"Luke Hemmings' office this is Ashton speaking how may I help you?"
"Okay and may I ask who is speaking?"
"Oh, Leliana, how good of you to call. I'm afraid Luke is in a meeting at the moment but I'll be sure he gets your message."
"Will do." Ashton scribbled quickly on a piece of paper before hanging up.
"What did she want?" Luke's voice asked startling Ashton.
"Uh, she wanted me to tell you she would be wearing blue to the gala and she hoped you would match her." Ashton said reading from the paper he had been writing on.
Luke walked over and snatched the paper from Ashton.
"You got that from this?" Luke asked sneering down at the four unintelligible words scribbled on the page.
"It says, match ana blue gala." Ashton said.
"Sure it does." Luke said tossing the paper in the trash.
"Are you going with her to this gala?" Ashton asked.
Luke paused and gave Ashton a scrutinized look.
"Come with me." Luke said as he walked into his office.
"Look at this portfolio and tell me what you see." Luke said shoving a file into Ashton's hands.
"I see lots of people." Ashton shrugged.
"Yes, these people are throwing a gala in my name because of the new winter line I just released. Every year a gala in thrown in honor of someone's winter line. It is called the winter gala. For the last three years I have won the honor and Leliana utterly hates it. She always wins the summer gala. I don't put out a line in the summer. I put my 'summer' line out in spring as I don't care much for summer fashions. Leliana knows that she only wins the summer gala because I don't participate. She swears up and down she loves that I win the winter gala and she wins the summer. She is the name in Gucci and I am the name in Versace she wants nothing more than to combine the two so that they are both owned and run together. She has written this proposal to me a dozen times and I have turned her down relentlessly. Last fall she gave up the proposal but has begged me to go to the gala's with her as her date. Every year she tries to convince me and every years she picks blue as her outfit color of choice. Also every year I am forced to find a date to this event in hopes of keeping her at bay."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ashton frowned.
"Are you that dimwitted?" Luke asked raising a brow?
"You have to find me an outfit that you think I'll like and that is not blue. Also I need a date. He needs to be shorter than me and he needs to be dressed to match but not exactly. Understood?" Luke asked.
"Uh, yes." Ashton nodded.
"Oh, one other thing. You are going with me. I need you there in case Leliana doesn't take a hint."
"What am I supposed to do with her?" Ashton frowned.
"Come up with something." Luke snapped.
Ashton nodded before turning to walk away.
"Oh and Braxton?" Luke called not looking up from his papers.
"Yes?" Ashton asked biting his tongue.
"The gala is this weekend. I suggest you have my outfit by the end of today and my date by tomorrow morning. I'd also like a run down of everything about him." Luke then waved a dismissive hand.
-
"Cal, please I need you to do this for me." Ashton begged the raven haired guy.
"No way, Ash. I'm not going with your boss to some gala. You've said yourself he's an ass." Calum shook his head as he took a bite of his soup.
"Calum, you are my best friend. I don't know anyone else." Ashton pleaded.
"Why don't you hire one of those twenty four hour boyfriend things?" Calum asked.
"I've called every business and they all need four three days notice. I don't have three days. I have two." Ashton groaned.
"I also have to get the three of us outfits. What am I supposed to do? Not to mention the other zillion things he has me do. I have to get his laundry and take it to his house. Then I have to take his car to get detailed. He never drives his car. Plus I have to have the file for the winter line alphabetized according to color. What does that even mean? This guy is a pain in my ass and I have only been working there for a week. I barely know how to use the fax machine." Ashton groaned laying his head down on the restaurant table.
"Why don't you just quit?" Calum asked.
"I can't just quit. He owns GQ. If I can stay on his good side I could finally land my dream job. Come on Calum you know how important working at GQ is to me." Ashton sighed.
"Are you sure this guy even has a good side?" Calum chuckled.
"Calum, this guy doesn't have a bad side. I promise you'll be the talk of the night. Plus you get to keep the suit you wear." Ashton wiggled his eyebrows.
"I'm not doing it Ash." Calum shook his head.
At that moment Ashton's phone rang loudly.
"I have to take this."
"We're at lunch." Calum huffed.
"It's Luke. I'll only be a second." Ashton said apologetically.
"Luke, hi-"
"Okay, I'll get right on that."
"I have your outfit picked and on it's way to your office now."
"I don't quite have a date yet, but I'm working on that right now."
"I understand."
"Okay."
Ashton hung up his phone and let out a whine.
"He's going to kill me if he doesn't like the outfit I picked. And I have to go meet him his designer to get the new proofs for the scarfs. And he doesn't understand why I don't have a date for him yet. Ugh, what am I going to do?"
"Get your whiny ass and let's go get me a damn suit." Calum huffed as he grabbed Ashton's arm and drug him out of the restaurant.
"Wait, you're going to go with him?" Ashton asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but you owe me so big." Calum growled.
"Oh, Cal, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ashton bounced gripping Calum's arm.
-
"This is the guy you got for Luke as a date?" Karen asked admiring Calum.
"Yeah, do you think he'll like him?" Ashton asked nervously.
"If he doesn't I do." Louis Tomlinson, the page designer of GQ, spoke walking by and giving a small wink.
"I can't think of anyone that wouldn't like him." Karen smiled causing Calum to look embarrassed.
"Braxton, where are the scarf proofs and my outfit?" Luke asked walking in not looking up from his tablet.
"The proofs are on your desk and the outfit is in your closet." Ashton answered proudly.
"Who is this man standing in the middle of my lobby?" Luke asked finally looking up.
"This is Calum Hood, he's your date for the gala." Ashton said trying to swallow the lump in his throat.
"Hmmm, dark hair, dark eyes, nice golden skin, he's the complete opposite of what Leliana looks like." Luke raised a brow before walking away.
"Does that mean he likes him?" Ashton asked worriedly.
"I'd say so." Karen nodded.
Ashton grinned so did Calum.
"Thank you so much, Cal." Ashton hugged his best friend.
"Don't thank me just yet, we still have to get through this damn gala." Calum sighed.
"Braxton!" Luke called.
"That's me. I'll call you later." Ashton said scurrying off quickly.
"Yes, sir?" Ashton asked walking into Luke's office.
"I'm assuming this is the outfit you picked for me?" Luke asked inspecting the dark gray suit with a red vest and red bow tie.
"Y-yes sir. I thought it wouldn't match any blue outfit Leliana might show up in." Ashton bit his lip nervously.
"And what will my date be wearing?" Luke asked not looking away from the suit.
"A darker gray suit with a red tie to match your red." Ashton swallowed hard.
"And you?"
"Just a plain black and white suit." Ashton answered trying to find some hint as to how Luke felt about the outfits.
"Mhm." Luke hummed. He set the suit back inside the closet.
"Should I continue looking or-?"
"Those will do, now give me a run down of the guy you had in my lobby a moment ago." Luke said cutting Ashton off mid sentence.
"Umm, his name is Calum Hood. He's a communications director for Lenovo. He has one sister, Mali-Koa. He's twenty seven, single. He loves dogs, hates sushi and refuses to wear the color orange." Ashton rambled off the first facts that came to mind about Calum.
"Hmm, not a total dud. Where did you find this guy?" Luke asked sifting through papers on his desk.
Ashton cleared his throat and shifted nervously in place.
"What?" Luke asked noticing Ashton's discomfort.
"He's my best friend of fifteen years." Ashton said cringing slightly as he waited for Luke's wrath.
Luke stopped what he was doing and stared at Ashton for a moment.
"You set me up on a date with your best friend?" Luke asked with a blank expression.
Ashton bit his lip as he nodded.
"Hm." Luke hummed simply before returning back to his papers.
"Is that okay?" Ashton asked nervously.
Luke looked up at Ashton.
The silence made Ashton dizzy.
"Do I have an appointment tomorrow around three?" Luke asked suddenly ignoring Ashton's question.
"Uh, no your last appointment is at Twelve thirty." Ashton said frowning.
"Good. Make sure to have my lunch here and waiting on me." Luke said standing and grabbing his jacket.
"Oh and Braxton?"
Ashton turned to look at Luke.
"Have you ever considered wearing white pants?" Luke asked eying Ashton.
"N-no sir?" Ashton frowned in confusion.
"Hm." Luke hummed before walking out.
-
"So all he did was hum at everything you said?" Calum asked.
"Yeah, I don't know what that means." Ashton sighed shoving a powdered donut in his mouth.
"Well he wasn't snapping at you or insulting you right?" Calum asked.
"No, and I think that was the weird part." Ashton groaned.
"Why does my boss have to be such a psycho?"
Calum laughed.
"At least you aren't the one dating him." Calum said glaring at Ashton playfully.
"I know, I owe you so big. Thank you so much for agreeing to this." Ashton smiled appreciatively at Calum.
"It better go well." Calum said shoving a donut in his mouth.
Ashton bit his lip. He really hoped it would otherwise this could possibly cost him his job.
*AN*
Here is an update. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think!