energy in my voice) "Assume what? That I chased him? No, Ken! Julian saw my mess hugged me, and told me to go home, and am now working for his older brother, Theodore, who literally embodies structure! He hates the fantasy and chaos Julian seems to represent."
Aisha: "it's a perfect plot twist, for your once messed up life S. The universe is telling you that this is your stage. Theodore Vance demands fact. Julian Vance comforted you when you were full of feelings. You are now the bridge between the two Vance worlds girl."
Kenya: "Aisha, stop encouraging her! This isn't a plot twist, it's a disaster waiting to happen! You worked too hard for this, S. If you stay, you will be constantly looking over your shoulders for Julian".
Simone: "I won't be looking over my shoulders, I will be looking at my contract. I earned this internship with my brain, not my past, if I quit, then I let the coincidence define me, just like my heartbreaks defined me. Theodore Vance needs the exact opposite of Julian, he needs competence, fact and structural integrity, and I got all that, I think am the person now."
Aisha: (leaning forward, delighted) "she is right Ken, she is the perfect anti–Julian and I believe she could handle it. You have to stay S. This is the ultimate test of your resolve. Your new genre demands you to face the drama head–on".
Kenya: (Sighting heavily, defeated) "fine. You are determined to turn your life into a high–stake corporate drama. But if you see Julian you walk the other way. You are a ghost with a briefcase. No emotions. Understand?"
Simone: "understood. No emotions".