Let's Stay Professional (l.h. + a.i.)

10

(unedited)

Ashton woke up to his phone buzzing from texts all night. He didn't bother checking because he knew it was Luke, and he didn't want to talk to him. He changed the settings for Luke's contact to 'do not disturb' before getting out of bed to get ready and start his day. After he finished brushing his teeth and taking a shower, he slipped on his usual black skinny jeans and a black longsleeve. He dried his hair and tried to calm down his messy curls before placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose and heading downstairs to put on his favorite pair of boots and leaving for work.

Ashton tried ignoring all the obvious stares and quiet whispering once he walked into the record label. He knew they were all talking about him, and it made him feel like shit. He shook all the bad thoughts out of his head and headed straight for the studio. Calum also texted him that he was running a bit late, so that also brought his mood down. He trudged to the studio, scared to face Mali and Michael because he knew that they probably found out what happened, and he was scared that their perspective of him would change from a hard worker into a homewrecking man-whore. When Ashton opened the door, he immediately gasped in shock.

"Listen, Lia. Mali and I need to finish this song by today. I can't work on your song right now."

He saw Michael talking to Luke's wife who had an annoyed expression on her face and her arms crossed over her large chest. He could tell that the teal haired man was trying his hardest not to lose his temper. He looked over to see Mali in the recording booth tapping her foot impatiently with an equally annoyed expression on her face as well. They all turned to see Ashton standing in the doorway before Lia spoke up.

"Have Ashton do it." She said, shooting the brunet a smirk.

"He's only an intern." Michael told her, not wanting the singer and Ashton to be in the same room together alone. Luke would kill him, and he didn't want the brunet to suffer.

"More of a reason why he should do it. More learning for him, is it not?" Lia responded. "Come on Ashton, we can go to one of the empty studios down the hall." She motioned for him to follow her. Michael shot the brunet an apologetic look with his green eyes and Ashton shrugged slightly, giving him a small smile back. He left Mali and Michael's studio following Lia closely behind and not daring to say a word on the short walk down the hall to one of the empty studios. When they walked in, Lia automatically turned to face Ashton who jumped back in surprise.

"Listen, I know you might not want to talk to me, but this song is important and I really need to get it done." She ordered. Ashton nodded, not being able to find his voice to respond. After setting up the equipment for the recording booth, Ashton decided to speak up.

"Um, I'm sorry. I didn't know Mr. Hemmings was married." He said softly, not daring to make eye contact with the blond woman. He heard her heels click towards him.

"No one does." She stated simply, taking a seat on the couch in the studio. She patted the space next to her for Ashton to sit down. "When we got married last year, I was just starting to make it in the entertainment business, and Luke was becoming very well known in LA too. I didn't want people to think that the only reason I was famous was because I married the head of a record label. So we never told anyone except for our family members and a few friends that we trusted." Ashton nodded in understandment, feeling a bit uncomfortable that she was sharing their personal life with him. She noticed Ashton's uncomfortable state and changed the subject, "Well, can we start now? I have an interview at 3."

Calum thankfully showed up to help him under Michael's command after half an hour. When they finished recording, the blond singer thanked them after they handed her the CD which had a copy of her song on it. Ashton placed another CD that had the song on it in his bag to give to Michael when they saw him. Before Ashton could leave, Calum stopped him.

"What did you guys talk about before I got here?" Calum asked curiously. They both took a seat on the couch.

"She just told me the reason why no one knows that her and Luke are married." Ashton responded. Calum frowned.

"Are you okay?" The raven haired man asked. Ashton shot him a fake smiled.

"Yeah, of course."

Calum looked at him with narrowing eyes.

"I'm fine, I swear." Ashton laughed, wanting to move on from the subject already. After Calum hesitantly believed him, the two decided to go and check if Michael wanted them to do anything. When they got to Mali and Michael's studio, the first thing that the teal haired man did was apologize.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go with her." Ashton just smiled at him and waved it off.

"It's fine. We got everything finished." He handed the teal haired man the CD who gratefully took it from him.

"Luke also wants to talk to you in his office." Michael mentioned. Ashton paused.

"Did he say why?" Ashton asked. Michael shook his head no.

"He didn't, but I'm pretty sure we all know why." The teal haired man joked. No one laughed. He cleared his throat "Yeah, he said to meet him as soon as possible." Ashton sighed before turning around and leaving the studio to walk to Luke's office on the top floor. He took the stairs to take as long as possible to get there. Once he finally made it to his office, he nervously stood outside the door. He knocked softly before he heard the familiar voice from behind the door tell him to come in.

"Ashton, we need to talk." Luke said once the brunet walked into his office.

"I'm kind of busy." Ashton lied. His lunch break was in five minutes. He didn't want to talk to the blond man.

"Don't lie." Luke ordered, knowing perfectly well that Ashton was about to go on break. Ashton narrowed his eyebrows at the blond.

"Like you lied to me?" He snapped. Luke was taken aback from the brunet's sudden outburst.

"Ash, I can explain--"

"I don't need your explanation. Lia already told me the reason why you both didn't tell people why you were married. I can't believe you would do this to her." Ashton cut him off furiously.

"Did she tell you I left her because she cheated on me?" Luke intercepted. Ashton stopped. He shook his head no. "She cheated on me. After we got married, her manager decided that she should get a fake boyfriend to draw all the attention from her and me away. One day I got home and I caught her in bed with her supposedly 'fake boyfriend'. So I left her." The blond explained. Ashton bit his lip.

"Do you forgive me?" Luke asked after a few moments of silence "Because I'm really sorry."

Ashton was quiet for a few more moments, driving Luke insane with anticipation for what he was going to tell him. Ashton finally shook his head no.

"You should've told me in the first place, Luke." Ashton mumbled, looking down from the blond's sharp blue eyes. "I really lo- like you. And I thought we trusted each other." He heard Luke sigh.

"I know I should've." The blond spoke. He got up from his desk and walked towards the brunet, enveloping him in a tight hug which Ashton returned. "I really like you too. And if I you'll let me, i'd like to win your trust back." He felt the brunet nod against his shoulder causing him to let out a small smile. Ashton knew that he was falling hard and fast for his boss, and he didn't like it at all.

Im not sure if im feelin the ending of this chapter but o wellz. I'm getting so lazy with writing BUT I WILL TRY TO STOP PROCRASTINATING AND I WILL TRY TO FINISH THIS STORY BEFORE SUMMER ENDS. I HAVE TWO WEEKS. I hope yall liked this chap, and dont forget to vote this up, and leave me some comments! Much love!!
-jessica xx