𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 | 𝚓𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝

𝙢𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙 | 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟸/𝟾

[photo: from the miniladd video where he answers questions | wc: 1,156 | note: this series is going to be one of my longer ones, at the moment I have over five unpublished parts written for it (unedited at the moment, which is half the battle haha) but be prepared for more of this soon!]

"Hey Ty! Someone is here to see you!" The man that greeted you at the front door announced, then turned to address you, "He'll be here shortly. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything will be fine," you nodded, leaning against the counter. You can't say you expected the young man to be working in an Italian restaurant like Giovanni Venticinque on the upper east side of New York City, but you weren't even sure what it was you did expect.

"Who is it—?" Ty's voice called out and progressively got quieter as he neared and saw you, "Oh no, please don't hurt me."

"I'm not—When do you get off?" You interrupted yourself as you realized his boss was still in the room. It certainly would not benefit either of your situations for him to be out of a job.

"In thirty. Please, don't do this, I have the—" he rambled, putting his hands up in a mix of nerves and self-defense.

"Ty, not here," you cut him off, "I'll meet you at the corner of Madison and 81st 45 minutes from now. Be there."

You didn't want to scare the kid too much, but you thought it might prevent against future occurrences if he knew this was serious. If you had known of any other place to find him, you would have avoided his place of employment at all cost, but this was just how it went sometimes.

Sauntering to the meetup location, you spotted a figure you knew down the street where 82nd starts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You turned your direction and headed towards him, knowing you had a minute to spare.

"Hey, Travis, wait up!" You shouted, quickly checking for moving traffic before jogging across the street, as he began to walk in the opposite direction.

Thankfully he heard you and instantly turned to spot you, "Y/N! It's so good to see you! What are you doing up here?"

"I could ask you the same!" You let out an airy laugh and gave him a quick hug, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Sure has. You up on this side of town on business?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets in a relaxed manner, something you assumed meant he was comfortable talking to you, despite knowing you both shouldn't be.

"When am I anywhere not on business?" You asked and watched as he broke down your sentence in his head.

"Yeah, me too. Who are you working for these days?" He squinted slightly against the sun.

"What tells you I'm not the boss?" You snap back, cockily, and then break with a chuckle, "No, I'm working for Schlatt & Co. He took over the company recently from Carson, but he still hangs out at the building all the time."

"Rumor's out that there might be a merger soon between you guys and Ted Nivison Enterprises," he explains, beginning to tap his toes, and then grinning, "We might be coworkers soon!"

"It'd be great to see you more often, but I'm still worried about the merger," You scratch your neck nervously out of habit.

He looks puzzled yet again, "Why's that?"

You didn't dare use the word "war" in your description of your concerns, but if merger negotiations went poorly, you knew it was a real possibility. Instead you simply concluded, "We might be rivals before we have a chance to be coworkers. Ted won't take a deal that doesn't benefit him and, well, you know Jonathan. He's stubborn, ruthless, and all business."

"That doesn't stop you from having a massive crush on him, though," Traves observed, "He's got to have some heart underneath all that."

"Travis... That's not the point," your eyes instinctively fell to your feet, but you raised them to his when you spoke again, "You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"No, of course not! I might be a possible rival, but I'm not a jerk," his eyes moved as if he was trying to make sure he said what he wanted to correctly and then nodded, more confidently, "Yeah, I'm no jerk."

"I know you're not, thanks for keeping your word. Look, I've got to go handle something, but keep in touch," you put your hand on his shoulder.

"I will. You too," he pointed at you and then you parted ways.

As he walked off and you made your way back towards Madison Avenue from 5th Avenue, you could've sworn you saw him stop and talk to Cooper, but there was no way Cooper was on this side of town. Plus, Cooper worked with you at Schlatt & Co. and therefore wasn't allowed to talk to Travis to begin with. Then again, you weren't either.

Shrugging it off, and figuring it was not your business anyways, you remembered the task at hand: collect the dues you were owed. Or rather, the dues Jonathan was owed.

As you reached the corner, Ty became more and more visible. You checked your watch to find that only about twenty minutes had passed since your encounter at the restaurant.

"Hey, Ty. How did you get here—?" you began, but he anticipated your question.

"My boss let me off early. Look, Y/N, I-I'm trying really hard to get the payments in on time, really," he rambled, pulling out his wallet, "I-I have it with me now."

"Ty, breathe," you sensed his nerves, "I'm not going to hurt you. If you've got the money, we're all good."

"Okay, okay," he tried to deepen his breaths to no avail and handed you a small wad of cash. As you meticulously counted it, he assured you, "It's all there."

"Looks good. A pleasure doing business," you stepped past him, brushing his shoulder slightly, and patted him on the back.

He turned on his heels, "Wait!"

When you didn't stop at his call, knowing your job was done, he jogged to catch up with you and then matched your pace, "Do you think, maybe, I don't know, I could get a job with Schlatt & Co.?"

That stopped you dead in your tracks, "Look kid. Just pay off your debts and get out of this business. It's ruthless and cruel, no place for a kid with a future."

"I know that's what you think, but do you think I could get an interview—?" He expanded, but you interrupted him, finding a pattern in this method of conversation.

"It's not what I think, it's what I live. Now, get lost, kid," as you walked past him again, this time leaving him frozen in his tracks, you added, "For your own good."