Where do I begin...I want to apologize for falling off the "Walking Dead" bandwagon after my "Scared to Swim" story back in July of last year. I had grand plans to write a bunch of JavierxLuke and ClementinexGabe fanfics and nothing really panned out because of some personal situations I was dealing with. I've been struggling with a lot of unexpected changes and circumstances but I'm happy to say that I'm managing them better now then I was before. I have to admit (and this is not an excuse) but everything that came out about Telltale last year had an effect on what I was working towards as well. It was definitely a disappointing and eye-opening time.
Regardless, I'm overjoyed to be able to post another JavierxLuke story. I really love this ship and will sail with it as far as it will go. Enjoy!
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Luke took a deep breath, a really deep breath. He always had to after a meeting with Lilly.
They both worked for Everest Media, a marketing firm run by Lee Everest out of the city of Georgia. The company ran marketing campaigns for most of the large businesses in the city and helped start-ups with promotional strategies. Luke loved his job, or at least he had until he'd been assigned to several company projects with his colleague, Lilly Smith.
Lilly was a proficient, hard working employee in his firm. She had a strong marketing background and a good eye for promotional aesthetics. Her people skills, on the other hand, were extremely poor and she didn't like owning when she was wrong. It was hard for her to see things from different perspectives and she had the tendency to clash with whoever disagreed with her rationale. Luke had heard rumours from colleagues in other departments about her temper tantrums but had decided, at the time, to reserve judgment until he observed it himself.
Unfortunately, he now found himself on the receiving end of everything he'd heard about since they worked together.
Their manager, Carley Rosewater, did everything in her power to mediate when Lilly's temper flared. A disagreement over an introductory PowerPoint slide could turn into a screaming match if one was foolish enough to entertain her. Luke hadn't done that yet, but he'd been tempted too more than once. Lilly didn't know how to compromise and took any sort of criticism as a personal attack that she had to retort. Meetings with her and Carley were exhausting and always left Luke feeling drained.
Today was no different, since Lilly had been upset with how he'd planned out a marketing strategy for a new boutique opening up in a busy part of the city. The owner was planning a grand opening but did not have a large budget to put towards promoting the event. Luke had thought it best to start with social media posts targeted to not only those living close in the city, but to individuals across Georgia who shopped and followed online boutiques. Accompanying that would be signage across the city and inside of stores that Everest Media had already established partnerships with.
Lilly, of course, disagreed. She'd thought it best to secure a billboard in the city and have it show various images of the boutique's wares as people drove by. This was drastically out of the client's budget, but in her words "if he wants a good turn out, he'll fork over the cash."
Carley had tried to play devil's advocate, but that hasn't been enough to pacify his work partner. They hadn't reached a compromise by the end of the meeting and Luke wished he could have been surprised at that outcome. The boutique's grand opening was in a matter of weeks (not a lot of time to plan an entire marketing strategy) and he wasn't sure they'd be able to come up with something sufficient if they couldn't come to an agreement soon.
Groaning, he sat back in his desk chair and stared up at the ceiling.
He considered going to grab a coffee, but he didn't need to be anymore high strung then he already was.
Still, he needed something positive to focus on. This situation would most likely not get resolved that day, so there wasn't much of a point in spending time thinking about it.
Part of him wanted to go to Carley's office to see if she was free, but he was sure she was just as mentally exhausted as he was and needed some time also considered going to speak with his good friend, Bonnie Rhodes, who worked on the floor below his. Unfortunately, she was off on vacation in Bali and wouldn't be back for a while. He was starting to regret not taking her up on her offer to tag along. The two part-time students, Clementine Marsh and Louis Reynolds, were studying for exams and Luke couldn't help but miss them. He wasn't much older than them and enjoyed their company (and assistance) during the days they were in the office.
Having no one to turn to, his eyes wandered aimlessly across his desk. It was large enough to fit the laptop and office equipment Everest Media provided him with, as well as the sticky notes and papers he had scattered across it.
Before he could bring himself to get up and walk around, he noticed a blue business card sticking out of the mug he used to hold pencils and pens. Intrigued, he reached over and pulled the glossy paper from the mess of writing utensils that surrounded it.
The words "Javier Garcia – Business Investor and CEO of Garcia Garments" were printed in large, cursive font. It took him a second, but Luke blushed when he remembered whose business card it was.
It had been a month ago, when he'd been selected to attend a business conference in a nearby city as a representative of Everest Media. It had been a busy couple of days, between attending seminars and networking mixers, but he'd learned a lot and met a number of business owners interested in the services Everest Media provided.
The last day of the conference found Luke waiting for the elevator in the building serving breakfast. Having slept through his first alarm, he had just enough time to shower and throw on a blazer before racing out of his hotel. He was panting by the time he arrived and silently wished he'd taken up Bonnie on her offer to join her spin-cycle class.
As he waited for the elevator, catching his breath as he did, he began to think about his schedule for the day. Since it was the last day of the conference, he would have to let Carley know when his last event was and when he reached home. Since he'd left his phone in the hotel, a text message to his boss would have to wait until after breakfast.
He was so preoccupied in his thoughts, he failed to notice a man entering the building and coming to stand beside him.
"The elevator's late again, huh? They really should look into it," he mused. Luke flinched before turning to see who was standing beside him.
The man was taller than him, by a few inches at least. He was wearing a navy blue suit that hugged his body and complimented his figure well. Underneath it sat a crisp, white dress shirt and pink tie that shifted as his chest rose and fell. The man's hair was straight, sleek, and combed to the side without a strand out of place. The lower half of his face was covered in a neatly-trimmed, chestnut brown beard that Luke couldn't help but admire. The rest of his features were sharp and pronounced, his eyes an especially light brown that had Luke's heart beating out of his chest as they fell upon him.
How had he not noticed this beautiful man before?
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Luke stammered out, feeling his cheeks heat up as he continued to stare at the man beside him.
"What company are you from?" the man asked, flashing him a toothy grin.
"E-Everest Media," Luke replied, inwardly screaming at his sudden inability to speak.
"I've heard of them," the man nodded in understanding. "They helped a friend of mine secure some billboard promotions a few months ago. It really helped his business."
Luke blinked. This was usually when his networking spiel kicked in and drove the conversation to a potential follow up or deal with the company. This time, however, he found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't believe how flabbergasted he'd become in a matter of minutes.
Luckily, the man continued before he had to respond.
"Oops, almost forgot," he said, extending a hand. "I'm Javier Garcia, CEO of Garcia Garments."
It took everything in Luke to keep his jaw from dropping. Garcia Garments was a high-end clothing brand overseas that had recently gained national popularity. From suits and dresses to day-to-day attire, the company was known for it's top quality material and cruelty-free practices. Luke's income didn't stretch far enough to afford any of their clothes, but he'd tried on one of their polo's once and immediately understood the allure. It was so soft, form-fitting, and extremely fashionable.
"Luke Vance, marketing consultant," he replied, shaking his hand. "I can't believe I'm speaking to the CEO of Garcia Garments. Your brand is amazing and so successful."
Javier laughed, a deep rumble from his chest that weakened Luke's legs. "Thank you, I'm glad you like our clothes. Do you own any?"
"I don't actually, not yet," Luke admitted, looking away bashfully. Javier hummed.
"Well, how about you stop by our flagship store and I make sure we change that?" he offered.
"That would be amazing, actually," Luke said with a smile.
"Sounds like a plan," Javier said with a wink.
It was at that moment that the elevator arrived and the two of them were whisked away to the floor serving breakfast.
The rest of Luke's day was spent at Javier's side, socializing with the various business men the CEO had already met or was familiar with. He really enjoyed the man's company and the occasional quips he made during the speeches they had to sit through. Luke had to shake his head more than once, resisting the urge to laugh out loud at Javier's surprisingly good humour. He'd never met a CEO so down to earth, friendly, and funny. He made sure to tell the man at the end of the day, before they went their separate ways.
"Thanks, I'm glad we got to spend the day together," Javier said, smiling brightly at Luke.
"Me too, I really appreciate you introducing me to so many people. I'm sure my boss will be pleased when they hear how today's events went," Luke admitted earnestly.
"You're welcome," Javier replied. "You let them know I think they made a great decision sending you as a representative."
"Thank you!" Luke said, blushing for sure now. "That means a lot coming from someone like you."
"Hey, I'm just like everyone else," Javier waved off.
"Well, if everyone was a hilariously witty CEO, then yeah," Luke said with a smirk.
"So you really find me funny, huh?" Javier replied, returning the smirk with one of his own. It was challenging, and Luke struggled to keep a straight face.
"I do!" Luke admitted. "I can't remember the last time I wanted to laugh so hard."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Javier said with a nod.
The CEO seemed to hesitate for a second before reaching inside his blazer and pulling out a blue piece of paper.
"Call me then, if you need a laugh," he said quickly, extending his arm towards Luke.
"I…" Luke started, reaching out gingerly to take the paper from the man's hand. It was a business card with Javier's name and number on it. He held it carefully, realizing what a weighted gesture this seemed to be. He could feel a blush beginning to burn his cheeks again and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"Thank you," he continued, regaining his composure. "I definitely will."
They went their separate ways after that, but the interaction had uncovered feelings inside of Luke that he hadn't felt in a while.
It was unfortunate that he returned to the news that he would be partnered with Lilly on the projects they were currently working on. That had certainly taken the wind out of his sails.
He'd wanted to call Javier weeks ago, but he'd felt too overwhelmed for a casual conversation. Especially a conversation with someone who brought butterflies to his stomach and red patches to his cheeks.
Flipping the card over in his hand, his eyes scanned the ten digit phone number printed at the bottom left corner of the card and grabbed his desk phone.
As the phone began to ring, he felt his anxiety grow. Would Javier hang up once he knew it was him? He had taken a month to call the CEO.
Maybe Javier had forgotten who he was by now. He was sure the CEO met tons of people on a daily basis and had more important things to be preoccupied with then an employee at a marketing firm.
A part of him wanted to hang up because of that. It would be awkward if Javier had no idea who he was, and a feeling of dread seemed to mix with his anxiety as he pondered that thought.
Still, Luke couldn't bring himself to give up. He'd come this far, and he wanted to believe Javier would at least be gracious if he'd forgotten him.
The phone rang two more times and Luke was about to put end the call when someone picked up.
"Secretary of Javier Garcia, how can I help you?" a woman answered. She sounded exceptionally young for a secretary, but Luke tried not to let that deter him. He was about to reply when he heard someone else in the background.
"Give me his phone, Mariana! You can't just pick up his calls!" a young man yelled.
"You can't have it either, Gabe!" the young women, apparently named Mariana, retorted.
Giggling ensued as the two seemed to fight for the phone and Luke contemplated calling back later when another voice spoke over the banter.
"Hey! Is that my phone? What are you two doing?"
Luke's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't recognized the first two voices but he definitely recognized that one.
"N-nothing, Uncle Javi!" the girl squealed.
"Oh, really?" Javier didn't sound impressed. "Give me that."
There was some shuffling as Luke assumed the phone was being handed back to it's rightful owner.
"Can't even go to the bathroom without them…Hello?"
Luke gulped. It was now or never.
"Hey, Javier! It's Luke, from Everest Media, we met about a month ago. Not sure if you remember me. If not, I totally understand and…"
"Luke!" Javier exclaimed, interrupting his tangent. "From the conference, right? I didn't think I'd hear from you again."
A pang of guilt shot through Luke, but he tried to ignore it.
"Y-yeah, sorry about that. Things came up at work, crazy things," he admitted.
"Is everything okay?" Javier asked, his voice full of concern. Luke sighed.
"Well, you told me to call you if I needed a laugh."
He spent the next few minutes explaining his situation with Lilly. It felt cathartic to speak with someone that could give an outside perspective. Javier was a great listener, and the occasional jokes he slipped in had Luke giggling like a school girl. By the end of his woeful tale, he wished he'd called the CEO sooner.
"I'm sorry to hear you're going through all of that, Luke," Javier said when Luke finished.
"Thanks," Luke replied, "I'm hoping all of this will let up once these projects have been completed."
"I hope so, for your sake. But don't forget that there will always be people like her in the workplace and in life. It's an unfortunate reality."
"You're right," Luke agreed, sighing as he did.
"Maybe we can talk about this, or whatever else you need a laugh about, over coffee sometime?" Javier asked.
Luke paused at that, imagining a toothy grin spread across Javier's handsome face as he spoke. The CEO was so charming, he couldn't help but sigh contently at the thought.
Javier didn't seem to realize this and tried to rescind his invitation.
"Unless you're not interested, which is totally fine…"
"No, it's not that at all!" Luke replied. "I'd love to! Let me know when you're available."
"O-okay, sure," Javier said, sounding relieved. "I'll text you in the next few days."
"Sounds great! I'm looking forward to it," Luke admitted, not even trying to hide the goofy grin he was now sporting.
As he hung up the phone, he had to admit that something good had come out of his partnership with Lilly. It had given him the push he needed to make a long overdue phone call.
Now he had something to look forward to, even in the eye of the storm.