Unbeknownst that he just accepted the friend request from a rather peculiar individual, Carter checked up his phone and chatted briefly with Tanner about the 'important' matter he wished to talk about.
He sighed and resisted the urge to thrash his phone on the ground before dialling the man in question, no, the idiot.
'We're having a group drink tonight at the bloody mary downtown after leaving the office. You are invited. You can't reject. Bring a suit, your car, your wallet and a wide enthusiastic smile!'
'Sure, Tanner... I'll bring my fists as well to knock you out! Don't you see I'm trying to level up my character?!'
'So cold... level up your character? Is that the dialect we're using now? In any case, if you're checking my message that means you're offline and available, bring your ass here or I'll send Laurent to look for you'.
!!!
As fast as lightning and with an aggrieved gaze; Carter dressed up in a tux, took his cheapest perfume, borrowed the card with the lowest balance and took the elevator to the garage where his Mercedes AMG C63 was parked.
'I'll make sure you pay the bill, Tanner... that's a promise'.
...
It was a relaxing drive from the Bronx to Lower Manhattan. Ironically, instead of having his head focused on the incoming event, Carter's mind was settled on Evanescence... most particularly, the cliff he and Miyagi had jumped several hours prior.
He parked parallel to the restaurant and caught a glimpse of Tanner's car, a white customized Volkswagen Passat.
The party mood and cheering were evident outside the pub where a crowd had already reunited, the corpus enjoying their time after a week of tough work and irritating bosses.
'I had forgotten... it is Friday. Ever since I was laid off it is like weekend every day'.
His presence drew gazes. Many familiar, many unfamiliar... some wicked, some warm and understanding.
"Long time no see, Carter!" a lady approached and delivered a tight motherly hug. Mariah Johnson, the forty-two years old boss of the legal department of JP Morgan Chase, a gorgeous and buxom dark-skinned lady with long raven hair and a dark purple dress that reached her knees, beneath she wore a dark stocking. She rarely went out for a drink considering her third child was now on board. Carter assumed she'd be leaving shortly as usual.
"Good to see you, Mariah... how is your baby?"
"Everything's okay, little Aliyah is back home with Brandon I won't take a lot of your time, they're waiting for you inside".
"Thank you".
"Carter..." She stopped him, taking him by the wrist. He recalled back then when he and Laurent had first entered the company, it had been Mariah who interviewed them, and introduced them... she was like a mother of sorts for everyone in the department. Appreciated by everyone.
"Hmn?"
"We miss you, don't be discouraged".
"I'm not, you know how I am... always afloat, one way or another".
"Hehe~ I guess, I know you have plenty of money saved so I'm not worried".
"How is your husband?"
"Brandon is taking care of the kids for a while, he's working from home so that's helping us too. I'll be off in no time, you know how much I crave the weekends with little Aliyah".
Both director and ex-director had a brief chat before Carter headed into the bar under the scrutinizing gaze from everyone in the vicinity who knew who he is, who he was... and whose jaw he screwed at that fateful day.
Inside the prestigious bar, things weren't any more quiet, it was bustling with noise and cheering and yet at the farthest corner he saw the irritable face he was looking for.
"Oh, looks who's here! The chosen one. The man that shall pay the bill! cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Yeah!"
Everyone at the table seemed to agree, it was certainly the weekend, but it wasn't the end of the month yet, wages had yet to reach home but the livers thirsted for alcohol to suppress the stress.
"Cheers your mother, Tanner... I am the jobless one among all of us, how come I'm paying the bill?" He took a seat, looking at the whole group of employees who were the members of the teams he had worked with at JP Morgan. All people who held him in high esteem and that he likewise respected.
"Come on, boss. We know you're loaded, no need to humble yourself to us mortals. Tanner even said you're spending some money on video games" A brunette man sitting to his right side snickered mockingly, Carter recognised him as Josh.
"It is an investment, also… I'm not the boss anymore, thank goodness I don't have to put up with you lot anymore" He stated coldly, jokes that he'd usually pull during the time to drink out frustrations. Sadly, this time the joke didn't quite go through.
"…"
Back then regardless of a joke, they'd wake up the next Monday to reunite together in the office that offered more life than their own usual routine back home. This time the table remained silent because he really wasn't the boss anymore...
"We miss you though. The new director is a d*ckhead" Trying to fix up the mood Tanner shot Carter a deadly concealed glare before placing all blame on the elephant in everyone's hearts.
"That's right, I hate him! The other time he even asked me if I had brushed my teeth, can you imagine?!" A young lady sitting to Carter's right seemed to take her chance, she hooked up her arm around his and started her shameless complaint.
"Amber I taught you better than to cuss at your boss' back".
"I did to you sometimes too".
"Oh yeah?"
"Fufu~ no consequences if I tell you this now".
The beauty laughed heartily, Amber Rose was the newest member of the department at only twenty-one years of age. She was a delightful and cheerful brunette girl who one could tell had dyed her hair a blonde colour a long time ago as her hair was currently a gradient of brunette and blonde. Clad in a light grey skirt and jacket, her body could only produce shame on women her age who were still undergoing development. Despite still being in her twenties, Amber possessed the body of a full-grown woman.
It wasn't a secret to anyone that she spent a lot of time in the gym and it also wasn't a secret... that she had a huge crush on her boss, Carter.
The atmosphere got lively, with the main topic being mostly the complaints everyone had about their boss, Carter resisted the urge to rub his forehead while his ex-colleagues continued to mercilessly thrash the reputation of a man that wasn't present even as the corporates of other companies listened attentively.
"You all want to get fired?"
"Pft! He can't fire the whole department, so what if we get fired? I'll just play Evanescence like the boss and become rich" Amber confessed with a huff of pride.
"It doesn't work like that, you foo-!"
"Sorry, I'm late!"
As if yet another elephant had dropped in the room, a delightful voice was heard approaching their table. Amber's grip on Carter's arm -which she was pushing against her chest- tightened for a few seconds before receding. Her breathing went harsh before she took a deep breath to calm herself and then... to Carter's astonishment, she released his arm and made some distance.
"..."
The newcomer's eyes had been glued on that little interaction before the brightest of smiles was portrayed on her doll-like face. Her and Carter's gaze glued like two relentless magnets until eventually one of them gave away, hers.
"No problem Laurent, we were all here too early anyway" Tanner introduced the gorgeous lady, Carter's ex-girlfriend and made way for her to sit to his right... Alas, Josh decided to stand up before he could even utter a word and Laurent took a seat next to Carter.
With Laurent to his right and Amber to his left... Carter felt like he was in between the sword and the wall with no way to run, and to top it off... he had to pay the bill.
"We miss you too Miss Laurent, how is your new job go- ugh!-ing?" Tanner stammered at the sheer impact of something heavy on his leg's shin.
'What the hell is the meaning of this?' Tanner received a message on his phone, without even looking at it he really knew who it was. The same person that just used violence to get the message across.
'For everything that's dear in this world. Don't just stand up and leave'.
'You know I'm better than that'.
'Yeah, sure'.
...
The conversation continued, but a little more fixed and awkward, if anything questions rained towards Laurent from everyone in the department as they knew she was more willing to answer questions than Carter was, she was always more open in that regard compared to him.
As for Laurent, while answering the questions she had her eyes fixed on Amber, who despite the fact that she released Carter's arm, was still closely leaning onto him and asking him private questions unlike everyone else whose focus was on Laurent.
'This girl!' the Blonde cursed inwardly, 'We're not in a relationship now, I can't stop her...'
There had been issues in the past, issues in which Amber always had to back off... that wasn't the case anymore.
"So what are you doing with your life as of now, boss?" Amber, kept leaning on Carter's side insistently. It made everyone at the table look at her wearily.
Everybody knew Amber had a huge crush on her boss, Carter. Especially because she was the latest to join the department out of the group, a young lady that recently graduated with a degree in economics and was lucky enough to meet a tactful boss that introduced her to the ecosystem rather quickly… sadly for her, this lovely boss already had a couple who was not older and more experienced but also prettier.
That was no more. And although the intention of Carter's former colleagues was evident, she clearly wasn't following the agenda.
Laurent looked at her with an aggrieved gaze. She wasn't aware of the plan, but very well welcomed it as it was her intent to speak to Carter as well, but with this young lady leaning on him like that, she was losing her chance.
'Pull her away? We're no longer going out. I can't make a scene… I-I shouldn't have come-' Laurent was starting to lose confidence and regret, all until Carter finally voiced out his opinion.
"You're too close, Amber".
!!!!
Shock poured on the table's consciousness as Laurent's eyes seemed to gain hope.
"S-Sorry… is it inconvenient?"
"No, just... remember I am a man too, not just your boss".