Quatre was wearing an Italian suit for his business meeting with some company partners on L2. It was black with different shades of dark stripes and included a vest and a dark tie. Dorothy had personally dressed him in the morning, one of many these days.
Quatre had put on the suit's jacket and face back to Dorothy as she loop the tie around his neck and started knotting up with careful precision. They were close and Quatre instinctively put his arms on his waist. As the final loop fell into place and Dorothy pull the knot up to the top, the only favourite part of the morning came for Quatre as she would usually tug hard enough that he would bend down and they would kiss.
"You look fantastic dear. Have a great day at work," was Dorothy daily line before sending him off to work.
He was thankful today suit was a bit loose. Last week had him twitching uncomfortably in his office seat at the tightness of it. He knew he was going to regret agreeing to Dorothy's business adventure on fashion suits. He had spent all last week wearing the line of 'tight suits' that brought out the outline of his body for all ladies to ogle at further. He was now fully underway in serving his one year tenure on wearing Winner Co. suits every single day to work.
It was almost the third month and Quatre could not wait to be done. Ever since the grand release photos, he had not partaken in another advertisement. He did not even need to. The press simply came to him. He was vastly gaining even more popularity than he would ever want. Paparazzi would wait outside his office and snap pictures as he arrived for work to see what he was wearing that day. They were not reporting about how his company was doing, in fact, since adorning Dorothy's suits, his company had obtained a 10% jump in stocks if there was a need to explain a correlation. Instead, he was making headlines as one of the most finely dressed businessman in the world now. Great. He really did not want to be categorized in that too.
He thought it was absurd. 'It's just a suit,' he kept telling himself. He did not get what all this hype was about. Must be Dorothy powerful way of creating commotion to sell the brand and image through him. He knew Dorothy must have had this plotted out since the beginning and he could not help but smile that his wife got the better of him. Regardless, he was still a much stricken in love guy. If Dorothy liked him in suits, he would wear it for her and forget everyone else.
He was in L2 for the week. Even at business meetings now with his partners, other men would complement on his suit and told him he was a lucky man. He internally questioned the statement. He saw how other men would view his wife with adoration and some object of desire which slightly made his insides twitch. Quatre did not view his wife as some prized asset because she was not a thing, she was human. They said she was a 'women of action.' Guess other men were a bit envious that their own wives lounge around while his actually contributed to his needs and made him feel special. Nothing better than a wife that can inflate a man's ego among his peers. Too bad he was a man who did not want any further attention. He would not be surprised if men thought other thoughts about his wife too.
His family had a corporate office in every colony while central headquarters was located back in his home colony on L4.
"Alright this meeting is adjourn for today," Quatre said and everyone started to get up and pack their things.
He walked out the doors and into the lounge area where a coach was facing towards his back. He saw a hand waving in the air and the occupant jump up and turn around.
Quatre immediately smile and headed over, "Duo!"
"Hey Quatre!" Duo said before they give each other a hug.
Quatre whispered into Duo's ear, "How did you bypass my security?"
Duo laugh, "I was a former Gundam pilot. Don't you want to see me?" Quatre smile, "Of course I do."
"Yeah, heard on the news you were in L2 for the week, so I thought I should pay a visit!"
Quatre shook his head, "The media."
"Been hounding you hard haven't they?" Duo said with a quirky smile.
"And guess what, they are quite right." Duo stepped back and looked Quatre over. "Fine, fine, fine, like the news says Quatre. You are one fine looking gentleman."
"Duo.." Quatre said, hoping he would understand that he actually did not like the attention. He saw many eyes were sneaking a peek their way.
If Duo understood his intentions, he took it with easy stride. "You are about done work right? I came to see if you want to go out?"
"Sure, I been working non-stop it feels. Up for something relaxing."
"Want to play pool?"
"Anything would be fine with me."
Quatre drove while Duo pointed out a good pool place. Quatre got them a private room while he had security outside and inside the building.
"We are going into lockdown mode?" Duo chipped.
"Sorry, they just need to follow me wherever I go. I try to keep a pretty low profile."
Duo had set up the cue and asked, "You want to break?"
Quatre said, "Go ahead." He went over to a seat, shrugged off his suit's jacket and draped it over the up stole chair. This left him with straight dress pants, collar shirt, tie, over a vest. He heard Duo break the set and he said, "I got stripes. Start off easy."
Duo looked up and whistle. "I should have put on a suit too. I would look ten times more smoking hot." He was clad in his priest garb.
"I wouldn't mind switching positions for a while these days," said Quatre.
Quatre walked back to the pool table. Duo came up closer to Quatre, "The ladies were loving you there."
Quatre give him an inquiring look.
While I was lounging on the sofa, all I kept hearing were the office ladies gossiping how happy they were that you were behind those close doors. Duo give him a pointed look, "A great way to boost employee morale if the boss comes visits his different corporate offices I say." And he gived a nod.
Quatre give a sigh.
"But you don't you like?" Duo went back and position himself to fire the next ball into the side pocket.
"What can I say? I guess I will repeat what many people have told me already. I am lucky guy. I basically already have whatever I like, but there only a couple of things that I valued the most."
"Dorothy quite something isn't she."
"Yeah. She will be reporting to me the half year's result of the company in like two months time," Quatre said with a smile.
"And?"
"I told her we shutting down the company if the first results is in the negative range."
Duo hollered. "You know it is not going to be right? With all the media attention out there."
"I don't even want to think about it. Winner Co.'s is my wife little project. She can just have all the fun she wants with it."
"Talking like a true aristocrat over there. Money means nothing to you."
Quatre shrugged. "I do work hard to enrich it. I'm just tired of the reporters at my back."
"Stop earning and start sharing," Duo said with a smile as he was aiming to hit his fifth ball.
"I do!"
"And if it stays positive?"
"Then I will be wearing Winners suits for one year."
Duo laughed. "Your turn bud," Duo said as he missed a shot. Quatre moved over to shoot his first solid with accurate precision. He then moved to his next and drilled it in a hurry. He moved to get into position for his third ball.
Duo watching said, "Oh my, I should have known you have this in you too. Full tilt concentration. Lesson learned from former Gundam pilots, never be the first one to make a mistake."
Quatre chuckled. They play a couple of rounds, each showing just how accurate they are.
"So when the next charity show?" Duo asked, "So you share your wealth."
Quatre was hovering over the table attempting a difficult shot and Duo asked a question in hopes it would distract him or he was going to win the round. "There a couple smaller ones, but a big one is near the end of my one year tenure of wearing suits at Relena's gala dinner to fundraise for war orphans. Dorothy and I will be attending. We tend to donate the most to anything war related." Quatre tap the cue ball lightly as it rolled over to the other side of the table and lightly brushed the eight and it slowly move towards the fourth pocket and dropped in. Duo sigh, Quatre was up 4-3 games on him now.
"Yeah, Relena campaigns a lot of fundraising events for post-war."
"Dorothy told me that Relena told her she focus even more efforts on it considering Heero was an orphan," Quatre said.
"He ain't the only one," said Duo. "Princess is doing the right thing."
Relena was engaged to Heero. They kept their relationship on the low and did not publicize it till a year later. Quatre remembered when it was announced, they were watching the television together and he looked up in surprise. Dorothy had looked over and asked, "Did you seriously not know?" He had shook his head, "You do?"
"I thought you knew, come on, everyone knew how much Relena had liked him. Relena told me like two weeks into their relationship." She had given Quatre you should be more aware of your friends look and Quatre blushed.
"Thought he was on bodyguard duty every time we saw them together."
Dorothy turned to look at him, "Even when we went to Relena's house and we leave and he stayed there over night? Don't you ever notice they stand much closer than a bodyguard and employee would be like?" Quatre continued to look smaller. "Don't you ever notice when she just calls on him and he is immediately over? Don't you sense any connection between the two?"
"Yes, a very close bodyguard. A very caring one."
Dorothy swatted him with a pillow and said, "And here I thought you had amazing empathy skills!" She had gotten up then, walked away, and left Quatre scratching his head.
They played a couple of more rounds and Duo drown a couple of beers while Quatre had soda.
Rashid knocked and came through the door. Quatre looked up and he said, "Dorothy is here, Master Quatre."
Quatre smiled and nodded, "Thanks Rashid."
Duo looked over, "What she been up to all day long?"
"Tending to her business here on L2."
Dorothy came through the doors, Quatre leaned his stick against the wall, and they embraced and Dorothy pecked him quickly on the cheeks.
Duo watching give an, "oooo you two are actually quite sweet together. How about me?"
Dorothy walked over and give a hug to Duo, "I don't share," she whispered beside his ear, pinch his arm and walked back over to Quatre. "Woo hoo got it Duchess," Duo said.
Dorothy turned back and scrutinized Duo's garb. "I might just need to touch you up before going to our dinner I had arranged with Quatre, but we invite you too."
Duo had both his arms around his head and looked down at himself pensively. "I don't see anything wrong."
"Wrong if you come to dinner with us. You want a suit?" Quatre beside Dorothy stirred as he was balking at the idea of having one of his best buddies being dressed in his clothes.
Duo chimed, "Why you are going to give me one of Winner's suits?"
Quatre started, "Duo you certainly don't – "
"A gift from us," said Dorothy perfectly calm beside her distraught husband. "Perhaps even two."
Duo totally not bothered by having free samples of his friend's clothes company happily accepted. "Free clothing from the trending Winner Co. suits. Absolutely, I take," he happily said.
With Quatre watching on, he watch as Duo was easily whisk away and given a top notch suit and Quatre could only shake his head as he felt his friend looked pretty good in his new clothing.
Duo turning around the mirror to look at himself said, "My Quatre, you got one amazing wife there. Though she can be scary but she is totally efficient. No wonder you married her in a hurry after the war."
"I married her at twenty-four, Duo. The war ended when we were sixteen. That is not in a hurry."
"Okay, okay, but you wanted to settle down with her pretty much since you asked her to go out with you!"
Quatre give a shake of his head and Duo raised a brow at him from the mirror. "Oh common than tell me what the reason for getting her."
"Well, I fell in love with her obviously."
Duo give a skeptic look. "Trowa told me what happened back on Libra. Really."
"You know she is friends with Relena, so I started seeing her a lot from Relena. I don't know, feelings just developed," Quatre shrugged. "I hope she noticed me then, there were also too many other ladies approaching me."
Duo laugh. "You dated her, so other ladies would stop bothering you!" He concluded with some thoughts with his arms bent to his waist, "You knew how Dorothy would scare the devil lights out on all other women, if they approach you, - ha its perfect! Oh, I give you props on knowing how to choose a girl."
Quatre give a small smile. "Women," he corrected with his formal attitude. "Nah, common Duo, I did like her."
"Ha,ha, Just kidding bud. To return the favour for this free suit, I make sure to give wide word of mouth recommendation. Anyways, I believe I'm dressed in style with the upper crust of society. Let go eat! I'm hungry."
"Yeah," said Quatre, "Babe," he called out to Dorothy in another room with a tone that did not count cute but a touch of sincere emotion. Duo looked at him and give him a silent "Aw," face.
Quatre looked at him. "Call her that sometimes. More in private. Forgot you were here."
Duo snickered, "Really."
"You know why she brought you here right? She didn't want you to embarrass us if reporters took pictures of us dining together."
"No, really?!"
"She always has an ulterior motive."
Well I don't mind. I just need to think of this as a reward to dine with an elite couple."
"What motive?" Dorothy said coming back into the room and up to Quatre. He smiled. "Nothing."
"Lets go." And the three turn towards the exit with two men dress in finery on both sides of the women who steer them to higher levels.
There you go! Not much did go on, I just wanted to give some leeway in where Quatre is serving his one year tenure, in the early part of it. I got the ideas rolling up in the next chapters. Just felt I needed this part first. I decided to write the story of Quatre's one year tenure. R&R
