So this is a Prelude to a new story and I would love to get your thoughts if I should continue or not. I miss you all and love you all. You are what gets my muse going when I need it.
Mercedes Jones stared at the files that were put in front of her. Her client list grew more prominent each day, and yet, she still never got any of the credit. Her boss Will seemed to hate her and everything about her. She did her job better than everyone around her, and yet she was met with hesitation and dismissiveness.
"Mercedes Will would like to see you."
Mercedes turned and noticed her receptionist Marley. She smiled. "Oh, okay, well, I will be there in a moment."
Mercedes stood up, smoothing down her form-fitting navy blue dress. Walking down halls of Washington, Sylvester, and Hummel. Being a Lawyer had been Mercedes's dream from the moment she grew up watching her mom defend the little people. Mercedes learned that life wasn't always fair, and it was up to people like her mom and her to make a path for those who need it. But working for Will made that hard. He took her talents and used them for personal gain in the company.
Mercedes knocked on Will's door and let herself. "You wanted to see me, Will?"
Will looked up and rolled his eyes. "Have a seat. And I told you to call me Mr. Schuester."
Mercedes laughed. "Yeah, I am not gonna do that."
"Mercedes, I am a Jr. Partner here at this firm, and you will respect me and what I do here."
"And what do you do here? Steal my credit?"
Will stood from his desk. "You wanna know why you will never get anywhere here? Because you don't have the drive or the know-how. Because you will never have the will to win. Look at you, 28 years old with no future here and no future in your love life."
"Do you understand that I could have already made partner at my mother's firm in Ohio, but I came here to New York to make a difference?"
"Then you should have stayed in Ohio."
Mercedes balled her fist as he continued.
"You want to know what the saddest part of all this is? You will never get promoted because you are just not good enough. Sue, Roz, and Burt are all about family. Hell, Sue married herself that should tell you something. If you don't get your life together, if you don't prove yourself by the time we have our company retreat, you will never be anything more than my lackey."
Will smirked, and Mercedes stood up. "You know, you have underestimated me the moment we met. You made it seem like I am holding myself back, but the truth is you can't do this without me, so I am going prove myself, and when I do, I will be your boss."
She walked out of the room and back to her desk. The moment she sat down, her phone went off. Taking a breath, she looked at the screen and instantly smiled, seeing her best friend. Answering the video call, she shook her head. "I swear you are a sight for sore eyes. But weren't you going to call me tonight?"
Sam Evans frowned from the other end of the phone. "Please tell me I don't have to go, Merce! Hit me in the head with a rock or something, anything."
Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Well, for one, I am gonna go ahead and say you have to go because if you are trying to get out of something, that means it's a responsibility. And second, what are we talking about?"
"Quinn's Wedding to Mike, please don't tell me you forgot."
Mercedes glanced at her calendar and swore to see that Quinn's wedding was a week away; she totally forgot. "Oh yeah, sorry. I never submitted my RSVP, so I am sure they won't miss me. But seeing as she is your sister, I would say you have to go. And besides, you were happy to go a few weeks ago; what changed?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe finding out that Rachel is one of her Bridesmaids."
"Wait, I figured after you guys broke up, Quinn would have replaced her."
"Yeah, well, Q didn't get that memo. She said that she didn't make me date Rachel, and since they were friends before we got together, she wasn't going to mess up her wedding on my account. But if that was really the case, she would have told me that Rachel was still in her wedding 5 months ago when Rachel up and dumped me."
"Sam...your family loves you. And you knew about Q and Rachel being besties before you dated her."
"Yeah, whatever." Sam huffed. "Anyways, let's circle back to you saying you aren't coming?"
"Sam, I am trying to get this big promotion to Partner or at least Jr. Partner. I need to focus before this retreat. It's my last chance... "
She stopped speaking as Sam spoke. "Yeah, well, this wedding is going to suck without you. I just need to find a date."
Mercedes glanced around and stood walking to the bathroom and making sure no one was around. "You know we could help each other out."
Sam raised an eyebrow, "WIth what?"
"Well, I need to make a good impression at this retreat, showing up with a fiancee that will make me look really good to the partners."
Sam was quiet for a moment and smiled. "And me showing up with a fiancee will get my mom and sisters off my back. Everyone swears we are more than friends anyways."
"No, they don't."
"Mercedes, yes, you and I know we are only friends, but our families swear we are either secretly dating or will be. This will be perfect. We can say we got engaged, and they will believe us."
"Sam telling my job is one thing but our families?"
"Mercedes, you have been my best friend since we were 16. You and I have been through everything together. Why is this any different?"
"Because it's a marriage."
"A fake one!"
Sam sighed, "Please, Merce. Just come here this week do the whole fake engagement thing for me. I will come there and do the fake engagement for your job, and honestly, when we are done, we can just say the distance is just not working for us."
Mercedes sighed. "I mean, it's not the worst idea. Better than that road trip you convinced me to take before law school."
"See! Come on, let's do this."
Mercedes sighed. "I guess I can get a plane ticket and take leave, I never really do that, so they shouldn't say no."
"Yes, so let's do this, be my fake bride."
Mercedes sighed. "Fine, Sam, I will do it. Let me take care of things, and then I will come a few days before the wedding."
Sam smiled, and Mercedes disconnected the call. She wasn't sure this was the smartest thing to do. And their families might not even care for them being engaged, but at least they knew they had each other's backs. She met Sam in her Jr. year of High school, and they became best friends. No matter the distance or the drama they made it through.
Everyone, including her ex-boyfriend Tank, swore she and Sam were in love. But they hadn't so much as ever kissed; they were just honest to God best friends. Though they hadn't seen each other in months, it was always the same when they got together, nothing but love and fun. They were complete opposites. Sam was fun and adventurous, and Mercedes was cautious and wary.
Sam always had this way of getting her out of her shell, and she always made him think. It worked for them; it was their dynamic. And now they were pretending to be engaged, and she had no choice but pretend to love Sam as more than a best friend, which might be more complicated than it seemed.