Navy Blue

1.

James sat alone in his office, waiting for his mother to stop ordering the new intern around, which he knew would take her a while to do. He felt that it was a tedious task to be sitting and doing nothing, but with all his work having been done, he was awaiting orders on how to make himself most valuable to his mother's fundraiser that night. To bide his time, James looked around his office, as if seeing it for the first time- the wooden floors were immaculate and void of any scuff or mud marks, which was quite a feat to accomplish during their rainy season. He'd never bothered to put up any photographs, despite having been a photographer in his younger days, and he was now noting that it left an air of loneliness to the room, as if the room itself knew just how lonely he had been in the last few years. James made a mental note to pick up a canvas painting or at least something to brighten up the room, and was debating which colors would suit the room best when his mother and father walked in.

When he'd first started at Evron, James had been skeptical about working in such close quarters with his parents, but he'd been surprised to learn that they all worked quite well together and there'd been no real incidents between them. But, as he'd grown accustomed to, he was often subjected to hour-long rants and impromptu meetings about his mother's latest ideas about publicity for the business. This time was no different. His mother, Lucy, was always at her most stressed when they had their twice-annual fundraisers, and James knew that she wouldn't be able to curb her manic energy until at least the following morning. So in the meantime, James and his father allowed his mother to rant about the florist arriving an hour too early, and the cobalt napkins being too blue for the envisioned color scheme. How that was even possible, James had no idea, but he supposed it was therapeutic for her to complain to someone about their now- ruined evening. 

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Amelia, or Lia, as she was often called, had just been informed by an ex-teammate that she would have to attend a black-tie event that evening, and it was the last thing she wanted to do. She'd only just arrived back in the states after a grueling, 8-month long tour, and she felt the weariness in her bones. But, she knew just as well as anyone that when an ex-teammate asked for help, the correct thing to do was go ahead and help. It's something she both admired and loathed about being in the Navy, but she forced herself to accept the change of plans by reminding herself that if this were roles-reversed, she'd have hundreds of people willing to help her. The Navy, for better or worse, was her home and her family.

Dressed in a midnight blue dress, Lia made her way into the building where the fundraiser was being held, and tried to be as nonchalant as possible. What she wasn't aware of was that as she entered, a lull was caused, as almost everyone stopped to take in her appearance. She was a beautiful young thing, a fact that she probably hadn't even realized, and she immediately caught the attention of the men around her. Within seconds, she had a man next to her, openly flirting and offering to buy her a drink. She shut down both, knowing that she couldn't be drinking on duty, not that she ever really did anyway, and as for the man, he was handsome, but Lia had never been the type to want a relationship or the benefits that came from one. Her rejection of the man next to her didn't go unnoticed, as she noted the hardening of his jaw and the hidden smiles and laughs at the public rejection. Lia wanted to apologize and explain that it wasn't him, it was her and her unwillingness to ever have a one-night stand. But she bit her tongue, knowing that her speech would probably just encourage him to try and be the one man who she said yes to.

Instead, she turned and made her way to the restrooms, hoping to use the private space to gather her thoughts and prepare her next step. She'd been told that the fundraiser had gathered the attention of Michael Asher, a known drug-dealer in the area, who had a tendency for butting into places he didn't belong and causing quite a nuisance. Her job, while not very glamorous, was to intervene when that happened, and to allow Evron to save face. Under normal circumstances, Lia would never have been asked to be part of something so needless and dramatic, but the favor had been called in by Alex, who was the son of the founders of the company, and who hadn't been granted leave to be there himself. She took one last look in the mirror and decided that her first course of action would be to meet the famous founders and then work from there.