More than a little friend

"Good morning, Mr. Ashington," an older gentleman greeted Xy as he made his way into the office. He hated the formality of being addressed by his last name, but older employees demanded the formal structure, so he allowed it. Many of the younger employees simply called him Xy, and he was fine with that as well. There weren't many CEOs at his level going by their first names, but he liked to be an anomaly.

"Morning. What's on the docket for the day, Akira?" He greeted his friend and assistant as he approached his office. As usual, she was moving between two desks, with a headset on her head and a stack of papers in her hand.

"Good morning! How was your night?" She quizzed him, right on his heels as he moved into his office.

"Great. What are those?" Glancing over his shoulder, he struggled to get a peek at the paperwork she was holding.

"The contracts for next spring's line and the designs for this year's Christmas costumes," she smiled, carefully placing the sheets on Xy''s desk.

"When