There is something about today. Xavier could feel it. His chest felt heavier than usual, the worried lines on his forehead deepened unconsciously, his teeth gnawed absentmindedly on his bottom lip. Something about not ending the day right.
Leo is being the usual chatterbox he is. Had he known of his mood, silence would have been swimming casually in the car, save for the slow blues emitting from the car's sound system.
All through the ride, Xavier had used his infamous smile to cover up his discomfort.
It wasn't another boring meeting in PurpleVille. Oh, No! Actually, they're just driving back from a wedding. An employee from the Administrative Department, Tristan McCollum by name, finally tied the knot with Mary Valentine, a fellow employee that he'd been wooing since the beginning of the year.
Xavier had a special seat in the reception. The groom had requested he gives his speech alongside the best man. He fought back his tears as he saw the newlyweds smiling brightly at each other.
Something fluttered in his chest once it was time for the groom to feed a piece of cake to the bride. The tiny kiss he placed on her lips afterwards caused his invisible dam to break.
Before he could embarrass himself further, he announced his departure with Leo running to the car while stuffing his face with coconut cake.
"Yo, Xavier!" The usual annoying voice of his assistant yells as his front door slams noisily against the wall.
"Xavier! Xa— Hey Maria, where's that grump?"
Their voices are muffled. The only thing Xavier could pick out was the distinctive high pitch of Leo dramatically telling a story to his housekeeper.
It doesn't take two minutes before Leo is barreling through his bedroom door and plopping on his bed.
Xavier groans lowly. The force of his jump causes the duvet to ride low on his back. He grunts as a wave of cold washes against his bare back.
"Stop talking, you frog."
Leo stops bouncing on the bed. He gasps, his eyes narrowing lightly, before he grips Xavier's shoulder-length hair and tugs hard.
The sulking CEO yelps loudly before shoving Leo off the bed.
"That hurt, you fuck!"
"Well, it's supposed to!"
The mixed man bites his bottom lip. His low eyes rakes over the face of his best-friend, who looks like a sulking baby boy who didn't get any baby kittens for Christmas. The image makes Leo chuckle with a shake of his head.
Xavier eyes his cautiously, "What are you laughing about?"
"You. What's up with you? Since you came back from the wedding, you've been acting gloomier than usual."
Xavier's fingers clutches the duvet tightly before releasing it and standing up from the bed and heading to his closet.
A sudden laugh escapes the 25-year old man once he opens his closet. A bright yellow summer dress is the first thing he sees on the clothes line. He notices it's in place of his bright blue sweatshirt.
"Oh, Chaska," he mutters before shaking his head and pulling out a casual black Polo shirt, a small smile dancing on his lips.
"Hey Xav, have you called the club?"
That's right. The club. Tomorrow is Leo's long awaited birthday and Xavier has gotten an earful. Throughout the drive back from the wedding, Leo's every sentence had "my" and "birthday" in them.
"You still haven't changed your mind?"
"No. That's where I choose to go. Besides, it's my birthday tomorrow so you have to grant my every wish and I wish to go to LowiSe."
Xavier grunts before picking up his phone. He plops on the beanbag far away from Leo. Knowing the latter, he might just tug on Xavier's hair for fun.
Scrolling down on his contacts, he finally sees what he's looking for and he pulls a call through.
*,*,*
"Hello. Is this Tony?" The familiarity of the voice had Tony sitting up straight from his slouching position.
"The manager of LowiSe, yes. I believe I'm speaking to Mr. Morreti,"
Xavier coughs from his side of the phone before answering, "Yes. It is. I have a special order for tomorrow night."
"Oh," Tony smirks and makes his way out of the office, "The usual?"
The wince is instant once the manager finishes his statement. Shaking it off, he clears his throat, "Yes, the usual. But I'm bringing a very important guest on his birthday conquest, tomorrow by 8:30pm. I'll wire the payment into your account."
"Gosh, I don't even know why I do this things..." The grumpy CEO mumurs before cutting the call.
Tony pauses for some seconds before fist pumping the air. Receiving an unexpected call from his favorite—but rare—patron instantly brightened his mood.
By now, he is already at the backstage where the designated dancers are getting ready to go on stage.
"We're having guests tomorrow," The smirk on Tony's face said all they wanted to hear.
"Really? Nice," Kally nods her head slowly while picking at her nails.
"He requests two dancers."
"Two? Damn," A lady sitting far back mumbles shortly after Tony speaks.
Tony laughs, "Susan, tomorrow, I'll need you to pick out two free dancers to attend to them."
Susan, who was sitting behind Kaller and picking at her hair, pauses briefly and glances at Tony, "Tomorrow? All slots are filled. Everyone is booked to dance by 7:00pm and no one is free until 11:45pm or so."
Tony bites his lip, a frown etching on his forehead. He can't afford to miss this deal. Even if Mr. Morreti is a rare patron, he still pays well and God knows LowiSe really needs some renovations and expansion.
"Wait..." Someone from the back begins, "What about that chick? Dashae?"
Oh? Oh. "Natalie?" He glances briefly at Kally who had a troubled look on her face.
"Yep. The chick's good. For a starter, she really has Melanie looking like a fried hotdog,"
"Hey!"
Kally stands up, "But To—"
Tony raises a hand, "No, Kally. She's been here for close to a month. I believe... No, I know she can handle it."
Kally bites her lip and looks down at her feet. She feels the heavy look Tony gives her and she nods immediately. She doesn't want another round of toilet duty.
"Okay..." She mumbles.
"It's settled then! Kally, you'll call her and notify her of work tomorrow. Briana, you'll take the second slot. Is that okay?"
A nonchalant, "Yeah, whatever."
"Okay. Get your asses to work! No slacking!"
Tony walks away with a little pep in his step.