EP: DISCLAIMER: PG13. (adult themes)

God, work is so boring sometimes. I mean, it has to be done. Letters need to be sent out, arrangements need to be made, meetings need to be attended, plans need to be discussed…

My mind keeps wandering back to Rebecca and her Denny and George scarf. It did look really good on her. A smile plays at my lips just thinking about it.

Hmm, I never got around to thanking her for paying me back. A nice gesture, I guess. And for the… recycled card with poppies on it, if my memory serves me well.

I pull out a card from my desk and begin to scribble a message.

Dear Rebecca,

It was good to bump into you the other night, and I do hope you had an enjoyable evening. I now realize that I never thanked you for the prompt repayment of my loan. Much appreciated.

With all best wishes—and, of course, deepest sympathy on the loss of your Aunt Ermintrude. (If it's any consolation, I can't imagine that scarf could suit anyone better than you.)

Luke.

I pull out an envelope, stuff it in, seal it, scribble her address on, stick a stamp on it, and leave the flat to walk a bit to the nearest mail carrier.

As I take a walk, I bump into Alicia Billington.

"Alicia," I say warmly.

"Luke," she returns. "How are you?"

"I'm great," I answer. "Did you find out what went wrong with the figures last week?" I sigh inwardly. Of course I immediately revert to CEO mode.

"Actually no," Alicia says, biting her lip. "I'll get to that straight away," she promises.

"That would be great, thanks," I say in a colder voice.

There is a beat of silence and Alicia glances at my envelope. "Sending a letter?"

"Just a thank you note," I reply. "You?"

"This is a, um…" Alicia gestures at her envelope. I drop mine down the chute. "Just a… uh…"

"Well, I'd better get going," I sat, cutting her stammering off. "See you in the office tomorrow. And please have the information ready for me. Good day."

Alicia nods and drops her letter down the chute as well as I turn on my heel and walk away.

"Strategize." I give everyone in the small room a stare. Jennifer. Carl. Payton. Taylor. Cory. "We need to sell," I say, emphasizing the last words. "Are all you brain dead?"

Patrick clears his throat. "Perhaps… a charity party of some sort. To appeal to the upper class."

"Excellent," I say, pointing at him. I turn to the white board and uncap a red marker, writing party - upper class. "Anybody else got any ideas?"

"Maybe tie it to a different organization?" Sienna suggests shyly. She's rather new. "Like, some nonprofit. To attract the people who support all those… whatever they are."

"We'll have to run that by Flagstaff," I say decisively. "But it's an idea." I write it down in red as well and glance at the clock on the wall. "And… that's our time. Thanks for all your help." I put my papers back into the brown envelope as the people begin filing out of the room.

"Luke? Can I speak to you?"

I look up to see Sienna. "Sienna. How may I help you?"

"You seem very… concerned for the well being of the company," she begins, faltering slightly.

"Of course I am. I'm the CEO." I frown.

"I'm sure your position is quite stressful," she says. "But you needn't take this too seriously. We've had no hitches so far, and I don't believe there will be any."

"We can't always count on luck, can we?" I reply, my voice lowering in both pitch and volume.

"We're not relying on it," Sienna says. "But I think you're taking too much of the work. You always seem so preoccupied with this new pitch. I'm not sure it's healthy."

"I can decide what's healthy for me," I say, cutting her off shortly. "Thank you for your time, Sienna."

"I was just concerned," Sienna says worriedly.

"Don't be concerned for me," I say. I pick up my envelopes and exit the room with Sienna left in the tense atmosphere.

"I miss your Cambridge friends," Sacha says one day, out of the blue. "The good ol' gang. You guys were so tight, and all of you heading to paths of success. Are you still in touch with them?"

"No," I say, tapping away at my Blackberry. I was finalizing some business meeting schedule and honestly what I wanted right now was wine and for Sacha to stop talking just for a small moment while I finished up the email.

"That's a shame," she continues. "Remember them? Remember Tom? What was he, a doctor?"

"Something like that," I say carelessly, pressing send. Actually, he was neuroscientist and currently doing research on Alzheimer's, but Sacha didn't need or want to know that.

"And Venetia," she says with sudden passion. "And Jake! Man, I really do miss them."

"So do I," I hear myself saying in a strangled voice. I switch off my Blackberry and give Sacha my full attention.

"You do?" Sacha says, a bit surprised.

"Of course I do," I say, frowning slightly. "They were my friends."

"Well, I suppose…" Sacha trails off. "Goodness, Luke, do you actually have feelings?"

"I have feelings," I say indignantly. "Need I remind you that we're dating, Sacha?"

"Touché," she says, grinning. "No, but seriously. Your life isn't all work. Now that is a true surprise."

"I'm offended," I say, pretending to be hurt.

"Aw, Lukie," she says, reaching over the ruffle my hair. "Gosh, you are adorable."

"I am," I agree, inwardly flinching at the terrible nickname. I pull her in for a quick kiss. "I love you, Sacha."

She stares into my eyes for a couple of seconds and my eyebrows furrow. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," she says in a strangled voice. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Her voice is lowered in both pitch and volume and her gaze changes a bit.

I raise my eyebrows. "Bedroom?"

"Bedroom," she confirms, grabbing my tie and dragging my to my bedroom.

On Saturday I decide to take a well deserved day off. As much as I hate the way Sienna puts it, she's right. I am a bit… work-obsessed. Workaholic. Something like that. Anyway, Sacha's with me so I might as well take a day off to treat her well

I take a walk down to Costa's and get Sacha and myself a cappuccino. "Any plans for today?" I ask as I sip the coffee and wince as it scalds my tongue.

"All yours," Sacha says, grabbing my hand. "We should drive somewhere. Do something on our own. You know?"

"Oh, well that sounds nice," I say, a bit worried about the lack of internet. I wouldn't be able to receive any work notifications or news if—

Focus, Luke. Good boyfriend. Come on. I look up with a smile. "Let's do it." I squeeze her hand and lead her back to my flat where my Honda is parked on the driveway. "Where to?"

"Anywhere."

We take a drive northwest and end up in some place I have never been to before. The scenery was… nice. "This place is cute," I comment as I park the car in what I hope is a legal parking spot.

"It is," Sacha murmurs. "Hey, I brought some food."

"That's great," I say. "Anything else?"

"Wine," she says, more animated.

"That it?" I ask absently, reaching into my pocket to check my Blackberry.

She hesitates. "Condoms."

I stop. "Well…" I look at her. "There's a thought." I kiss her. "Let me just…" I pull out my phone and check for notifications. There are none. I slip it away in my pocket and turn back to her. "Done. Out of the way for the rest of the day."

Sacha stares at me. "God, your eyes are gorgeous," she says, taking my hand.

"So I've been told," I tease before kissing her again.

And soon we're against the car window, heating up and syncing with each other. I feel a vibration in my front pocket and Sacha pulls back.

"That soon?"

I frown. "No, sorry," I say. "My phone. It's… I'm really sorry." I pull out my Blackberry, internally yelling at whoever was calling me. I was about to make it into the acceptable boyfriends league. Come on.

I get out of the car and lean against it. I press the green button and wait.

"Luke!" says Cory into my ear. I flinch.

"Cory?"

"Luke, there's a slight… predicament at the office," Cory says worriedly. In the background I hear voices. "It seems as if there is a…" he hesitates and seems to gage the situation. "…Office fight of some sort?"

"I'll be right down," I say. I hang up and open the car door where Sacha looks at me with red cheeks. "I am so, so sorry Sacha," I begin apologizing. "There's an emergency at the office. I have to go."

She frowns. "Can't someone else take care of it for once?" she asks desperately.

"I…" I hesitate. It's true, I suppose other people could handle an office fight.

Sacha narrowed her eyes. "You're just looking for excuses to leave and get back to work, aren't you?" she accuses.

"No, I'm not," I say defensively. "I swear I'm not. Look, you can come with me if you'd like to, alright? I really need to be there. I'm the CEO, for Christ's sake."

"Fine," Sacha says frostily. "I'll go with you. And maybe I'll hook up with one of your employee's while I'm at it."

"God, it's not like that," I says frustratingly as I start the car. "Seriously, it is a work emergency I need to be there for, okay?"

"So you wouldn't care if I hooked up with someone else?" Sacha says angrily.

"Oh, knock yourself out," I say carelessly. I was not in the mood to argue.

The rest of the ride is in complete silence.