the Offices of...

(regé-jean page, 27, cismale, he/him)   hey, i’m looking for the office of BENEDICT MASTERS. HE’S the employee who’s known around the office as THE STICK IN THE MUD, if that helps? not to be a gossip, but i’ve heard that they’re DILIGENT but CALLOUS, is that true? i also heard that they’re the one who is faking a deadly allergy to apricots. anyways, here’s the coffee they ordered.

@bendickson​​

the fact that bea was actually, literally, at a party that was planned so well bea almost forgot it was at work felt like some kind of fantasy. she couldn’t believe this was handled by rolfe, her actual, literal boss- uncle? father- oh, nope, she was going to stop that thought before it could finish. and oh, speak of that devil, bea found ben and this just made her night so much better. “benny!” she looped her arms around his, because bea never had a concept of personal space, and especially not with ben, never with ben. “i didn’t expect to see you tonight. i thought you didn’t party?”

ben is waving off some people who came to greet him when he’s put off kilter by a weight on his arm. his looks down with a raised brow, amused at the closeness that beatrice feels is now acceptable because they’re at a party, “i don’t, really, but this is a masters corporate event, it’s kind of a requirement that i show up,” he teases, sipping at his beer, the same one he ordered when people first started filing in. he looks over the crowd of people and how the lights play off of them then looks to beatrice again and how she looks perfectly at home in the fairy lights, “i’m glad to see the party is to your standards, though.” 

ben stands by the bar in his most casual clothes he’d acceptably wear to a party like this, nursing the same beer he’d gotten when he’d arrived early (not as the director of marketing but as a masters to check that the set up was going smoothly). he watches the crowd of people mingling in the low light, lit only by the halo of fairy lights and the cool ripple of the pool lights, the city lights fading into the sky line as the sun sets, painting everything in warm colors before they eventually freeze to death this high up in new york. then he sees him, a familiar face in the crowd and a sense of ease flows over him, someone who understands him to some degree and he doesn’t have to pretend around so he approaches, searching for somewhere he can relax just the tiniest bit. “roman!” he calls, a smile on his face as he joins the other man on the balcony, “enjoying the party?”

ben is just leaving a circle of small talk, perfect publicity smile still plastered on his face when he sees a blur of familiar hair and a familiar height on a familiar frame, “sandra?” she doesn’t turn so he follows, maybe she just didn’t hear him? “sandra! hey wait!” he catches up with her in a few long strides, an unsure smile on his face, “um, hey, it’s been a while...how have you been?” the familiar words feel foreign and wrong somehow but he’s not sure why.

ben sighs as the warm water slowly rises over his tense muscles, letting himself droop a little once fully seated in the warm water of the hot tub, “you know,” he starts, laughing as he rolls his neck, “you’re the only person in this god forsaken building who could convince me that being this exposed at a business party was a good idea,” he teases, finally sitting up after the initial satisfaction wears off and he can fully sit and look at his companion, “i’m still only having the one beer, though,” he says, holding his hand out for the two matching bottles by kennedy’s head.

“oh, please,” she scoffed, “nobody likes the sound of your own voice more than you do, benny bear, trust me.” the nickname came out harsh, the way it tended to do when she called him something as stupid as that; the more annoyed she was, the stupider the nicknames got. “well, if you trusted me so much, i figured i didn’t need to give a reason for me to need an extension, you’d just trust that i was asking for one for the right reasons.” why the hell was he so annoyed, anyway? it wasn’t like she even did anything but ask him for a favor. maybe it wasn’t in the nicest way possible, but it wasn’t like she was asking for anything egregious. sometimes she felt like he just liked to give her a hard time on purpose, and that was her job.

he sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “just because i trust your abilities doesn’t mean i trust you to drop the fucking act around the office. i figured you were just trying to get out of work thinking this would finally be the time that i caved and let you play the stupid rich girl,” he growls, rubbing his hand down his face because, once again, why does he feel the need to explain himself to her? “why is it that you’re the only one that can ever push my buttons but the moment my buttons get pushed i’m your bad guy? do you think i like doing this? sounding like your fucking helicopter parent?”

"i will not, i take good care of everything i own and tend to use them into the ground."

"thanks, i know i look good. confidence is half the look."

"choking? yes. daddy? no."

"I love poetry but what has your soul so heavy, my love?"

"sure, i'll need your credentials, a full resume, and i require at least five years of prior experience. we can supplement experience with formal education, though. i'm flexible like that."

"very clever, i've absolutely never heard that one before."

“That sounds like a personal email,” Alexander comments nonchalantly. They could barely remember how they got onto this topic, but that’s beside the point. “Oh, we’re signing new talent… have you offered them jobs, or just internships?” they asked, trying to figure out what they’d have to work with. All of that for an ad that they’d produce - the client must need them desperately, which Alexander thinks is hilarious. “You’re so lucky to have me, you know that, right?” they grinned up at him, setting their phone back down. “It should work out, though. You can confirm on my behalf, unless I need to do it that desperately.”

ben ignores the snarky reply, falling, instead, on the topic of work, “it’ll be a full five year contract with a year probation period, i can send a copy to your office so you can plan appropriately,” he doesn’t mention emails again even though alexander seems to not check theirs all that regularly, it might spark up the personal vs professional email debate again. “Yes, alexander, i’m the luckiest to have your talent signed on, please don’t ever leave, this whole office building would crumble without you,” he mocks, the smallest sliver of sincerity shining through as he relaxes back against the railing, “i can officially confirm for you but you’ll have to take the lead if you want things done to your specifications which, i’d assume, you do.”

"what if i said it's complicated?"

“Oh, I’ve heard about that before! But my brother always told me that if I think too hard then I’d end up setting my brain on fire and I don’t want that to happen… Kind of scary to think about.” Joey said with a smile, as he looked at the other get up from his seat. He decided to get up too as the other offered to show him how to get coffee for free, Joey started making his way towards the door with his boss. “We have a coffee machine in the break room? I think that will be easier, even if I really can’t remember how to work with one.” He said with a small chuckle, as he started making his way out of the other’s office. “Thanks for showing me though, that’s… really nice of you.” He smiled.

ben chuckles, “well, if it helps at all, i’m sure spontaneous combustion isn’t something that happens too often. so the worst that could happen is a headache, probably.” he holds the door open for the new intern and nods him in the direction of the break room before leading the way. “you’ll be fine, it’s a one button kind of machine so you might get a nice break while you wait, it can be a little slow,” he teases, walking up to the coffee area and picking up a disposable cup, “it’s really no big deal, i just want to make sure you or griffin is saving some money and time. the building is paying for the machine anyway, might as well use it.”