[He'd been on the phone with caterers all day, indecisive on menus in the wake of a life freshly crumbling. Not that anything
bad had happened. Not yet. Nothing more devastating than Harry's usual method of destroying the only friendships he had. Actually, Harry got the feeling that the girls
weren't ticked at him or hurt by him for a change. If they realized that he was sleeping with(or in Gwen's case,
damn near) both of them, Harry expected the pleasant serenity to come crashing down on top of his head. He knew that Mary Jane and Gwen were closer than they'd been in awhile, they were at least talking again. Harry could feel the warning heat, like a bomb gone off in the distance with shockwaves and radioactive destruction rolling closer, but he didn't think there was anything he could do about it now. Just bunker down and wait it out.
The unexpected return of his father served as the perfect distraction, something significantly more important to worry about. That Norman Osborn had held a press conference before even telling Harry himself that he'd come back, it hurt. Of course, Harry wouldn't ever tell his father that or even convey it, but it hurt. This dinner would be the platform for his father and him to talk business(they didn't really talk about anything
but business). Talk Oscorp and Harry's place(or lack of) with the future of the corporation. It churned his nerves to the point that Harry poured a couple of drinks after Gwen stopped by to pick up Emily. Emily had missed her father dearly and wanted to stay for dinner, but Harry thought the quiet intensity of a business dinner was better executed without the whims of a hyperactive child. Gwen was a godsend for that.
The caterers arrived promptly at six and set up in the kitchen while Harry waited in the study for his father to return from Oscorp for the day. He dropped some ice in his bourbon and turned on the television, unsurprised to see his father's face on the news as they replayed a charismatic interview from earlier in the day.]