Just Business

Chapter Twenty-Five: Marcia

Marcia took a swig of coffee, wanting to moan at how good it tasted. They had been rushed through breakfast, into makeup and dumped in a waiting room with the other contestants. They were all cracking their backs and yawning, an endless stream of interns being sent back to the café for americanos and cakes.

The room did not have any clear purpose, too large for any intimacy but too small for a genuine gathering of people. Uncomfortable conference chairs had been stacked up on one side, and many of these were now sprawled across the room. There were no tables, but some people had cobbled chairs together to have somewhere to put their snacks. David had set up one such area for himself and Marcia, placing his chair so close to hers their knees brushed against one another. Every time they did, Marcia had another jolt of memory, her skin flushing as images of the previous night flitted through her head. She was unsure how she was supposed to keep doing anything without forever being distracted by the thought of her name on his lips and his lips on her skin.

"How are you?" Marcia managed to ask, snapped back to reality by Linda and Darcy pulling up chairs next to them. Both women seemed worn out, and Linda's eyes were still red tinted.

"Been better," Darcy said. "But they made some good points. We have a lot to work on, a lot of work to do. But we can do it."

"Of course you will," Marcia said, smiling brightly.

"You guys also need to remember how incredible it is that you got on the show. They wouldn't have let you on it if they thought you had no potential," David pointed out.

"You two are very kind," Darcy said, her voice cracking.

"We're just telling you the truth, right?"

When David addressed her, he swung his hand onto her thigh. He massaged it gently, making eye contact and smiling. The words caught in her throat and she let out a small gasp that was mortifying.

"Right," she finally agreed, shooting David a look as he laughed into his fist.

"Dwight! You're up now!" called a crew member. Dwight saluted, wheeling himself out.

"See you all in a bit," he said.

As everybody called their goodbyes, Rebecca and Osmond entered the room. They had been first to be photographed, and they walked with the confidence of people who knew they looked good. Once again, their smart, simple clothes flattered athletic physiques. Todays colour scheme was black and chrome, and Marcia couldn't help but admire Rebecca's large, square glasses. They hung from a long silver chain around her neck, librarian chic. Marcia herself had tried to incorporate similar styles into her own wardrobe, but on her it had been more try-hard Grandma then sexy intellectual.

Both siblings avoided eye contact as they pulled out chairs. Once sat, Rebecca took subtle noise cancelling earbuds out, replacing them with comfy looking over ear headphones. Osmond pulled out a large, battered book, one he had clearly read several times before. Once again Marcia felt a stab of solidarity she was fairly confident she could place.

She obviously wasn't certain, you never could be unless specifically told, but Marcia knew what signs to look for. The lack of eye contact, the self imposed repetitive uniforms, the literal way they had interpreted jokes the day before. Marcia had decided very quickly that she would not be surprised if Osmond and especially Rebecca were on the autism spectrum. Like she was.

"Hey," she greeted Osmond, who was sat fairly close to her. "How was the photo shoot?"

He smiled sheepishly, shrugging.

"I didn't know what to do with my hands," he admitted. "They didn't want me to cross my arms, but nothing else felt comfortable."

"I'm sure you were fine," Marcia said. She went to ask Rebecca how she had found it, but the other woman was engrossed in some sort of platformer on an old gaming device.

"Congratulations, by the way, for winning," David said, leaning over Marcia to join the conversation.

"Thank you. We worked very hard."

Marcia saw a frown flash across David's face before his features settled back into a smile, although it now had a touch less warmth.

"I'm sure everybody worked really hard," David said. Osmond shrugged again, clearly missing the shift in David's tone. Marcia probably would have as well, were so not so in tune with the man sitting next to her.

"I don't know what everybody else did. I just know Rebecca and I tried really hard. We want the prize money so we can open another location of Seeing Double near our aunts house. Then I can run that and Rebecca can run her own shop like she wants."

There was a tinge of sadness in his final words, and Osmond turned to look at his sister. She gamed on, non-the-wiser.

"I need the prize to update my equipment," Renee said, coming up to them with a steaming coffee in her hand. "I inherited it all from my uncle so it's all from the eighties. It's great stuff, but the new equipment would make my work so much faster. Right now, I have to price my stuff pretty high just to make a living."

"I feel that," Marcia sigh, "Print media is a hard business to be in. Bigger companies can afford to undercut you by a large percentage, so you have to sell knowing customers can get it cheaper else where."

"Is that why you had to combine your business with David?" Osmond asked.

"She didn't have to do anything." David cut in. "She ran a very successful business and could have continued to do so. If anything I should be grateful she improved my shop."

The outburst brought down the whole mood of the group. Renee looked between David and Marcia, something dawning in her expression. Osmond, on the other hand, was looking just at David, mouth open slightly in surprise.

"Have I offended you?" he asked, voice suddenly small and genuine concern etched into his face.

"No, you haven't," Marcia promised.

"Either way, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Osmond cut himself off again, shuffling in his chair. "Sorry."

Marcia wanted to comfort him further, but as the words knit together in her head she heard her name called.

"Marcia and David, you're up!"