Of moonshine and memories | BoyXBoy

A reliable distraction

The soft hum of the office lights buzzed around me, but all I could hear was the echo of my own thoughts as I ran through my notes for the millionth time. Today's presentation needed to go off without a hitch. I'd prepped everything. The proposal, the numbers, the perfect strategy for the client.
It was all there. Or, at least, I thought it was.

As I reached for the folder on my desk, my heart sank.

Empty.

A single sheet of notes sat there. Mocking me. I swore under my breath and rifled through the rest of my papers. But the more I searched, the clearer it became...The most important document, the one holding all the final data for the presentation, was nowhere to be found.

I grabbed my bag, frantically shuffling through it, my pulse picking up speed. Nothing.
I didn't leave it at home. I couldn't have left it at home. Could I?

I stood there for a second, my mind blank, trying to remember where I last saw it. Then it hit me. I had left it on the kitchen counter.

A few swears later, I was already out the door, half-sprinting toward the elevator. There was no way I had time to make it back to the apartment and return before the meeting. Every second wasted was a second closer to making a complete fool of myself.

Just as I rounded the corner, footsteps echoed from the other end of the hallway. I wasn't paying attention. Too focused on how to salvage the mess I'd just created, when I nearly collided head-on with someone walking toward me. I stumbled back a step, ready to mutter an apology, but then I realized who it was.

Lucian.

He stood there, annoyingly calm, one hand in his pocket, and the other casually holding my forgotten documents, his lips curved into a slow, cocky smirk.

"Looking for this?" His voice was infuriatingly smooth, eyes glinting with amusement.

I blinked, my heart still racing from the near collision and the panic of being late. "You..." I started, still processing.

Lucian dangled the documents in front of me, raising an eyebrow. "Saved your ass? Yeah, you're welcome."

I reached for the papers, but of course, he held them just out of reach, making me take another step closer. "You're seriously going to do this right now?"

He chuckled, pulling them back a little further. "Depends. What's it worth to you?"

I stared at him, exasperated. "Lucian, I don't have time for this. I need to-"

"Ah, ah." He interrupted. "Gratitude first."

I rolled my eyes, but there was no denying the slight grin tugging at my lips. "Fine...thank you. You're impossible."

"And you're welcome." He replied with a smirk, finally handing me the documents. "See? Was that so hard?"

I grabbed the papers from him, shaking my head. "Thanks. I mean it."

Lucian leaned in just slightly, his voice dropping. "I know. Now go make yourself look good in that meeting, yeah?" He pulled back, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

I leaned in and kissed him, brief but lingering just enough to say what I didn't have time to put into words.

"Wait in my office." I murmured against his lips, pulling away before I got too distracted. "I'll be back in a bit."

Lucian's smirk deepened, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Don't take too long."

I shook my head with a smile, already turning on my heel and heading toward the elevator. I could feel his eyes on me as I rushed away, but I couldn't afford to lose another second. Documents in hand, I pressed the elevator button and waited for the doors to open.