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Being a CEO of a relatively small, yet highly successful record label wasn’t really all it cracked up to be, but that might be the shit load of paperwork, the endless boring meetings with pushy, snobbed nosed executives, and the high amounts of stress and endless nights of sleep talking.
But Pete loved it.
DCD2 was his baby, something he started a long time ago with his two best friends, when they themselves couldn’t find a label to sign their pathetic little band. So, they made their own. Simple as that, or at least that’s what they thought. It took blood, sweat, tears, many mental breakdowns and anxiety attacks (on Pete’s end), but after five years, they finally made something of themselves, something Pete, Joe, and Andy could be proud of. They scouted the underground, looking for the next big thing, helped them record, grow a fan base via social media, and watch the hype grown.
Hell, that’s how they finally managed to get their first number one on the charts last year with Gabe and Cobra Starship. Yeah they had a lot of huge successes, working with bigger labels for distribution, but handling the recording in house, all over looked by Andy and the producer friends, while Joe handled social media and distribution, all the while Pete dabbing in a bit of everything, from taking a listen to the bands while recording, to helping Joe plan out small venue concerts and such.
It was Hell, chaos, stressful, anxiety-inducing, and insanity, along with everything in between, but when he hears the final product and sees people actually enjoying the music, he can’t help but feel it was all worth it. It took nearly five years, but they finally got one of their label’s song on the radio, and straight to number one, and fuck, Pete never felt prouder.
With a few top 40 hits under their belts, and a handful of highly successful acts and albums, and nearly five years later, they were golden, settled and in a new office space, well, more like taking residence in about five floors in a fucking skyscraper, living the stupid idea they dreamt up while he and Joe were toasted out of their fucking minds.
Yeah, DCD2 was his baby, and he proud.
With the shift in office space, everyone in the company had to adapt in some way or another, and for Pete, is was finding the best and closest coffee shop and pizza place on this side of Chicago, which wasn’t too hard considering they were a few miles away from the university district of town. Pete managed to find this kick ass pizza place called Formacio’s which was ridiculously good (And had a vegan menu, you’re welcome Andy, he thought with a snort) and he found a simple mom and pop coffee shop that was decent enough, so he was content for about a year after the move.
Well, that was until Joe stumbled on a relatively new coffee shop that was getting a lot of hype, from what he heard from some of his college friends. And after the first cup, Pete was hooked. Turns out, the coffee shop wasn’t all that far from where he lived, more like a twenty minute walk from his apartment and about just away from the office; it was perfect.
Pete started stopping by at least once a day, and quickly learned that: 1) they bake everything in house and it smells divine no matter what time of day you go in, and 2) the cozy, warm little coffee shop only is run by four employees, three guys and a girl, all college students, he assumes. Luckily the little blackboard in front of the cash register gave some insight to each of the employees, which definitely helps distinguish them from each other, and, not to mention, it’s just fun to read.
Gerard is the one with dark hair, but recently dyed it brilliant fire truck red which surprising suited him very well. He always decorated his with sketches and little trivia about himself (he’s an artist, an art major, has an annoying fucker of a younger brother whom he loves to pieces), along with his usual recommendation ‘Anything with a double shot, order a triple and you and I are automatically friends’.
Haley is the only girl of the group, and likes to draw stick figures on hers, usually depicting herself, or the others, as well as personal tidbits – this is her first job, she steals Gerard’s hair dye when he’s not looking, thus explaining her awesome orange hair, and she swears she was a unicorn in a past life. Her barista recommendation, most of the time, is ‘ V.B. Frap+ a banana + chocolate chips + chocolate drizzle + caramel drizzle = Trust me, you’ll thank me later –mic drop-‘.
Brendon was the loud one with a goody grin and a tattoo on his forearm that resembled pianos keys, though Pete never really had a good look because the guy was constantly moving around like a ball of energy, either taking orders, running to the back or setting up pasties, he was a blur most of the time, but always welcoming and nice, much like the other three. Written on the chalkboard on his days, Brandon always talked about his love-hate relationship with school, he’s apparently a funny drunk (‘I KNOW THERE’S A VIDEO HAYLEY!!’), and he’s the genius behind the baked good. As for his drink recommendations, his was always ‘Anything with a cupcake, cookie, or brownie….you know you want one *wink wink*’.
And then there was Patrick, he was the shortest of the guys and always wore a fedora, something with or without his bold framed glasses. His board was usually filled with music notes of song lyrics with added little glimpses into his life –he’s 23, a music major, loves to play drums and guitar, he’s a huge, huge, Elvis Costello fan, he likes a little bit of everything when it comes to music, though has strong opinions when it comes which eras were Bowie’s and Prince’s best, and apparently he had a good singing voice according to the others. And at the bottom of the board for his recommendation, it was always: ‘White chocolate mocha caramel swirl and a sugar cookie makes any day better’.
But Pete was would be quick to add that he also had the best and brightest smile out of the four, but that might be him being bias. Okay, so maybe he was.
The coffee shop started being a daily stop for him and he would catch a glimpse of Patrick, making sure to shoot him a smile, but never working up the balls to have a full blown conversation, it was always a simple ‘hi’, chatting about the weather or something equally as random (the board helps with small talk, definitely) , and ‘bye’ with the guy, who had a shy smile, beautiful eyes, and made one seriously awesome cup of coffee.
Well, that was until Pete went in one afternoon, just before a meeting, because Lord knows he wouldn’t be able to make it through the damn thing without some sort of caffeine in his system. So about an hour before a meeting, he texted Joe and Andy that he was going to grab coffee, and sure enough, Patrick was there at the counter today. All his stress seemed to melt away as soon as he opened the door and was hit my the intoxicating combination of coffee and fresh baked cookies and cupcakes as walked up to the counter, noticing that he was the only customer in the shop.
Patrick greeted him with one of his brilliant smiles and took his order, and Pete had to admit, he felt a little bit embarrassed that he stopped by the shop so frequently that the guy already knew his order down to a tee. “Guess I’ve been coming in to much, huh?” he watches as Patrick rings him up and swipes the credit card.
“You’re not too bad,” he reassures him with a smile as he Pete watches him make his drink effortlessly. “We have some customers that come in twice a day, every day, and order the exact same thing. You start matching faces to drink orders after a while.”
“At least I add a little variety,” which is true, some days he’s not really feeling up for a mocha frap, but sticks with a mocha latte with caramel on top. Pete usually sticks to what he likes, unless he tries something new from Joe or Andy whenever they let him sneak a taste, but he’s faithful to his favorites to say the least. He takes his eyes away from Patrick as he moves around the small area to prepare his drink, and glances down at the board, and oh…
Today Your Barista(s):
1. Is hella fucking gay (and flippin’ cute).
2. And Desperately single ;)
For Your Drink Today, I Recommend:
You give me your number
If that wasn’t a sign to start talking to the guy, Pete didn’t know what would be. He looks from the board to the supposed tip jar next to it, where he feels a bit of dread and maybe just a tad bit jealous that it was nearly halfway full with numbers and a few dollar bills. He looks back to the board and notices the drawn little figure, which looked a lot like what Hayley draws on hers when it’s her day.
“Is the stick figure supposed to be you?” he says to strike up a conversation.
“Um…y-yeah…It’s a joke. Today technically wasn’t my shift by one of my co-workers traded with me, but when I got here, my other two assholes of friends got to the board first.” He sounds a bit embarrassed about the whole thing, but add a bit of humor when he mentions Gerard and Hayley.
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a few numbers,” he tries not be sound like a douche, and hopefully he’s not coming off as one, “Any plans to call anyone back?” he ask curiously, as Patrick shuts off the blender.
“N-no one’s really caught my eye. It’s really just a stupid joke courtesy of my friends, to try to hook me up. I don’t think I’ll be calling anyone back,” and Pete couldn’t help feel a bit disappointed, maybe? Hell, he had already taken one of his business cards that he kept in his wallet, not his CEO ones, just the ones with his name, no title, while his back was turned and scribbled his name and number on the back along with txt me ;) on the back with the pen that was by the register, okay, maybe Pete needed to grow up a bit, he thought as he glanced down at the card between his fingers.
He bit the inside of his cheek, looking over behind the counter to where Patrick’s back was turned, when an idea came to him. He ponders for a moment, because you know, it doesn't hurt to be sure... “Huh…that’s a shame, I thinking about tossing my number in there, but if…”
And the way the barista nearly freezes and nearly loses his grip on the can of whipped cream as his head whips over to look at him with gorgeous wide blue-green eyes makes Pete’s heart skip a few beats, like a fucking teenager, and he can’t help but smile like the love-struck idiot he his.
“I-i-if you want,” he quickly adds as he finds a lid for his drink, and Pete has to resist the urge no to jump up and down like a sugar high child, well, he’ll be a caffeine high man-child in a few minutes, so their really isn’t a difference. “Y-you still can, I…um…I like…phone numbers…” and didn’t matter how he tried to hid it, it was still fucking adorable, and he wanted to just reach over and kiss him then, but he doesn’t, instead chuckles lightly at the pink blush that decorated barista’s cheeks, wondering what else could make the guy blush like that.
Patrick brings over his drink and slides in over to him, just as he sides his card to the still blushing barista, their fingertips touching as he carefully reaches out to take the card, and Pete swears he could feel sparks fly when they touch.
There’s a bit of silence that fall between them, Patrick smiling, maybe just as much as Pete before he speaks up once more. Technically, they've never been properly introduced, and his mother would kill him for forgetting his manners.
“Pete.”
“Patrick,” the barista replied softly, even though he already knew his name, having seen it so many times on the chalkboard and on a name tag before. And it’s while he’s looking at Patrick, their fingertips still touching over the card, when he gets another idea. It’s pushing his luck, by a whole fucking lot, and it could easily just blow up in his face…but it didn’t hurt to try, well, maybe it would.
“Say, what time do you get out?”
“He’s shift ends at 6!” Came another voice from the back that sounded a lot like Brendon, and the look that Patrick shootsa look over his shoulder to the open door of the back room is a cross between murder and embarrassment, but it makes the flush on his cheek grow darker.
He knows he should shut his mouth, save himself and just be glad he gave his number to Patrick without backing out or running off, but he continues on, nervously. “If you’re not busy or have anything going on…I have a meeting at should let out by 5:45…maybe we can grab some pizza?...That’s if you don’t have plans…” he winces at the last park, preparing himself for the backlash that should come, but it doesn’t.
“That…that sounds good.” And oh shit, did he actually say yes?
Pete is actually at a loss for words for only a split second before going on, his face hurting from how much he’s smiling, and God does it feel great. “Cool…so um…I pick you up here?” And Patrick nods which sends his heart racing. “Cool, cool…so, I guess I’ll— ” and fuck, fuck, fuck, he hate his phone, he hates the fact that he has a fucking board meeting in less 30 minutes. He digs his phone out of his pocket and see’s Andy’s number, it looks like he must have been gone for too long. “Shit, sorry, they’re already sending out the hounds to track me down,” he accepts the call, but puts it on hold, as he looks up at the barista, with his beautiful and gorgeous smile, and Pete already has the words racing through his head that he needs to write down as soon as he gets to his desk, maybe he’ll turn them into lyrics. He grabs his drink and a straw. “I’ll see you later then, Patrick.”
“See you later Pete,” and hearing his name from those lips gives Pete a high that no amount of weed or any amount of meds could ever give him, and hell, maybe he’s setting himself up for heartbreak if this doesn’t work out, but he doesn’t give a damn, not when he’s smiling like a mad man and his heart and stomach are doing gymnastics. As he leave out the door and finally takes Andy off hold, only for him to tell him to get his ass back to the office, and it’s not till he’s about a block away from the building that he stops hand just laughs, looking down at his drink, which is fucking delicious, he might add, that the full effect of what just happened hit him. His grin doesn’t leave his face, not while he walks the rest of the way back to the building, not when he greets the doorman, and the rides the elevator, then is greeted by his receptionist, and when he flops down behind his desk. It’s stuck, the grin might be permanent but he doesn’t seem to care, but instead scribbles down the words in his head and falls into his own little world.
About ten minutes later when two familiar faces show up in his office. “I think I’m falling for my barista” is the first thing Pete says to Joe and Andy when they come collect him for the meeting, he's smiling like a dreamy idiot leaning back heavily in his chair. “He’s coffee, bright eyes, chocolate chips, pale skin, sugar, a beautiful smile, a million kinds of adorable and I think I’m in love.”
Joe and Andy glance at each other for a brief minute, before eyeing back at Pete, who’s begun spinning around in his chair. “I asked him out today,” he says causally and it was then that Joe’s face broke into a wide grin, holding out his hand to Andy, to which he rolled his eyes groaning, and then placed a twenty dollar bill in his open palm.
Pete really didn’t fucking care that they were betting on him, but he figured they knew, from all those times when he would say casually ‘ I went to see the cute barista as the coffee shop, you know the one with the fedora.’ And truth be told, neither one of them looked even the slightest bit surprises, in fact, they looked happy, but that might be because Joe was high, but Andy looked happy considering he just lost money.
“That’s great Pete. But right now you’ve got a board meeting with some asshole that I wouldn’t mind punching in the face, so the faster we get through this meeting, the faster you can get to your date, Romeo,” said Andy was he gestured to the door where his personal assistant was waiting for them, three portfolios tucked underneath her arm.
Pete simply sighed. “Way to kill my mood, dude,” but he pushed himself up from his chair, snatching up his frap from his desk, taking a sip as they all exited. Joe wrapped his arms around his shoulder in a brotherly hug, while Andy looked on, a small smile on his face.
“About time you asked him out. He’s the blonde one with the fedora right? No homo, dude, but he is cute looking,” he grinned as they took the elevator up the seventh floor, where they were greeted by a handful of business men, who were constantly trying to buy Pete’s company from him, and several of their producer and distributor friends. They were going to discuss latest record sales, the new acts, and how they could improve, all the while ignoring the sharks in suits.
Twenty minutes in, Pete was already bored out of his mind, because of the sharks droned on and on about how a giving up half of their company’s shares would drastically increase the revenue and the inclusion of more artist on the label but Pete wasn’t stupid, he knows he, Joe, and Andy were kids coming into this years ago, but they were far from stupid. He knew that would mean they would lose their creative processes when it came to the acts, they would lose the one on one sessions that came with a small label, that let them focus and tune, and perfect the records and song to what the artist wanted. Pete refused to let his label simply become a heartless machine just to pump out hits, because where would be the artistry and soul in that when the artist and bands had no say in the music they were making.
After he quickly shuts down the idea, another businessman throw his own pitch to the table, but Pete ignores it, instead his attention is caught to the faint buzzing of his phone from an incoming text. He swipes the screen and sees that it’s an unfamiliar number but smiles at words.
Just making sure you didn’t give me some bogus number…
There was only one person he recently gave his number to, any very few people actually had his personal one on top of that. He quickly pens a reply under the table, Andy lifting an eyebrow as he glances beside him, shaking his head with a smile.
I know my friends say I can b an ass, but Im not tht much of an ass…Frap was amazing btw ;) He smiles softly as he hits send.
His phone buzzes again a short time later.
Good to know lol. Hope you’re having fun at your meeting. See you later =)
He quickly sends another text before he hears someone clear their throat and looks up to see the snob nosed goof who was talking waiting for his reply to the proposal, but he also looks ticked about Pete’s lack of attention. “I told you once, I’ll tell you again, and every single it is brought up: No, we’re not selling the company, not unless it’s under our terms and conditions, so until someone put that on the table, it’s not happening,” he turns over to the others, who nod in agreement, before Pete continues on. “So, Spencer, how did we do with sales this month?”
And while Spencer stands and starts talking about a huge increase in sales, Pete glances back at the message he sends, smiles and leans back in his chair.
Im having LOADS of fun, trust me. And yeah, c u later. Can’t wait :)
Because, yeah, he couldn’t wait to see that smile again…