Beautiful Things | Wolfstar

Twelve

"Morning Benjamin, Keith," Remus says, turning respectively to each doorman. They tip their hats in unison, pulling open the glass doors for him. Remus takes off his sunglasses and waves to Eliza. "Good morning, Eliza." The receptionist flashes a generous smile across the room at him.  He rocks on his heels while waiting for the elevator to come down. A pastel colorblock cardigan drapes over his thin frame paired with barely-white trousers and simple laced white trainers.

After a week working at Black Inc. and a more than compensating paycheck last Saturday, Remus was finally beginning to feel at home. The workload mainly consisted of running numerous errands around the building as well as downtown and lots of paperwork. His backpack is stuffed with folders and binders containing budgets, catalogs, contracts, and anything Sirius shoved into his hands after meetings.

He steps out of the elevator onto the 12th floor, two cups of coffee in hand - one black and the other over ice with hazelnut. The office is undisturbed this morning. Mostly everybody is behind their desks getting the week sorted out.

"Morning ladies," Remus calls when he passes Alice and Mary's back to back desks.

"Hello Remus," they reply in unison.

He shuffles past the mail cart and nudges Edward, the delivery boy, on the shoulder. "Hey man," he says. "Would you do me a favor and bring Sirius' mail to my office?"

Edward nods eagerly, his green eyes lighting up at the task. "Sure thing, Sir."

Remus pushes open the door to his office. A few minor adjustments had been added, including a framed photo of his mother Hope and himself when he was young, a desktop computer for work, a few books, and a cup filled with brand new pens. Alfred's dead plant was also removed and replaced with a large cactus - thanks to James.

He sets down his bag onto the floor and pulls out two packets Sirius needs for his two o'clock phone call. Tucking his planner under his arm, Remus hurries down to hall to Sirius' office. The door is shut, but the lights are on. He knocks softly with his left hand and waits patiently for Sirius to answer.

A muffled "Yes" is the only confirmation.

Remus fumbles with the handle, but manages to open the door without dropping anything. Sirius is wearing a navy suit fitted to perfection and a steel gray tie that brightens the gray in his eyes. "Remus," Sirius' voice softens when his assistant steps through the door.

"Good morning," Remus greets, setting down the iced coffee for Sirius. "Here's this. And these-" he places the two packets on the side of his desk and opens his planner. "Florence Pugh's team called back and she would be honored to wear Black Inc. at the Oscars."

"Brilliant," Sirius replies with so much as a faint nod. He stretches his arms out lazily and takes a sip out of his drink.

"How was your weekend?" Remus inquires cautiously.

"Busy. And yours?"

"Good." It was more than good, if Remus is being completely honest. When the first paycheck arrived, he and Peter celebrated at the pub down the street all night. "Do you ever take a break from work? You know, just spend the day relaxing?"

Sirius raises an eyebrow as if the idea is ludicrous. "When you run an empire, you don't have time to relax." Remus licks his lips, peering over Sirius' shoulder to the windows. If he had this office, he's certain that no work would ever be done. All he would do is stare at the view. "You ready for the photoshoot on Wednesday?"

"I'm going to that?"

"We both are." Sirius adjusts the sleeves of his jacket, backing his chair to stand fully. "Come on, this board meeting won't start itself."

Remus nods, waiting for Sirius to pass him by before following in suit. They're the last to walk into the meeting room, and silence falls when Sirius enters. Remus is reminded of the first time he'd ever seen Sirius Black in this very office only a week ago. The silence isn't out of fear, he notices when passing by his fellow coworkers. It's out of respect. The chairs have been readjusted so that Lily now sits one to the right from her usual seat, leaving the seat beside the head empty.

"You're late!" Remus refrains from snickering at James. He sits with his hands causally flexed behind his head, swiveling side to side in his chair.

"I didn't realize I was working at Potter Inc.," Sirius retorts, though his tone is playful.

Remus takes his seat next to Sirius and wraps his cardigan to keep out the draft from above. He places his planner neatly in front of him and clicks a fresh pen to life.

"Glad to see Edith hasn't eaten you up," Lily whispers from beside him.

"We're taking our relationship one day at a time," Remus replies with a soft chuckle.

Sirius surveys the room with no trace of emotion readable on his face. He crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back slightly. "Alright, now that we're all here, James you have the floor," he says, glancing at the bloke to his left.

"Welcome," James announces loudly, his hazel eyes sparkling behind his glasses. "If you weren't aware, the company has undergone some major changes. First and foremost being that it is actually now Potter Inc. And now we're making fashionable glasses and socks!"

Laughter erupts from the room and Remus can't help but join in. The environment is light and comfortable - a stark contrast to the last meeting Remus attended. Even Sirius, in all his...seriousness, was smiling. It looks good on him, Remus thinks. He notices that the corner of Sirius' eyes wrinkle ever so slightly when he laughs.

Jokes aside, James takes to the front of the room where a large bulletin board stands. He flips it over, revealing a mass collage of pictures. Remus follows his duties, jotting down important bits of information and managing Sirius' schedule according to the weekly agenda.

*

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*

At lunch time, Remus uncovers the pasta salad Peter packed for him in the break room. The flat was feeling less cramped these days - once they rearranged the furniture to fit his new bed. Peter had even found a temporary part-time job at the farmer's market on weekends. Remus unwraps a napkin and drapes it over his lap. His fork stabs at a twirly noodle, but before he can bring it to his mouth, Sirius passes in the hall. His face is distraught and suit jacket crumpled in his arm. Remus glances at the clock on the wall that reads 3:00. His next meeting isn't until 5.

Sirius is a very busy man, Remus knows that for sure because he's the one who manages Sirius' schedule. And because of that, Remus knows that Sirius doesn't have anywhere to be at this time. Usually he spends the time in his office finalizing designs for Paris Fashion Week.

Remus shrugs off the thought and digs into his lunch. He opens his journal, relieved to finally have a moment to write. These days it was hard to find any time to himself. His hand writes on its own accord, the words flowing freely from his mind. All the thoughts that clogged his head now jotted in ink on the tattered pages of his well worn journal.

Black Inc. isn't as scary anymore. It's actually quite nice...like a little family. Mary and Alice, terrible gossips says Sirius, are always filling me in on the office news. They're kind of like sisters. And Lily is motherly. She's always looking out for everybody. James is like that older brother who comes home for breaks from University. Annoying at times, but you miss him when he's gone. And Sirius...well he's something. I can't quite tell if he hates my guts and is waiting for me to screw up so that he can fire me with reason or if he actually likes me. I get mixed signals.

If only Shana could see me now. She'd probably still laugh in my face, saying something about how pathetic I am getting coffee and alphabetizing files. But then again, I'm right where she wishes she could be. I don't know if there's anything suspicious going on here - it's far too early to tell. But there has to be. What sixteen year old builds an empire from nothing without a little help...

I'll write the best expose and start my own news company one day. Harper Post can rot in hell for all I care.