Nick and Seven had agreed on meeting at the office early morning since the CEO needed to run some quick errands.
Seven waited by the office door, seeing Nicolas grab some files from his desk. Usually, the weekends were out-of-office work, so the two didn't dress formally or in their usual business clothes. Nicolas picked up the final files, now holding a few packets with him. He turned around and began walking towards the door where Seven stood, "Alright, let's head out now."
Seven nodded, following Nicolas out of the office. The two walked into the elevator, Nicolas holding the elevator door for the assistant.
The door closed and the two stood in the little space.
"So, what exactly are the plans today, Mr. Anderson?" Seven asked, keeping his chin high as he stared at the elevator door.
"It was just to go to the cinema, but I had forgotten I had some files I needed to turn in to the front office." He gripped the files in between his pit and forearm, looking at his cellular device, "we'll just cancel the cinema date and drive around town if that's fine with you."
Seven smiled shyly, nodding, "It's fine with me."
The elevator door opened and Seven walked out first, followed by Nicolas. A woman in a suit with brown, wavy hair, stood behind the front desk, smiling at Nick, "Moring, Mr. Anderson."
"Morning," the CEO responded, setting the files on the desk, "Please send these files to my father before noon today."
The woman nodded, grabbing the files, "Of course. Will you be out of the building today?"
Nicolas smiled at her, putting his hands behind his back, "I will. If anyone asks for me, have them send a message to my assistant."
He walked out of the building before the woman could even respond. Seven nodded at her and continued to follow his boss. The second Nick stepped out, feeling the cold breeze hit his skin, he let out a soft sigh, turning to his side to see his assistant standing beside him, "You ready?" he asked with a sort of mischievous tone in his voice.
Seven eyed him, tilting his head, "Downtown?"
Nick grinned, nodding, "To the car~" he turned down the sidewalk, shoving his phone into the pocket of his pants.
...
The first place they went to was a bookstore. Indie music played in the building as the two went to the back of the store to purchase a coffee. There weren't many people walking around the aisles, but the customers that were in the building were sitting at the tables. Seven and Nicolas waited at a bar table at the small coffee shop.
"Do you read in your free time?" Nicolas asked, leaning back on the stool, staring at the baristas while they prepared their coffees.
"I used to read chapter books during middle school, but I stopped after a while," he responded.
"Oh?"
The smell of coffee flooded the building and the indie music that played merged with the sound of the blending machine behind the counter of the shop.
"I kind of didn't have much time to read anymore, I guess. Though, I remember reading this one book about a small group of teens that were stuck in a puzzle." He shook his head, "Ah, I can't seem to remember. I remember loving the story though. There was a twist in the end, but I can't remember much about it."
Nicolas nodded, hearing Seven talks, "It's probably somewhere on these shelves then if you want to look for it."
Seven scoffed softly, "I don't think I have time to read something like that again anyways."
"Aw, nonsense. I'll give you a whole day off to read a book." Nicolas joked, getting off the stool, and noticing the two coffees being placed near the cash register.
Seven got off as well, following Nick towards their coffee, "You're funny, Nick," Seven responded, "If giving me a day off means doing work and checking emails at home, I still don't think I'd have enough time to even reach the character introductions."
Nicolas grabbed both beverages, handing Seven his, "Ha, well technically, today is your day off, no?" He turned around, walking out of the coffee area, "Unless you count being around me 'work'..." he stopped talking for a bit, standing in his tracks with Seven beside him, "Do you think I'm nuisance enough to call being with me 'work'." He gasped sarcastically, only to be nudged by Seven, "Now you're just guilt-tripping me." The assistant snickered, now taking the lead and walking towards the fiction aisle.
The books were set out in alphabetical order, and Seven stopped at a random area of the aisle, looking at the books.
Nicolas walked near him, taking a sip from his coffee. He stood beside Seven, staring off at the books as well, "You want to get back into reading?"
Seven inhaled deeply, "Uhmm... maybe," he drank a bit from his warm coffee, keeping his gaze at the brown, wooden shelf, "I don't think I'd really read it though. Chapter books aren't my thing anymore I suppose."
"Well, what is your thing now?" Nicolas asked, turning his head to face Seven.
The assistant shrugged, "Beats me," he answered, "I've only ever been into reading, but I just kind of lost all sense of identity when I focused on school."
Nicolas nodded, turning his attention back to the shelves, "Hm." He reached for a random book titled 'The Missing Link' turning it around to read the synopsis, "When high school boy, Adam Lee, walked down the halls unnoticed, he realized he had a quiet and low-life reputation at school. Taking this advantage, he blended in his entire high school life, hearing gossip and stories from everyone around him. Knowing secrets that can turn a normal cafeteria sitting into a fight, he kept silent," Nicolas eyed Seven who stared at the CEO, smiling, "Hearing stories all around the school, he soon eavesdropped on a secret that didn't piece anything together. Now, he's on a mission to figure out which student was involved in a murder case that occurred a week ago." Nicolas stopped, turning over the book again, and leaning into Seven, "Hm. A murder mystery and a slice of life?"
Seven snickered, grabbing the book from his boss, "Slice of life? I don't think that's a real genre in novel writing." Seven looked at the book in his hand and then turned his attention back to Nicolas, "Nick, do you watch anime? That genre is mostly involved with anime."
Nicolas grinned, grabbing another novel from the shelf, "I used to. Not anymore." He held the book in his hand while the coffee in the other, "My mother showed me a few of her favorite shows when she was a kid. Old animes. She used to favor slice-of-life shows, so I ended up liking them as well."
Seven nodded, hearing him speak. He turned his gaze back to the book he held and set it back on the shelf, "You don't watch them anymore?"
Nicolas let out a soft sigh, hearing a new song play in the building. An instrumental with piano and violin filled the silence, setting up a calm and relaxing atmosphere, "Well, like you, I just haven't had the time."
Seven frowned at the comment, taking a sip from his warm coffee again, "Hm... why don't we watch one when we get to my apartment?"
Nicolas turned to his assistant seeing the emerald eyes beam under the dim lighting of the bookstore, "Would you want to?"
Seven exhaled happily, walking down the aisle again, "Sure, I mean... we don't have to go to the cinema for a movie day."
The CEO set the book back in its place, following the PA, "Ah, do you have something in mind?"
The assistant dragged his fingers along the shelves, tipping his head, "Possibly. I'll check with you later on that~"
...
The next place they headed to was a small sandwich shop that was near the end of the road. It was empty, with only two workers behind the counter. Nicolas and Seven stood at the other side of the cash register, looking up at the menu that hung on the wall.
"Have you been here before?" Nicolas asked. Seven kept his eyes on the menu, viewing the list of items, "I remember we had one back in my home state, but I don't recall what I ordered." He hummed softly, leaning his head to the side, "I'm going to take a guess and assume I got the OverSandwich."
Nicolas's eyes shifted to where the OverSandwich was labeled, seeing the ingredients it had: White bread with black forest ham and cucumbers. Seven stepped towards the cash register, ordering his lunch. Nicolas watched him, smiling.
"That'll be $8," the cashier stated calmly. Nicolas stepped forward, nudging Seven to the side, "Make that two OverSandwichs. I'll be paying for his, too."
"Nick, you don't-"
"Let me," he offered, turning to his assistant and giving him a genuine smile. Seven slouched a bit, not seeing any use to debate over an $8 sandwich. He walked towards a table, not responding and letting Nick pay for lunch.
Seven sat down at a wooden square-shaped table, looking out the window, seeing the few people walking down the sidewalk. It was evening now, and the sun was going down slowly but surely.
Nicolas sat the lunch down, placing Seven's tea in front of him, "How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down at the other side of the table. The PA eyed him, grabbing the wrapped sandwich, "Hungry."
Nicolas chuckled, grabbing his sandwich, "I'm sure. You didn't have breakfast I'm assuming." He bit into the sandwich, tasting the sweet and fresh vegetables.
Seven shook his head, "Just the coffee you bought me at the bookstore earlier." He also took a bite of his lunch, keeping eye contact with Nicolas.
The CEO swallowed the sandwich bits in his mouth before answering, "I don't think that's considered breakfast, Seven," he grinned, "You should've told me you skipped breakfast. We could've stopped somewhere."
The assistant shook his head, setting his sandwich down, "No," he spoke, still chewing, "It's fine. I wasn't hungry then."
Nick scoffed, seeing him speak with reassurance in his tone, "No point in conversing about it now," He grabbed his beverage beside him, "By the way, how's your friend... uh Emilee? Was that her name?"
"Hm," Seven hummed, swallowing his tea, "She's fine... I think. She messaged me last night about how she was away for the week with her brother. She should be back tomorrow."
Nicolas nodded in response, taking another bite from his lunch.