Sirius paces back and forth in his office, listening to the steady click of his heel on the floor. If James wasn't meeting with GQ, he would be getting his ear bit off right now. There was plenty to be doing at the moment - papers to be signed, outfits to be drawn, but all of that was pushed to the side. The only thing on Sirius' mind is Remus Lupin.

Sirius clutches Remus' resume in his hands, going over it for the fourth time. It was impressive, but useless for a fashion company. An English major in journalism? Maybe if he wanted to write an article of Black Inc. for Vogue, then Sirius would consider him.

His office is expansive, much larger than needed for one person. Everything in the room is black - sleek and elegant. Behind him are windows from floor to ceiling. The view is pretty, scanning over the city, but a reminder that life is always moving; there's work to be done and Sirius would see to it. That's how it's always been.

Sirius takes a seat at his desk, submerging himself into his work. His suit coat has been discarded, now hanging off the arm of his couch, and his sleeves are rolled to his elbows casually. The pencil in his hand hovers over blank paper as his mind wanders back to Remus. He was fairly good looking. Sirius rolls his eyes at himself. Then again, so was Alfred. And Alfred went off and slept with  Kennedy. Sirius begins to sketch another coat for his fall line as his mind drifts in and out of focus.

The phone goes off and catches Sirius off guard, causing him to draw a line straight across the paper. He sighs, crumpling up the paper and discarding it in the bin. "Black," he answers irritatedly. "Send him to my office immediately."

Most of the time Sirius liked to keep his office door propped open. He was on the twelfth floor along with most of his highest working employees, though his office was separated. Occasionally he could hear James flirting with Lily Evans or Alice and Mary gossiping instead of doing actual work. The office drama was intriguing and a good distraction when work became too boring.

Remus' figure becomes visible down the hall. He's smiling. It's a nice smile - one that people can't help but compliment when they see it. His hair is a bit of a mess; Sirius suspects he probably uses a three-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and soap. The overall look is...questionable but not tasteless.

"Remus," Sirius greets, snapping out of his thoughts. "Take a seat, will you?" Remus crosses the room and sits on the couch, sinking into the cushion. "I heard about your trip with Marlene. I'm assuming you're on first name basis, considering you stopped for tea and a biscuit."

"Erm...I didn't intend to," he nervously chokes out. "She invited me to stay and since you said she is a very important client I couldn't refuse. She's quite the talker."

"You realize that you could have completely ruined everything I've worked for, correct?" Remus hangs his head with regret. "Luckily for you...Marlene took a liking to you."

Remus' head snaps up with hope in his eyes. "She did?"

Sirius nods. "I don't know what you said to her, but she agreed to sign the deal with Black Inc. we've been trying to get for weeks now."

"I-I just talked to her. Not even about your company!"

Sirius grabs a hefty folder from his desk, plopping it onto the table. "There's only one position available here. I need a new assistant. If you want the job, the contract is right here."

Remus' jaw drops slightly. "Are you serious?" he bites his lip at his choice of words. "I mean - well - are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"No." Remus walks over to the desk, running his fingers over the ivory paper. "What does being assistant mean? Getting you coffee and answering the phone?"

Sirius shrugs. "Those are some things. I have a lot of work to be done throughout the day. You're in charge of getting the things I can't do done. It's simple really, follow my instructions and we won't have a problem."

"Basically just one big to do list?" Sirius nods at the odd comparison. "Brilliant! I love organization. I...I don't know why I said that out loud."

"You'll get paid every Saturday, like the rest of my employees. I think you'll see the checks are more than compensating, but you're on the clock all hours. Especially during fashion shows. Those are the times when you can expect to get little to no sleep. This job is very demanding and we'll be spending lots of time together."

"I have no problem with that."

Sirius's eyes gaze up to meet Remus'. The sparkle in his amber eyes are innocent with a wild spirit behind them. "You dress...decent. You'll have to dress nicely because I can't be seen with a bloke who looks homeless at my meetings. If I didn't mention you'll also be attending all my meetings and making sure I don't miss any. Usually I come into work at eight and leave any time between eleven and two in the morning. You don't leave until I dismiss you myself, most likely around eight."

Remus chuckles as he flips through the contract. "Do you even have a personal life?" he jokes. The silence causes Remus to clear his throat. "Of course you do I'm sorry."

"Your resume doesn't have an address. Do you live close by? Do I need to provide transportation?"

"Well I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment." Sirius raises an eyebrow. "I'm staying at a hotel down the street right now."

"Blimey..." Sirius grits. "When you figure that out, let me know. You have a cell phone I'm assuming?" Remus shakes his head. "For the love of - do you own anything?"

"I have a computer for writing. It's a bit old though." Remus grabs the pen laying on the desk and signs his name at the end of the contract twice. He closes the folder and slides it back over to Sirius with a smile. "All done."

Sirius stares at Remus with a complex look; Remus can't tell if it's good or bad.

"What can I do?" Remus asks.

"Get a place to live," Sirius instructs. "Then come back tomorrow and I'll have a long list of things for you."

"Get a place to live. I can do that. I will do that. Thank you Mr. -"

"Sirius. You can call me Sirius."

Remus blushes slightly, averting his eyes to the floor. Suddenly he picks his head up and makes eye contact with Sirius.

Confidence is key, he reminds himself.

"Thank you Sirius," he says without hesitance. He makes his way out of the office,  stopping only one foot out the door. He pivots on his heel, awkwardly speed walking back to Sirius' desk. "Sorry I took the pen." He sets the black pen in front of Sirius before hurrying out twice as fast as before.

Remus replays the awkward moment in his head over and over again when he makes it back to the general office area. James and Lily are talking, well it was more of Lily listening and James going on about who knows what. They stop when Remus approaches and look to him expectantly.

"I got it!" Remus exclaims.

Lily jumps to her feet with a joyous smile as James shakes his shoulders proudly.

"I told you mate," James says.

"What's the job?" Lily inquires.

"Assistant." Their smiles falter for only a fraction of a second, but Remus notices. He furrows his eyebrows worriedly. "What? Is that not good?"

"No it's a great job," Lily insists. "It's just that..."

"It's just nothing," James finishes with a glance at Lily. "A little surprising is all. I suppose you've got a lot to do already. Sirius is a busy guy and Alfred was bouncing all over London."

"Alfred?" Remus questions. That name sounded vaguely familiar yet he had no clue who he was.

"Alfred was Sirius' old assistant," Lily explains.

James mimics cutting his neck with his hand. "Alfie got the boot."

Remus licks his lips nervously. "Oh...Sirius didn't mention."

"Not to worry. I'm sure you won't be nearly as bad as he was. If you'll excuse me." James stands straighter, winking at Lily before departing back to his office.

Remus waves a friendly goodbye to both as he heads towards the elevator. The people he recognizes from the meeting this morning are swarming to and from places with their heads held high. Everybody in the room is important to Black Inc. And now he is too.