the boss ➟ muke ✓

one

michael looked down at his black and grey tie for about the tenth time that morning, continuously smoothing it down against his torso and then tugging at his collar a bit. he had borrowed this suit from his best friend, calum, and didn't like it very much. he highly preferred his oversized sweaters and his usual black skinny jeans.

he had an interview at a widely known paper business company titled 'flyer,' he wasn't sure why it was called that, but he had read online that it was the owner's son's ex girlfriend's last name. she had died in a car crash or something like that, so they decided to name the company after her.

michael had been standing in front of the office building for about five minutes now. he had left his apartment fairly early, so there wasn't any worry that he would be late to the interview. he was just racking up his confidence and trying to convince himself that he would do fine.

then his phone vibrated against his thigh, making michael reach into the front pocket of his dress pants to see who had texted him. he grinned and blushed when he saw that his boyfriend had texted him.

brooks (11:47 am): good luck on your interview babe! you'll do great :))

michael (11:47 am): thanks brooks :-) i'll text you after the interview, love you !!!!

brooks (11:49 am): love you more babe :D

michael shivered as the cold february breeze brushed past his small body. michael was twenty while his boyfriend, brooks, was twenty three. brooks was retaking some classes at a local college during the day, so michael only saw him when brooks came home from school to the apartment they shared. he usually got home around one pm. michael was very much in love with brooks and vice versa.

slowly michael took a deep breath, rubbing his gloves together to keep himself warm before he finally entered the building. he was greeted by a receptionist, whom he gave a warm smile to. she was fairly old and looked like she wanted to retire, and she gave michael a distracted smile as she quickly ran her gaze up and down the young man.

"job interview?" she questioned before michael could speak to her. michael nodded shyly, taking his gloves off and shoving them inside his jacket's pockets. "alright, you'll be heading up to the top floor. kelly should point you to our boss's office. can i get a name to sign you in?"

"michael clifford," michael responded politely, watching until she was done writing down his name before he began walking over to the elevator. he carefully pushed the button, fiddling with his fingers as he waited for his elevator. when it finally came, he stepped inside and punched the button labeled 'five,' which he assumed was the top floor since it was the highest number.

the elevator stopped at the fifth floor and he stepped out, glancing around curiously. there were offices on either side of him; it was like a wide hallway. he then glanced to his left and noticed another receptionist typing away at her computer. michael assumed that she was the one who would be directing him to the boss's office.

"i-i'm here for a job interview," michael spoke awkwardly as he approached her desk. she glanced up and took her freshly painted nail out of her mouth, giving michael a clean smile. he noticed that her name tag read kelly and he knew he was on the right floor.

"alrighty, you'll be heading down to room five-fifteen, it's all the way down the hall," she pointed down the hallway with her nail, offering michael another smile, "i'm not sure if you know this, but the boss's name is luke. luke hemmings. he likes to be addressed as sir or mr hemmings, so i advise you don't call him anything but that. eh, good luck."

"t-thank you," michael said sincerely, really grateful for any information that would help him get the job. he turned away from her desk and began walking down the hall, looking at each room number he passed. when he reached five-fourteen his stomach was in knots.