waitress // lrh

11 // sheets

// luke //

After coming back from his lunch break, Luke took a seat at his desk chair next to Ashton. He groaned with exasperation, intertwining his fingers in his hair and tugging at his roots in frustration. Ashton merely chuckled, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder.

"What's your problem?"

"Everything," he mumbled. He had a raging headache, and his rib cage was aching still. Not to mention, his jaw was sore and in more pain than it had been the last few weeks.

"Well," Ashton sighed, before saying sarcastically, "Sorry to ruin your good mood, but the Irvines made their reservation while you were out."

Luke groaned. "Fuck me."

He snorted. "No thanks."

Mrs Irvine was the widowed head of a snobbish rich family, who had a divorcée daughter with a pair of bratty twin boys who booked a suite every July for two weeks. He had no idea why they would decide to stay in New York in the slightest, especially at this hotel. They were the most insolent, disrespectful people Luke had ever met. However, they apparently were very generous donors to the hotel, so they had to put up with them, or they were doomed to be fired.

Ashton snorted. "They'll be here tomorrow."

Luke smacked his forehead into the desk, doing his best to not scream.

"Luke," a soft voice stopped him.

He slowly picked his head up to see the little girl standing in front of him, her big eyes resting on his weary expression. She had a flashy red bag over her shoulder, which caught Luke's eye. It matched her lipstick.

"Hey, babe," he greeted her wearily, watching as her cheeks flushed adorably.

Babe.

Ashton shot him a look at the nickname that slipped thoughtlessly out of Luke's mouth so often.

"You- you left this," Cate held up a small unmarked bottle that Luke realized was his missing painkillers. "I- I was going to give you it on Monday, but I forgot it."

Luke gratefully accepted it, figuring he had slipped it into his pocket after returning from the library and it must've fallen out.

"Thanks, Catie."

She smiled gently, lingering for a moment at the desk before walking over to the restaurant.

"What was that?" Ashton whispered rapidly. "'Babe?' That's Calum's little sister, you can't- that's messed up, man."

"I- it's just a nickname, Ash," Luke sighed. "I've got things to do."

He just shook his head, returning to his records on his monitor, hoping Luke's tongue had just slipped. Because if not, this could turn into something serious, and fast. Calum would be beyond pissed. Ashton wouldn't be the one to tell him, but there wasn't anything to be told currently. He hoped it would stay that way.

Luke groaned again, noting that someone at the bar across the lobby gave him a look. He just shot a fake smile at them, immediately dropping into a moody glare as he turned on his monitor.

Meanwhile, Cate had just been grabbed by the elbow and pulled into the backroom by a very stressed Autumn. Her foundation was creased around her forehead, and she had a wild expression in her eyes.

"You're five minutes late!"

"I-I'm sorry," she glanced at her watch, "I- it's only a minute,"

Autumn glared at her. "Listen to me. We've got very, very rich guests coming in- tomorrow. So you've got to have your shit together, okay?" She laughed humorlessly. "Everything has to be perfect. When they come down to eat, when you pass them in the lobby, everything has to be pristine, everywhere."