WHITE MUSTANG / chapter six
——— ₊ ⊹ confrontation 🪩

( 🏙️ ) manhattan, new york city

———— CHANDLER LEANED BACK against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him, as he watched nicholas spin the pencil in his hands. he had been rambling about how to fix the messed-up mannequin in front of them and his ideas for that particular dress, but chandler had stopped listening a while back.

he couldn't get the images of that night out of his head. he decided not to confront him directly the next day, hoping he'd just say it on his own, but that didn't happen. chandler looked at him with a frown displayed all over his face, imaging what was going on in his head.

"...you see? this black piece is completely out of context. it doesn't fit, maybe it should go a little higher. or we should just remove—" nicholas turned around, catching chandler staring directly at him. "what is it? you've been quiet today."

chandler shrugged, hiding his analytical expression, "what do you mean? i'm just listening."

"chan, you never listen, you always talk," nicholas said obviously, emphasizing the rowdy nature of his best friend, "you're a damn chatterbox. what's up with you today?"

chandler narrowed his eyes, placing the ipad with the open sketch he was holding on the table against the wall before approaching him with slow and steady steps, "is there anything you need to tell me?"

"me?" nicholas pointed at himself, "no? why? i'd tell you." "are you sure?" "man, you're weird today. weirder than usual." he turned away, throwing the pencil on the table. chandler smirked confidently, he noticed the growing agitated state nicholas was in. he understood that chandler knew something he wasn't supposed to know.

"what were you doing here with salem reid?" chandler said calmly, looking as nicholas turned around with an icy expression on his face, turning paler as his eyes widened. he cleared his throat, "how do you know?" "i saw you."

"what? were you spying on us?" nicholas approached him, his state growing more and more anxious. "no, dumb shit. i came back because i forgot my keys!" chandler explained, his voice growing louder, "god, nick! salem reid? why the hell didn't you tell me?"

nicholas covered the graham boy's mouth with a hand, trying to make him shut up, "the hell are you screaming for, weirdo?" he hissed, closing his eyes and massaging his temples, "listen. i would have told you, but... it's still at the beginning, we're still trying to work something out without having fucking logan involved."

chandler frowned, "wait, you didn't talk to her manager yet?"

"she was going to. we talked about it, she said she'd tell him and then come back here and let me know." "and..." chandler asked, hanging by the words coming out of his friend's mouth, "i don't know. she still didn't contact me."

chandler nodded, that made sense, "and... when is she supposed to contact you?"

nicholas rolled his eyes, "god, i preferred it when you shut up and listened." chandler cracked a smile, punching his friend on the arm, "ah, shut up, nick. it's a good thing! the fact that you're able to work with her, i mean. she is pretty fine to have around."

nicholas deadpanned, glancing at the clock before looking at his friend with a stoic expression, "chan, for the love of god. it's almost 5 pm, why don't you go home already?"

chandler went around his desk, closing his ipad and opening the laptop, where he made the graphics and digital drawings for nicholas' designs. they always worked together, as nicholas thought and sketched the designs on paper before handing them to chandler to have him recreate the concept art digitally.

he put the ipad in its sleeve, before looking at nicholas with a playful grin, "why? got somewhere to be, loverboy?" he teased.

nicholas sent him a death stare, clearly tired of his teasing nature, "no, but—"

before he could finish, a soft knock came from the door, making both men turn towards the sound. where nicholas expected to see wanda and her red locks, he was met with a blonde head and big, sharp eyes staring into his, "did i interrupt something?"

chandler's snicker made nicholas freeze in his place as both he and salem turned towards him, "so this is why you're throwing me out the office." he mumbled between himself, knowing that both of them heard him perfectly.

he watched salem enter the room, a small amused grin on her face, "i'm chandler, by the way." he walked around his desk, holding his hand out for her to shake.

she accepted it, looking up at him. chandler saw nicholas' embarrassed expression from the corner of his eyes before adding, "i'm a big fan. i convinced him to work with you."

"chan, enough." nicholas said sternly, pushing his friend away as he suppressed a laugh, "sorry about him, he was never taught how to shut up."

chan went back behind his desk, starting the program where he made the graphic designs, "nick, give credits where credits are due!"

salem giggled softly, hiding her lips with her hand at the scene in front of her. she found both of them amusing, and she understood immediately the special bond that existed between them.

nicholas took a deep breath before turning around to face the girl, "is there something you wanted to talk about? did you talk to your manager?" he asked, as chandler subtly looked between them like he was watching his favorite soap opera.

salem nodded, a proud expression on her face, "yep! i did." she started, running her hand in her long blonde hair, "i explained cam the situation and what happened, and after lots of convincing he agreed. logan is probably never gonna talk to me abain but, hey..."

she placed her bag, that nicholas could recognize as a very expensive and luxury one, on chandler's desk since it was the closest surface, mumbling a little 'excuse me' before she opened it. she grabbed a sheet of paper, dramatically showing it to nicholas, "tadaa! your beloved contract is here!"

nicholas' gaze changed, growing softer at her words. for some reason it still irritated him how cheerful she was, but he was also glad that she got what he asked for.

salem placed the paper on the desk, and as nicholas bent down on the table, reading quickly through it, "i just need a little sign, mr chavez." she teased, knowing he hated that kind of formality.

she received a side eye from him, as he read the contract more carefully and placed his sign on the bottom right. chandler watched carefully, before snorting lightly, "am i third wheeling by any chance?"

salem let out a chuckle, she liked him. he matched her playful and feisty energy completely. nicholas, on the other side, petrified him with his gaze, "chan. back to work."

chandler scoffed, standing up again, "you were just sending me away! want me to work now?"

"he's right." salem stepped in, taking chandler's side. nicholas stared at both of them before giving up. apparently it was 'everyone against nicholas' day, and he was not having it. he shrugged it off, "chan, come here."

he went back to the mannequin as chandler stood up with a huff and did the same, sending a small smile towards salem, "it's not a good idea to make the old grumpy man mad."

"CHAN!" he snapped. the other two chuckled at his short temper as the two men went back to work. salem looked around the studio, the drawings and sketches making the room look smaller than it actually was.

it was her first time at the official brand building, and she was fascinated from the first second she stepped foot inside. the environment around her exuded luxury from every corner, and even the people looked extremely professional and serious.

despite from what it might have seemed like considering her feisty and stubborn nature, salem was excellent at her job, as she believed that being professional was the basement for a good career in any field.

her eyes fell on the two men and their heated discussion about the mannequin in front of them. she walked around the studio, deciding not to interrupt them. she took in the details of the walls, the tiles on the floor, the position of the desks. she was an excellent observer.

her gaze fell on a messy desk against chandler's. it had paper sheets and a laptop on it, colored pencils and mechanical ones all over it, it must have been nicholas's.

she checked that the two weren't looking and approached the desk, looking at the sketches displayed on it. they had the same concepts as the ones she saw on the wall at the loft. she moved them around, her slender fingers grazing against the rough paper as a yellow note stood out among the white sheets.

it was stuck on the glass of the desk, an angle of it crumpled. there were only two words on it, simple words that weren't of much importance whatsoever, but which made salem unconsciously smile at the thought that nicholas had written them down in his messy handwriting, "call salem."

————————— ‧₊˚ 📰
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LOLA SPEAKS .ᐟ 𐙚
i ❤️ chandler so much
best character me thinks

thoughts ? please vote and comment,
it really helps me out <33

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