My Million Dollar Boyfriend

Chapter 27

"Claude?!" Luke shouted, baffled to see him. His eyes widened when he saw Florence sitting next to him. "And Florence?!"

"It seems like you two are already familiar with each other," Laura said as Florence looked curiously at Luke who was still gaping at him. She stood next to Luke and wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders. "Luke here will be playing the role of the main character's love interest."

Luke whipped his head to Laura with a shocked expression. "You're kidding, right?!" he said, covering his mouth as he turned to Florence with guilt shining in his eyes. "Not that it's a bad thing! I'd be honored to work with you! I'm just surprised it's you of all people... the person I admire most," he rambled, whispering the last part.

Florence slowly turned his head to Paris with a menacing smile as he held his hand in front of his mouth to cover it from the others. "I never heard anything about that part," he whispered with red cheeks of discomfort as Claude held back a chuckle.

She glanced up from her phone with an indifferent look. "It's not such a big deal," she spoke.

"Doesn't it bother you, Claude?" Luke asked, shyly. "Seeing your boyfriend act like he's in love with another man?"

Claude let out a low chuckle. "Nah, not really. You're both just doing it for work," he replied and shot a smirk at Florence. "And I already know that Flory only has his eye on me."

"Anyway!" Florence cut him off as Claude tugged on Florence's red ears. "Can I get a pen to sign the contract?" he smiled at Laura as he slapped Claude's hand away.

"...Are you sure?" Luke asked hesitantly.

Florence nodded with a confident smile. "Of course. It's not that big of a deal," he replied as Paris handed him a pen.

"Read through it all before you do something dumb again," she said as Florence shot her a glare. "Or you can sign it. I didn't see anything shady in it from what I've read."

While Florence was talking to Laura about the agreements, Luke fiddled with his fingers awkwardly as he glanced at Claude who was messaging Raoul about their project. "Should I ask him if they want to grab something to eat after this?" he thought, looking down at his hands. "But wouldn't that be kind of weird? This is only the second time I have met Claude and I've only met Florence on stage before. Asking them now will only make me look like a creep."

"Hey, Luke," Claude called as Luke raised his head. "Are you down to join us for dinner? A friend of mine made reservations and asked if you'd like to come along. He said something about wanting to ask you some questions," he explained.

Florence frowned with a suspicious look on her face. "What does Sydney want from him?" he asked as Claude shrugged.

"Don't ask me. Maybe he wants to scout him out as he did with you," Claude replied, turning to Luke with a smile. "But if you don't want to, you can just decline. Sydney is pretty easygoing, he wouldn't be angry if you didn't come" he added.

"No no, I'd love to join you guys!" Luke beamed, feeling overjoyed by the thought of getting closer to them.

"Alright," Claude said and informed Sydney about it.

When Florence finished signing the contract, he looked at Claude and Luke who were chatting happily. He tapped Claude's shoulder. "I'm ready to go," he said. They said their goodbyes to Laura and Paris and took the elevator back to the ground floor.

While they were on their way to the restaurant Sydney reserved, Sydney and Raoul were sitting in a cafe close by. Raoul was busy on his laptop while Sydney was stirring his drink out of boredom.

"Raoul," Sydney called as Raoul glanced at him. "Are you done with your homework? It's so boring," he complained. Raoul ignored him and put his focus back on his screen. "Raouuul," Sydney tried again but he didn't bat an eye at him. "Raoul!"

Raoul saved the file and closed his laptop with an irritated look on his face. "Let's go," he said, packing his things up. "Claude said that they're almost there."

"Ah shit," he muttered and drank the rest of his ice tea in one go. He threw the empty cup away as he followed Raoul out of the cafe. "Wait up!" Sydney shouted and grabbed his arm. "Why are you walking so fast?" Raoul looked at Sydney's pouty face and pulled his bucket hat down. "What was that for?!"

"No reason," he replied, a faded smile on his lips.

Sydney looked at him as if he was about to throw a tantrum. Oh, come ooon! Just say it already! Say it!" he demanded as Raoul zoned Sydney's voice out. As they approached the restaurant, they saw Claude, Florence, and Luke standing in front of it. He let go of Raoul's arm to sprint up to Florence with a bright smile. "Florence!"

Claude and Luke were quick enough to prevent Florence from falling while Florence got startled by him. "Syd?"

"The one and only!" he grinned, striking a pose while Raoul introduced himself to Luke. He noticed Luke and stood in front of Raoul with his hand out. "I'm Sydney, it's nice to finally meet you, Luke," he said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you for inviting me!" Luke beamed. "Claude also mentioned that you wanted to ask me some questions. Is it something work-related?"

"Oh yeah! I wanted to ask about a rumor if it doesn't bother you," Sydney said as Raoul and Florence looked skeptical at him. "Is it true that you slept with multiple co-workers behind their backs?"

Raoul covered Sydney's mouth and showed Luke a forced smile as he watched Sydney squirm in Raoul's hands with a surprised face. "I'm sorry about that. Sydney can be a bit blunt," he apologized as Florence sighed out of disappointment.

Luke scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "Don't worry about it. People ask me those questions a lot and I've gotten used to it," he said, forcing a smile. "I don't know where those rumors come from."

Sydney stared at him and grinned widely. "Yeah, it did sound like bullshit when I read it online," he laughed.

"Then why ask in the first place?" Claude asked as they all put their attention on Sydney.

Sydney shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? He's here right?" Raoul flicked Sydney's forehead. "What was that for?!"

"Why don't we go inside before Sydney asks more weird questions?" Claude suggested and everyone except Sydney found it a great idea.

A/N I'm so tempted to not do my homework right now. Maybe I'll wake up earlier tomorrow to speedrun it. I mean it's doable if I sleep early, what I need to do. And I have to speedrun an assignment this upcoming week so that's fun... I still have so much to do and draw. OH YEAH I STARTED LISTENING TO KPOP AND I KINDA LIKE IT??? MY FRIEND TOLD ME THAT HE KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN SOMEDAY BUT ATEEZ'S MUSIC IS SO GOOD! Well, it's getting late. I'm gonna sleep soon and don't kill mice

-Jerry Da Mouse