Sonny Kiriakis rolled out of bed a little after 11 in the morning. He was up late the night before. This time studying for his interview. Most nights he was up playing video games or binge-watching TV. A habit he picked up after months of unemployment and no set schedule. With this interview, though, everything will change.

After a whole year of unemployment, Sonny knew this job was the one for him. He wouldn't even have to beg Uncle Vic for a handout either. Something he vowed he would never do no matter how much Will and his mother begged him. Sonny didn't need Titan and he didn't need the Kiriakis name. He would settle for nothing less than what he deserved – a high paying, leadership position in an important company.

Bästa Industries had a hand in several different avenues. Sonny's goal was to become a member of senior management. His time at Titan was short and riddled with controversy at the end but Sonny knew he could overcome that. Nothing ever came of the charges brought against him by Leo after all.

Finally, Sonny was going to get back into the workforce. It would give him something to do all day besides sit around the house. Plus, Will would get off his back about contributing to the household. Something Sonny took offense at considering he took care of Will for so long during the time they lived together and their marriage. Not to mention, all the grief Will gave Sonny when he came back from Memphis. The month's of Will's attitude and lies over wanting Sonny. Forcing them to get a divorce when clearly, the universe wanted them to be together. The whole debacle with Paul was another subject entirely.

Will owed Sonny this.

Will could use a little responsibility in his life after the way he carried on his first few months back in Salem. It wasn't like Sonny did nothing in the time he'd been back with Will. He took care of Ari whenever he could. Everyone knew putting up with Will was a full-time job all on its own. Particularly as they were settling back into their relationship. For months, Will fought Sonny on things. Arguing and picking fights, confident in ways Sonny was not accustomed to and didn't care for.

Not to mention the nosebleeds. It felt like every time they'd argue, Will's nose would erupt. Bleeding and bleeding until Will finally did what Sonny wanted all along. It was disgusting and pointless. If Will did as told, there wouldn't be any problems.

Now, though, after months of being with an almost stranger, Sonny felt like he had his Will back. The Will he married and Paul ruined. There were times Will would get a look on his face or hint of something in his eyes Sonny didn't care for but not as much anymore. Sure, Will was difficult and took longer to give in to Sonny's wishes but he always came around. Yeah, Will wrote too many articles and always seemed too busy these days, never taking a moment to relax. At least their sex life was right on track. Sonny didn't know what Will expected out of him but he'd finally got Will to accept the way things needed to be. Excluding last night, that is.

Will seemed so tired and reluctant lately to touch Sonny. If he wrote fewer articles and slept more, he'd be better off. He also wouldn't have those unsightly dark circles under his eyes. At least Will's body was still in good shape. Sonny fell in love with Will when he looked a certain way. He expected Will to maintain that look.

He wanted everything about Will to be exactly the same as when they married. Getting this job, making more money than a simple journalist, would put Sonny one step closer to his ideal moment in time.

Will entered Bästa Industries headquarters in a strange mood. It'd been several days since his initial interview with Isak Larsson and the man still hadn't let up on him. Rejecting every draft of Will's article. Insisting Will needed to ask him more questions, they needed more face to face time and phone calls. Will had seen the man more than he saw his own boyfriend. Something Isak reveled in.

Will didn't know how he felt about it either. On one hand, it irritated him to no end. The interview should have been finished in a day. Isak was interesting but not enough to merit visiting him every single day. It wasn't like when he interviewed Paul for Sonix. Where Paul was his only project for a publication that came out once a month. The delay backed up his other stories and he had to justify the wait every single day to his Editor-in-Chief. On top of the annoyance, it caused Will to drop whatever he was doing to cater to Isak's whims. Plus, it meant Will had to rewrite or edit everything he already had on the article. It cut into his time at home, keeping him up even later getting through everything he needed.

On top of dealing with Sonny. Sonny went back for several different interviews over the course of the week. He wouldn't shut up about how important it was. How he had to prepare so he couldn't watch Ari in the evening or night and couldn't help plan her party. No, he left it all up to Will who was already overworked and ready to scream.

But, Isak was all kinds of attractive and his unrelenting attention was enticing. The fact that he decided he wanted Will before they'd even met. That he was so confident in himself, so honest in his desire for Will, soothed an ache deep inside of Will. Isak toed several lines but never crossed them with Will. Would back off when Will requested.

Will didn't request it often.

The only thing Will requested was no more gifts or flowers or edible bouquets. Will tried sending the Apple Watch back but Isak wouldn't hear of it.

Will didn't fight that choice. It was something he wanted and if Isak wanted to give it to him, Will wouldn't deny him the opportunity. It was flattering, almost.

It had been ages since he felt so good about himself. Things with Sonny were so off, so strained. Will often felt like an afterthought and he hated it. Isak's admiration for Will's writing and Will himself was refreshing.

And dangerous.

Will knew he was on a slippery slope. That he already dealt with the same situation once upon a time with Paul. This was different, though. Will had no intention of cheating. Even if his heart was never in it with Sonny, he wouldn't do that to him again.

Cheating destroyed Will's life once. It almost cost him his life. The hurt he inflicted on Paul before he left Salem was devastating as well.

Will refused to go down that road again. He wouldn't ruin his relationship and his daughter's life the way he did once. He wouldn't repeat that familial cycle and ship her from home to home as he went from man to man.

No. Will wouldn't.

Eventually, Isak would tire of his fruitless flirtation and move on to better, more deserving candidates. Until then, Will would enjoy the harmless fun that was sure to come from yet another unnecessary visit with the man.

Besides, Will had to have something to distract him from the giant gaping Paul-shaped hole in his life.

"Hej, Raring," Isak greeted as his secretary brought Will into his office.

The office was rather impressive. The entire building was, actually. Everything was sleek and modern particularly Isak's spacious all-glass office.

"Hi," Will said half exasperated by the term of endearment and half amused. "What did you need to tell me? That was so important I had to rush right over even though I already told you I had more than I'd ever need for one article?"

"When you say it I sound irritating."

Will gave him a hard look but said nothing.

"Cruel," Isak said with a small smile. "I thought you could add in your article that my company has almost finished hiring. We filled all lower level positions. We're down to three final candidates for Vice President of our American branch."

"Oh," Will sat at Isak's desk.

He never mentioned his boyfriend was one of those final candidates. He didn't talk about Sonny at all, actually.

"Perhaps you can add them to article. Or, the hired one."

"How much room do you think they're going to give me for this article?"

"I imagine whatever I tell them," Isak replied with a sharp grin. "I've read everything you've published. They'd be idiots not to print everything you give them."

Will couldn't have stopped the pleased smile on his face even if he tried.

"And you had to call me all the way down here for that?"

"Of course, not. I just like seeing your beautiful face every day."

"You're ridiculous," Will rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm spoken for?"

"Not enough times for me to care," Isak shrugged. "Besides, I doubt boyfriend gives you attention you deserve."

"And how do you figure that?"

"If he did, you wouldn't run to my side when I call."

"Maybe I'm being polite."

"You are not polite. If you wanted me gone, you would make me. You like that I call you every day."

"I find it irritating, actually."

"You like that I call you beautiful and tell you how much better I can give you than some stupid man who can't keep you happy."

"You have no idea what my relationship is like."

"I know enough. I listen when you talk. You are tired and bored and lonely. The only thing keeping you from me now is your - what is word? Ah, yes integrity."

Will winced at the word.

Integrity, yeah, sure.

Will didn't have integrity, not anymore. It left when he chased Paul away.

"I suppose I would not like you if you were easy, though."

Will huffed, crossing his arms.

"What? If I gave it up whenever you asked."

"Yes, exactly."

Will snorted.

"When secretary told me about interview I did not want to do it. What did I care what small town? I do not need free press. I got curious, though. Googled your name. I have not regretted it since."

"You don't care what anyone in Salem thinks?" Will asked, deliberately ignoring everything else he said. "In a town with a close-knit group of people and two other major corporations better known than yours?"

"Run by old mafia rejects. There's no competition between my company and them. Like there's no competition between your boyfriend and me."

Will shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You sound like a broken record."

Isak shrugged.

"No one said you had to listen. You could ignore me. But you don't. You complain but do what I want anyway. It's odd."

He paused for a moment, ruminating before shaking his head.

"I do not understand why you are with boyfriend you do not want."

Will opened and closed his mouth, crossing his arms and holding tight to each elbow.

"I was with someone else," Will answered after a few moments. "Happy, in love, the whole works."

"Not now?"

Will shook his head.

"I ruined things and I don't even know why. It's what I do. Now, I'm trying to make things work."

"And who was man who made you happy?"

"Paul," Will choked on his name. "Paul Narita."

"Aw," Isak hummed. "The man from the interview."

Will nodded.

"Well, you sleep with one interview and fall in love. You can do it again."

Will glared causing Isak to burst into laughter.

"Come," Isak said, pushing away from his desk and buttoning his suit jacket. "I'll show you Kafé on first floor. Get you something to ease your pain, Raring. You can tell me about birthday party for little girl."

"You have your own cafe here?"

"Caffeinated workers are happy workers."

Isak led Will out of his office and toward a bank of elevators. In the back of his mind, Will wondered if Sonny arrived for his latest, and potentially last, interview yet.

Sonny sat in a small sitting area outside the CEO's office for one last interview. He made it through almost a week of grueling, high-pressure questions and answers. A week he spent in a state of constant anxiety made worse by Will's inability to help.

It would all be worth it soon. Sonny knew he'd get this. Today, after his interview concluded, he'd finally get to meet Isak Larsson and the job would be his.

When an elevator dinged, Sonny sat up further in his seat. He tore his eyes away from the document he was studying to see Will, of all people, step into the lobby. Isak Larsson himself followed with a hand on Will's lower back.

They were all the way across the expansive floor and Will didn't even look in his direction.

It was odd, the way Will and Isak were looking at each other. The way Isak bent his head toward Will, the unnerving eye contact they shared even as they were walking.

They walked into Isak's office. The walls were made of glass. Part of the company's belief in transparency in action. Right now, it meant Sonny could watch them undisturbed.

They didn't sit down on either side of the desk like Sonny assumed they would.

He knew Will interviewed the man the other week or something. But he couldn't think of any reason they'd meet again. Will got that article published, didn't he?

Will wrote so many. Sonny couldn't keep track of them all.

Either way, Sonny couldn't think of any reason why Will would sit directly on Isak Larsson's desk. Hands behind him, back curved and with a wide smile on his face. A smile Sonny hadn't seen in a long, long time.

He couldn't think of a single reason why Isak Larsson would tower over Will with his overwhelming height. A downright leer on his face as he lifted Will's left wrist and tapped at the screen of a watch he wore.

His fingers drifted from Will's wrist all the way up his arm to Will's neck. Trailing circles over Will's jawline and chin.

Sonny froze watching them, everything else fading into the background. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this way. Not since he was forced to endure Will and Paul pawing at each other in Uncle Vic's house. The two proclaiming their love and Will acting as if the thought of being with Sonny disgusted him.

Or even longer still. The last time Will interviewed someone rich, successful, and handsome. Everyone knew how that turned out, Sonny most of all.

Sonny pushed the feelings and the doubt to the side. Will always relied on something besides his talent to get his stories. His looks, his connections, and, even with Paul, his body.

This had to be something similar not that Sonny even knew Isak Larsson was gay. Nor could he think of why it would be relevant to Will's interview. If Will was even here about an interview at all.

Sonny frowned when Will curled his fingers over Isak's tie before pushing the man away.

Will headed for the door, work bag draped over his left shoulder. Before he got there, Isak grabbed Will's elbow, spinning him around.

Sonny couldn't see their expressions now but he didn't care for their body language. The way Isak stood too close to Will, hand too tight around Will's arm. The way Will seemed to lean forward into the hold before scooting away. In and out, unable to make up his mind whether he should be close or not.

Sonny didn't say anything when Will finally left, heading for the elevator. Isak leaned against his doorway the whole time. His eyes watching Will with an intensity Sonny recognized.

Recognized and didn't care for one bit.

For so long, Sonny was the only one who saw Will. Sonny was the only one who should see Will. Will was meant for Sonny. No one else.

Never anyone else

When Sonny's name was called for his interview, it took several moments for him to react. Too focused on Will and whatever nonsense he was caught up in now.

Leave it to Will to endanger Sonny's big moment.

Sonny left the CEO's office with a strange feeling in his stomach, sickly almost.

Today didn't go as well as it should have, as well as the previous interviews did. Sonny's mind wasn't focused enough. All he could think about was stupid Will and the newest predicament he found himself in.

With, of all people, Sonny's future boss too. How could Sonny concentrate with that hanging over his head?

Dream job almost ruined because of Will.

At the conclusion of the interview, the CEO escorted Sonny to Isak Larsson's office. At last, Sonny could meet the owner and brains behind the entire corporation. The man who an hour earlier couldn't keep his hands off Sonny's boyfriend.

"Larsson," the CEO said after a knock on his door. "The last of our candidates, sir."

"Ah," Isak stood up, extending his hand to Sonny. He towered over Sonny, half a foot taller, at least.

"Sonny Kiriakis, sir," Sonny said, hoping to make a good first impression.

"Kiriakis, hmm?" Isak responded, looking Sonny over with pursed lips.

"Yes, my uncle is Victor Kiriakis. But, we're not on good terms at the moment."

"I see."

An awkward silence enveloped the room, a silence Sonny was desperate to break. He wracked his brain for something, anything to say.

"The blond was back again," the CEO said with a smirk in Isak's direction. "Still rejecting you?"

"Yes," Isak admitted, crossing his arms and leaning against his desk. He said something in rapid-fire Swedish that Sonny couldn't follow but made the CEO burst into laughter.

"Blond?" Sonny repeated with a strangled voice.

"A reporter Larsson, here, has his eye on," the CEO said, amused. "The man's playing hard to get. Unfortunately for him, it's only making him more attractive than before."

A knock sounded at the door, a young man stuck his head in to say, "phone for you, sir, your wife."

The CEO mumbled something exasperated under his breath before leaving the room.

This was Sonny's moment. His chance to make such an impression on Isak Larsson he'd have no choice but to hire Sonny. He could wow him with his knowledge, skills, and fortitude.

Sonny had to do this.

He couldn't think of anything brilliant to say.

Isak cleared his throat, gesturing to his door when Sonny interrupted him.

"Will's my boyfriend," Sonny blurted.

"Come again?" Isak asked, brows furrowed.

In a much smoother, calmer voice, Sonny said, "Will Horton is my boyfriend."

"Ah," Isak said, crossing his arms once again.

He looked Sonny up and down, face blank and eyes hard.

"So, you are boyfriend? Reason why Will rejecting me?"

"Rejecting?" Sonny whispered.

"Will is stubborn, makes him even sexier."

Sonny did not like the way Isak's accent sounded when saying Will's name.

Isak turned to his desk and picked up a large file. A file with Sonny's name written across the top.

"Hmm," Isak said as he thumbed through the paperwork. "Lots of good people interview for job. Lots more skills and experience than you."

"I know I can offer this company something they can't."

"Is that so?" Isak wondered with a bored tone.

"Yes."

"And is that something Will Horton?"

"What?"

Sonny frowned, caught off guard.

"I will not lie to you. It will be very hard for you to get job."

"But – I-,"

"Only few years in major corporation? Embarrassing exit from own uncle's company? No, much too risky."

Sonny didn't get the chance to respond.

"There is something you have other's do not."

Sonny's mind whirled. He couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"Will?"

"Ja, yes," Isak responded with a smile. "Will."

Sonny opened and closed his mouth, speechless.

His dreams passing him by, slipping out his grasp. All because of a stupid, dead prostitute he never would have slept with if Will wasn't such an idiot. If Will didn't leave him for Paul Sonny never would have been with Leo.

Sonny never would have been fired and the lawsuit never would have happened. He never would have killed someone or been blackmailed over it. He wouldn't have had to deal with months of Will's bullshit with Paul. Sonny wouldn't be here now with his dream job slipping from his fingers if his idiotic boyfriend wasn't such a slut.

Sonny knew he had the skills for this job. He was perfect for this job. Isak Larsson only denied that because he wanted Sonny's boyfriend for himself. He was going to take Sonny's job away from him because of Will.

Everything always came down to Will. He ruins everything.

"Now," Isak said, tossing Sonny's folder on his desk. "Will and I are close. We are friends even with rejections. He might be only one who can convince me to give you job."

Oh

Oh

Oh

Will wasn't going to cost him his job. Will was going to secure it for him.

Sonny needed this job. He deserved it.

Sonny was the only one to know the true Will Horton. The one Paul refused to see. The one everyone refused to see.

Sonny knew how ugly Will was on the inside and put up with him anyway.

Will owed him this.

Sonny was getting this job no matter what Will had to do.

Sonny spent the whole walk home planning it over. It wasn't such a sacrifice for Will. Isak Larsson was attractive if you liked them tall and skeletal. Will cheated before. This time it wouldn't even count as cheating since Sonny knew about it beforehand.

No, this was Will doing whatever he could to make Sonny happy. That's all that matters, isn't it? That's what a supportive, loving boyfriend does.

But, Sonny knew how much Will struggled with the idea of infidelity. He made a big stink about it when Paul accused him of it before. He also went on a downward spiral once his lies about Paul and the guy in California were exposed.

Will was trying to do better.

Sonny knew he couldn't flat out tell Will to sleep with another man so Sonny could get a job. That would veer into dangerous territory. After the way Sonny reacted when he found out about Will and Paul's affair? No. Sonny couldn't even suggest it without looking like a hypocrite.

Which was why Sonny needed to make Will think it was his idea.