Same Job, Different Time and Place [R-18]

Arthur cringed a little as the door was kicked shut but kept quiet. This was a nice moment, Alfred was clearly happy to see him. Arthur couldn’t help the butterflies in his stomach that made him feel giddy and nervous. It had been so long since he’d felt like this.

“Good morning, Alf – I mean, Jones,” he flushed and tried to calm himself. It was a minor mistake, it could happen to anyone. “Change is good,” he shrugged. But he was sure that the tea wouldn’t be any good. There didn’t seem to be any Earl Grey in any shops Arthur looked in. He’d had to settle for ‘builder’s tea’ – English Breakfast Tea. It was either that or American tea, and he was certainly not going to stoop that low. “Thank you,” he raised the mug and took a small sip, unsurprised at its bland taste. He gave him a small smile nonetheless.

It was then that he saw the small heart on the corner of his note. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly. It was sweet. Really sweet. Damn boy for being so bloody sincere. He looked up slowly at Alfred, silently doing what he did every morning; which was to admire his hair and his suit (and the figure beneath it). His tie was crooked, as per usual.

There were plenty of things Arthur could think that he wanted Alfred to do for him, but they weren’t suitable for the office. He desperately wanted to kiss him, or at least give him a hug to say good morning, but all he could do was just smile shyly at him.

“Your tie is crooked,” he pointed out quietly. He had the urge to fix it for him, but remained seated.

Alfred grinned widely as he saw Arthur drink his tea. Honestly, it was an absolutely lovely sight to see his new...well...love--no wait! Boss..boss! They were simply a boss and employee right here. Nothing more and he shouldn't really make it something more so they wouldn't be tempted to do inappropriate actions in the work place. Like how much he wanted to peck those lips at least because a few nights ago, just feeling the warmth of them made his heart light and his cheeks red.

He was happy in the end.

The American sincerely hoped that Arthur would like the tea and even though he was almost certain that it was not nearly as good as the tea that was back in England, he was always willing to learn from his mistakes. Either that or go back to coffee. Even if his boss didn't necessarily have the taste buds for coffee, he still made much better coffee than tea. He knew that from sipping his his own tea and tasting utter crap. Honestly! How could anyone like tea at all? It was only ever really good when there was quite a bit of sugar inside.

By quite a bit of sugar, he meant almost all of it would be made of sugar with some tea in. Iced tea was certainly the best.

Alfred soon looked down at his tie and laughed a bit when he saw that it was indeed crooked. He brought his hands up to fix up the tie but he soon hesitated, feeling his cheeks warm by the slightest fraction. "...Can you fix it up for me?" He asked softly, glancing over at Arthur with a small smile.

Arthur actively made the decision that he would not comment on the tea. There was no point in hurting his feelings so early in the morning. A few weeks ago, the Brit would have not even considered Alfred’s feelings and been quite blunt with him about it. The tea was shit, but it was to be expected. He could only hope that this was a one off and that Alfred would return to making coffee for him instead; at least he could make that reasonably well.

God, it was hard for him to keep still in his seat whilst looking at him. He kept having flash backs of tan muscles contracting and flexing beneath his touch, the melodic sound of Alfred’s laboured breathing. It was all too much to think about. Which was why he almost spilt the tea all over himself at his next question.

He placed the mug on his desk and raised an eyebrow, giving Alfred a quizzical look. Had he been able to read his thoughts? Lord knew. Arthur faked a melodramatic sigh, as if it was something he did not want to do (which was obviously not the case at all).

“If I must, boy. You should learn to do these things for yourself, you know.” He got out of his chair and walked to the other side of his desk. His fingers quickly set to work, untying it completely at first. Arthur adjusted the length of the tie on either side of his neck. “Did your father not teach you how to do this?”

He was horribly aware of the closeness between them as he slowly began to redo the tie for Alfred. They were so close, too close for it to be considered decent at such an early hour. His fingers ran slowly, smoothly over the fabric, winding the two pieces around each other accordingly.

Alfred knew that the tea was shit and in all honesty, he truly believed that he should just go back to coffee. So he simply smiled. At least he tried his best to appease the other even if the attempt didn't necessarily work. "I'll go get you coffee later. I promise." He grinned, crossing his pointed and middle finger together as a promise.

Honestly, he couldn't help but wonder what the other was thinking about and he wondered if he was thinking about him. Maybe he was because Alfred hadn't been able to get Arthur out of his mind and he was hoping that it would be the same way for him. All he wanted to do was snuggle up with the man and spend time with him, have him held close to his body and just to simply enjoy their moments together. Maybe watch a movie with each other, maybe a few snuck in kisses here and there...

Alfred smiled a bit to himself as Arthur stood up to actually start fixing up his tie. Honestly, he could have done it himself but he preferred to at least have a moment of contact with his boss. He knew that he shouldn't do it but he just felt the need to do it. Especially as someone who strived for so much public attention, he needed to have some sort of contact.

The taller man soon drew just a bit closer as Arthur started to tie his tie once again. He was much better than himself at making it look neat but that was besides the point. "Of coures he did. I've just never been good at it." He laughed a bit, smiling and just watching the other's expressions as he focused on tying his tie. He really enjoyed this closeness.

“Hmm,” Arthur grunted in response.

Being so close to Alfred made him want nothing more than to be able to reach up and kiss him senseless, maybe sit and say sweet nothings to each other for a while and then have glorious, mind-blowing sex over his desk. But that couldn’t happen, although it sounded absolutely lovely to Arthur. His thoughts, as per usual, were nowhere near as pure as Alfred’s.

He began to tuck one piece of the tie beneath the other and then pulled it tight. He admired his handiwork for a few long moments before smirking up at Alfred. He didn’t make any effort to move away, choosing to stay as close as possible. He could smell Alfred’s after-shave and cologne. He could even feel a gentle breeze tickling his forehead as he the American breathed.

The close proximity, the muggy-Monday morning haze of sleepiness and even the smell of cereal and toothpaste on Alfred’s lips were too dream-like to explain. Without thinking about it, he gave Alfred’s tie a light tug, pulling him down a little further, to his height before he slowly pressed his lips to his. It was brief, and it broke the rules that Arthur himself had stated about what he didn’t want to do at work but it was difficult to resist with the lummox right there in front of him, tauntingly looking so fucking tousled and effortlessly exquisite.

It took him a few moments to realise what he’d done.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, beginning to pull away, somewhat sheepish. “I didn’t… um… right, meetings. Today. I have them, yes?” he cleared his throat, returning to his side of the desk, picking up the small post-it-note with the heart drawing decorating the paper. “I have one in an hour on the other side of town. Bollocks…” he hissed.

Alfred's own thoughts seemed to be much, much sweeter than Arthur's. That was besides the point though. He wouldn't mind having some wonderful sex over Arthur's desk, going either way and then some post sex cuddling but he knew that was an impossibility with their work situation. No matter how tempting it was to actually try. While he was purer in his thoughts than Arthur, Alfred was by no means pure. He was a grown man and so was Arthur. They were not hormonal teenagers who didn't know how to handle a relationship nor their own hormones.

Glad that his tie was finally fixed up, Alfred let out a soft sigh in relief. At least he wouldn't look like a bumbling idiot anymore when he walked around due to his tie. He soon looked down at Arthur, blue eyes curious as the man smirked up at him. He didn't really have any suspicions of the other, especially considering that they did have a policy of not involving their personal lives with the work lives. Yet still, he was tempted.

One couldn't blame him for being surprised by Arthur tugging him down to slowly press his lips against his own. Despite the fact that it broke the rules they set up, he really, really couldn't care at that moment. He needed that man's lips on his own that morning because honestly, it was too painful to go without a kiss, especially when the other looked so very nice that morning.

Alfred simply smiled at Arthur as he saw him pull away to return to his side of the desk. Glancing out at the door, he made certain that no one was over there before he strode forwards and leant over the desk, grabbing Arthur's own tie before he tugged him forward to press another kiss on his boss's lips. He soon pulled away.

"Don't be sorry. Want me to drive you to the other side of town? I am your assistant after all, it'll be easiest this way."

Arthur couldn’t help but be relieved that Alfred kissed back, despite how brief the kiss was. It didn’t stop him from being irritated with himself, though. He had already broken his own set of rules, which was quite pitiable. He was smoothing out the lapels of his jacket as Alfred grabbed a hold of his tie and pulled him in for another kiss.

He could have melted there and then.

Arthur held on to the kiss for as long as he could before Alfred pulled away. He licked his lips gingerly and cleared his throat, returning to his post-it-note. Perhaps they would have to have a limit for how many times they were allowed to kiss during the day, whilst at work? That could be possible, right? A kissing limitation. Once in the morning and at lunch. There could be plenty more hugs and kisses after working at the back of the cinema, or in a secluded café… anywhere that wasn’t exposed to people.

The prospect of kissing Alfred in a dimly lit cinema whilst a film played or a deserted café were both rather enjoyable, pleasing ideas. It would be as though it was just the two of them in the world, alone together. Lips upon lips, occasionally pausing to talk about everything and nothing. What a sentimental idiot Arthur had become.

“That would be helpful,” he admitted quietly. “I suppose there would be no harm in you sitting in on the meetings,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “As long as you stay quiet and don’t interrupt, it should be fine.” Perhaps Mr. Beilschmidt would even appreciate the fact that Alfred was there? As though Arthur was deliberately making him engage to understand his importance as Arthur’s assistant? Who knew.

“Would you mind? If we leave in the next twenty minutes, we should get there on time. I need to set up beforehand.”

Alfred was glad that Arthur wasn't necessarily yelling at him for stealing another kiss and when he pulled away from the kiss, he couldn't help but be extremely content with everything. This is what he could handle. He could handle a morning kiss for every time they met at the beginning of the working day. Work hours were long and tedious and it was nice to at leave have that lighten his heart up. In the very least bit.

Yet he would agree with Arthur on the fact that there were many more kisses that could be had after the working day. He didn't know where Arthur would want to do it, especially considering that their relationship was to be very private and he hoped that he would be able to sneak some in with a public setting. Without other people noticing. While he did enjoy kisses in privacy, such as their flats, he still also liked sharing kisses in other places as well. Hopefully Arthur would be willing to do anything like that.

Either way, he was happy.

He believed that this could work out. It really, really could. It may be hard and there would definitely be its difficulties but he was certain that the two of them could work this out for a decent amount of time. Alfred just grinned and gave a quick salute to Arthur, laughing a bit.

"Of course I wouldn't mind." He murmured as he stood up straight. "I am under your service after all, sir." He grinned widely as he finally pulled away to actually check his phone, making certain that there was nothing that would get in his way at the time being. Seeing that his schedule was relatively clear for that day, Alfred simply nodded.

"Yeah, I'm free. Don't worry. I'll be as quiet as a giraffe!" Alright. So maybe that wasn't the best analogy but honestly, who ever heard a giraffe?

“Stop being moronic,” Arthur scowled, swatting at Alfred’s hand to stop him from saluting. He then made a face. “A what?” Had he really just said…?

Arthur’s phone began to buzz in his pocket and he fumbled through his pockets for a few moments and pulled out his phone, quickly answering it.
“Arthur Kirkland speaking, how may I – oh, hello sir…” he furrowed his brow. He wasn’t sure what this phone call was going to be about. All he could hope was that it would be good news. He grabbed a pen off of his desk, beginning to scramble for a piece of paper; a post-it-note was what he used. He wrote in capital letters, lest Alfred was able to read his handwriting:


He held up the piece of paper to Alfred, with a small smile and then pointed at the door and continued his conversation with the faceless person on the other end of the line.

“Yes… I see. I hate to interrupt but how did you get this number? I’m afraid I cannot remember meeting you face-to-face.”

Arthur was distracted by Alfred momentarily as he briefly scanned over his suit, checking that it would be suitable for the environment they were going to go into. It seemed like it would be okay. He hoped it would be, anyway. The suits Alfred wore were clearly well made, machine-manufactured, unlike Arthur’s but they fit Alfred well nonetheless.

Alfred frowned when he heard the phone call but he soon glanced over at the note, squinting his eyes so he could read it better before nodding in agreement. He would leave Arthur to his own devices at the moment. It was kind of cute actually. He smiled to himself as he soon gave a thumbs up, waving at Arthur before he headed outside to his car. He was certain that the other knew what his car looked like so he didn't hesitate in coming downstairs.

As he stepped out into the parking lot, the American couldn't help but hum softly to himself as he glanced around. He had about twenty minutes until the other was going to be down here so he might as well... He quickly ran over to the nearby café, asking for some coffee and some small sandwiches. He might as well stave off his hunger until lunch time or something because he was certain that the meetings were definitely going to last for a while. Grabbing all of the food, Alfred placed it in the plastic before hurrying outside to his car again, relieved that Arthur still wasn't down there yet.

With a soft sigh, the assistant soon unlocked the door of the car, stepping inside and turning on the heater just for Arthur so he would be able to step in a nice and warm car. Smiling to himself, he sipped some of his coffee, pleased. At least they would be able to have some privacy with each other on the drive towards the meeting and back of course.

He couldn't help but wonder who the person was though that was calling Arthur. Probably just another customer who somehow got Arthur's number or something. It kinda sucked, especially since he was supposed to be the one getting all of the calls so he could give it to Arthur later! Placing the food down, he simply waited for Arthur to come down.

Arthur watched Alfred leave, rather solemn that he had, had to send the young man away. He cared deeply for Alfred, which was extremely surprising to him considering his position and the amount of time that he had known his assistant.

“Yes… yes…” he was almost tempted to tell this person to fuck off. It was a designer for the company that Arthur was being rumoured to be paid less. If anything, this conversation was just convincing him more that this person deserved to be given less money. Lord, if Arthur could have his way, he would have gotten rid of them entirely. Their designs were far too obnoxious and bloody obscene, in his opinion. And they rarely sold a lot of stock. It was aggravating to the Brit.

“I understand that you have your own bills to pay, sir. But so does the company. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to go to… yes, the one about you… oh sod off,” he finally grumbled, hanging up.

Arthur checked that he had all of his necessary documents and files for his presentation. He glanced through his notes a few more times and then finally at Alfred’s schedule. He stared at the heart scribbled in the corner and couldn’t hide the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. He folded it up neatly and placed it into his jacket pocket without a second thought.

It wasn’t long before he was at the main entrance, looking for Alfred’s car. He was clad in his trench coat, black briefcase in hand – matching his black pinstriped suit tastefully. He’d made an effort for the meetings, it seemed. He soon spotted Alfred’s car, with the American sat inside. He crossed the parking lot to the car, knocked on the window to alert him of his presence and then climbed into the passenger seat.

“Bang on time,” he noted. He eyed the coffee in Alfred’s hand before looking straight ahead, placing his briefcase neatly on his lap. “We should get going. The traffic will make the journey twice as long, after all.”

Alfred had a rather vague idea of what was going on in today's meeting but he decided to not ponder about it too much. Honestly, it really wasn't his business. His business was completely and solely on Arthur and if he wanted him to know things, then he would learn them like the back of his hand. If not, then he will remain like an ignorant fool as it should be in this scenario. Maybe it wasn't all that much of a surprise that he already cared deeply for his boss, especially considering that he had to interact with him everyday.

Of course it was certainly no scenario of him lacking a lover and also lacking social contact. He hadn't even felt anything for his coworkers or his previous boss yet with Arthur, everything just seemed to spark. Maybe not in the 'I love you' sort of way but most definitely the 'you're really attractive and I might be feeling something for you' kind of way.

When Arthur finally came down to the entrance of the building and to the parking lot, Alfred couldn't help but grin as he kept his eyes on his boss. He glanced over at his watch and he laughed. "You Englishmen are all about precision in your arrivals, huh?" He questioned with amusement in his tone as he started the engine and began to drive out of the parking lot and towards their destination. Hopefully he would be able to cut some time off with any kind of short cuts that he could take.

He couldn't help but let out a wolf whistle at the sight of Arthur's trench coat. "I like that trenchcoat a lot. You should wear it more. It looks damned good on you, sir." He laughed a bit, winking at the other and grinning widely. "I'll try getting there as quickly as we can."

“Quite,” he agreed primly, hardly meaning a word of it. Arthur was not one to happily mock his own country; he was extremely patriotic. He did not take jokes about Englishmen lightly, unless it was in good humour and from the mouth of a comedian in Britain.

Regarding feelings, Arthur definitely liked Alfred too but he was not keen to just rush into things and fall for him. Being in love was tough, and he knew all too well how horrible the break up could be. He didn’t really want to experience such heartbreak again. It had been so painful the last time. He wasn’t sure that he could take it again. Especially not from someone as attractive as Alfred. Fun was all he wanted, nothing too serious. If it developed, it developed but if it didn’t… well, then it would be a shame but something that they would have to get over.

At what Alfred said, he flushed, jaw dropping open a little. He shifted uncomfortably, as though trying to cover himself up more. Although, the compliment had been nice, of course. It made his heart flutter a little bit. The simplistic choice of words were also quite endearing. He smiled slowly at Alfred, although it was somewhat forced.

“Berk,” he muttered affectionately. “How long do you think it will take for us to get there?” It seemed as though they had just pulled out into the middle of a traffic jam. Oh joy of all joys. If they were late, Arthur might have to butcher something. His dinner, perhaps? He could vent his anger on his food.

In all honesty, Alfred really didn't mean to be joking about the whole thing about Englishmen being precisely on time. In fact, he found it to be a good quality and he really wasn't mocking or anything. At least he wasn't really trying to at least. Alfred swallowed thickly and just gave a small smile at Arthur at that. Maybe he really did say something wrong without intending for that to be the case. He really, really hoped that he didn't say something wrong that really offended Arthur.

He was glad enough though to see Arthur react in a rather flustered manner and all though, alleviating any of his current unease. While Alfred did like Arthur, this would be his very first relationship with a male and he still was exploring this new territory. He didn't want to get so close just yet that if things did end up not working out between them, then it would be such a painful loss. He preferred to be able to make an easy transition just in case that really was to happen. He never really knew what to think of love. He never really experienced it though he was a few years behind Arthur of course. In all reality, Alfred was extremely picky about who he said he loved because he was simply a romantic like that. He hated saying that he loved someone when he really didn't, it just went against everything that he really stood for in the field of romance.

If Arthur wanted to get into a serious relationship sooner or later, then let it be . He would try to enjoy it to his fullest but still, if that was to never happen, then he couldn't allow himself to get so attached that he would simply mourn the loss of Arthur for much too long. Though it would be harder considering that they were boss and employee after all.

Alfred grinned widely and even though he had no idea what a berk was, he could sense the affection in the voice so it really didn't matter what it was whether it was an insult or a compliment. Most likely an insult when he really thought about it. That didn't deter him though and in fact, it motivated him. Arthur's expression was worth treasuring in his memory after all.

"I will say about a good hour if I hurry quickly enough." He murmured. "New York is a huge city and it would be lucky if I can rush through it at that time. How much time do we have?" He questioned, eyebrows raised.

“Shit,” Arthur cursed loudly. He held his head in his hands for a few moments. His first meeting and he was going to be late. Fucking fantastic. He heaved out a sigh. “I have to be there in forty minutes. Why the bloody hell didn’t they just inform me to go straight to the stupid office anyway? Knobs. Utter knobs. The lot of them.” He was basically just winding himself up more and more, swearing like there was no tomorrow.

He hadn’t even been to these other offices yet, strictly for meeting purposes alone. Why they had a separate building, Arthur had no idea and he didn’t care too much either. All he cared about was the fact that he was going to be ridiculously late because of his own incompetence.

“Bollocks! So if that moron hadn’t phoned me and we’d set off then, we would have been on time!”

He was quiet for a moment and then slowly began to exhale, to calm down. He was getting worked up for nothing. There was nothing that could be done about it. He couldn’t go back in time and change fate – he didn’t have a bloody Tardis. Bloody, bloody, fucking, moronic, simple, fucking, bloody, titting, sodding arseholes!

He swallowed thickly, gripping on to his briefcase tightly, completely rigid in his seat.

“I’m sorry, Al – Jones. It isn’t your fault. I am sorry to expose you to such unruly behaviour on my part.” He pursed his lips, glaring furiously out of the window at New York like it was the city’s fault that he was going to be late.

Alfred couldn't help but frown at that, soon glancing over at his watch once again as he looked outside. He felt really, really bad for Arthur, especially since this was going to be his first meeting. Honestly, there was probably nothing worst in the work scene than to be late on your first meeting though who was to blame him? Arthur was held up by this random caller and then he was expected to drive nearly to the opposite side of New York City. He couldn't help but feel slightly defensive for Arthur if only because he completely understood the situation on hand.

He glanced over to see the other gripping his briefcase tightly and saw just how rigid he was. Despite knowing better, he couldn't help but feel the need to at least let him know that he was there. So he quietly took one hand off the steering wheel so he could lightly place his hand over Arthur's own hand which was placed on the briefcase. Slowly, he started to lightly rub his hand with his thumb, trying to comfort him to the best of his ability.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Kirkland." He murmured, a small smile on his lips as he spared a glance over at Arthur's direction before focusing ahead. He frowned a bit, deciding to turn a sharp right to another road, finding that it was a bit more empty than the last one. He soon speeded up just a bit, hoping that if he speeded slightly, they will be able to get there in time. "I'll see how quickly we can get there, sir!" He nodded.

Number one lesson about New York drivers.

They were fucking insane at times.

This point was only proven as he took another sharp turn left. He would try getting Arthur there in time, even if it meant scary the living hell out of the man on the way. He hadn't crashed so far, so they would be fine! Obviously!

At the touch of Alfred’s hand, Arthur couldn’t help but stare at him. There was combination of confusion, dying anger and uttermost tenderness in his eyes. It was sweet; too sweet. Alfred was trying to console him. He felt his expression soften instantly.

And suddenly they were speeding around corners.

“Christ! Both hands on the wheel, Alfred! Put both of your hands on the wheel!” Arthur slapped his hand away, eyes wide as he clutched on to his seat with one hand, the other cradling his briefcase.

“What the devil do you think you’re doing?!”

Alfred bursted out laughing at that, grinning from ear to ear as he looked over at Arthur and gave him a thumbs up. "Well it's completely unacceptable for you to get to your workplace late! So let's see if we can make it on time!" He laughed even more as he finally decided to put both of his hands on the steering wheel. Rather determined now, Alfred soon speeded down the road, quickly pulling onto the highway and pressing down on the gas pedal even more.

At least on the highway, he could speed more and he was only going over 10 the speed limit! That was nothing bad at all! Maybe if he really wanted to, he could speed it up just a bit but seeing how quickly they were passing by the highway, he found that it might not be so necessary.

"I think we're catching up like this!" He laughed and looked over at Arthur. "Hey, everything alright there?" He asked, not paying attention to the road at the moment.

Arthur felt as though he was being pinned to his chair by the speed at which they were going, lurching forward every so often as they suddenly would slow down again. He glared at the side of Alfred’s head. He wasn’t sure where they were going, in all reality, so he couldn’t comment on which way would be quicker or how to get there in one piece.

The fact that Alfred was laughing made it even worse. It was obnoxious and making him look like an utter tit, not that Alfred would realise, of course. He just clung on to the interior of the car, hoping that whatever God there was out there would save them from crashing. Or at least would take him instead of Alfred, if they did.

How morbid.

It was only when Alfred addressed him again that he realised that he was extremely pale. He glowered at the American, gritting his teeth.

“I’ve been better,” he replied sourly. He then belatedly realised that Alfred wasn’t watching the road. “Keep your eyes on the road, you imbecile! You’ll get us both killed!” he squawked (because it was squawking, not shouting – he was too panicked to have any authority in the tone of his voice.

Alfred just grinned widely as he soon focused his gaze back on the road in front of them. "I honestly don't see what you're so freaked out about, Mr. Kirkland!" He exclaimed and after a good twenty minutes of driving on the highway, he soon pulled off of it and back onto the busy streets of the city. "I mean, I've done this plenty of times and I haven't gotten into a single accident yet!" He continued, soon humming a bit to himself.

Honestly, he really wasn't that bad of a driver! Okay so maybe he really did haul ass when he had to but this was an emergency! It was Arthur's first meeting here and he wouldn't allow him to be late! It would be his responsibility if he was late and honestly, he was supposed to be the man's assistant! He was supposed to help him around and make certain that everything he did was right on time.

It was kind of funny though to see such a face on Arthur though he really didn't want to scare him that much. He was a pretty good driver after all! He hadn't gotten close to crashing yet (not including the moment they pulled onto the highway and he almost crashed into the side of the highway). "You know. I'm just trying to help here!" He murmured, a small pout on his lips.

It was with a sigh of relief that he soon saw the building in sight and he quickly pulled up to him, grinning at his boss. "Here we are! Do I get a promotion?" He asked teasingly, obviously joking.

“Brilliant, I feel so much safer,” he sneered sarcastically. He let out a shuddering breath, knuckles white from holding on to both his briefcase and his chair so tightly. He focused on the road in front of them, for once not being distracted by Alfred’s charming good looks. “Who is to say if we do happen to get into an accident? You cannot just make… an assumption based upon your previous experiences with driving and declare that you aren’t going to crash!”

At what Alfred said next, Arthur felt cruel. The pout upon his lips just made him feel increasingly guilty. He’d made Alfred make that face. Bugger.

Then there was the building, right there in front of them. Arthur gawked, eyes wide – first at the building and then at Alfred. How had he even managed that? There had been huge queues of traffic backing up for miles on end. And they’d just gotten through all of it because of Alfred’s suicidal driving.

“Belt up,” Arthur frowned in response. Once the car stopped, he was eager to get out, unfastening his seatbelt to scramble on to solid ground.

Alfred was certain that they wouldn't crash this time around! Honestly! He could just feel it and not only that, but he was certain that his past experiences were just enough to tell him whether he crashed or not! No matter how illogical that sounded! It was his American intuition and honestly, he thought that his American intuition was absolutely brilliant and it reassured him that he wouldn't crash. It was the normal driving in New York City! Nothing to really worry about in the slightest! "Don't worry! This is the norm in New York! If it reassures you, I will drive a lot more slowly when we come back!"

Glancing down at his watch, he hummed softly and couldn't help but grin even wider when he saw that they still had a few minutes to spare. Soon climbing out of the car, he closed the door shut and soon locked the door, happy that he was able to accomplish this feat. "It would be a lot cooler if I got a promotion for this!" He laughed, still joking as he started to walk towards the building. He knew that there were huge quests of traffic backing up for miles on end but he knew his way around and he knew how to drive a speeding car.

Of course he would make it on time!

"Now come on! Let's hurry so you're not late!" He murmured with a smile, pulling out his mobile so he could check where exactly this meeting was. Remembering the address, he soon headed inside and quickly started to make his way upstairs to one of the upper floors of the building. "So, not too bad trusting me, huh?" He asked as he clambered into the elevator.

“You need to do a lot bloody more to get a promotion than that, boy,” he rolled his eyes, brushing himself off from having been sat down in the car for so long. It felt good to stretch his legs.

Arthur just followed Alfred silently, deciding that it was best not to rise to the bait anymore than he already had. He did continue to grumble to himself like an old man, however. He sped up to keep up with the American’s large strides, his own legs have to move much faster to be able to stay in-step with him.

As they entered the elevator, he was suddenly reminded of the last time that they had been in the elevator together. Alfred had pressed him up against the side, if he could so remember correctly. Arthur felt himself smirk, despite his current mood. He glared at Alfred, though.

“It was just fortunate. Now, please, Alfred, I need to focus on remembering all of my data. Don’t be distracting.” He switched his briefcase to his other hand, watching as the elevator doors began to slide closed. “This will make or break my opportunities here with Chouchoute. If they don’t like what I have to say, they will have every right to deport me.” They had yet to finalize his contract, after all.

Alfred chuckled at that, knowing that he would need to do a lot more to actually get a promotion. He was simply only teasing though he was certain that Arthur already knew that. If he could get a promotion that easily, then he wouldn't be living with such a crappy annual salary after two years of working. Certainly it wasn't the longest time and maybe his job wasn't the most important of jobs but honestly, he was an extremely hard worker who helped motivate his own co-workers and made the atmosphere pleasurable for those around him.

As they entered the lift, the American assistant simply nodded, leaning against the wall as he waited for the lift to go all the way up to one of the top floors. Was it honestly that necessary to have their meeting room all the way up there? It seemed rather ridiculous in his own opinion though he supposed that those higher up in the chain of Chouchoute preferred to feel this odd sense of power to them.

"Alright, don't worry. I'll be quiet." He reassured, smiling as he soon kept quiet, allowing the other to think to himself and hopefully remember everything. He simply glanced at his watch, seeing that they still had enough time and Arthur and himself may just arrive right on time with their current pace.

He honestly hoped that Arthur would be able to make it through. At times, he forgot that Arthur's contract wasn't finalised yet and that it was completely possible for him to be sent back. He just hoped that wouldn't be the case because there was something just starting between them and it would be a shame if they had to end it already simply because the other was deported back to London or something. Alfred was more than certain though that Arthur would be able to finalise his contract and impress those in the meeting.

From what he had seen so far, Arthur was an extremely capable manager who seemed to be focused on the right things for the company. He knew that he would be able to really help out this branch of Chouchoute if he managed to stay. Probably a lot more than a lot of other people who were aching for this job.

“Good,” he responded stiffly and soon regretted it. He didn’t mean to sound so moody and irritable, it was just in his nature. He glanced at Alfred as the doors of the elevator re-opened, now on their floor. He made sure that his fingers brushed over Alfred’s as he left the elevator, following the signs to the board room.

They were in the room soon enough and Arthur knew that he would have to get a move on to set everything up. He practically threw off his coat, hanging it up on the coat hanger provided in the corner of the room. He proceeded to start up the computer and then rushed to open his briefcase. He pulled out several lots of paper, placing them neatly on the table.

“Will you put a booklet at each place around the table,” he instructed rather than asked before returning to the computer, having fished out his USB. He would have to find the remote for the overhead projector, as well.

He sighed heavily and rummaged through the drawer at the computer, eventually finding what looked like a remote.

“Oh, and could you find a jug and some glasses? Thank you,” he continued to fuss about the room, barely even looking at Alfred.