"He said what about my outfit?"

Mercedes sighed and pulled the phone away from her ear, there was only so much she could take of Kurt's head voice.

"He told me I looked like I couldn't breathe in it and not to wear it at the office anymore."

"Fuck him. I'll go down to the boutique on the corner right now and get you one exactly like it to wear tomorrow."

"Please don't, I've had enough drama today."

"Oh really, and what pray tell might that be?"

Just as Mercedes was preparing herself to give Kurt a play by play of that morning's events she heard the unmistakable ding of the elevator. Thinking it was Mr. Evans, Mercedes muttered a quick goodbye to Kurt and slammed the phone down. She grabbed a pen and stared down intently at a stack of papers and hoped she looked busy.

"Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked up and was surprised to see Matt standing in front of her. She looked back towards the elevators expecting Mr. Evans to walk out but he never came.

"Um, Sam went on to lunch without me. Some lady friend of his called while we were in the parking garage and he bailed on me. Crazy, huh?"

Mercedes struggled to ignore the sinking feeling she felt in her stomach. Why did she care if Mr. Evans dated or screwed around with other women? He didn't belong to her and he never would so he was free to do whatever he wanted.

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that. Did you need help with something? I could look up some local restaurants if you wanted to eat somewhere else..."

"Actually yeah, you could do something for me. How about we push up that lunch date to today?"

"Um..."

Mercedes was caught off guard by the request. Even though she had agreed to a lunch date with him almost as soon as the words had left her mouth she had regretted them. She knew that she was only doing it to make Mr. Evans jealous and in the moment it had seemed like a great idea. Now, that the moment had passed and she couldn't feel Mr. Evans hot gaze on her any longer the idea of a lunch date with Matt wasn't so appealing anymore.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do today. I have a ton of work I need to get done for the meeting tomorrow."

Mercedes tried her best to look apologetic and hoped it would be enough to get him to back off.

"Aw, come on Mercedes," Matt pleaded, "Sam already dumped me, don't tell me you're going to dump me too. Besides he told me to ask you, you know, to make up for him being an ass earlier."

Mercedes immediately called bullshit in her mind on that one because she couldn't see Mr. Evans feeling the need to make up for anything he did. But just in case Hell had frozen over and he actually did she didn't want to take the chance of getting in trouble.

"Ok, fine. But I have to be back up here in an hour."

"Fair enough, let's go. There's this great sushi restaurant that I've been dying to try."

Mercedes threw her cell phone and keys into her purse and pulled the keycard for the elevator from her desk. As they headed towards the elevator Mercedes looked down at her blouse and saw that the top two buttons were still undone. She could feel her face growing hot when she realized that the edges of her bra had been showing the entire time!

Mercedes berated herself silently for being stupid enough to forget about buttoning her shirt back after her little encounter with Mr. Evans. No wonder Matt had spent most of his time talking to her chest, she may as well have put a sign on her breasts that said '"LOOK AT ME".

If she wasn't dreading this lunch date before then she certainly was now. She knew she wasn't about to sit across from his in a restaurant with half her shirt unbuttoned so she handed him the keycard and instructed him to unlock the elevator while she got something from her desk. When she got there she quickly buttoned her blouse back and then picked up a pencil and shoved it in her purse so that it wouldn't look like she lied. When she stepped into the elevator she saw Matt's eyes quickly flit down to her blouse and back up again. She smirked smugly to herself and thought, "No more free looks for you, perv."

The ride in the elevator was slightly uncomfortable but thankfully it was over quickly. Once they got down to the parking garage Mercedes headed straight for her car.

"Mercedes, I'm parked over here."

"Oh. Well, actually I was planning on just taking my car that way you wouldn't have to bring me all the way back over here when lunch was over."

"Really Mercedes, I insist. I have to come back over here anyway so it doesn't make sense to take two cars."

Mercedes swallowed back her irritation. She really didn't want to ride in a car with him but short of actually saying that she didn't have an actual excuse not to do it.

"Ok."

He waited until she was beside him again before walking over to his car. The sleek BMW was sexy as hell and some of Mercedes' earlier reservations melted away. If she had to put up with Matt's increasingly stifling presence at least she got to do it in something really nice.

The ride over to the restaurant went by surprisingly quickly and Mercedes was forever grateful. Matt was a complete gentleman and he rushed around to her side of the car to help her out. As he placed his hand on her lower back and gently ushered her inside she wondered briefly if she had misjudged him. She had been so wrapped up in some weird battle of wills with Mr. Evans that she almost felt like she had forgotten how to read people in a normal situation. She promised herself that for at least the rest of the lunch date she was going to put Sam Evans out of her mind and focus solely on Matt.

Once they were seated and had gotten their drink orders taken Mercedes sat back in her seat and begin to ask Matt some basic questions to get to know him better. At first she was totally into the conversation because despite a slightly weird vibe he gave off Matt was an incredibly charming guy. He didn't talk about himself too much so he didn't come off as cocky. He had a few funny anecdotes but he didn't tell joke after joke after joke. And any time she added something to the conversation he stopped talking and listened to what she had to say. All in all, he was a nice date. No epic spark, but she wasn't bored out of her mind either. By the time the appetizers had arrived Mercedes had finally felt comfortable enough with Matt to totally relax.

And then she felt it.

At first it was like a weird prickling feeling on the back of her neck, almost like someone was blowing on it. When she first felt it she grabbed her neck in surprise and looked behind her to see if someone was there. When she turned back around she met Matt's confused eyes. She assured him she was fine and she just got a little chill. It seemed like a plausible enough excuse to Mercedes.

But then she felt it again.

This time she felt as if all the hair on her body was standing on end. It was an exhilarating feeling but it was scaring the shit out of her because it was coming from nowhere. The only time she felt electricity like that was when...

Mercedes began to look around frantically again.

"Um, Mercedes, are you okay?"

Mercedes snapped her head back around to find Matt staring at her like she was crazy and she felt like a fool. Didn't he already say that Mr. Evans had met up with some lady friend? Odds were he was holed up with her at his penthouse, not here at some random sushi restaurant.

"Yeah...I'm sorry. I feel a little weird, will you excuse me for a second?"

Matt instantly looked concerned.

"Do you want to go home? Or do I need to take you to the hospital?"

"No, neither. I just need to go to the bathroom and splash my face with cold water or something. I'll be okay. Just stay here because I'm sure the food will be here soon. I'll be right back, I promise."

As soon as Mercedes stood up she felt it again but this time it was ten times more potent. The feeling was indescribable and it was making her jittery. As she weaved through the tables towards the ladies room she felt like she was being stalked. In a normal situation she would be scared and reaching for the mace in her purse but this time all she felt was excitement.

He was here and she could feel it.

As Mercedes rounded the corner to the bathrooms she felt herself get jerked back. From the tingles that shot straight up her arm she didn't even bother questioning who it was. She let him drag her into a secluded area of the restaurant that was closed to the public because it was used exclusively for private dinner parties.

Once they got in the room he shut the door behind him but he didn't turn on the light. Mercedes started to protest because she couldn't see anything but then he moved in front of her and pressed her back into the door. She may not be able to see him but she sure as hell could feel him. They were pressed together and the electricity that was shooting between them was almost unbearable. Mercedes prepared to open her mouth to beg him to do something, anything to make the ache go away but before she could speak she heard him harshly breathe out,

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Mercedes stared up at him blankly even though she couldn't see him. At a time like this he wanted to question her about her choices of restaurant?

"Matt brought me. He said that you bailed on him to meet some woman and you told him to come take me out to lunch instead."

"WHAT?"

Mercedes gave a startled squeak when Sam suddenly pushed himself away from her and started pacing back and forth in front of her.

"That slimly, piece of shit...I can't believe that fucker played me like that...you just wait until I see him-"

"Mr. Evans?"

At the sound of Mercedes voice Mr. Evans stopped pacing and walked back towards her until their bodies were millimeters from touching.

"Listen to me, I never told Matt to take you out to lunch. In fact, I would NEVER tell Matt or any other man for that matter to do that. Also, I didn't bail on Matt to go on a date. I bailed on him because he's an asshole and I didn't want to spend time with him."

"I thought you two were friends?" Mercedes asked softly.

"We were, but if he keeps doing what he's doing that's going to be a thing of the past."

"I'm not trying to come between you and your friend."

"You're not...well you are but it's not your fault. Don't worry about it, ok?"

"Ok."

As that final word melted away into the vast silence of the room the electricity between them sparked back up and became like a living, breathing thing.

"Do you feel that?" Sam asked softly as he pressed his forehead against hers, "please tell me you feel that."

"Yes..."

The word had barely left Mercedes lips when she felt Sam's hand gently cup her cheek. His wide thumb gently brushed her cheek and it took everything in Mercedes to keep her legs from buckling.

"What the hell is this?"

Mercedes didn't know the answer to that and she told him so.

"I want to kiss you so bad, Mercedes. Can I kiss you?"

The question was so sweetly asked that even if Mercedes didn't want him to kiss her she would have said yes. She nodded her head gently but that didn't seem to be good enough for Mr. Evans.

"Say it."

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

Mercedes was getting so impatient at this point that she wanted to scream in frustration.

"Yes, Mr. Evans you can kiss me."

"No, say my real name. Please."

Mercedes paused for a second before breathing out, "Sam..."

Hearing his name come of out her mouth seemed to ignite some type of spark within Sam. Where before everything was soft and slow it suddenly became hot and fast and rough. He pushed her body back against the door as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. They both moaned at the instant contact and a second later Mercedes could feel Sam's tongue against her lips seeking entrance. She opened her mouth and was instantly overwhelmed by Sam's big body pressing into hers and his full, plump lips moving against her as his tongue battled with hers. After what seemed like an eternity they both pulled away to catch their breaths but it didn't stop their hands from roaming. Mercedes hands were clawing at Sam back while his hands were going back and forth between her breasts and her ass. Sam began to suck on Mercedes neck and she prayed to God that her weak legs wouldn't buckle. At some point Sam had managed to get enough buttons of her white buttons undone that he could uncover one of the cups of her red bra.

"Fuck" he breathed into her ear.

He yanked the left cup down before Mercedes could stop him and he bent over and grabbed her distended nipple with his lips. Mercedes was no virgin but she had never experienced anything like this in her life. The feeling of Sam's large lips sipping and tugging on her breast had Mercedes feeling as if she were about to pass out.

"Sam...Oh God...you've gotta...oh...oh...oh, please."

Mercedes felt him smile against her breast before lifted his head and asked,

"What do you want me to do baby?"

Mercedes was at a loss for words. She wasn't sure what she wanted him to do exactly but she knew she wanted the ache gone. She pulled his head back towards hers and began to take quick, sweet pecks at his lips. She thought he might find something like that childish but he smiled gently against her lips and returned her tiny kisses. Eventually that wasn't enough for either of them and the kisses started to get deeper and longer until they were both light-headed from lack of air.

Sam hands started wandering again and Mercedes could feel him start to tug her leather skirt up.

And he tugged.

And tugged.

And tugged some more.

The skirt wouldn't budge.

"What...?"

Mercedes knew she should be embarrassed but it was overridden by her amusement at Sam's confusion over why the dress wouldn't move.

"Is this damn thing welded on?"

Mercedes tried to stifle a giggle but it burst out anyway when Sam grabbed both sides of her skirt and tugged so hard that he lifted her off the floor.

Mercedes was laughing outright now at this point and even though Sam was clearly frustrated he joined in. After their light chuckles had finally subsided Sam rested he face in the crook of her neck.

"Now you see why I told you not to wear that damn skirt to the office."

Mercedes giggled quietly as she played with the damp hair at the back of his neck.

"I would promise not to wear it again but I look fucking fantastic in it."

Sam laughed and said, "That you most certainly do."

Even though they were resigned to the fact that Mercedes' wardrobe malfunction had effectively killed any down south action they were still content to just stand in each other's arms. Mercedes continued to run her fingers through the back of Sam's hair as he leisurely ran his large hands up and down her back. Mercedes laid her head on Sam's shoulder and hummed quietly as he ran his nose up and down her neck.

"What is that?"

"What?"

"That smell?"

Mercedes head snapped up and she was instantly embarrassed. Did she smell bad? She started to feel self-conscious until she heard him murmuring,

"Is it some type of flower...or is a fruit...I can't place it."

"Oh that? That's my soap. My friend Kurt knows this kooky hippie chick that makes and sells homemade soaps. She refuses to tell anyone what's in them so your guess is as good as mine."

"Hmmmm...Well, whatever it is you smell good enough to eat."

Mercedes' gut clenched at Sam's words she wanted nothing more than to start up round 2 but she had to get it back. She didn't know exactly how long she'd been gone but she knew it was a hell of a lot longer than she actually needed to simply go in the bathroom and splash water on her face. Even though she barely knew Matt she still didn't feel right leaving him sitting at the table like a fool. She pushed gently on Sam's chest until he backed up a little.

"I've got to go."

She could feel Sam stiffen at her words.

"Fine, let me pay my tab and we can go."

She knew he was deliberately misunderstanding what she meant and it pissed her off. She didn't want things to go back to the way they were between them but they would if he was determined to act like an asshole.

"I have to go back to my table. I've been gone too long and Matt's probably wondering where I'm at."

At the sound of Matt's name Sam stepped completely away from Mercedes. She could feel his arm brush against her for just a second as he reached past her and flicked on the light. She blinked rapidly as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden brightness. When her vision cleared she focused on Sam. He was clearly very angry but he didn't seem as intimidating with his kiss swollen lips and mussed hair. Mercedes feared what she looked like because if Sam's hungry gaze was any indication she looked like she had been thoroughly fucked.

Mercedes started to run her hand sub-consciously through her hair when Sam reached forward and grabbed her hands to make her stop. He slowly tugged the bra cup up over her exposed breast and then he buttoned the six buttons that had come undone. When he was finished with her shirt he brought his thumb up and rubbed it against her lips and wiped away the remaining smeared lipstick. After he was done he took a step back and gave her a once over and judging by his expression he considered her decent enough to go back into the dining room.

Just as Mercedes was getting ready to thank him for being so understanding despite his feelings about the situation he had to open his mouth and ruin it.

"My car is in valet, I'll give you the ticket and you go straight there and wait. I will go get your belongings from Matt and give him your apologies. You are not to go back to that table. Do you understand?"

Mercedes stared at Sam in shock. How could he go from being sweet and attentive to being a cold, distant asshole just like that? Mercedes didn't know whether to be sad or mad. She was a fool to think a quick make-out session and some intimate moments were going to change Sam. He may be capable of little bursts of sweetness but it was obviously not something that could last. Sam Evans was clearly not built that way.

"No, Mr. Evans, I don't understand. I was invited to lunch and I accepted the invitation. I'm not just going to back out of that because you said so. You have no right to dictate who I spend my time with."

"Don't you see he's playing you? He doesn't care anything about you he's just doing it to get back at me."

Mercedes wasn't exactly hurt at the thought of Matt not being attracted to her because she wasn't attracted to him, but the idea of being played stung. Maybe Sam was right, his delivery sucked and he needed to learn real quick that she wasn't his property but if he was actually doing it to protect her then she could forgive him this once. Even though the lunch date with Matt hadn't been all bad she still got a creepy vibe from him and if what Sam said was true about being at the restaurant alone then Matt lied right to her face. Suddenly the idea of leaving his ass didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Look, Sam maybe you're ri—"

RING! RING! RING!

Both Sam and Mercedes jumped at the loud offensive noise that was coming from Sam's pocket. Without looking at the screen he put it up to his ear and yelled, "WHAT?"

Because they were still standing so close to each other Mercedes could hear, albeit faintly, the person on the other end.

"Sam? It's me Quinn. Where the hell are you? I've been sitting at this table by myself for the last 15 minutes. Your food is getting cold."

Mercedes felt all the blood drain out of her face. How could she be so stupid? Matt was right Sam did come here with a date, which means that all the time he had been trying to convince her Matt was the liar it was actually him. She felt like such a fool. She had almost fallen for it. She had almost screwed over a semi-good guy because of her asshole boss. Mercedes felt tears of shame start to prick her eyes. The whole time Sam had been feeling her up in this room he had some other woman out in the dining area waiting on him. Mercedes knew that she did essentially the same thing but Matt wasn't her boyfriend or her date or even someone she was attracted to. He was just some guy she had just met that invited her to have a bite to eat.

Even though she knew what she did was wrong all she felt was a sting of guilt, but knowing that Sam did the same thing hurt. It hurt because she had let herself drift away on some fantasy where they could be together and the fact that he was trying to climb her tree while still clinging to a branch of another one made her feel sick. She couldn't believe she was stupid. She couldn't believe she was so easy. If her leather skirt would have been slightly more cooperative she would have had sex with Sam, no question. She was ready and willing and she didn't even think twice about the consequences. What in the hell was wrong with her?

Mercedes angrily swiped away her tears as she watched Sam mumble something into his phone. When he hung it up he stared down at her with pleading eyes,

"Please let me explain."

"No. It doesn't matter, what's done is done. It was a stupid mistake that won't happen again."

Mercedes was surprised at the monotone voice that she didn't recognize. It took a second for her to realize that it was coming from her.

"Don't do this Mercedes," Sam said angrily, "you need to listen to me, it's not what you think."

"NO! I don't need to do anything for you except do my job efficiently. I will continue to do that as long as you stay away from me."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means if you touch me again I'll quit."

"I'm not going to let you quit."

"You can't force me to stay."

"Fine, I won't touch you. But what if you touch me first?"

"Trust me, that's never going to happen."

"We'll see."

Sam's blasé' attitude towards her ultimatum pissed Mercedes off. She knew he didn't take her threat seriously and it worried her. She knew that at the slightest touch she would probably fold like a house of cards but she didn't want him to know that. If Sam knew how much power he had over her body he would play with her like he was ventriloquist and she was his dummy. She needed space and she needed time to think. Most importantly she needed to get the hell away from him.

"I still have a little bit of time left on my lunch break so I would like to enjoy it before I have back. Please, tell Quinn I said hello."

Sam's eyes narrowed at her last catty remark but he said nothing as she turned on her heel and exited the room.

As soon as the door shut behind Mercedes she took off towards the women's restroom. While in there she tried to repair the damage to her hair as best she could but it was obvious that someone had their hands all up in it. Her already large lips looked tripled their normal sized and her neck and cheeks had a reddish tint from where's Sam light stubble had rubbed up against them. Like she previously thought she looked like she had been thoroughly fucked. Mercedes didn't want to return to her table looking like that but she didn't have much of a choice because she was sure Matt was going to send a search party soon.

As she headed back to her table she could see Sam already there sharing words with Matt. It was clear that they were both pissed but they were trying to keep up appearances in the upscale restaurant. Mercedes was about five tables away when Sam's head popped up and he saw her coming. The angry look in his eyes stopped her in her tracks for a second but she quickly recovered and continued on. Whatever conversation he was having with Matt came to an abrupt close when she made it to the table.

"Are you okay Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked down at Matt who was still seated and instantly felt a rush of guilt come over her. He looked genuinely concerned about her well-being and she felt bad for treating him the way she did.

"Actually I don't feel so well. I was hoping you could take me home."

Sam's looked sharply at her and asked, "Home? I thought you were going back to the office to prepare for tomorrow's meeting?"

"I was but while I was in the restroom I realized that I just didn't feel up to being in an office today. Besides I got most of the stuff done already and anything that I haven't gotten yet I can do at home."

"You do look feverish, Mercedes," Matt said. He waved a waiter over to box up their food in to-go boxes.

"She looks fine to me." Sam growled.

"Well, you're not a doctor so you can't make that call now can you, friend?"

Mercedes had had enough of the petty bullshit and she was ready to go home. She wanted to put on a pair of old sweats, eat her sushi, and call Kurt to cry about what a fool she'd been.

"Look, Mr. Evans I promise that everything for the meeting will be taken care of and it will run smoothly. Can I please go home?"

Mercedes' eyes watched as Sam's right jaw muscles twitched. The effort it was taking him not to be his normal asshole self was apparently massive.

"Fine, Ms. Jones. You may have the rest of the day off."

Mercedes celebrated her mini victory in her mind even though she knew she would probably have to pay dearly for it one day.

By this time the over eager waiter had brought their food back and Matt quickly paid the bill and left a hefty tip.

"Are you ready to go home, beautiful?"

Mercedes didn't say a word but the death glare she threw Matt was enough to let him know that she recognized his little game and she wasn't impressed.

Sam stood there watching them both silently, the only movement coming from his body was the slow ticking of his jaw.

"I'll see you first thing tomorrow, sir."

Sam didn't even acknowledge Mercedes words because he was too busy staring Matt down.

"You remember what I said."

Matt smirked at his threat, "Yeah, you remember what I said too."

Sam spared her one more quick, scathing glance before he turned and walked away. Mercedes rolled her eyes at his rudeness and grabbed her box of food off the table and headed towards the door. Against her better judgment Mercedes looked back once more and she instantly wished she hadn't because there was Sam talking to some beautiful blonde woman. Apparently she was an accomplished comedian because whatever she was saying to Sam seemed to be hilarious given the way he was laughing. Even though Mercedes knew she had no right to be jealous she couldn't stop the feeling from arising.

"Oh look, Quinny is back in town."

Mercedes looked at Matt in confusion, "Quinny? Who's Quinny?"

"Quinn Fabray, Sam's college sweetheart. Man, I haven't seen her in years. If I didn't need to get you home I would go over and say hi."

Mercedes was going to tell Matt they could go over so he could say hi but selfishly she didn't want to be anywhere near that woman.

"You know, just between you and me I'm not surprised in the least that Sam went running when she called, he was crazy about her back in the day. Well, on second thought that's not completely true, I'm a little surprised."

"And why is that?" Mercedes asked even though she really didn't want to know.

"Because the last time that I saw Quinn was on her wedding day. More specifically the last place I saw her was at the altar telling her fiancé that she couldn't marry him."

"What does that have to with Sam?"

"He was the fiancé."