Secretary | muke [c]

Twenty Four

Michael huffed, tossing two files into his bag before zipping it up. He felt guilty and he knew why. Rubbing his eyes and sinking deeper into his chair, he heard a rushed knock at the door. He instantly knew who it was, causing him to sit up and force a smile.

"Ashton." The blond man smiled back, holding up another file that had Michael contemplating throwing himself out the window. "Another one?"

"The last one." The older man nodded with a grin. He ran a hand through his curls before looking down at the file and then back at Michael. "Hilton, Michael. As in, Hilton Hotels. Win this case and the position is yours."

Michael's smile faded rather quickly, eyebrows knitting together. "Ashton, I-"

"Don't tell me you're about to refuse this case." His boss's tone changed instantly, from bubbly and excited to serious and almost threatening. "This is the key to getting the job as senior partner. You want the job, don't you?"

"I do." The black haired man nodded slowly. He wasn't even sure if he wanted the job anymore. "But I honestly have too much on my plate right now."

Ashton sighed, dumping the file on the coffee table carelessly as he took a seat on the black leather couch. He looked out of the window, eyes scanning the colourful sky and the sun that had start to set beyond the Swan River. Neither man spoke and the silence started getting heavy. Michael knew well enough that Ashton's mind was reeling, forming a speech to get Michael to agree to take the case. Instead, he pushed his lips into a thin line, rubbing his knees with the palms of his hands.

"This isn't high school, Michael. I'm not some teacher you can get around with; I'm your boss. This is a thirty million dollar case and, as your boss, I am telling you that you are taking this case."

He stood up without another word, not even taking a second glance at Michael as he walked out of his office. Michael watched as he left, vision becoming red with anger. From the corner of his eye, he could see the blond hair poking into the room, half of Luke's face appearing from behind the door as he stared at Michael curiously. He covered his eyes with his hands as he huffed, gesturing for Luke to come in.

The blond closed the door softly behind him, pacing cautiously around Michael's desk and swirling his boss's chair around so he could fit between the chair and the desk. He sat on Michael's lap slowly, arms wrapping around the man's neck as Michael's circled his waist, pulling Luke as close as he could. Luke snuggled further into him, head resting on Michael's shoulder and legs laced with Michael's. They sat in silence until the sun had completely disappeared, the sky no longer a mixture of colour but rather a dark blue with stars starting to make their appearance.

"You okay?" Luke whispered softly, hand threading through Michael's hair gently and massaging his scalp.

"You are amazing, you know that?" The black haired man mumbled into Luke's hair, kissing his head quickly. When the blond looked up at him questioningly, Michael smiled. "Your best friend is schizophrenic, your mother died and you recently found out your father gave up any form of communication with you and your brothers. You're full of issues of your own, problems that can really bring a person down, yet here you are, asking me if I'm okay because of a case I can't be bothered to take."

"I don't care if you're upset because of a broken nail, Michael, your feelings are valid." Luke's voice came out stronger than Michael expected as the blond sat up straight, staring him straight in the eye. He had never seen Luke sounding so certain of what he was saying. "Your feelings are valid and I will put mine aside to help you. It's not because someone might have it worse than you that anyone has a right to belittle how you feel, no matter how stupid your problems might seem to them. If it's upsetting you, then it is a problem and I'm not going to just brush it of. I can't just not care. You're being too hard on yourself; your marriage is crumbling, your mother is battling cancer and you're under a terrible amount of stress at work. Cut yourself some slack and let yourself be upset about things from time to time. Everyone cracks at some point and that's okay."