-Present-
Alex follows Delphine's car all the way to Martell, knowing she wouldn't even notice. From the street, she watches Delphine park, walk to the door, check her watch, and then enter. It's not long before she's able to find a parking spot and follow her inside. A young red-headed woman looking agitated swings the door open, almost knocking her over. She barely apologizes, but Alex ignores her, stepping into the familiar place.
From the front entrance of the lounge, Alex can see the last of Delphine's blonde hair disappearing through a door at the end of the hallway adjacent the stage. Another figure catches her attention. As she suspected, the girl from the band she met with just last week is jogging after her, down the hall and through the door at the end, grasping a crumpled piece of paper. It's all she needs to see, more than enough proof. She had a feeling that things weren't over between those two. The girl was convincing, though.
Alex gets her phone out and dials the last number she called. "I need to talk to you in person about something before I leave tomorrow".
...
"Nope, I don't need a damn thing from in here," the girl scowls and spins around to leave.
"Do you know her?" the woman asks Delphine once Cosima has slammed the hallway door shut. "She looks familiar".
"She works here. She helps the manager with technical things, I think. And she plays in one of the bands".
"Oh, right. She's his assistant or something. You've met before, though?"
"A few times," Delphine nods with a polite smile. "But let's get back to business".
"Of course. I can approve of whatever you need me to, but I'll still have to take some details up with the manager. Have you met Mr. Hayes?"
"Not yet. Would you mind being a liaison for now? I need to get back to the office to finish some things before the end of the day. I'll leave these with you – I've marked where I need your signature. Look it over with him and tell me what you think. You have my number – call anytime. I'll be busy for most of this evening, though".
"Not a problem," the owner smiles again. "Thank you for dropping these off in person, too".
Delphine nods and gathers her things to leave. The owner leads them both out to the bar. She walks to the other side and finds the manager's office while Delphine attempts to head for the door.
"Hey, what the fuck's going on?" Cosima stops her at the entrance. She pushes past her, but Cosima follows her outside.
"It's not really any of your business," Delphine turns to face her, the sun nearly blinding her. She realizes she's never been here so early in the day. It's not even lunch yet.
"I work here. It's at least a little my business," she sneers.
"Then ask your boss. If he thinks it's necessary, I'm sure he'll share it with you," she turns on her heel and disappears into the parking lot.
Cosima takes her advice and stomps back inside, straight to Mr. Hayes' office, passing the woman Delphine was meeting with on the way.
"Hayes, what's going on? Why are all these high-class people, like, conspiring and…"
"Calm down, Cosima. This is good news," he nods his head toward a folder on his desk. She vaguely recognizes the emblem on the front from Delphine's office. "That was the owner. She's working out a deal with some company. They want to use the lounge to do a show or something. They'd be paying a lot of money, basically just to rent the walls. It might also bring in a lot of new paying customers. Maybe change up our demographic".
Cosima can't reprimand him for making a deal with a shit person, not when he's this excited and this relieved to be saved from debt for another month or two. But that doesn't mean she's not absolutely livid herself. She's trying to stay away from the woman, to get her out of her mind. She doesn't need a constant reminder in her workplace. And she's sure Delphine is doing it on purpose just to gloat about how powerful she is and how much she doesn't care about Cosima. The brunette knows it's all a lie, though.
"Hey, can I take a long lunch? I need to run an errand," Cosima asks as sweetly as she can.
The man shrugs and nods. "I'm not going to be here in the afternoon. So, I'll see you next week. Have a good time at your party tonight. Be safe". Cosima nods but is gone in a split second.
She jogs outside, hops on the bus, and seethes for the entire journey. She knows deep down that she overreacted back there with Delphine and she knows deep down that she's overreacting now, but she can't let the woman think it's her right to just walk all over her.
Cosima walks the few blocks from the bus stop to Delphine's office. The main lobby is quiet. She has to consult the directory on the wall so that she doesn't go bursting into some other company's office. She knows she looks crazy, storming around like a mother who just found cigarettes and beer in her teenager's bedroom.
The same girl from the last time she visited Delphine's office is sitting behind the reception desk. It doesn't look like she recognizes Cosima. "Excuse me. I need to talk to Delphine…or Mrs. Cormier, whatever".
"I can schedule you an appointment," the girl offers in a flat tone. "She is very busy right now. You'd be looking at sometime late next week".
"No, I need to talk to her right now," Cosima demands, trying to stay as non-threatening as possible so as to not give anyone reason to call security. "Can you please just call her or something?"
"Hold on," she catches a glimpse of the receptionist rolling her eyes. "Mrs. Cormier there is a guest here wanting to speak with you…Yes, I know. I said that, but she was very insistent," the girl listens for a second and then looks up toward the guest, "She says if you leave your name and number, she will try to get back to you by the end of the day".
"How about you tell her that Cosima is at the front desk and really needs to fucking talk to her," Cosima suggests in a sweet voice with a fake smile.
"Ma'am, she says her name is Cosima and she'd–" The girl looks confused for a moment, just listening, and then hangs up. "Okay…"
"Okay…what?" Cosima's dwindling patience snaps.
The girl sighs, "Do you know the way to her office, or would you like me to escort you?"
"Well, I wouldn't want you leaving the phone and bustling office unattended," Cosima gives her another unpleasant smile and makes her way to the hall. It's much more confusing than she imagined. It's long, but there's also different halls splitting off from the main one.
Two or three minutes go by and she still can't seem to find her way. Most of the office doors are closed and the ones that are open are occupied by people she'd rather not ask for directions.
"Hey," a voice calls to her from behind. Cosima turns around and sees a familiar head sticking out of an office. "Christina, right?"
"Cosima," she corrects the woman she recognizes from the last time she was here.
"Are you looking for Delphine?"
"Yeah, I need to talk to her. The front lady said I could come back," she explains, approaching Anne's office.
"Does she know you're here?" Anne asks with an expression she can't place. Hopeful but worried?
"Yeah, she approved of my coming back. The girl called her".
"Okay, good. Follow me," Anne pats her back and leads her right back the way she came, into the main hall, and down to the very end. They turn left and follow that hall to the very end as well, Cosima barely able to keep up. Anne waves at a few people they pass. Cosima looks a bit less threatening now and more like a student being led to the principal's office. They stop in front of the last door in the hall. "I just need to verify, alright? You wait right here".
Cosima nods and Anne knocks on the door. She peaks her head in and asks whether Cosima's story is true. Cosima can hear a response, but it's not loud enough for her to distinguish what she said. Regardless, Anne turns back around and points her head at the door. Cosima takes a deep breath and walks in, Anne closing the door behind her before returning to her office.
"So," Delphine starts, getting up from her desk and crossing her arms. "What was so important you felt it necessary to harass the receptionist?" She leans against the front of the desk.
Now that she's actually here, Cosima feels much less eager about retaliation. This is Delphine's territory, not hers. And her territory is enormous. There's a couch, a table, a huge, sleek desk. "Why are you using Martell for your show?" She asks in a much politer tone than she wanted.
"You are a technical support staff. I think that information is above your paygrade".
"Don't be a bitch," Cosima sighs. Delphine cocks her head, silently reminding Cosima that, apparently, being a bitch is kind of her schtick. "Please. I can't handle the Delphine aura all over at work. I mean, just a five-minute visit from your sister-in-law put me on edge".
"Alex came to see you," Delphine states, seemingly to herself. She already knew, of course. Though, it makes it more real coming from Cosima. She can't pass it off as Alex fibbing for the purpose of intimidation, which is what she was wishing it had been.
"Yeah. She asked me how, like, we were doing because you supposedly told her things and were supposedly too busy to talk to her yourself".
"I am often too busy when it comes to Alex," Delphine shrugs.
"But not me?" Cosima challenges. She sees a flicker of panic in the blonde's eyes before they return to their typical neutrality.
"Well, you two are different. Alex is like a chronic pain. She'll always be there; I can deal with her later. You, Cosima, are like an abrasion. If I don't take care of the problem quickly, it will become infected".
"Whatever," she rolls her eyes and turns her gaze to the large window on the wall opposite the door.
"If that's all, please show yourself out," Delphine closes her eyes a moment, trying to find the strength to make it through the conversation with this attitude. She shouldn't have let Cosima come back at all, but she knows why she did. Delphine can't stand not seeing her anymore. It's a part of the reason she chose Martell. Even just being in the lounge makes her feel a little closer. It's unhealthy, she knows.
"Please. Please just tell me why Martell. Are you just trying to make my life harder?"
"Martell has the look and atmosphere we were hoping to find. It's like an unfinished basement, which is ideal for the particular artists and their themes, but it also has good drinks and well-dressed staff, which is a compromise for the attendees. And I figure whatever business the show brings to the lounge is a benefit as well".
Cosima nods, unable to think of a retort. Nothing snarky to say to make her feel better. It's a good answer, it makes sense, she has no point to argue. She looks at Delphine who is staring at the ground. She looks unhappy. "What's wrong?" Cosima hears herself ask in a soft voice.
"What's wrong is I have a lot to do, Cosima, and you're just here irritating me," she snaps. It's another lie, but it's necessary. She's miserable having the girl in her office just feet away without being able to even treat her decently. It's so conflicting – she wants her near but it's excruciating.
"Fuck you, Delphine," she says in a scoff. "You know, I know this whole thing is a lie. I know the real reason you told me to stop calling you".
"And why's that, Cosima?" she asks, trying to keep tears back, reminded of that volatile evening.
"You could've just said you don't feel the same way about me. You didn't have to go into a crazy denial rampage and just say it was all a game. You want me to believe you were lying that whole time?" Delphine shrugs, staring furiously into her eyes. "You don't lie, Delphine. Or at least you try to avoid it. I've seen it, and even Anne says you don't lie".
"Tell me, what did happen, then?" Delphine starts pacing around her office, clueless as to why she can't just throw Cosima out. She hates this conversation, this argument, but at least she's here.
"I think that I was just some housewife's desperate obsession. You were unhappy with your marriage, so you went looking for an outlet. You got attached to me for some fucking reason and then when your little lab rat started having feelings independent to your fucking experiment, you bailed because you didn't know how to clean up the mess you made".
Delphine is at a standstill, steaming, clenching her teeth. "I…am not a housewife," is all she says.
"That's the only thing you're going to object to here? That's you're only fucking comment?"
"I don't particularly care what you think happened. You can think whatever you want. But don't call me a housewife".
"Fine," Cosima raises her hands in a weak forfeit. "I hope you go to fucking hell, I hope your marriage stays as shitty as it is right now for the rest of your life, and I hope I never fucking see you again". With that, the younger woman quickly disappears out the door.
Just the thought of never seeing her again is enough to make Delphine's eyes water.
Before any tears are produced, Cosima is leaning back in the room against the door with a suspicious expression. "Why does it say 'president' by your name?" She nods her head to the name plate on the door she hadn't noticed before.
"Is that such a surprise?" Delphine sits back down behind her computer, feeling her fingers start to tremble from the amount of restraint she's putting on herself.
"So…you're, like, the top…person?"
"No, that's the CEO. I'm…second to the top, I guess".
"Why didn't you mention that?"
"You never asked," she shrugs.
"Okay, I asked you several times what you do and I'm pretty sure I've asked more than once what your actual job title is".
Delphine can't help a grin and quiet chuckle. She doesn't know how either escape, but they do. Cosima has indeed asked her on several accounts what her job is. Yet another thing she has no idea the reason for why she kept it a secret. Some part of her didn't want to intimidate Cosima and scare her off.
"Delphine…was this whole thing about your image, then?" Cosima steps just a foot further inside the room.
"What?" She can't tell if Delphine is offended or not.
"Did you tell me all that stuff because you didn't want, like, a scandal? If you're so high up and, you know, some lesbian affair experiment gets put on the front page, it wouldn't be great…"
That word again, experiment. Over time, her sensitivity to the notion has gotten worse and having Cosima be the one saying it feels like a slap in the face. "Cosima, stop looking for ulterior motives just to make yourself feel better," she glowers at the woman.
Delphine gets up and saunters toward the door, passing Cosima, grabbing her wrist, and leading her out. Once it's clear that Cosima is to follow her, she lets go. The brisk walk back to the front desk is much shorter than the arduous journey to her office. Once they both enter the lobby, Delphine turns to the side, silently instructing Cosima to see herself out.
She sighs and looks at the blonde who is avoiding all eye-contact. She looks beyond pissed. "I'm not looking for ulterior motives. I just refuse to believe you're that cruel of a person".
"I'm afraid I am," Delphine answers coldly. "I'm a cruel bitch and you are, in your own words, a desperate obsession".
Cosima glares at her, slack-jawed for almost a full minute before giving up and pushing past her to the door. Delphine watches her carefully until she can no longer see her.
"Mrs. Cormier, would you like me to put her on the restrictions list?"
"What?" Delphine turns to her receptionist who is looking a bit terrified.
"The list of people we don't let in. Then if she comes in again, I can just call security right away," she explains condescendingly.
"Quite the opposite. Unless I say otherwise, always let her in. And as long as I'm not meeting with someone in my office, you can always send her back immediately, whether I'm here or not," she orders, hearing only 'give her to me, let me have her, she is mine' in her head.
...
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...
"Cosima, what the hell?" Madi shouts upon letting herself into the apartment. "You should be dressed by now. I said I was coming at five, right?"
"Okay, first of all Mads, I am dressed. Second, it doesn't start until half past six. I think we're good on time," Cosima sasses.
"We still have to pick up the boys. And it's a nice event, you can't wear jeans, I'm pretty sure".
"I'm a twenty-nine-year-old budding rock star, they don't expect any better from me," she shrugs.
"When you're standing next to two guys in suits and me in my classy dress–"
"Madi, your dress is like a disco ball and doesn't even reach halfway to your knee. Classy isn't the word I'd use," Cosima snorts and shakes her head.
"Classier than jeans. And c'mon, Cos. We have to make a good first impression. It's not just the, like, three guys we've been working with. It's everybody and we're supposed to mingle and shit".
"Calm down, Madi," an unwelcome drowsiness forces her eyes closed for the conversation.
"Are you high?" Madi asks seriously.
"I had a bad afternoon. I just took a couple hits and it was, like, forty minutes ago. It'll wear off by the time we get there," she dismisses.
"Dude, what the fuck were you thinking? We're about to go socialize with the people in charge of our futures and you get fucking high?"
"Jesus Christ, Madi," Cosima sits up and glares at her friend. "It was a couple hits and there's still over an hour before we need to be there. It's not like this is my first time. Fuck, just talking to you is killing my high anyways".
"We're going to be late," is all she can think to mumble back.
"Whatever".
...
...
...
"Babe, wear something sexy tonight," William calls from the closet.
"Why?" Delphine replies, combing her wet hair.
"It's a pretty big party," he ignores her. "They reserved one of those huge ball-type rooms at that hotel we stayed in a couple years ago. You know, renovations and our romantic mini vacation," he recalls in a suggestive tone.
"How about you just choose what you want me to wear and put it on the bed," she sighs and starts doing her makeup. She's quite used to these events. She's been attending them for years now with William. A lot of the time Alex will also join them and sometimes she'll see Anne as well. She knows her coworker isn't coming tonight, which she isn't thrilled about. Anne anchors her to reality somehow, and it makes her feel less alone. "Did Alex say whether she was coming or not?"
"She backed out last minute for whatever reason. Her flight leaves tomorrow anyways, so she's just going to come for a couple minutes to say hi. She said she needed to talk to me about something in person before she leaves, too," he shows up behind her with a longer black dress. She knows it's one of his favorites.
"What does she need to talk about?"
"I don't know, probably something about mom. Alex can be so dramatic sometimes," William lays the dress on the chair next to the vanity. "You still have those, uh…black, lacy…"
"Why would I wear lingerie? I'm not going to be stripping for your boss," she shrugs at him.
"I mean, he wouldn't mind if you did…" Delphine glares at him through the mirror. "Oh, come on, I was kidding. I was just thinking that maybe we could keep the party going after we leave…"
She sighs, "William, whatever you put on the bed, I will wear, okay?"
"So, if I don't put anything on the bed…"
Delphine gets up, pushes back on Will's chest so he starts walking backward far enough for her to close the bathroom door in his face.
"I hope you're almost ready," he calls through the barrier. "We really should try get there early. Definitely can't be late".
"Whatever".
…
…
…
Ten minutes after the official beginning of the party Delphine is already exhausted from chatting with the same people she's known for years as though it's the first time they've met. The hall the label reserved for tonight is enormous. It's the type of gathering that artists are invited to, as well, not only employees and executives. If it were smaller, they would've just used a space at the corporate office. She's already been introduced to a few new artists and groups, but the rest are familiar enough.
By the time twenty minutes have passed, Delphine finds herself both disappointed and relieved. It was too coincidental – she knew there was a very likely chance that her husband was the one who recruited Cosima and her group, meaning there was a very likely chance that Cosima and her group would be here tonight. She's relieved that she hasn't seen any of her group's faces, but disappointed that she doesn't get to see Cosima's. It's better this way, she knows, so she doesn't have to balance the act between Will and Cosima, but it still means no Cosima.
"Alex is on her way," William takes her out of her thoughts. She nods and downs the rest of her wine, praying she doesn't have to interact. She's grateful that Alex is easing up on her, but the stress of her presence is still very prevalent.
"I'm going to find a restroom. I'll be right back," Delphine informs him, walking away before he can respond.
Delphine exits the hall, the chatter immediately dropping several decibels. She makes her way to the hotel lobby and finds their giftshop and makeshift market. There are only a few brands of cigarettes, none of which she's smoked before.
"Do you smoke?" she asks the man behind the counter. He nods. "May I please have one pack of whichever you recommend?" He selects the brand nearest him. Delphine finds a ten-dollar bill in her clutch and sets it on the counter, leaving with the cigarettes and ditching her change. If they had taken her car, she could've just dug out her nearly empty stash pack, but they took William's. Keeping a lighter in her purse is a little less conspicuous. William hates when she smokes. She can't imagine what he would say if he knew she had smoked pot.
Delphine leans against the smooth stone exterior and sucks the smoke into her lungs, closing her eyes and exhaling into the cool evening breeze. Just being away from the crowd is helping. The streets are relatively quiet but there are a lot of roaming people on the sidewalk, staring at their phones, holding hands with their partners, listening to music. The hotel takes up the whole block, so she decides to join the mellow buzz and take a short stroll.
By the time she reaches the end of the block and corner edge of the building, her cigarette is burnt up. She turns to walk back but pauses when she sees a familiar face. Jeremy is catching the front entrance door as it closes and Jack is getting back into their van stopped in front of the main entrance, presumably to park it somewhere.
Delphine figures the rest of the group is already inside – she hopes the rest of the group is inside. She just saw Cosima this afternoon, but it's already been too long. The weeks between her devastating call and bumping into her again were awful. After seeing her, even though it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience, she feels that same need she did before. The red flags and danger warnings going off in her head are flipped back to silent. Like the music videos her husband watches on mute. It's there, playing, moving, colorful, but she's content to ignore its words.
Making a quick stop at the lobby desk before returning, Delphine gets the young man's attention, "Excuse me, where are your restrooms?" He points toward a hallway intersecting the route back to the party. She thanks him and walks straight back to the event hall.
William finds her almost immediately. "What took you so long?"
"I had to go to the lobby desk to ask where the bathrooms were," she explains, thoroughly grateful that Will never sees through her deceptive explanations.
"Oh. Alright, lets finish our rounds. This group I recruited finally arrived, I'll introduce you," he sticks out his elbow, prompting her to delicately hold his arm. Delphine can feel herself whirring in anticipation. This is the most undesirable situation realistically – her unstable self, her temperamental husband, and her volatile affair all joining together at once. But she can't think of anything she'd rather do right now than see Cosima again, though she can feel a quiet terror in the back of her mind thinking about the many things Cosima could say to expose them. And it's not as though Cosima is particularly happy with her right now, especially after this afternoon.
"The one from Martell?" She tries to play unaware since she knows William is under the impression that he's never met her new friend from the bar.
"Yeah. Maybe you've seen them. They were playing that night I stopped by obviously, but I don't know if that girl you've been hanging out with knows them".
"Hm, you never know," she comments, feeling her elusive smile growing. Delphine grabs herself a glass of wine, knowing quite well that she will need it. She can already feel a very slight buzz from the two glasses of alcohol she's enthusiastically consumed since they arrived.
William leads her to the far corner. The group is chatting amongst themselves, oblivious to the pending introductions. Delphine eyes Cosima, olive green skinny jeans and a black dress shirt at least one size too big for her. She looks like a cocky musician, that much Delphine can tell, which is odd since the rest of her friends are dressed rather formally.
"Let me introduce you to one of the newest ProClone Records groups, SES," William steals everyone's attention with his radio-announcer voice. "Darling, meet Jack and Jeremy Holbrook, the talented vocals and guitar, their lovely drummer Madeline Liu, and their mixer-slash, uh…tech gal, Cosima Niehaus. Everyone, this is my gorgeous wife Delphine".
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," she smiles, hoping everyone gets the hint that they shouldn't know each other, that her husband isn't privy to their acquaintance. Luckily, they all seem to understand or at least they're in enough shock to simply play along.
"My wife has been to the lounge you all play at. If it wasn't for her, you would likely still be playing there," William smiles at Delphine, then looks back to the four dazed musicians.
"I used to go quite often, actually," she sips her wine, letting her gaze wander equally between the four members. The brothers struggle to come up with coherent sentences and Madi stares at them. However, they just seem like they're nervous meeting a pretty woman, so she trusts it doesn't look too out of place.
She can feel Cosima glancing over her and it makes her heart flutter. "Alright, I'll see you all at the end of the month," William interrupts the silence. "Don't get into trouble".
"Yes, sir," Madi replies on behalf of the group.
"Enjoy the party," Delphine smiles at Cosima, feeling her husband pulling her away. She touches her shoulder before being removed completely. Her shirt is silky. Delphine's hand slides off gently and both women clench their jaw when the subtle contact ends.