Though some would argue a manager position was noteworthy in and of itself, especially given the fact he became a manager so early into his twenties, Chris craved more. He'd always been a step in front, a rank above his peers, and though stepping into the manager position for the very first time did stand out as an achievement, now, years later, he was just another smart kid at Masters, one of the many talented individuals driving the company forward. He didn't want to be on of - he wanted to be on top. And as much as he wanted to relish in the success of today, as much as he wore his new title with pride, he couldn't brush past the fact there were still higher-ups above him, the same higher-ups that still had higher-ups of their own, even those still living under the watchful eye of Rolfe. Not that Chris wanted to overtake Rolfe, and yet - It's a bitter-sweet victory, when pride won't let you enjoy what you have, always longing for more.

At lunch, Chris headed out of his brand new office to visit the break room, stopping under the doorframe. He took a moment to breathe before speaking up, “I’d like to invite you all for drinks after work,” he started, his voice shaking only ever so slightly, “it’s on me. To celebrate. I, uh - I’m sure you’ve heard by now, I got promoted, got myself a bigger office and all. Director governance, they even put my name tag on the door already.” It felt weird to talk about himself so much, and yet it felt so good, he almost had to stop himself from screaming ‘I told you so’ to everybody who had told him he was still too young and unexperienced for a directorial position. Guess he showed them.

usually, win could be found at the center of any party, grinning, dancing, carrying the whole night on his shoulders, but a dourness hung over him that night. and it wasn’t just the stifling heat from his muppet jacket. even after a few tumblers of whiskey, he couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that something was missing. win made sure that noah was in good hands- he was busy carbo-loading by the buffet, before ducking out to the garden for a moment of solitude. a soft breeze whipped through his hair and he was just beginning to relax when he was gently interrupted. glancing up, win nodded. he had a joint in his jacket pocket, but the promise of tobacco sounded sweeter. no time like the present to fall back on old habits. “if you have a cig for me,” he bartered, holding up an old zippo. 

One of the many secrets Chris kept to himself was the amount of enjoyment he's found in Masters' recent exposing, the now infamous gossip blog one of his favorite things to catch up on during his breaks, every minor detail and piece of gossip added to the secret tabs he'd been keeping for years. As such, it was no surprise he was familiar with the man in front of him, too - Winthrop Emmons, a twenty-five-year-old editorial assistant on the fashion floor, allegedly in love with his best friend. Quite frankly, among rumors of murder, cheating and abandoned children, Win's secret was the one that left him underwhelmed. And yet, here he was, eager to find out more about it.

"Uh - yeah, of course," he was almost afraid to look him in the eyes, holding up the Marlboro pack in offering. As somebody who's spent the majority of his life trying to fit the image others thrust upon him, always concerning himself with the opinion of his surroundings, seeing somebody be this unapologetically themself made him feel intimidated.  Then again, the entirety of the fashion department had him intimidated, the creative, abstract energy of the place a stark contrast to the mechanical way of thinking he was used to. Fortunately, a tobacco addiction always managed to bridge the gap between the most unlikely of friends. "Hope I'm not bothering you," he said, taking a drag, "I was looking, like, for a quiet place to smoke, didn’t realize I’ve left my light at home. Thanks again.”

“look, you may be right about some of what you said .. but we still can’t control what the higher ups do. and they usually do a lot of dumb stuff.” august shrugged. “you know how higher ups can be.” 

“well, all right. fair enough. but hey — enough work talk. even though this is a work related function, we’re allowed some fun. so let’s have some fun, all right? first things first, where is your date?” to be honest, august wasn’t too interested in where isla was. he was glad he had all of chris’ attention. sure, he had done some stuff with kitley, and he liked kitley a lot. but… chris was his first crush. more than his first crush, really. and he was enjoying chris’ company. but still, he just wanted to know when and if he’d have to step aside and have isla interact with the person she’d decided to bring. even if it would be a waste of chris’ time, since she was married and only even asked chris because she was apparently dared to do so. “have you seen her yet?”

Despite responding with a light laugh, almost a scoff, and a shake of his head, Chris felt a tingle of annoyance in his throat, August’s words rubbing him the wrong way. At the end of the day, no matter how well August and he got along, no matter how many times they meet up after work or hit up a bar together, the fact remained - Chris was still his higher-up, and so by nature, everything August said about the higher-ups applied to him, too. Even more so, perhaps, seeing as Chris managed the exact corner of I.T. August interned in and was probably the manager he's had to deal with the most. "Right, enough work talk," he brushed the thoughts away with a nod, taking another sip of champagne. You could never tell how hurt his pride was.

"Isla is - uh, I don't know, around." his attempts to spot her in the crowd came up short. "But yeah, no, we got here to together, I picked her up in a limo and all." a sense of pride took over his smile at the mention of a limo. "She looks good tonight, doesn't she? I mean, that dress -" that dress put Chris under a spell and there was nothing he could do to hide it. "It's just - wow. You know? Just wow."

“yeah. i guess they are.” well, most people seemed like they were having fun, at least. clementine was mostly having fun, but she was basically just trying to distract herself from the weird storm that had brewing in her chest all night. maybe it was anxiety or something, clementine didn’t really know. she laughed lightheartedly as his joke, gesturing for him to turn around so she could see the suit in full effect. “pffft. well, i’m glad you decided to dress up.” although she would’ve gotten a kick out of it if he were the only person to show up in khakis. “i mean, sure. haha. i don’t think isla would ditch you that easily.” isla was someone clem didn’t know well, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t rooting for her happiness. maybe clementine was confused about that meaning she’d come to the gala with chris, but he did seem in rare form tonight. maybe he was different. clementine didn’t think he’d ever spoken this normally to her in person since they dated. the weird feeling in her chest dropped to her stomach, and she fidgeted uncomfortably as she tried to get a grip on herself. “shouldn’t you be talking to them, then? i don’t really think talking to me is going to get you on anyone’s radar.” not that she didn’t want to talk to him. she did. she had been this whole time. the sentiment had just never been returned. and now that they were here in front of people he wanted to save face and talk casually? she swallowed the lump in her throat. 

The many rounds of toasts and welcome drinks had already painted Chris' face a subtle shade of red, masking what would usually be an embarrassingly glaring blush, the way CLementine motioned for him to turn around, ready to take in every inch of his meticulously chosen outfit, too unnerving to leave him as calm as he had been before. With his hand over his face to hide a fit of giggles, he did as she pleased, slowly shifting from one foot to another, turning around. "She just asked me to go with her cause of a dare, she said I don't have to be with her all evening," he did not plan on being so direct, but again, his words had left his mouth before he even got the chance to think about them. "And I was talking to them, but then I started slurring my words, so I figured I should, you know, take a breather and all." A breather with a new glass of champagne, typical. "But, I mean - Yeah, no, didn't want to steal your time," the previous drunken giggles fell to a deep, nervous chuckle, his smile suddenly much less sincere. As much as he had tried to hold onto the buzz and the sense of confidence it brought along, he couldn't deny the hint of tension in the air, accompanied by the feeling that, be it true or not, his company wasn't welcomed. "Well -" he no longer dared to look her directly into her eyes, his gaze shifting around the room instead, "Just wanted to say sorry for not putting more time into our assignment. I've had really, like, these past couple of weeks have been just - incredibly busy. Like really busy," his signature rambling returned,"and, like, it sucks to say, I know, but in the grand scheme of things, the gala theme wasn't really - I mean, not to sound like an ass, but it wasn't up there with my top priorities, to be honest." Way to not sound like an ass, Chris. The only thing that could make this worse was an attempt to lighten the mood with a joke about putting people for sale. "But yeah, I still think this would've been more fun as an intern auction."

“well, yeah. i guess so. that makes a lot of sense. but i mean, if it’s out out of control then well, i can’t do anything about it.” chris knew what he was talking about. luke would admit that. and he was determined. luke didn’t know why chris was being so worrisome. “you’re worrying too much. you sound like you’re getting that promotion for sure. i completely agree with what you’re saying though, but i think you haven’t got a thing to worry about. you’re going to be promoted sooner than you think, i can feel it.” luke nodded. “trust me.” luke hummed, taking into consideration what chris said. “that’s true. that guy .. august. some type of computer genius like yourself. and yeah, people tend to get their relatives jobs … they don’t even deserve but come on, chris. you’re good for this. don’t worry about it. when you get that promotion, you’re buying us drinks.”

"I don't worry too much," thank god he wasn't fully drunk or he would've even laughed at that himself, "I just don't let 'faith' take charge of my future," he made quotation marks with his fingers around the word faith, holding himself back from rolling his eyes "I've worked too hard to say ‘if it's meant to be, it's meant to be.’ It’s got to be, and it’s my job to make sure that it is. But anyway - August isn't what I'm concerned about," as cold as it was to say, Chris failed to think about his words before he said them out loud - as per usual - unintentionally making it sound like he gave his friend less credit than he had deserved.  "He's an intern, and I'm after a director's position, I'm sure I don't have to point out the discrepancy there. That being said - drinks, you got it." the promise of a future social gathering where he wasn't just another face in the crowd but was instead the intended company instantly fixed the bad mood he was slipping into. "When I get that promotion, I'm putting together, like, a pub quiz or something, and people won't have a choice but to attend, cause I'll be their boss and all, they won’t be able to say no. It'll be great.”

𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐘. he’d tried that same vodka joke about two hours to one of the older department heads, and she’d looked at him so pitifully unimpressed that he could only walk away. “ well, if you do actually find some, ” jude sighed, leaning against the table now, “ save at least half for me. i need it. bonus points if it’s hooch, but i doubt you northern types have that here. ” the whole case against aiden had been eating up his sleep schedule, and being here didn’t relax him any much more – jude might go make some moonshine himself if it meant his shoulders wouldn’t be so tense anymore. he nodded at the guy’s question, smile warm. “ yeah. jude valentine, attorney up on the legal floor. and you are ? ”

"I'll pour it over into a water pitcher if I find some, I'm betting that's the best way to keep it safe from the other alcoholics," he chuckled, only to shake his head in laugher a moment later, shrugging "caught me there, never heard of it. I'm sure these waiters will bend over backward for you, though.” As on cue, the second Jude told him his profession, Chris' hand shot up, reaching over for a handshake, "Chris Bailey, security manager on the I.T. floor,” it felt good to not be assumed to be an intern for once, “You wouldn't believe the number of emails I send over to your parts of town every day." Attorneys were - interesting. As the man who oversaw all cyber threats and security breaches, managing the cyber forensics corner of I.T., Chris found himself working with them almost every week, oftentimes tasked with providing evidence and reports of the latest cyber-attacks and their consequences. If he ever got promoted to director governance as he oh so desperately hoped for, his cooperation with the legal floor would only grow, and so he figured it was best to keep the lawyers and attorneys on his good side. Fortunately, it seemed like Jude wasn’t going to make it difficult for him. “It’s nice to finally meet one of you face-to-face, usually you’re all too busy to come down to the I.T. floor, I was starting to believe the whole department up there is composed of just a bunch of email signatures.”

“well, yeah …. i think i should be up for a promotion soon but – uh —” luke shrugged. “yeah, i am sort of here for just champagne .. and stuff.” luke let out a quiet scoff, and he shrugged his shoulders again. “if it’ll happen, it’ll happen. regardless of how i might market tonight. i try not to let it bother so too much. i dunno, if i overthink it, and it doesn’t go may way, i’m going to end up being severely disappointed, and the last feeling i want to have right now.”

he meant that. he wanted to be promoted. of course he did. who didn’t? but luke wasn’t going to do any thing more than what he needed. what if he put in the extra work and he didn’t get his reward? that would hurt a lot more than if he hadn’t put more of himself into all of this. he’d get what he earned if he deserved it. “besides, i’m pretty sure you’re one of the few people who are actually good at their job. you’ll get that promotion for sure.”

"Right." Chris fell quiet for a moment, thinking the words over. "It's like - I get it, being disappointed sucks," he started, "but aren't you disappointed by just, like, always being in the same place? Not getting the promotion you know you deserve? Cause, let me tell you, there's too many people in this place for you to rely on, like, your skill, and your desires. You have to make your desires known, or someone less-skilled but louder than you will get the job you've always wanted." Talking about being loud and clear seemed almost hypocritical coming from a guy who spent most of his workdays in silence, stuttering through the few meetings he was required to attend. It all came down to balance, Chris figured a while back: office hours were the time to shut up and get the work done, while gala nights presented the opportunity to speak up and claim what was rightfully yours. Too much quiet work and no one even remembers you're there, too many loud demands, people soon learn to tune out your screaming. "I’m not the first nor the last tech kid around, I’m sure one of the board directors is due for a son or a nephew who’s good with computers and is in need of a job. I’d rather not sit around in silence, waiting to get replaced. Gotta make yourself indispensable as soon as you can, that’s the goal.”

august gave chris a quick incredulous look before he managed to laugh. it was small, and quiet and absolutely genuine, since he couldn’t even fake one. “i don’t know how to fake a laugh, chris.” he laughed again, still genuine. “why are you trying to impress the director?” he pouted his lips. “come on – you and i both know that these higher ups are biased, and it doesn’t matter how good you are — they’re going to pick whoever it is they want to pick, chris.” he shook his head. “and besides, you and i both know that we can .. you know …..make things happen.” chris and august were pretty good at what they did, and what they weren’t supposed to do. august was pretty sure that chris knew what he meant. he didn’t have to be specific. “you know what i mean?”

Chris laughed along with August, well-versed in the art of keeping appearances and presenting a less than realistic version of himself. "Exactly," he nodded, a bright smile still illuminating his face. As smart as August was, there were still things left for him to learn. "If they weren't biased, that job would already be mine," bold of him to speak so confidently about himself while trying to teach August a lesson about humility, "that's why I have to kiss their ass and make sure their bias favors me." For Chris, that's all this evening came down to anyway - ass-kissing. "With what we can do," he made sure to drop the volume of his voice, glancing around to see nobody was listening, "I can grant myself access to certain emails and find out there's a position opening up soon. What I can't do is sneak my name into the system and award myself a title that would require several rounds of interviews and board meetings to confirm and then expect nobody would notice. These people aren't idiots, Gus, even if they act like ones. The dumbest genius in a room is still a genius, never forget that." 

“deals? what deals?” luke pursed his lips, genuinely curious. he felt as though he learned something new about masters every day. or maybe he was thinking too much and it wasn’t some big deal like he’d just first imagined. masters probably wasn’t even that exciting. well, minus all the gossip and affairs and all that jazz. “um — what are you referring to?” would chris even answer? he seemed less interested in talking to luke after he’d found out that he didn’t have a lighter. well – it wasn’t his fault he appreciated healthy lungs.

“What deals?” Chris repeated, holding the cigarette as though it was lit, the habit ingrained into his movements after almost ten years of smoking, "You work at Masters, right? Don't tell me there's not, like, a promotion you've been after, or a new project you really want to be a part of, or something.” Nobody at Masters was happy with what they had and everybody wanted more. Hell, even Rolfe probably wanted a raise, but had to live with the curse of stagnancy that came with being at the top. “I mean - what are you, like, here just for the champagne and stuff?" He didn’t intend for his words to sound so patronizing and judgemental - they just kinda came out that way. He was sure Luke didn’t expect such a tone from a kid either.

“no, sorry. don’t smoke.” luke gave chris a soft smile and shrugged his shoulders. “someone around here probably does though.” he wouldn’t deny that. someone at the gala probably had something someone else would need. count on employees to be resourceful, pathetic and a bunch of schemers. and liars. they were big on the lying. “you disappearing from the gala to smoke already, kid?” seems like everyone was on edge tonight. why wouldn’t they be? people were getting ‘exposed’ and all that shit every other weekend. 

As soon as the simple 'no' left the other man's mouth, Chris felt his heart sink to the bottom of his chest. It was like his worst nightmare came to life - here he was, stuck in a conversation he didn't want to have in the first place, required to exchange empty pleasantries with someone he didn't even know, his cigarette still unlit. And the guy called him kid. A kid! Were it not for the couple of rounds he’s had before heading to the garden, he’d probably just stand there like a fool, stuttering in nervousness. As things stood, he simply shook his head, his eyes already searching for an escape "I'm not disappearing. This is not, like, not my first gala, I know the smokers' circle's where the deals get made."

Under all the glitz and the glam, under the charity work and the televised red carpet interviews, there was another aspect of the night that kept the attendees on their toes - networking. If you were an intern, the gala provided you with the perfect opportunity to suck up to an employee or a worker from one of the other companies Masters’ managed, giving you the chance to secure yourself a job when the internship ran out. If you were an employee, you made sure everybody knew you stood above the interns, making that especially known when conversing with the managers, name-dropping your biggest clients and projects in between the many compliments the managers’ suits and gowns deserved. And if you were a manager, as Chris was, well, then you spent the night sucking-up to the directors.

This time, however, to prove he was a good manager with solid people skills, Chris' way of sucking up to his higher-ups was to flip the whole hierarchy on its head and spend the majority of the night mingling with interns and employees below him. Fortunately, one of his interns just so happened to be a good friend of his, too. "The director's watching," he glanced a sneak over August's shoulder, the pair stood behind a table together, "Pretend you're really entertained by something I said. Or like - laugh. But not in a forced way, you know? Just like, pretend I told you a joke.”

noah thought that he would have to put a lot more effort into not being a complete downer at the gala, but…surprisingly he was actually feeling okay. sure, it was a little weird not having to watch out for scarlet curls whipping his face, but win was an excellent date. he bought him chocolates and everything––but a box of chocolates was not enough to tide his appetite. he was a growing (( well, technically grown )) giant after all. “do you think it’s socially acceptable to put dinner rolls in your pocket for later? that must be what the little pocket inside of the tux jacket is for,” he mused as he examined the buffet table.  

Chris rose his brow at the man next to him, a smile cracking across his face, “Don’t see why not,” he chuckled, shrugging. He would’ve even been tempted to join him in the dinner roll heist were it not for the fact the suit he wore cost more than his apartment, and so he figured he should at least try to keep it clean, even if just until the later hours of the event, if faith would have it. "Don't tell anyone, but I actually heard the reason girls bring purses to these events is so they can, like, stuff as much food in there as possible," he said, looking towards a lady who was just leaving the buffet table, a big purse the statement piece of her outfit, “Get your hands on that, you’re good for the rest of the night.”

Chris had spent the night mingling, toasting to the future with his higher-ups, dealing a couple of compliments to every girl who dared to bless him with a moment of her time, Networking Chris™ mode fully engaged. Everywhere he looked, there seemed to be a familiar face popping up from the sea of well-dressed guests, each gown and suit more expensive than the last, each man fighting to have the shinier watch, each gal wearing her jewlery as though it was the sparkliest. It was hard not to stare, to be honest, and so Chris let his eyes rest on the mingling crowd around him - until he realized he had been staring at a single girl for a solid half a minute now. Unfortunately, that realization came as she looked back at him, their gazes interlocking .

"Oh, I - sorry, I didn't mean to stare," and there it was, Chris' infamous blush reclaiming its place on his cheeks, "It's just, uh - I was trying to remember where I know you from," he was quick to come up with a lie, walking up to her in an attempt to save at least some of the embarrassment "I mean, you caught my attention, cause you, like, you look really good and all, do you, uh, do you work at Masters? Or something?" Or something. Yes, he knew all about her side hustle, in fact, he had poured outrageous amounts of his own hard-earned money into it, supporting her career like the good guy he was. His heart was just about ready to jump out of his chest; as good as he was with keeping secrets, this was the one that made him fear he might not be able to contain his excitement after all.

There wasn't a single girl at the gala who didn't look her absolute best, makeup beat to the gods, the designer dresses elevating the feeling of luxury and unreachability Masters was so well known for, every single guest appearing as out of a fairytale. And yet, none stood out quite as much as Genevive - not in Chris’ eyes, at least. Despite the fact he was there with Isla, Genevive was definitely the one he was most looking forward to seeing, the memories of the charity walkathon they'd attended together still all too alive in his mind.

Making his way across the gala hall, he finally saw her in the distance, her dress making him feel a certain type of way. Definitely a ‘I’m gonna need more champagne to get through this’ type of way. He waited for the man she’d been talking to previously to leave before he finally approached her, a big grin on his face “Hey, Gen,” he smiled, fumbling with the glass of champagne in his hands, "How are you? You look - you look great. I mean, more than great, you look, like - wow, you know? I mean, not in a weird way, you just, yeah, you look really good."

@christian bailey​

being at a party was something eliza figured she should find stressful. the last party she went to didn’t exactly have the best outcome, but she was wearing fairy wings tonight and honestly, she didn’t think there was a lot that could ruin that mood. besides, whatever happened tonight, as long as she made sure it had nothing to do with her, she could feel alright about it. “oh- hey, chris?” one of the last people eliza expected to see at this tonight was him. “you…came with isla, right?”

Isla had just left to greet a familiar face in the crowd, leaving Chris all alone at their table, his eyes already scanning the room with clear intent as he looked for a higher-up to go sweet-talk to. Just as he saw his boss making his way over and was about to approach him, Eliza crossed his path. "Hey - Eliza" he grinned, the excitement on his face uncharacteristic for the usually anxious I.T. guy. This was perfect - with his boss just a couple of feet away and a friend to catch up with, Chris could use the opportunity to prove just how personable and friendly he was. "Yeah, I did, she's around here somewhere," he glanced around the room in search of Isla's eye-catching gown, "she really went all out tonight. And, I mean, so did you, you look great,” the buzz could only help his blabbering to a certain extent, “How are you? Having fun?”

𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐂𝐔𝐏 𝐎𝐅 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 – dodging particular people turned out to be a lot more exhaustive than he would’ve ever thought, go figure, and he looked up when he heard a voice, cup filling up steadily. “ not sure, ” he shrugged, setting the pitcher down, “ let’s find out. ” he knew it was water, obviously, but still, jude took a sip of the liquid and pulled a twisted face. “ oh, God, that’s straight vodka. ” he smiled at his little joke, handing the pitcher to the guy now. “ i’m kidding. it’s water, you’re fine. ”

Whether it was the alcohol or the fact Chris himself was enough of a dork to find Jude's joke funny, he simply couldn't hold back a grin, shaking his head in laughter, "I would've taken it if it was vodka, too," he said, taking the pitcher, "still a long night ahead.” With his brow raised, he peered up at the jokester as he took a sip, trying to place where he knew him from. “You're from Masters, right?" The man’s face was vaguely familiar, Chris could swear he's seen him around the building, perhaps at one of the other office parties that had passed, yet he couldn't for the life of him remember his name, nor the department he worked in.