Chapter Text
“Did you hear that Ben was fired?” The sudden sound of Elle’s voice mixed with her setting her to-go red and white coffee cup on the table they shared had Charlie jumping slightly, especially with the mention of he-who-shall-not-be-named.
But then his brain caught up with her words. “Wait, what? Ben was fired? Why?”
“He was,” she sat on her chair, taking a sip from her drink. “It seems like he sold all the pictures he took for the August cover shoot to another mag, then managed to convince the fashion designer to work with them instead, so now we’re out of a photoshoot and a subject.”
“Oh God, I knew he was a dicknozzle, but that’s a new low even to him.”
“Tell me about it. Singh was super pissed when she found out but of course he didn’t care. Looks like he’s working with them now.”
“Of course, he is,” Charlie rolled his eyes. “I’d be surprised if he’d cared, especially because he never actually liked Singh. And knowing him, he got a shit ton of money out of that too.”
And the thing was, Charlie did know Ben Hope well. Or used to, at least. Back when he first started working at Pose Mag, Ben was already a photographer on the team and he took an interest in Charlie almost immediately. Elle, who had started at the mag a few months prior to her friend, had even tried to warn him off the older man, but Charlie just could not be persuaded and they had started a situationship that was basically only beneficial to Ben himself. He had played the card of office romance not being very encouraged, so they had kept their… fling as down low as possible. Meaning, no one in the magazine knew they were even together in the first place, apart from Elle and Tara. And Charlie wouldn’t have minded the secrecy… if he hadn’t found out months later that there wasn’t any type of policy against workplace relationships and the only reason Ben wanted to keep them a secret was because he was, in fact, dating one of the regular models the mag used in some of the editorial shoots.
Suffice to say, Charlie ended things soon after, but the damage was done. Upon evaluation during many, many crying nights over romcom rewatches with Elle and their roommate Isaac, Charlie had realized how fucking toxic his “relationship” with Ben was, to the point that he had almost relapsed on his eating disorder in many different occasions, and that was something he absolutely did not want to happen, especially because of a fucking scumbag. He decided then to go back to weekly appointments with his therapist, and that surprised even the therapist himself, seeing as Charlie had a habit of, quoting Geoff, “denying everything was wrong until the very last minute.”
Now, a few years later, Charlie was completely over the fact and he barely even thought about Ben Hope any longer, apart from when he had to see him or work with him at the mag. Which thankfully wasn’t going to be happening anymore, even if that came with the expense of having to come up with a new article and shoot fast.
“At least we won’t have to listen to his whining about his talent not being recognized anymore,” Elle commented and Charlie snorted.
“Good fucking riddance, finally,” but then a thought crossed his mind and his eyes widened. “Wait, who’s gonna be shooting the cover then?”
“Probably Nick, of course.”
And of course, it would. Fuck.
Nick Nelson was another pain in Charlie’s arse, but for a whole other reason. He was the magazine’s golden boy, the one person everyone seemed to love… except Charlie. Nick had been hired just a few months after Charlie and he worked as a photographer just like Ben. And as much as it pained Charlie to admit, he was an even better professional than Ben, but Ben used to get the more important shoots over Nick since he had seniority over the other man. Also, as Nick was an ex-rugby player, he was assigned to cover mostly sport events for the magazine website, which seemed to be a task no one enjoyed as much as he did.
But now that Ben had been fired, it was probably Nick who would be taking his place. Which meant Charlie would have to work alongside him, since Charlie was finally having a chance to write a cover feature article. Well, between Ben and Nick, Charlie had to admit Nick was the far lesser of an evil, but still.
“Oh no, don’t go making that face now,” Elle laughed at him, still sipping on her coffee. “I honestly don’t understand why you dislike Nick this much, the guy is a literal golden retriever.”
“Yeah, well, maybe that’s exactly why I don’t like him. He’s too much of a people pleaser,” Charlie mumbled, even though he knew that wasn’t the real reason. Sure, Nick’s people pleasing personality was a bit annoying, but more in that way when you already don’t like someone therefore you dislike any single thing they do. But add this to his habit of flirting with anyone, and well…
And recently Charlie had found himself in the receiving end of that flirting way too often for his personal liking. The worst part was that he couldn’t even talk about that with his friends because not only did they really, really liked Nick but also… he couldn’t break the promise he made a while ago.
“Oh please, not even you believe that,” Elle scoffed at him. “But that is unfortunate, because it seems like he fancies you.”
“Excuse me?” Charlie snorted. Nick Nelson actually interested in someone and that someone being him, Charlie Spring? Yeah, right. “I know you are a romantic at heart, Elle, but I didn’t peg you for delusional.”
Elle sighed. “For someone so observant, you truly are a bit daft sometimes, did you know? I’m not sure why I even bother.”
“I’m not sure either, to be honest,” he said quietly, but Elle heard it anyways and threw a pen at him, making him giggle.
And so, they both started their morning work. Charlie used to work as a staff writer for the magazine, recently being promoted to fashion editor, meaning that he now would work in more important articles and projects. And on top of that, he was also a content creator for the website, which was something he didn’t think he would enjoy doing as much as he did. On the printed magazine he would write about fashion and new trends, usually talking about some up and coming new fashionistas or designers for the queer community, but on the website he would write about anything interesting that his editor would approve, which meant he would mostly talk about music.
Working on a magazine with so much queer representation was actually a dream, and the fact that Pose was a relatively young company, but one that had taken off so quickly, meant that they actually had a lot of work to do. They were no Vogue, of course, but they were getting popular with the younger crowd.
That morning though, as he worked on giving the final touches on the article that had to go live on the website later that day, he kept going back to what Elle had told him about the Ben situation. It almost felt like he was in the 13 Going 30 movie, except things wouldn’t be magically solved and he was worried seeing as that was his first big project.
Just as he was starting to spiral thinking he would never be able to work things out, his company extention rang with a call from his boss’ office. He picked it up fast.
“Hi Tara.”
“Hey Charlie!” Tara’s chirpy voice greeted him and he smiled. She was Singh’s assistant and probably the person their editor in chief trusted the most in the whole company. “Singh is requesting your presence for a meeting in about twenty minutes. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.”
“Okay, great. See you then.”
Not long after, Charlie found himself waiting for the lift to take him up to Singh’s office. Pose Magazine was located in the heart of Hanover Square in London and it occupied three whole floors near the top of the building it was on. Charlie and Elle worked on the first of those floors while Singh, along with a few other higher ups, was in the third.
The lift dinged signaling its arrival and Charlie got into it, pressing the number 13. Before the doors could fully close, though, someone stuck their arm between them to open them back up, stepping into the small space along with Charlie. And that was when he noticed who had just joined him.
Nick Nelson. Ugh, even his name was stupid.
For a few seconds, both men stared at each other, Charlie with a blank expression while a smile slowly took over Nick’s face. Then Charlie let out an exasperated sigh.
“Nicholas.”
“Charles.”
As the doors closed, Charlie was silently hoping that Nick was destined somewhere else, but Nick looked at the lift buttons and just went to stand by the other man. Hopefully they could stay in silence.
“Are you also headed to see Singh?” Nick asked and Charlie sighed once again. Maybe not, then.
“Yep.”
“Do you think it’s about the Ben situation?”
“It has to be, hasn’t it?” Charlie was intensely watching the numbers on the panel above the doors and he saw with relief when they finally reached the thirteenth floor. The doors opened and Nick motioned for Charlie to leave first, following right after. “I mean, we wouldn’t both be called up here if it wasn’t.”
Nick gave him a satisfied smile. “That means we’ll probably be working together.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Aw come on, there’s no way you’d prefer to still be working with Ben!” He sounded offended, which made Charlie’s lips twitch, but he kept his face closed.
“Well, no. But you’re not much of a step up now, are you?”
“Excuse you, I’ll let you know I’m a delight to work with.”
“Eh, we’ll see, I guess.”
They had reached the end of the hallway, which opened up to a small waiting area with a few sofas and a big corner table where Tara was seated. Upon seeing them, she smiled.
“Hey babes! You’re right on time, Singh just got back from another meeting so she’ll be calling you in shortly.”
Nick rested one of his arms on Tara’s table, leaning on it and smiling at the woman. “Anything we should know about before heading in, Jonesy?”
“Nothing but the amazing fact that Ben Hope is no longer with us,” Tara smiled angelically, sending a wink towards Charlie. “You’re probably gonna take his place now, which was about time, to be honest.”
“See, Charlie,” Nick turned back to Charlie, a teasing smile on his face. “At least someone here thinks I’m a better option.”
“Doesn’t count when they are your friends, Nick.”
Oh yeah. Another thing about Nick Nelson. He was, unfortunately, also friends with basically all of Charlie’s friends. Which meant Charlie had to put up with Nick even outside of work. Really, a joyful situation.
Before Nick could respond, the speaker phone in Tara’s desk made a beeping sound and Singh's stern voice came out of it. “You can send them in, Tara. Thank you.”
“Well, you heard the boss lady.”
Once again, when they reached the door and Nick opened it after getting permission to do so, he motioned for Charlie to go in first. And when Charlie passed through him, he murmured. “As opposed to you, I’m looking very forward to working with you.”
“Nick, Charlie, take a seat,” Singh’s voice brought Charlie back from his momentarily spacing out as he tried to understand what the fuck Nick meant with that.
Their boss’s office was quite large and bright, with a massive window overlooking the London skyline. Right in front of that window there was her desk, with a computer, many, many papers and past editions of Pose and also a few photos of Singh and her wife. The office was elegantly decorated in light neutral colours, which also helped it look super bright and welcoming. It fit the woman’s personality very well, since even though she took no bullshit and expected the best out of her team, she was also an amazing boss.
When both of them were seated in the chairs in front of her desk, Singh leaned back in her chair.
“I’m pretty sure the both of you have already heard the news.”
“If you meant the news of the devil spawn being finally fired then yes, we did,” it was Nick’s cheeky reply and Charlie could swear Singh almost smiled. Because of course she also liked Nick Nelson.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” all amusement left her face as she sighed. “We were supposed to be in the final stages of closing our issue for August, as you’re well aware, but due to the circumstances, we’re going to have to redo at least the cover feature. Thankfully Hope was not much involved in that issue so any additional change can be easily done. Our biggest concern here is the main photoshoot and article.”
“Do you already have another designer in mind for it?” Charlie asked. He honestly hoped she had, because he would need all the time he could get to do his research.
“Yes, in fact I do. However, I was expecting you to have a bit more… freedom in that regard.”
Charlie frowned. “What do you mean by freedom?”
“Well, since the theme was already established when I assigned you to take care of it, I’ll have Tara send you a list of possible fashion designers that Pose has an interest in working with, for you to look into. But you can also give suggestions, in case you have any. Just be sure to do it by the end of the week, since we are on a tight schedule after all,” she turned to Nick then, and even though Charlie’s mind was reeling, he still managed to continue listening to her. “As for you, Nick, it’s basically the same thing. I want to give you some creative freedom, especially to see what you can come up with. You can choose any model you want, just try and pick one that fits the designer’s views and can work with what both you and Charlie decide. Again, I’ll need everything by the end of the week, so we can set a meeting and discuss your ideas and go from there. Does that sound good for the both of you?”
There was a brief stunned silence, where Nick seemed to be in the same incredulous haze as Charlie found himself in. He always knew Singh to be an amazing editor in chief to work with and she was also very known to be fair amongst the company, but to be actually given such autonomy in such short notice? Even though Charlie was absolutely fucking scared to mess everything up, he was also pretty proud to have her trust.
They got out of their stupor quickly though, both of them thanking Singh and agreeing with her terms before leaving the office. In the waiting room, Tara was nowhere to be found, so both men just stood there for a few seconds in complete silence.
“Did she just…?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you already have someone in mind? To be the model?” Charlie couldn’t resist asking as they started to make their way back to the lifts. Nick hummed.
“I might have someone in mind, yeah. But I also have backup plans,” Charlie sent him a meaningful look, but Nick just smiled lazily. “What? Do you think I’m just gonna spill my plans like that? Unless you want to give me something in return.”
“You are insufferable.”
☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼
When Charlie got back to his desk, Elle had already gone out for her lunch break, which made him frown. Lately, she had been going out a bit earlier than normal and usually without him while also saying she just needed a few minutes alone outside of their crazy work space. And he wouldn’t mind really, not when he’d also needed time alone more times than he could count. The thing was that he knew Elle like the back of his hand after being friends for so long, so he knew there was more to that than she was letting on. But as he waited for her to be comfortable enough to tell him what it was, he also hoped it wasn’t anything serious.
Upon checking his email inbox, he noticed the list of fashion designers had already been sent by Tara, so he decided to stay in instead of going somewhere else and eat his sandwich and do his research on some of the names.
Charlie had already found some possible candidates half an hour later and was about to retrieve the props he had just printed, when Elle came back from her lunch. She had another coffee cup in her hands, from the same Café as earlier in the morning, and he rolled his eyes.
“I don’t understand why the hell you go out of your way to go to that Café seeing as we have a way cheaper one in the building.”
“Because, dear Charles, I like to support small business,” she replied as she took off her light coat before sitting in her chair. Even it being late May, the weather was still a bit chilly, in a way that made Charlie yearn even more for the summer days ahead. And it also didn’t escape Charlie’s notice that she didn’t look him in the eye while explaining. Interesting. “Also, their coffee is way better than the one we have here and their place is also way nicer. You should come with me sometime.”
“Yeah, sure. If you think so.”
He was near the printers in the communal area when he spotted Nick coming out of the lift. Their department was set up in a way that the staff writers and beauty and fashion assistants would stay in the centre of the room, surrounded by a few glass offices, such as the one Charlie and Elle shared. It wasn’t a big department, since the magazine in itself wasn’t very big, so thankfully everyone had a decent sized work space. And that was why Nick was so easy to spot. It seemed like he was coming back from his break, a red and white coffee cup in one hand and his mobile in the other.
Charlie was not in the mood to engage in a conversation with Nick again, so he just decided to collect his printed papers and leave, but as Nick got closer, something else got his attention. The stripped red and white coffee cup he was holding was from the same place Elle was so fond of lately.
Huh.
Interesting.
Okay, maybe he was seeing a bit too much into it. The Café was just two blocks down the street, so it was completely possible for anyone from their building to also know the place and be clients. But if Elle had spent her lunch break with Nick, why wouldn’t she tell Charlie? Yes, he strongly disliked the older man, but he was also very aware that Nick was friends with his friends.
One way or the other, Charlie went about his day the best he could. Elle had a few meetings with her beauty assistants so for the rest of the afternoon Charlie was pretty much alone in their office. He took his time checking each one of the four fashion designers he had narrowed the list down to, looking at their websites and social media profiles, until he had looked at so many pictures of clothes, he was starting to mix them all up.
By the end of the day, Charlie was ready to go home, get some light dinner and relax in front of the telly with a hot cuppa. He had every intention of forgetting for the night about all the work he still had to do until it was time to show it to Singh.
So, when Charlie stepped inside the flat he shared with Elle and Isaac, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Isaac was already halfway in getting their dinner ready.
“Hey, what do I owe the pleasure of an Isaac meal today?”
Isaac chuckled. “I was just in the mood to cook.”
“Alright, fair enough. I'll freshen up and then I’ll be back to help you finish it.”
Charlie made quick work of showering and it didn’t take long for him to be back in the kitchen with his friend. Elle was still not home, which wasn’t unusual, since even though they worked in the same place, they had some pretty different schedules and more often than not they would head home at different times.
As he helped Isaac with the cooking, he started filling his friend in what had gone down at work. And of course, Isaac was having the biggest fun with the news.
“Okay, okay, let me get this straight,” Isaac said, trying to control his giggles while Charlie looked at him pretty unamused. “You finally got rid of Ben and got a bit more freedom at work but at the same time you basically got paired with the love of your life Nick Nelson?”
Charlie rolled his eyes as he threw his head back, sighing. “That’s correct.”
Cue in more giggles from Isaac. “Oh, this is going to be way too much fun.”
Yeah, Charlie thought, so much fun.
☼・゜゜・．・゜☀︎ ゜・．・゜゜・☼
