Gambling Debts 6/?
Chapter 6
Derek found the right elevator eventually and his key card indeed allowed him to go up to the penthouse. Stiles wasn't back yet and for a moment Derek wasn't sure what to do next. He still felt like a stranger in these rooms.
First he changed into his own clothes, the suit didn't feel like his either, and then he settled down on one of the couches. He just wanted to sit for a moment and let the events of the last twenty-four hours sink in but the lack of sleep and the busy morning caught up with him rather quickly and he drifted off to sleep only minutes later.
He woke up because somebody was poking him with a stick. He snapped awake with a growl and caught the stick before it could poke him in the side once again.
"What?" Derek sat up and tried to make sense out of the situation. At the other end of the stick stood Stiles, a smug grin on his face.
"See? I'm learning." He said proudly.
"What." Derek repeated. He rubbed his face, maybe that would help to make sense out of the situation.
"Last time you almost slashed my face." Stiles made a claw with his free hand, slashing it through the air.
"That's why you're poking me with a stick?" He glanced down at the stick in question still securely in his fist. He didn't take any chances as long as Stiles was holding on to the other end.
"It's a cane, actually." Stiles clarified.
"Why do you have a ..." He stopped short and his eyes snapped over to the door to the playroom. He let go of the cane as if he'd been burned. "I hope you've sanitized it."
"Of course I sanitized it. What are you thinking of me?" He pouted but put the cane away. "Anyway, it's past noon and I wondered if you're hungry."
He was, he had to admit. While they had been gone somebody had taken care of their breakfast leftovers and Derek hadn't felt bolt enough to just order something in on his own.
Room service brought them sandwiches not much later and they ate in comfortable silence.
"So, I'm free for the rest of the day." Stiles said. "Anything you want to do? But I'm telling you now, if you want to leave the penthouse you're on your own. I'm lucky I made it back here alive I'm not going out there before I have to tomorrow."
Derek couldn't think of anything he wanted to do outside, he would be perfectly fine with catching up with more sleep if he was honest, so they settled for a lazy day in. He asked if he could have a look at Stiles' books, he had basically a library up here, and they ended up sitting quietly on separate couches each of them with their own book.
Derek only knew Stiles for a day but he had already figured out that the younger man was rarely quiet. However, he managed to keep the comments on what he was reading down enough so that Derek still could enjoy his book.
Stiles had a good taste in books, Derek wouldn't get bored any time soon. Not that he expected to have much time to read. Stiles had made it quite clear that Wednesday was his only day off and that he expected Derek to come with him to meetings or whatever it was a casino owner did all day the rest of the week.
If the glimpse of Stiles' busy life he had witnessed earlier was anything to go by, Derek wouldn't have much time for reading. He was still not sure how much of an assistant Stiles excepted him to actually be and he had the suspicion that Stiles had no idea either. Good to know that they were both flying blind here.
Derek excused himself rather early in the evening and he slept like a rock till morning. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept this good.
His first official day as Stiles' personal assistant started with sleeping in. It made sense, the casinos were busy way into the morning hours so most people working there would use the morning for sleeping.
They started off with brunch over which Stiles told him about his schedule. Stiles' schedule, that is, but now it was Derek's as well. It didn't look too bad but Derek wasn't sure if that was normal or if Stiles had canceled a thing or two to start him off easy.
"Mainly I want to show you around and introduce you to some people." Stiles summed it up. "You know, let people know that you're allowed to be around so they won't call security on you if they see you wandering around alone." He thought about that for a moment. "Isaac would get a kick out of that but he has actual work to do."
So Derek put on his new suit and then followed Stiles to his first meeting.
There was a bit of a hassle, nobody was prepared for Stiles' plus one, during which Derek assured Stiles and everybody else that he was fine with just standing by the door and Stiles insisted on another chair so that his assistant could sit next to him. The whole fuss put Derek more in the spotlight than he would have liked but for sure everybody in the room would remember him after this. Which was the whole point, wasn't it?
When the meeting was finally over Derek was so overwhelmed by the legal terms and conditions Stiles and the others had been throwing around, he couldn't even tell what they had been discussing, something about the concession of an ice cream parlor?
Good thing was, word got around after that and at the second meeting there was a place already set up for him. This one was smaller, only three people, so there wasn't a whole room staring at him and they did their best to stay professional but Derek noticed the glances thrown at him and for sure he heard the whispered comments once he and Stiles were out of the room.
At one point Derek had to go back to the penthouse to get some papers Stiles had forgotten and he used the moment alone to take a deep breath. He was tempted to not go back to the meeting but in the end he gathered the papers, put on his best stoic face and hurried back to Stiles.
Over the afternoon Derek got introduced to people and shook hands and when he and Stiles retreated to the penthouse for dinner, his head was swimming.
"Don't worry if you don't remember any of the names." Stiles assured him. "Most of them are not really important. As long as you remember me, Isaac and Boyd you'll be fine."
After dinner Stiles needed to do some stuff in his office, his official one not the one in his suite, and he offered Derek to sit this one out, it would be boring as hell, but Derek reminded him that it would look odd if his personal assistant wasn't around to assist him.
In the end Derek brought his book and made himself comfortable in one of the leather chairs in Stiles' office while Stiles worked on his computer and made a few calls.
When after an hour Stiles stood up and stretched, Derek was on his feet as well.
"I'm just going to get some coffee." Stiles waved him off. "You want some?"
"Stiles?" Derek blocked the door before he could open it. "What was my job again?"
Stiles just blinked at him before understanding dawned on his face.
"Personal assistant, right." He raked his fingers through his hair. "You know, I never had a personal assistant before, I need time to get used to it."
"I see that." Derek crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.
"What?"
"How do you like it?"
Stiles spluttered.
"Your coffee." Derek rolled his eyes. "How do you like your coffee?"
"Coffee, right." He composed himself. "Three sugars, no milk. And if you bring decaf you're fired. I need my caffeine, that's the whole point of drinking coffee."
Derek left him standing there, still rambling about coffee, and went to check out the small kitchen he'd seen down the hallway.
There was a secretary's desk right outside Stiles' office but so far Derek hadn't seen any secretary. His first thought had been that it was her day off or something but when he came back with two cups of coffee, he noticed that the desk didn't look like it was in use.
No secretary and no personal assistant? How did Stiles manage a job like this?
At least now he has somebody to bring him his coffee, Derek thought not without a hint of sarcasm.
"Ready to hit the floor?" Stiles asked when he'd finished both, his coffee and his office work.
Derek closed his book and raised an eyebrow.
"Ready to what?"
"You're no fun." Stiles pouted. "And you really need to get that frown off your face, you're going to scare our guests."
The floor, as Stiles addressed the area where the gambling happened, was hell. Stiles had switched to a red suit with a white shirt and after a short check-in with Isaac he jumped right in. He was clearly in his element, smiling and shaking hands, while Derek followed him through the noisy crowd.
To his werewolf ears everything was too loud with the slot machines screaming in his ears and people yelling and laughing all around him. The scent was overwhelming and there was just too much of everything. He kept his eyes on Stiles' red-clad back and just followed him around. It was too noisy for a real conversation so he got away with staying silent in the background.
It was almost three in the morning when Derek dropped in his bed, a headache pounding behind his eyes. He hadn't even known that he could get a headache.
When he woke up late the next morning he felt better but he stayed in bed for a little while longer, wondering if this was worth it.
Peter would spend his whole life in a casino if he could get away with it so Derek hoped that he would get used to it. That part of this job was the worst, the rest was pretty easy but he doubted that he had seen everything there was to this job. Not that he really had to do anything if he didn't want to, just being there would be enough to get the rumors going, but doing nothing for the money Stiles was paying him felt just wrong.
However, so far Stiles tended to forget that he now had somebody for stupid tasks like getting coffee.
Derek rolled out of bed to grab a shower and by the time he came out of the bathroom he heard Stiles moving around in the suite. The scent of fresh coffee and croissants made his mouth water. At least the food was good, he had to admit.
Like the day before Stiles told him what was on the schedule for the day. It sounded almost like an exact copy of the last one but he guessed that that was just Stiles' personal hell. Stiles had his fun on the floor, mingling with the crowd, but he hadn't made a secret of his dislike of the boring office stuff.
Before they had finished their meal Stiles' phone had rang twice and he was constantly getting messages. Derek didn't know enough about Stiles' life to tell if that was normal or if the casino was about to collapse but so far Stiles had stayed calm and seemed more bored than anything else.
To his surprise Derek's own phone dinged with an incoming message. He expected it to be from Peter, he was the only person who would call or text him, but the message wasn't from his alpha.
I'm coming over at 5pm. Be there. Lydia.
He wasn't even sure if he would have time then but when he told Stiles that much he just shrugged and pointed out that Derek didn't have to attend to all of Stiles' appointments.
Derek wasn't sure if he wanted to face Lydia alone, though.
Before they left the penthouse to face the day, Derek got another message. This time from Boyd.
Spare yourself some running and make sure that Stiles has the report with him.
Chapter 7
Masterpost