#jess succession | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

vclvetfleur · 1 year ago

Text

Obedient Chapter 6

roman roy x fem! reader

Summary: You have been spending a lot of time Roman that you finally had time to spend with Jess. You both go out for shopping and invite someone to your dinner plans.

Warnings: veganism, implied addiction problems

Word Count : 4.4K

Notes: So sorry to do this to my meat lovers and dairy lovers, but OC is canonly vegan. It'll be a funny bit later on, but as a vegan I approved it. sorry.

Chapter 6: goodnight texts

You said your goodbyes to Roman for the day, finishing some things off before you left his office. You were just waiting for Jess to finally finish up with Kendall so you could both head out together for the day. You got the text from Jess before heading to the elevator to meet with her. She turned the corner and sped walked over to you, quickly pulling you into an embrace.

“What are you both up to?” Kendall asked in a friendly way. Despite having to deal with Roman being really nasty to him, he was kind of cheery. It could’ve been genuine, but Jess knew that was just the front he put on around everyone to make them think he was stable.

Kendall was anything but stable. He just hid it well enough by being more likable than his siblings and more understanding than his father. He played his cards right and he was strategic. He wanted to gain everyone’s respect and he thought by trying to be the cool guy that he would keep it. He wanted respect, but his need to be liked overpowered his personality entirely.

In reality, Kendall relapsed again a couple weeks ago. After trying to take down Logan and spending hours and hours out of his days to take Logan down, after Shiv’s wedding he completely cowarded to his father again. He was an empty shell of the man he was before.

Worst of all everyone knew he relapsed again. He tried to act as if he had it under control and as if barely anyone knew, but we all saw through it. He was a complete mess. Roman even had to fish him out of trap house after smoking crack with some strangers he found at a bar. Kendall’s addiction turned into a darker turn than it had ever done before. And no one could stop it, no matter how hard they tried. Truth is, Kendall didn’t want to be sober. He just wanted to forget.

He wanted to stop thinking about it.

And being high was the only way to stop it.

But of course, Logan knew and used it to his advantage. It was another play he had on hand to take advantage of his children. He always had some kind of leverage to make them bend at his will. He had a lot, while they had none. It was like playing Monopoly with toddlers for him. Roman’s weird and queer behaviors. His fear of intimacy and the fact the last person he had sex with was the girl who blew Tom, and he couldn’t even manage to even properly do it. And everyone knew. Cause every girlfriend Roman had outted his sexual problems to everyone out of frustration.

Kendall’s intense drug issues and the fact he was too weak to run the company. He couldn’t even properly overthrow his father. Kendall’s whole life was set up for CEO, but Logan wasn’t ever planning to step down, even in death. Kendall was just Logan’s bark dog. He did what he asked in hopes to get the position he’s fought his whole life for. He wanted to be nothing like Logan, but everything like Logan at the same time that he got his weaknesses and strengths. An absent father and backstabbing family member to not just his father, but his siblings too.

And Siobhan. Well, the only thing Logan had against her was she was a woman and a liberal. Two things Logan couldn’t stand. He saw those qualities as weak. Powerless. She was never going to be taken seriously. Cause Logan created an atmosphere in the office that allowed the man at the top to use their power against women. And he gave them the courage to use their manhood to exude that power. Along with his company ATN spewing alt-right propaganda. He knew the company would not take Shiv seriously. They would think she was gonna change too much around there and weren’t going to have ‘creative freedom’, as if Logan wasn’t already feeding them his own agenda.

Reality is he didn’t stand anywhere politically. Just whatever would give him more power and money. Cause whoever got elected did so because of him. He looked for men who were powerful, but also scared of Logan and his power. And he spread an agenda to the American people. Logan knew his influence. And knew none of them could live up to it. Cause they were all too soft, despite fighting to be as aggressive and terrible as him.

Kendall just wanted to be like Logan despite what he said. But also wanted to be liked. He didn’t know which was more important.

Jess felt pity for him. She had seen him go through it. She knew Kendall more than most. He practically treated her like a personal diary.

She just gave him a comforting smile and answered for the both of you. “Well y/n just got her first paycheck and we were gonna go shopping for new office clothes for her. And to get dinner, but don’t be scared to call me if you need me.” She reminded him. He nodded before stepping in the elevator with the two of you. “So-uh-where are you both gonna get dinner?” He asked you both. You looked at Jess, assuming she would know since she was the one that offered. She didn’t think about it though.

Kendall always seemed to be stumbling over his words. It kind of seemed like he over thinks about everything he said. He taught too much about it. “No clue, we were probably gonna grab a table at whatever was near and good enough.” She confessed. Kendall tried to find of a spot for the two of us before finally coming up with one.

“You both- I think at least- should go to- it’s incredible really, its new- to this place. Uh fuck- what was it called?” he tried to remember. He spent a while before finally remembering the name. He snapped his finger, pointing at us “Boulud Saud!” He seemed so proud of himself for remembering it. He didn’t really remember names of places like that. Just where they were.

“How do you even spell that?” You laughed, pulling it up on your phone. You all left the elevator together, you and Jess heading towards the subways as Kendall seemed to follow.

You unfortunately always had to look up the menu to places. Because you were scared to admit this to Roman, but you were had been vegan for a couple of years now. I know it was truly a crime of humanity and to some people’s culinary experiences, but you were. Kendall tried his best to spell it out before you all just stopped on the street to find it. Unfortunately for you it didn’t work out for you. “I can’t. Sorry.” You apologized to both of them. Jess because you needed to now look for another place and Kendall for wasting his recommendation.

“Uh why?” he asked. He took it as a blow to his personality. As if he messed up already. In his head, you rejected him because you had an issue with him. His fear of being unliked surged up. You took a deep breathe dramatically, putting your wrist over your head, reaching out to Jess. She just giggled, holding back, watching the dramatic scene play out. “Don’t hate me Kendall, but I- I don’t eat meat. Or egg. Or cheese. Or anything with animals. Ugh I’m awful I know.” You whined, hiding your face.

Kendall was just happy enough that you were actually being friendly to him. You didn't dislike him. He really thought you would since you worked with Roman. But you weren’t like everyone in the building. You were like Jess. You weren’t raised with money. You didn’t find a need to pick and play games like everyone. Work was work. And Kendall wasn’t use to it. He was so use to everyone using things against him and using him for their own gain. He just laughed at you. “Wow. I-I-I don’t know if I could forgive something so repulsive” He played along, stuttering over his words as he usually did.

“It’ll be fine Ken, we’ll just go to one of our usual spots.” Jess reassured him. He nodded and figured it was his time to depart from the two of you. A sadness washed over him again. He had to be alone. Alone with whatever he was thinking. With all of his anxieties. Jess saw it. “Unless you don’t mind meeting us for lunch. It’s not really fancy though. It’s just normal people food.” She shrugged. You looked at Jess then Kendall, you weren’t sure why he had to join since you did expect just a day alone with Jess. But you wouldn’t mind it. Just caught off guard.

“No-uh-no-it’s alright, you both just have your-uh-fun girl thing.” He tried to make himself not look pathetic. But he did. That whole family was. It was a tragedy to watch. Almost Shakespearian.

“No come on, is it cause you don’t wanna eat with normal people?” You asked jokingly. He tried to rebuttal, but you caught him off before you could make him more nervous and upset than he was. “We’ll text you the place before we get there. We’ll see you there.” You offered. Jess appreciated how sweet you were being. It was only 40 minutes of your day. You both had the rest of the day to be spend with Jess. You could just end up at Jess’ apartment later.

You waved goodbye to Kendall, locking arms with Jess. You walked your separate ways as you started your day with Jess. You both decided against the subway and walked to Soho instead. It was only a 15 to 20 minute walk, and it was a beautiful day out. A bit chilly, but just chilly enough that it felt nice.

“So you and Roman.” Jess started as if it was going to turn into a talk. “You enjoying the job?” This felt like a trap. Depending on how you answered could cause Jess to have a talk with you and you weren’t sure if you wanted to have one yet.

“Yeah, Roman is actually trying now.” You shrugged. You avoided her looks.

Jess knew you. She knew how to spot certain hints about your life. You spent 2 years together in a dorm room. Jess was 2 years older than you and moved out, but you still hung out after and even spent nights with her after the semester was over. So, you basically lived with her for 3 years, technically, considering all the months you spent with her during your summers and winters off and even after you left college, you spent weeks with her before you got your expenses together. So, if anyone knew you, Jess did.

“I’ve never seen him at work this much. Last time I saw him at work, he came on his window.” She brought up. You stopped, your jaw dropping almost immediately before you slapped your hand over your open mouth. You looked at her, practically screaming WHAT?

“No fucking way!” you hysterically laughed. You needed to make fun of him for that later. Honestly it wasn’t entirely too surprising. You could expect that from him. “I thought that shit would end after leaving minimum wage.” You tried to say your sentence, but you couldn’t stop laughing.

“Nope. Most fucked up, like a month before you got here, Logan pissed in Logans office.” She bit her bottom lip in amusement, trying to keep herself from breaking out laughing on the street.

“SHUT UP! OH M- What the fuck is wrong with this family?” You shook your head. It was the craziest thing you could ever expect. This is like reading stories of what your favorite celebrity used to do when you could get away with terrible shit.

“You don’t even know the beginning of it. It goes so much deeper than that. That was all within a month or two.” She revealed. You practically begged her to tell you more, but she had too much already. If someone were to find out she said anything, she could get in serious trouble. All thanks to the NDA that they were made to sign. You let it go. You didn’t want to press too much.

You and Jess went from luxury store to luxury store to buy you suits and dresses for work. It was so nice to have Jess around. She knew what it was like being like me. She went through the same exact thing when she first got hired. She knew exactly what kind of mistakes to avoid and what to actually buy. Her first mistake was buying something from Zara.

You had been carrying bags throughout each store, not even paying to attention to how much you swiped, cause no matter how much you did swipe, it didn’t decline. How much did you get paid? You decided to check later. Right now, your arms hurt, and you needed to put the bags away. Thankfully Jess’ apartment was only a couple blocks away.

You rushed inside once Jess unlocked the doors and set everything down. “Fucking hell…” You moan, rubbing your wrists. You laid on Jess’ couch before looking at your phone to see texts from Roman. You decided to change his name to Rome. It was better than what he had put in your phone before.

You giggled, immediately texting back since you hadn’t been able to respond the entire time you spent time with Jess. You and Roman were just getting close. It was normal. You both just enjoyed being around each other. That’s all. Jess found you smiling a bit too hard at your phone. You had a certain glow to you. Jess has seen this glow before. Back in college whenever you’d pick your boy of the month. “Ooo who’s that?” She asked, sitting next to you, leaning down to see your phone to only see Roman’s name again. Her face dropped. Someone fucking dig up Jesus Christ or find him immediately cause God is dead.

“Nope. Fuck y/n, this can’t-“ she was way to stunned. You put the phone down and looked up at her.

“Oh calm down, we’re just being friendly.” You reassured her. You sat up, placing your phone face flat. You never did that around her. Only others when you wanted to hide something. But you didn’t do it consciously. It just was a reflex.

“Y/n promise me. You cannot get involved with Roman. I love you way too much for you to go down this path.” Jess held your hands in hers. She noticed the phone. She knew something you didn’t. You thought she was being extremely dramatic. You didn’t have a crush on Roman. He was just nice to be around. Disgusting. But nice. It was fun. You both had fun with each other.

Besides he was your boss. You’re professional. You knew what could happen if you got involved. You already thought about it. You knew a relationship with Roman could never exist unless you wanted to risk your job possibly. You read the contract. It’s not that you’d be terminated, but there were consequences you weren’t willing to take. But it was also about the public scrutiny you weren’t willing to deal with.

“Nothing is gonna happen Jess, he’s Roman. And plus, you know me. I would not ruin a good thing for something so stupid.” You scoffed. “Hey, don’t forget to invite Kendall to dinner.” You reminded. You just needed to find a place that he wasn’t going to be too uncomfortable in. You weren’t sure if he’s eaten anywhere normal before. He probably had $40 appetizers wherever he ate. You both settled on Dirt Candy. It was a restaurant you always wanted to try but couldn’t afford. It was a Michelin star restaurant despite the name and the appearance of the outside of the restaurant. But the fact it had a star was probably enough for Kendall.

You picked your phone back up and continued to respond to Roman, except trying to hide it better. You held back your smiles enough and tried to not stare at it as often. But it didn’t fool Jess, she saw right through your façade.

You were just making stupid jokes and updating each other on what was happening. You told him you had went shopping for clothes earlier.

‘you gonna do a little show for me tomorrow?’

‘can you ever not sexualize everything i do?’

Jess decided to ignore. She trusted your judgement enough, but entirely, but enough.

“Okay he’ll get there by the time we do.” Jess tried to get you organized. You pulled away from the screen and asked her to repeat herself. She sighed and just walked, knowing you’d follow. You grabbed your jacket and followed Jess around as if you were her assistant now. But you had always followed her around realistically. She was like the older sister you wish you had. You admired her. She was the coolest person you knew. There was nothing she could do wrong in your eyes. Except when you argued about mediocre and mundane things. Then she could do a lot wrong.

You got to the restaurant with Jess, waiting for Kendall. You both just got your drinks.

Jess liked spending time with Kendall. Her job was stressful only when Kendall made his life stressful, which he did a lot; especially recently. She felt pity for him. She saw his potential and knew he can make it far if he could just get over his insecurities. He was smart. He knew what he was doing. But his ego was getting in the way of his success. His dad was constantly in his head.

You watched as the tall black haired man walked into the restaurant searching for you both. He noticed the two of you and made his way over. You and Jess got up to greet him was a hug before sitting back down. You waved the waitress down so Kendall could order a drink for himself as well. He got a menu and looked over what to order. But he couldn’t for the life of him settle on anything.

“Uh-hi. So how was your-uhm- what did you guys exactly do?” He asked you both.

“We just went shopping. I needed a wardrobe for work.” You shrugged. You already had your choice set in place. Jess too. You both just waited for Kendall to make a choice. “I’ve honestly been wearing the same button up for the past couple of days. My outside clothes don’t really fit the office.” You shrugged. “I’m shocked you had anything that wasn’t either see through or more than 5 inches of fabric.” Jess overly exaggerated. You mimicked her before flipping her off. “Wow Roman is really rubbing off on you.” She joked.

“How dare you compare me to him?” You let out a gasp. Your lip curled into a smirk, sipping on your drink. “Credit, you knew me before. So, you know for a fact I’ve always acted this way.” You tried to point out, but Jess really wanted to know your feelings for Roman. She tried to see how’d you even react to him being brought up in conversation. But you barely had one. In fact, you tried to even avoid texting him because you wanted to prove it to her. You did not have a crush on Roman Roy.

“Where’d you two meet again?” Kendall interrogated. Everything was usually about him usually. He did love to talk about himself and what he did, but since his life has been crashing down, he had nothing to brag about, nothing to uplift himself.

“Oh ya, a strip club. Jess was my pimp.” You clearly lied, Jess kicking your foot lightly under the table.

“College.” She corrected you.

“I think Jess is right, Roman is rubbing off on you.” Kendall said with a quickness that apparently the entire Roy family had, as he stood with Jess. You looked at him in shock. “I grew up with him. I should know.” He raised his hands up in defense before bringing the waitress over as he finally settled on something.

“I’m not that bad though. Come on, right?” You asked the two of them as they ignored you to order their food, essentially giving you their answer. They were joking, but they did assume you were acting like Roman purely because of how much times you both spend together. Kendall more so because he didn’t know you before, Jess less because she knew you were always this quick and witty. But she couldn’t help but remind herself of the way you were glued to your phone. She had to see it for herself in person though. How did you act around him? “Oh, screw you both” You huffed, crossing your arms. “You’ve started to act more like Kendall then.” You tried to fire back; your chin raised up. But really Jess hasn’t. She’s just more grown since when you first met.

“How?” Jess asked amused. Kendall leaned in amused as well to hear what you had to say about him.

“Well, you dress nicer now.” You tried to make any point you could. "You're a lot classier." You mocked, flicking your wrist and batting your eyes.

“Yea cause of work.” She corrected you. “Boo try again.”

“Fine uhhhh….” You thought for a while.

“I don’t think she has anything.” Kendall pointed out to Jess. She nodded at him, agreeing as she watched you with amusement as you tried to pull something out of your ass.

“Oh! I know! You’ve been more docile. You’re not a party girl anymore.” You pointed out. But again, you were only pointing out the fact she’s aged and gotten more mature than when you had first met. “She used to down at least 8 shots a night in college.” You lied to Kendall.

“Kendall parties.” Jess pointed out. Unfortunately for you, you didn’t understand the double meaning.

“Yea at rich people stuff.” You made a point, but you didn’t know Kendall enough to know how he was. I mean just a few weeks ago he was at a club doing coke with his cousin. Well not with. He made his cousin do it. But he had to pretend to be sober in front of everyone, despite everyone knowing that truth.

“No-I don’t- how about one night I’ll show you.” He offered. You raised your eyebrow, wondering if it was really the best idea to do so. “It’ll be a good time. Trust me.” He left the offer on the table for you to take. You looked at Jess, her shrugging at the request.

“Okay. Next time Kendall Roy is going to party, I’ll be there.” You laughed.

Kendall wasn’t as bad as Roman tried to paint him as. You didn’t understand the dynamic they had. You didn’t know where all this resentment came from. Anytime you seen them, they plotted against the other to ruin the other. They seemed to hit a rough patch.

Honestly, the only issue was they had hit was Kendall trying to recruit people to vote Logan out. Roman was supposed to vote for it, with Kendall, but Logan refused to leave the room. It was a sight to be seen. No one had seen Logan so angry before, despite his health not being in the best shape. He threatened to fire whoever voted against him. And he did. He even took Roman to put his hand down before he got the chance to put in his opinions. And Romans eagerness to please his father mixed with fear of his father, he did what he was told. And Kendall continued to try to ruin the company. He wanted it gone if he couldn’t have it, not even considering his own brother. He said it was because he wanted Logan to step down, but it was only because it wasn’t his. He thought it was his birth right. But after the accident, Kendall was back. But he knew his future with the company was practically nonexistent now that everything transpired. Now Roman was being offered everything he was promised. And the two brothers had no idea, but so was Shiv. Logan was setting them both up as he did with Kendall years ago as a kid.

You just felt sorry for them. They didn’t seem to have a lot of people around them or anyone to fight for them. They were both dealing with their father and decided to turn their issues into a competition rather than seeking refugee within each other.

The Roy family was an American Tragedy.

The three of you spent awhile in the restaurant together, even after eating. When you finished you just ordered dessert and drinks. Jess watched over Kendall though. She did truly worry about him. The three of you actually had a nice time. Kendall was nice. He was a lot more respectful than Roman was. Just not as intense. He had an intensity that was just different from Roman’s. His was more comparable to Logan’s intensity. He was fun, but still very corporate to you. He was always careful of what to say and how to say it. He always wanted to play safe. No wonder Logan set him up for CEO. If you didn’t know any better, you thought Kendall would end up running Waystar one day.

You split up, giving Kendall a hug before leaving him alone. “Don’t forget to invite me to your totally awesome and not uptight rich people party!” You shouted, walking backwards as you cupped your hands around your mouth to amplify the noise. He nodded, putting a thumbs up.

You turned around, walking with Jess. “He’s fun.” You started.

“See, that’s what I’ve been telling you. That’s why I was so upset you’d be Roman’s assistant instead.” She reminded you. If only Jess got to know him, maybe she’d like him better. But there was no changing her mind. She’s seen how Roman has been. Especially to Kendall. Roman was vindictive. He didn’t even feel any sympathy for what Kendall was dealing with, in her eyes. He just did Logans dirty work and pushed him farther down.

You and Jess had just the entire night together before you decided it was time to get home. You were exhausted. You just decided to get an uber, knowing carrying Louis Vuitton and Chanel and other designer bags down your neighborhood at 1 am in the subway wasn’t safe.

You laid on your bed and finally got the courage to look at your bank account. Before you look login to your bank account you saw one last text from Roman.

‘night. see you tomorrow’

You smiled to yourself, powering your phone off for the night.

Note: Sorry about the end of the chapter if it's a little sloppy. I wrote it while half asleep.

Chapter 7