#( convo. simon hawthorne )

[joanxwagner]

It wasn't unusual for Joanna to spend time with the youngest of the Hawthorne siblings. If anything, her personality clashed with his older brother and his sister seemed to be more focused on pleasing her parents and Joanna felt like throwing up in her mouth when seeing that -- her own family trauma shining through, definitely. But no one needed to know. No Simon was the best out of the three for her. Besides, she knew his little 'secret', even if she wasn't a hundred percent certain if it was. She felt risky enough today to find out, however. She had invited Simon to the park with her children, Henri and Lynn. As they were playing at the jungle gym, she sat on a nearby bench with the male, handing him a juice packet she grabbed from her bag, preparing her own to drink from. "So, how's the family? Oh-- How's the job? Regretting your decision to work for your brother yet or is it everything you've hoped?" @thesimonhawthorne

[julianxhawthorne]

"Shit.." Julian had dumbfoundedly uttered upon finding his brother in his home, his phone by his ear. He had forgotten about any appointment he had with his brother up until he saw him. Was it dinner, clubbing or just a hangout? He didn't recall. But he forgot nevertheless. "Call me back once you got something for me. Yeah, thanks. Bye." He cut off the phone call and hung up, tossing the phone on the couch as he rubbed his face. Even his face hurt. This was a nightmare. "I'm so sorry, little brother. I completely forgot." He groaned, messing his hand through his hand before letting out a breath. "Can I get you a drink? Something?" @thesimonhawthorne

[julianxhawthorne]

Julian's eyes narrowed for a split second at the mention that it was about him and Haven. Yet the older of the two brothers sat completely still, silently waiting for Simon to say whatever it was he had on his chest. The way he started already told him he wasn't going to like it, and when he had finally said it, Julian found himself clenching his jaws on one another. "I see." He uttered, casting his gaze on the table between them, scanning the surface as if to check if there was something on it that was of importance to him. "And are you some people?" He asked, dying to know if his brother shared the same sentiment. He wasn't going to bring up the fact the car's upgrades didn't work this year, whereas those of rivaling teams clearly did. Wasn't going to bring up the fact that he was, after all, still number one in the championship. "So what exactly is the goal of telling me? Chose one or the other?" @thesimonhawthorne

"Yeah, I'm alright," he replied with a laugh. Simon never had to stick to any specific diet, he was careful and went to the gym on a regular basis but just the idea of having to stick to specific foods and all bored him, so he couldn't imagine having to follow a diet for so long. And while as his manager, he did need to remind Julian to be careful, he was going to be enough of an asshole right after this that he didn't feel like it was necessary. He sighed heavily, trying to find the best way to breach the subject. "It's about you and Haven," he started, knowing this would be the touchy part. "Hm, some people," and that he obviously didn't mean dubious fan theories, "are saying you're too invested in that and not enough in your career and it's the reason your results are where they're at." @julianxhawthorne

[julianxhawthorne]

"Hey you. Can't get enough of me can you." Julian snickered at the arrival of his brother, gesturing with his arms wide as if to gesture to his newly built home. "Eh? What'd I tell you. A beauty isn't she?" It taken long enough to build, and though Julian was going to miss the yacht on the daily, he was glad to have something on land to settle on. Currently, he had given Haven full reins to decorate, to see if that would spark her interior design love again. "Care for a tour, little brother?" @thesimonhawthorne

[julianxhawthorne]

"That they would." Though he was proud of his achievements and his championship trophies, the man at the moment was simply too smitten that they paled in comparison. He'd already confided in Simon that they had decided to try and have children. He hadn't mentioned much else as there hadn't been much to update him on, but he held hope. Yet Julian was careful about when he would say something about Haven and their plans, not wanting to risk his family overhearing. Especially after the encounter Haven had with their mother. "Never thought I'd hear that being said in one sentence." Julian scoffed, taking a sip from his drink. Sure, sometimes it was eerily quiet, the feeling of being stuck in time in this palace of status and expectations. But peaceful? Nah, it was too American for that. He missed their home in Australia that represented more the looks of a ranch than a mansion. Americans.. "You think now is an appropriate time to bid our adieu and leave?" He asked, casting a glance at his watch. "Let's risk it." @thesimonhawthorne

END.

In some ways, Simon knew he'd been lucky to have loved maths early on. School had mostly been a mean to an end, but he'd liked maths. Of course, finance had been the logical choice of study because even if it was clear his father didn't see a CEO in him, he still imagined him working with his big brother. He'd diverged a bit from the beated path when choosing not to work directly at the firm, but he knew his parents saw it as an extra step on the way, not a different path. Hence why they were even more disapproving of that choice. A few years ago, he was aware that this alone would've made him doubt and he'd been quite surprised to realise he didn't care all that much. It helped that his brother had been there to support the decision. "Be thankful they don't handout trophies for that league, your championship trophies would pale in comparison I'm sure," he replied with a laugh, even though his voice had been a little lower. "It does make this house a lot more peaceful..." He took a sip of his glass and looked around. @julianxhawthorne

[joanxwagner]

Joanna met Simon's gaze, unbothered by the shift in his tone. She had expected him to deflect, to test the waters before giving anything away. But now that he’d dropped the pretense, it was clear they were getting somewhere. Leaning back slightly, she crossed her arms, her expression calm but unwavering.

"Alright, Simon," she said evenly. "I saw you with that little girl of yours From the way I've never seen her before around town and with how you've been deflecting, I take it that you haven't told anyone about her, though I'm not sure why." Her voice softened, but the edge of concern remained. "I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about. I guess I'm just curious as to why she's there and not here?" @thesimonhawthorne

Simon was definitely aware of how she was looking at him, even if her expression didn't betray anything. No one had ever questioned anything. Whether it was because he'd been lucky or cautious he didn't know, but it meant that it was a subject he was used to lying about and this conversation felt like a trap. If she knew something, denying it would only make things worse. But if she didn't, or only had partial information, it was useless to reveal himself over it. They seemed to be rapidly approaching a stalemate. "Sure," he replied. If he wasn't so nervous, he'd find a conversation about the merits and charms of Portland quite boring, but he agreed.

Now, either she knew something or her conversation skills had gone awry. It was confirmed by her next words. This wasn't a simple oh i saw you walking down the street in Portland, crazy coincidence that I was there too kind of conversation. He couldn't tell what she knew, and trying to guess what conclusion she'd come to was useless so he leaned back on the bench, looking at her. "Why don't you ask what you're obviously dying to ask instead of beating around the bush?" @joanxwagner

[joanxwagner]

Joanna kept her expression neutral, eyes narrowing slightly as she watched Simon. There was something there, a hesitance she could sense in the way he answered. Her instincts were rarely wrong when it came to reading people, and Simon wasn’t exactly a master at hiding his feelings. The question about her own presence in Portland felt like a deflection, a way to shift the focus off him. “Work, mostly. I’m in and out of the city for different things,” she said, keeping her tone casual. “But I find myself there more often lately. The city has its charm, don’t you think?”

She let the words hang in the air for a moment, giving Simon the chance to elaborate, to fill in the gaps. He seemed nervous, and Joanna knew better than to push too hard too soon. If there was something to find out, it was better to let it come out naturally.“I mean, I get it. Meetings, work, life—there’s always a reason to be somewhere. Just seems like you might have more than a passing interest in Portland these days.” Her smile was easy, almost teasing, but there was a sharpness in her eyes that belied her curiosity. “If there’s something you’re not telling me, you know I’m going to figure it out eventually, right? And I can be trusted” @thesimonhawthorne

"It is," Simon agreed. "It's a lot of work, but that's what makes it interesting. And why he needed someone fast." While he knew more or less what the job entailed, he wasn't sure why Julian was in such a hurry to fill the position, especially when he had Dana. Now, it was much clearer. "That's for sure. You should see the workouts. I don't know how he does it." Simon no doubt considered himself quite ambitious, but he definitely admired his brother. Simon was getting nervous. Why insist on Portland? While at first, he'd tried to dismiss her questions as genuine interest for attending a nearby race, he couldn't do anything but think there was something afoot here and he was worried about what it might be. If she'd just seen him walk around Portland, she'd have just said so. "I don't know, depends when." He shrugged, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. "Probably a meeting so I'm not sure that's a great story. Why were you?" @joanxwagner

[julianxhawthorne]

“You try sticking to a food regime for that long, see how fast you cave.” Julian replied, having decided a few years ago that sometimes he was allowed to ignore his limitations from his diet and go all out. He knew how to get back in shape with the remainder of that week. It usually worked out for him. When Simon began about having to tell him something, he looked at him again. His brows furrowed at the mention he wouldn’t like it, already giving Julian scenarios in his head of what it could be. Did he slip to his parents that he got engaged? Did he lose an important sponsor? Did something happen with their shared business? While the thoughts roamed in his mind, his expression stayed calm. Much like they were taught to from a young age. “ ‘lright, out with it.” @thesimonhawthorne

Simon side-eyed his brother at his words and sighed, deciding not to comment on them. If he was to bring up an uncomfortable subject, might as well try to avoid to add other ones to the pile. Eager to tell him wasn't exactly how Simon would describe, as he'd push that decision as far as possible. Now seemed okay, with spirits being high and the next race in quite a bit of time. "I'm sure you will. At least it's break so you can fully enjoy it," he replied with an amused laugh that fell through pretty quickly as he became a little more serious. God, he hated being nervous. Thankfully, it didn't happen a lot. This would be so much easier if Julian wasn't his brother in this instance. "Speaking of which, there's something I thought you should know and you're not going to like it." @julianxhawthorne

[joanxwagner]

"Four-time world champion—that’s impressive, regardless of how this season is shaping up. It must be quite a ride, managing the expectations and the reality of it all. I'm sure you have your hands full." She took another sip of her juice box, glancing back at the kids playing in the distance. "I can only imagine the kind of dedication and resilience that goes into staying at the top for so long."Joanna tilted her head slightly, studying Simon's reaction to her mention of Portland, managing to hide a smile. "It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate with the upcoming events. Austin and Vegas sound exciting. But I have to admit, I’m curious. What brought you to Portland if not for racing?" She offered a friendly smile, clearly interested to see if he'd mention the girl, but keeping her tone light and conversational. "Sometimes it’s the little detours that make for the best stories." @thesimonhawthorne

"It is, yeah." It wasn't always easy, but he had his past experience to rest on. Was it the same exactly? No, but it was similar enough that he didn't have to relearn everything from scratch. He wouldn't have done it if anyone but Julian had asked, but the opportunity seemed to good to pass up. He could always go back to something a little more stable if Julian decided to throw caution out the window and become a scandalous menace. "Think what you want about Julian, but even if his season isn't going as well as we could've hoped, he's still a four times world champion, so it's not too hard," he replied with a laugh. "Yeah, see, I don't get that sentiment but hey!" Talking babies was definitely not something Simon was into. Not having had to take care of a baby despite having a daughter was the only silver lining in the situation he had with Olivia and Sofia. "I love it. There's Austin and Vegas left on the calendar for the US this year." He could've talked about this a bit more but his stomach bottomed out when he heard her mention Portland. Simon wasn't usually the nervous type, but this was different. Denying would be stupid. "Yeah, I do go there sometimes, but no, no active track." @joanxwagner

[julianxhawthorne]

He knew it was a bold thing to ask. Simon was finding his feet, had been talking about his promotion and here he was throwing everything overboard. They already worked together, however. They were both on the board of the family business, plus Simon got to shine with his strengths of negotiating and building contracts, he got to travel the world, live a life of leisure -- even more so. Yet he knew it was a whole lot of uncertainties as well. What if he didn't like it, or if it turned out to be too complicated a topic for him. He was at the height of his career in the biggest racing sports in the world, it wasn't nothing. "Of course, yeah. I mean I can't wait weeks but--" Julian shrugged, moving to the liquor cabinet where he poured two glasses of whisky. "Would Miami be enough time to think? Or do you need more?" @thesimonhawthorne

Why not? Why not? Because it felt crazy. Because it was crazy. He didn't know the first thing about what that entailed. He'd just gotten the promotion he'd wanted for so long. He'd spend so much time in finance to hopefully become a big name. It was absolutely bonkers to throw that out for a job he had no clue if he'd be good at. So... why was he considering it? Simon made mostly calculated and strategic decisions, and this seemed to be the opposite of that. That's why he liked investment banking, things were rather slow there. But wasn't he thinking of switching? Or doing something else? He'd thought about other finance fields, of course, but... why not this? Contracts and negotiation, truly right up his alley. He'd wanted something with less of an insane workload... He sighed and leaned in the couch, looking at his brother in silence. A second ago, he'd been ready to tell him he was insane and that this joke was barely funny. But now...It's not even that he thought he would terrible at it, but there would be learning curve and Julian wasn't an f3 driver or even an f1 rookie and a lot was riding on this. And it's not like finding a new job would be horribly hard if it failed. "I... I don't know..." It wasn't a no, which was already a lot. "I need more details. I just got a promotion, I need to think about this. There would be a notice too, I think two weeks in what's in my contract. Can you give me some time to think about it?"

[joanxwagner]

"It sounds like fun, for sure." As a former CEO of a large company, she could appreciate talks about logistics, contracts, the lot. She just tried to put it into perspective of how to deal with it concerning one person rather than a whole company, and yet she figured it was more difficult than it had been for her. It was easy to represent a company, but a person? People were unpredictable, easier to land into scandal. "How're the sponsorships going? Are those easy to get?" She inquired, never having thought she'd shown this kind of interest in the racing sport. "I know, it's the worst. Makes me want to have another one to cradle." She huffed, though she knew that talking babies with Simon was probably not what he was looking forwards to. "I mean, might as well. It seems like a fun thing to witness." Joanna uttered, feeling bold. "I just thought there might've been one near Portland because I saw you there a short while back." She dropped the hint while nonchalantly sipping from her juice box as she watched the kids again. @thesimonhawthorne

Simon couldn't even complain about the curse of the oldest child, knowing that between Margaret who sadly for her happened to be a woman and Julian who sadly for him happened to be the first born male, he'd gotten away with more than they had. That didn't mean his parents left him alone though, and he wouldn't wish them on anyone. Even if the name and everything that came with it was definitely nice. "It's quite a lot. It's basically taking care of stuff so that Julian can focus on racing, so logistics, contracts, sponsorships, etc." he replied with a shrug. "I like it though, it's a lot but it's fun." He didn't regret switching careers, even if there had been a pretty steep learning curve. "Oh wow, that sounds like a lot," he replied with a chuckle. Not only did he understand her relationship with her family, but he understood just how messy families could be. "Walking? Already? That doesn't sound right." He shook his head, amused. He seemed like not that long ago that was a baby. He'd never seen Olivia in that stage but he knew first hand how fast they grew. He didn't comment on her husband, not only because he didn't care all that much but also because that seemed like enough news. "Congrats," he replied about her job, but the next question left him a little confused. "Well, yeah there are several racing tracks around but none are being used in F1. The closest active one is Las Vegas in November. Why? Are you trying to get tickets?" @joanxwagner

[julianxhawthorne]

"Yeah, why not?" He hadn't had such a great idea in... What felt like forever. He still didn't understand much about what Simon momentarily did for work, what it entailed exactly but he knew the gist of it. "It's contracts and negotiating. Right up your alley." He told him, walking towards him and sitting down on the couch besides him, yet his body fully turned towards his brother. "We already run a business together, Dana can help you out on the racing aspect of it all, Scuderia has someone who can explain the gist of it. It's basically just ... Representing me and getting me the best outcome. I pay good, ask Dana. It's a win win." @thesimonhawthorne

Simon's brows furrowed. He didn't have to know but he could imagine what it could be for it to be bad enough for his brother to fire him. Good riddance, he thought. But he did understand that this put Julian in a difficult position in the middle of the season, which was bad. Simon delt with contracts and negotiations all the time, he knew how annoying and frustating it was when someone in that chain changed. So many discussions to start over, and that was in the case the person in question was replaced. "I guess, yeah..." He replied, but then his brother was real quiet. Simon wondered if he's said something. He knew offering help wasn't exactly a signature move for him, but it wasn't that bad, especially with his siblings. But then, it was his turn to be completely silent, speechless. "Me?" was all he could say. In other circumstances, Simon would've probably been a tad snobbish, being considered for a job that seem wildly outside of his scope, but here, he was just shocked. "I have no idea what it entails, Julian..."

[julianxhawthorne]

A snort escaped Julian before he quickly brought his glass to his lips and took a sip -- just in case any one of their parents had overheard. He knew that out of the three, he was probably best off when concerning parental approval or disapproval, but he was glad that he at least shared some of the disapproval Simon was submitted to. After all, they worked together in more than one way now, and he knew that his mother specifically hadn't been happy about Simon giving up his solid job at the bank and instead started managing him. He doubted it would ever change. He found it comical that their dearest mother had done attempts to sweeten him up after how she had nearly ruined his relationship. It had been obvious he was angry towards her. Her way of 'sweetening him up' however were more dating attempts with women of her selection. So it was doing the opposite, actually. He was just waiting for their father to try and intervene and get him to drop his attitude. "She's of a different league, I agree." He mused, taking another sip. He'd already texted Haven he was surviving with alcohol, despite their agreement. At least she knew what he was dealing with now. "Lets just soak up this time without being interrogated." @thesimonhawthorne

Their parents' reaction to all of Simon's career choices so far had been similar, even though this one did get the biggest revolt. His first internship in Paris, Simon had to tell his father that no, he wasn't coming to work straight at the holding after his studies. He'd wondered about New York and Wall Street after that, but decided to be closer to the family by coming back to Kismet, more for his siblings than his parents, but still had to argue for his choice of the bank. Now, to their parents, it seemed like that was the cherry on top. Their mother had also let him know about how much she disapproved. Hence why some other... decisions had to stay secret. It was hard to talk about the Hawthorne parents without mentioning some tension with their offsprings anyway. "Oh I didn't know we were talking Olympics levels," he replied with a laugh. Even though he didn't know about the situation, he had no problem imagining his mother saying and doing the wrong thing while feeling she was totally justified. @julianxhawthorne

[julianxhawthorne]

"Let's just say he crossed a line with Dana." He wasn't going to air out what had happened to everyone. If Dana wanted to tell Simon, she would. But he wasn't going to say more about it. "It's the qualified bit that worries me. " He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Dana could get them the information they need to understand the sport but .. Yeah." He had already rang all the previous formula one managers he knew. The good ones anyway, that managed a champion or a race driver that came close to it. He needed an expert, anyway. Eyes flickered to his brother when he offered his help. He opened his mouth to speak but then he had a light bulb moment. His hands lowered, resting on his hips, cutting apart the idea in his head before he decided to voice it out loud. "What if you do it?" @thesimonhawthorne

"Sounds good," Simon replied with a shrug as this was not what had his attention. "Oh damn, why? What happened?" As far Simon knew, Julian got along with his manager well enough and he seemed to be doing at the very least an okay job so that definitely came as a surprise. He let his brother get the aforementioned beers and took the bottle his brother was handing him. Taking a sip, he leaned back on the couch, listening. He nodded comprehension. "Hm, it's definitely not the kind of position that has a lot of applicants. Not qualified ones anyway," Simon added, sure that Julian would get loads of applicants if he wanted, but probably none he could actually use. "I can see why this sucks. Maybe I could help? I don't know any F1 managers of course but I could try to find you someone, at least until you find something stable."

[julianxhawthorne]

"She really did, didn't she?" Julian smiled proudly, always up for praising Haven's work. It was eerie just how excited he was at the mere mention of her, especially after Alice. The ending of his relationship with her had completely destroyed him, Haven just seemed to heal him of all that trauma. "You should check out the bathrooms and the toilets. There's a marble accent wall with backlight for lighting." Julian beamed, nudging him along to continue the tour of the house. @thesimonhawthorne

END.

Simon raised both hands in a sign of surrender. While he couldn't help teasing him about it, he could understand how frustrating this had been. He'd seen it first hand. He also knew this would just fuel his motivation to win in Japan. "Well, it can only be perfect then," he replied. He actually didn't think he'd have all that much to say, and given the lack of real effort put in his flat, he probably shouldn't anyway; but he liked Haven, as surprising as it might sound coming from him, so he definitely didn't want to offend her. "Noted, noted," he said with a nod. But as they walked in the place, it just seemed like a good place to live. "I have to admit you did good. So did she."

[joanxwagner]

"Same as ever. Say less." Joanna chuckled, knowing well enough the reputation of his family, either through the mainstream or through him or his siblings and from spending time with them. Though she couldn't help but to feel that she rather had Nolan Hawthorne as a father than her own, though she knew that even though Nolan was 'around' he wasn't the loving kind of father. His children betrayed enough of that. She knew her father was a loving one, she was just deprived of it. The curse of the oldest child. "Just how much work have you got? Like what is it you need to do?" she asked, taking a sip from her juice box. Her attention was driven to a shriek from her daughter, but then saw that Henri had scared her from around a corner and she eased again. "What about me. Family is the same as ever. Johnny is expecting twins, haven't spoken to Nick in ages, thank God. Emilia did decide to put her theatre skills to good use and give me a whole rant about how I didn't care about her and how I am hurting her. At least it promises that if her play sucks it won't have anything to do with her." She shrugged. "The kids are good, healthy. Ariana is walking, almost running, which scares the living hell out of me and my husband is... Well he's off for his job but I'm sure he's okay." She mumbled, knowing it might look bad she had nothing good to say about him, or nothing new anyway. "And the job is good. We closed a big property a while back, which gave Haven and I a good boost. So that's something." She uttered, taking another sip through the straw. "Say, is there a racing track nearby? Like Portland or Seattle or something? or what's the closest?" @thesimonhawthorne

Simon did enjoy spending time with Joanna. Her straightforwardness and the way she sidestepped his family's expectations made her easy to be around. Simon sat on the bench, accepting the juice packet with a small, amused smile. Taking a sip from the juice packet, Simon leaned back, his eyes following Henri and Lynn as they played. Her question hung in the air for a moment, and he let out a quiet chuckle. "The family’s… well, they're the Hawthornes, you know? Same as ever," he replied, the slightest hint of irony in his tone. Talking about his family was like navigating a minefield; one wrong step and it could blow up in his face. But Joanna wasn't one to judge, and that made it easier to be honest. He didn't, of course, consider she might've been talking about his, well, other family, which he barely considered as such. "As for the job, no regrets yet. I knew what I was getting at with Julian, and I enjoy spending more time with him. There's a learning curve for sure and it's a lot of pressure but I prefer it to the bank so far." He paused and shrugged. "The travel and all that comes with it is definitely a nice bonus. What about you?" @joanxwagner