"He was the fiancé."

Mercedes sat on the couch in her living room staring blankly at the wall as those words replayed over and over in her head. She didn't know why hearing that had bothered her so much but it did. She knew she had no claim whatsoever and she had past romances herself, but something about hearing he was promised to someone else rubbed her the wrong way.

"He was the fiancé."

It had been 45 minutes since Matt had dropped her off and still the only thing reverberating through her brain was the bombshell he dropped in the restaurant. He had wanted to go into more detail but Mercedes stopped him. She didn't want to hear it. She just wanted to get as far away from Sam and his pretty ex-fiancé as she could.

Why was she there? Why did Sam seem happy to see her? There were times that Sam looked at her so intensely that she thought he hated her and she didn't even do anything to him. Why is the woman that humiliated him and broke his heart allowed to have his laughs? Did she want him back? Did he want her back?

Where in the hell did that leave her?

"He was the fiancé."

The more Mercedes thought about it the madder she got. If it hadn't been for the torture device she called a skirt she and Sam would have sex in that dark, private room. They would have sex while his gorgeous ex-fiancé waited for him. Did he still love her? Did he want to get back with her? If, so what in the hell was he doing trying to seduce Mercedes in an empty room?

"UGH!"

Mercedes needed a distraction and she needed it now. If she sat in that room staring at the wall any longer all she was going to do is twist herself up in knots inside. She needed someone to talk to and knew the perfect person. She grabbed her cell phone out of her phone and quickly searched until she found the contact she was looking for.

"Well, hello Mercedes I see you finally decided to call and apologize after hanging up in my face."

"Please don't start Kurt, I need to talk."

Kurt heard the desperate tone in Mercedes voice and he instantly got serious.

"What is it babe?"

"I don't want to talk about it over the phone, can you come over?"

"Of course honey, I'll be there in 20 minutes."

After hanging up, Mercedes made a couple of quick calls to finalize everything for tomorrow's meeting. With that out of the way she was free to take the rest of the day curled up on the sofa with Kurt feeling sorry for herself. After changing into an oversized shirt, her favorite yoga pants and throwing her hair up in a messy ponytail she laid on the couch with a blanket. Kurt had his own key so Mercedes snuggled deeper into the couch knowing that she wouldn't have to get up to let him in.

True to his word, Kurt showed up about 20 minutes after he got off the phone. He carried in a paper sack with two items in it: Bluebell ice cream and tequila. Suddenly Mercedes' day got a little bit brighter. She felt Kurt's weight as he sat down on the couch by her head and started to run his fingers through her ponytail.

"Do you want this stuff now or later?"

"Later."

"Okay."

Kurt got up and placed the ice cream and tequila in the freezer and then he walked back over and sat down in the same spot.

"So, are you going to tell me what's got you so upset?"

"It's Sam."

Kurt groaned loudly, "what now? I swear you've had a Sam story every day for the past two weeks. I know the money is good Mercedes but it isn't worth all this stress."

"It's not work related."

"Okay, then what is it? Did he say or do something inappropriate? Because if he did I have a friend that knows a girl that used to date a lawyer and we will sue the shit out of Sam-wait, when did you start calling him by his first name?"

"After he asked me to."

"Well, that's sweet of him. When did he ask you? Today?"

"Yeah it was somewhere around when he asked me if he could kiss me."

Mercedes pulled the blanket over her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the judgmental look on Kurt's face. After about a full minute of stunned silence she felt Kurt tugging on her blanket.

"Bitch! You had better look at me! You can't just drop a bomb on me and then hide your face! I want all the details, right now."

"Ok, fine."

Mercedes reluctantly sat up and she relayed the entire story from the encounter in Sam's office, to her introduction to Matt, to how she came to be at the sushi restaurant, to their hook-up in the dining room and finally the news about Sam and his ex-fiancé.

"I knew that outfit was epic..."

"Kurt focus! What am I supposed to do?"

"What do you mean? It's clear that you're both attracted to each other so I would hop on that dick if I were you."

"And what about the fiancé?"

"What about her? Sam is clearly not worried about her so I don't know why you have to be."

"Because if something happens and they decide to get back together, then where does that leave me?

"What do you mean where does that leave you? If it's just sex then you're free to go and do whatever the hell you want unless...are you in love with him?"

"What? No! I barely even know him."

"So what, you don't know him well enough to love him but you do know him well enough to fuck him?"

"It was in the heat of the moment, if I had been thinking straight..."

"You still would have done it. Look, you can lie to yourself all you want to Mercedes but you can't lie to me. You're not the type of girl to sleep with someone that didn't mean something to you. You just aren't built that way."

"Maybe I've changed."

"Girl, stop" Kurt said rolling his eyes, "you haven't changed a damn thing. Quit lying to yourself."

"I can't..."

"Why not?"

"Because if I admit out loud that he means something to me then everything changes."

"Why is that such a bad thing?"

"Because what if I'm just another conquest for him? What if I'm nothing more than just something to keep him satisfied on the side while he works on getting Quinn back?"

Kurt looked at her like she was crazy, "Do you really, truly believe that he would do that?"

Mercedes pondered that for a moment and she realized that she didn't. Even though it was clear that Sam was a complete asshole she felt like she could trust him with her heart. The only problem was she had no idea what he wanted. He may not intentionally hurt her but at the same time maybe all he wants is a few weeks of great sex. If he's upfront and honest with her about that can she really fault him? The sexual tension between them was borderline unbearable so sex was going to happen, but did she really want to start down that road if it was just going to lead to heartbreak?

"Mercedes, snap out of it!"

Mercedes hadn't realized she was off in her own little world until Kurt started waving his hand wildly in her face.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"No problem, I could tell you were thinking but your eyes were starting to glaze over so I figured I would put a stop to it before it turned into a full-blown trance."

"Ha, ha, ha."

"So what conclusion did you come to?"

"I really don't know...my heart is telling me to go for it and let the chips fall where they may. My head, on the other hand, is telling me to slow all the way down. I just...I don't know what to do."

"Yes, you do. It's time to quit the games for one."

"What, what games?"

"The tight outfits, though gorgeous if I do say so myself, are designed to illicit some sort of reaction from Sam. Instead of just being woman enough to tell him what you wanted him you decided to use your clothes to torture him until he caved."

"Uh, weren't YOU the one that suggested that?"

"Don't change the subject. Like I said you wore those outfits knowing what they would do to him."

"No, I didn't..." Mercedes trailed off because she knew she was lying.

"Yes, you did. And you know what, it worked. But now it's time for you to put your big girl panties on and tell him exactly what you want."

"That's easier said than done, Kurt."

"Not really. You have already made it over the big hump, you got him to admit that he wanted you so now it should be easy from here on out."

"And the Quinn thing?"

"How about you ask and stop jumping to conclusions? You said that he wanted you to leave with him, would he have done that if he was on a date with her? If anything it looked as if he were going to dump her in favor of you."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Look, in my honest opinion the Quinn stuff doesn't mean shit. Sam doesn't seem like the type of guy that would welcome a woman back with open arms that had humiliated him in front of his family and friends the way she did. I really don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to the Quinn chick."

Mercedes was still a little doubtful that Quinn wasn't someone to worry about but decided to brush that aside and focus on other things.

"Ok, I think you're right."

"I'm sorry...what was that?"

"I said I think you're right..."

"Say that one more time?"

"KURT!"

"Ok, fine. So first things first, we need to break out the tequila and ice cream and come up with a plan!"

"Wait, I thought you said I needed to stop with the games?"

"Yes, I said it and I meant it. The games need to stop, but there is nothing wrong with a little flirtation and I've seen the way you flirt, so we have to be prepared."

"Oh screw you, Kurt. I have seen the way you flirt too and launching myself on to some man's lap is never going to happen."

"Hate all you want, it works like a charm every single time. I can't recall your record but I do seem to remember Bush still being President the last time you had a date."

"Ha, ha, very funny."

Kurt dodged the pillow that Mercedes threw at him and went into the kitchen to get the ice cream and tequila. He came back with the ice cream, two giant spoons, two shot glasses and the tequila.

"Before I get started, I've just gotta know…exactly how much did he like that skirt?"

Kurt wasn't fast enough to dodge the pillow this time.

5:00 am came extra early the next morning and Mercedes blamed it on the excess tequila that seemed to still be sloshing around inside of her. After the hottest shower she could stand, two cups of coffee, and four Advil, Mercedes almost felt human again. As she rushed to the office she prayed that everything went smoothly because with the way her head was pounding she knew wouldn't be able to handle Sam yelling at her.

Once she made it to the office, she quickly got everything in order and was pleased to find that because of her excellent planning skills everything went relatively smoothly. Now, all she had to do was wait for Sam to come give it a once over and tell her if she needed to fix anything before the client's arrived.

So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was now 7:45 and the boardroom was quickly filling up but there was still no Sam to be found. Mercedes had called up to the office several times but there was no answer. She had even sent Mrs. Halbright upstairs to check but she reported back that Sam wasn't there and it hadn't looked as if had been at any point. Mercedes then called all the cell and house phone numbers that she had in case of an emergency but she still got no answer. She knew that Sam took his business very seriously and Suggs Home Delivery was one of his biggest clients, he wouldn't just blow off this meeting. By this point she was in a full-blown panic thinking of all of the things that could be wrong with Sam. She was about 30 seconds away from calling the police when all of a sudden a jovial, blonde man burst through the doors. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief because at first she thought it was Sam but upon closer inspection she realized it wasn't him. The blonde man brusquely walked towards and held out his hand,

"Hello, my name is Stevie Evans, Co-CEO of Evans & Evans Advertising. You must be Mercedes, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too."

Mercedes knew that the Co-CEO title was just that, a title. Sam made all the important day to day decisions, while Stevie popped in and out whenever he felt like it. According to what Emma had told her the title was only bestowed on Stevie via John Evans' last will and testament. In order to keep his trust fund money he had to be a part of the family business. It was clear that the world of advertising was not Stevie's cup of tea but he did just enough to stay involved so that he got to keep his money.

"So, I guess you're wondering where my brother is at?"

"Yes, actually I was getting kind of worried. Is he alright."

"He's fine...or at least he will be." Stevie's face darkened, "He's a bit indisposed at the moment so he won't be at the meeting today."

"Oh, okay. Do I need to reschedule or..."

"No, I've got it."

Mercedes eyes widened at Stevie's statement and the little bubble of panic started to grow in his chest. She knew she had no right to question him seeing that it was his name on the front of the building and she was just an assistant, but she knew that if messed this up she would be blamed for it.

"Are you sure sir? I'm sure if I explain, the Suggs people will happily reschedule."

Stevie smiled down at her, "don't worry Mercedes, I've got this."

Mercedes smiled up at Stevie timidly before letting her thoughts drift to how big of a box she would need to put all of her stuff in after Sam fired her.

Snapping back to reality she handed over the notes that Sam requested typed up and then she got everything set up to run the power point while Stevie talked. Once she was settled and gave Stevie a nod of approval he began his spiel.

It took all of 30 seconds for Stevie to have the entire room spellbound. He had a great personality, he was knowledgeable of the product, ridiculously charming, and he wasn't too bad to look at. Mercedes was stunned. Halfway through she completely gave up on the power point because Stevie hadn't glanced at the notes once and nobody was paying attention to the screen anyway. By the time he was finished he was met with a rousing applause and instant confirmation that the client wanted him to head their advertising campaign.

Once Mercedes heard that the campaign was a go she breathed a huge sigh of relief. All of the stress from earlier melted away and she felt like she could breathe again. She put her mental box of belongings away and went to go shake hands with everyone as they exited the room.

After everyone was gone she gave the cleaning crew a quick set of instructions before gathering up all of her materials and heading for her office. Before she could make it to the elevator she ran head first into Stevie.

"Oh!"

"Shit! Are you okay!"

"I'm fine...I'm so sorry I should have been watching where I was going."

"No, it's okay. I wasn't paying attention either."

Mercedes met Stevie's eyes and she was momentarily stunned by how much he looked like Sam. They had the same dark blonde hair but Stevie's was little bit longer and more unkempt. They both had great smiles but instead of green eyes like his brother's, Stevie's were a dark blue. He was also a bit skinnier than Sam and he still had a look about him that almost made him seem like a teenager, while Sam on the other hand was all man. The one striking difference between Stevie and Sam was the mischievous glint in Stevie's eyes. It was clear that he enjoyed life and probably didn't take things seriously, while on the other hand Sam was so intense. As Stevie smiled down at her Mercedes instantly concluded that he was a playboy and he has probably left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. She knew if she stood there long enough he would try and run game on her so she quickly brought up Sam.

"Have you heard anything from Mr. Evans?"

Stevie rolled his eyes and gave a curt, "no."

"I'm assuming that you know he's okay and that's why you're not worried, right?"

"Actually no, he's not alright. We had a bit of an...incident last night and the last person I feel like thinking about is my brother."

An incident? Well, that didn't sound good.

The worry Mercedes was feeling must have been evident on her face because Stevie sighed and told her that she should go check on Sam.

"I don't know where he lives or..."

Stevie quickly cut her off by pulling a pen out of her hand and scribbling something on the top folder on the pile she was carrying. He then pulled his keys out of his pocket and pulled one off.

"Here's his address and the key to his place. When you get there tell the doorman that you're a friend of Sam's and show him the key. He shouldn't give you a problem but I'll call ahead just to make sure. Once you get into the elevator use the key and push the 'P' button. It'll take you straight to Sam's place. "

"I don't know if this is appropriate."

"It'll be fine. Just go there make sure Sam's not dead or something and then come on back. You'll be fine."

Mercedes slightly recoiled at Stevie's nonchalant attitude at finding Sam dead but she hoped it didn't show too much. There was something going on between them but it wasn't her place to worry about it.

Since Stevie offered to take her things up the office she was free to go straight to Sam's place. She plugged the address into her GPS system and headed on her way. As she made her way to Sam's place she contemplated calling Kurt for a pep talk. She was nervous as hell about being in Sam's apartment alone and although she didn't think anything would happen after yesterday she wasn't entirely sure they would be able to control themselves.

Once she got to the very impressive apartment building that Sam lived in she told the doorman exactly what Stevie told her to and showed him the key and he let her in without problem. As she took the quick up in the elevator she wondered what she'd find. Would he be mad about missing the meeting? Would he be pissed at her for not trying harder to reach him? Would he be jealous that Stevie got the account without him?

As the elevator slid opened Mercedes realized she was completely off the mark. In order to be mad or jealous you have to be conscious.

Sam was not.