YOU DID WHAT?"
Mercedes cringed at the sound of her best friend's shrill voice splitting her ear drums.
"You don't have to yell Kurt," she sighed rubbing her temples, "I'm right here."
"I'm sorry…no, I'm not sorry. What in the hell were you thinking!"
It had been one week since her ill thought out and hastily blurted proposal and the mere mention of it still made her cringe. It took seven long days before she even got up the nerve to tell someone and she was rapidly beginning to wish she hadn't.
"So what happened?" Kurt demanded, "I don't see a ring on your finger but then again I guess I wouldn't since you proposed to him! Does he have a ring on his finger?"
Mercedes glared at Kurt before answering defensively, "Hey! Women propose all the time!"
"No they don't." Kurt answered bluntly.
"Yes they do."
"Name one."
"Uh….um…"
"Um, nothing. You can't think of one single person."
"Not off the top of my head, no." Mercedes answered stubbornly, "But if you give me a minute I'm sure I can think of someone."
"Mmmm-hmmm," Kurt hummed while giving her a side-eye. His phone buzzed and he grabbed it from his pocket and quickly read the message on it with a furrowed brow. He stared at his phone for a moment longer before asking, "so, what happened?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?"
"Exactly that…nothing."
1 WEEK AGO…
"I said…marry me."
Mercedes held her breath as she watched the emotion flit across Sam's face. His green eyes were wide and his plump pink, kiss swollen lips formed a perfect 'O'. As the seconds ticked by without a sound from Sam the ball of dread in her stomach began to grow. Sam's mouth opened and shut several times but no sound came out and the longer the silence stretched the worse Mercedes felt. What the hell was she thinking?
Mercedes frantically searched her mind for the least painful and humiliating way out of her current situation but she couldn't think of anything. Her throat felt tight and it constricted painfully as she stared into Sam's unreadable green eyes.
"I…I…I…" Mercedes stammered, "I didn't mea—"
RING! RING! RING!
Mercedes choppy words were cut off by the sound of the shrill ring coming from Sam's cell phone on the bedside table. She breathed an internal sigh of relief and averted her gaze from Sam's intense stare.
"What?" He snapped causing Mercedes to turn her gaze back to him
"No…no…no, that meeting wasn't scheduled until later this week…it was rescheduled? Why in the hell wasn't I informed? What do you mean you didn't know you were supposed to? It's your job! What time did you reschedule the meeting to?" Sam glanced at the clock and sighed heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is less than an hour from now," he said through gritted teeth, "Is there anything else you forgot to tell me? You know what, just forget it, if you did I don't want to hear about it right now. Just make sure the clients are taken care of—food, drink, whatever they want. Also make sure you apologize for my tardiness. Can you handle that? I'll be there as soon as I can."
Sam pushed the end button harshly before dropping the phone back on the bedside table and running his hand roughly over his face.
"She's an idiot," he spat out, "she rescheduled those clients a week ago and she waits until five minutes before they show up to tell me about it."
Sam sighed heavily again before looking back at Mercedes and his hard green eyes immediately softened as he searched her face. He reached up his ran the back of his hand down her cheek before whispering, "I'm sorry, I have to go."
"It's fine," she whispered back, "you're already late, you should go."
Sam watched her face for a moment longer before leaning forward and pressing a gentle but firm kiss to her lips.
"I love you," he breathed against her lips.
"I love you too."
Sam's eyes continued to bore into Mercedes' and she shifted uncomfortably on the bed and averted her gaze again. She felt the mattress move as Sam got out bed and made his way to the foot where his scattered clothes were located. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as he pulled on his boxer and pants and she couldn't help but appreciate the muscles in his back and biceps as they contracted with the movement. It was good to know that her crippling humiliation did nothing to squelch her libido. She let out a tiny whimper as Sam's pants slid over his firm ass and he quickly turned to find her watching him. Mercedes face grew hot but the rest of her body followed suit and Sam gave her a slow, almost lecherous grin. He crawled on the bed up towards her until she was forced to lay back on the pillows as he hovered over her. He captured her mouth with his again but this time he wasn't gentle. She moaned loudly into his mouth as his heavy body pressed hers into the bed. Sam ground his clothed lower body into hers and the feeling of his slightly scratchy trousers sliding against her sensitive naked skin had her arching off of the bed.
"Sam," she moaned into his throat, "please…"
Sam glanced over at the alarm clock beside the bed before muttering, "fuck it," and quickly pulling away from her and sliding his pants and boxers back down his legs. He climbed back on top of her and they both groaned at the contact.
"Fuck that meeting," he breathed into her mouth, seconds before slamming into her.
PRESENT DAY
"Whew…" Kurt leaned up against the kitchen counter and fanned himself dramatically, "Girl, you need to re-learn what nothing means because I can assure you that was not nothing!"
"Focus, Kurt!" Mercedes snapped in frustration, "so what we had sex? We've had sex every night since then but we haven't said a word to each other about what happened. We don't just…talk."
"Well, if he can put it down like that do you really need to talk?"
"Kurt…" Mercedes said again in a low voice full of warning.
"Sorry," he muttered while putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "I promise I'll keep my mind out of the gutter."
"Good. So, I'm taking Sam lunch today at the office and my plan is to talk about it with him then."
"Why?" Kurt blurted out loudly, "I mean…is it really necessary?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just…look, you had a moment of hormonal temporary insanity, we've all done it.. Is it really necessary for you to bring it back up?"
Mercedes narrowed her eyes at her best friend, something was off with him but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Why are you being weird?"
"I'm not." Kurt answered defensively, "I just don't think it's a good idea to bring up the whole proposal thing."
As Kurt finished speaking his phone buzzed loudly in his pocket and he quickly averted his gaze to read a text message.
"You were one of the main ones telling me over and over again that Sam and I should talk but now you're saying we shouldn't"
"About this? No, you shouldn't. If you managed to escape that potentially epic awkward situation and get back to normal, why in the hell would you want to go back to the awkward place?"
"Well, I just think that…am I interrupting an important conversation?" She snapped, annoyed as she watched her friend turn his attention back to his phone the second she started taking.
Kurt typed out a quick messaged before jerking his eyes from his phone guiltily and murmuring a quiet apology.
"Anyways," she said pointedly, 'as I was saying, I don't think that keeping this thing between us is a good idea. Our therapist told us we should talk about everything and I—"
"Not this," Kurt interrupted, "this…I just really think you should wait on this, okay?"
Mercedes narrowed her eyes at him again, "are you sure you're okay? You don't sound like yourself." She asked suspiciously.
"I'm fine! I'm just looking out for you. What can I say? I'm over-protective. I don't want you to be hurt or upset especially now with the baby."
"Okay..." She answered even though she didn't really believe that was the whole story but she didn't want to badger her best friend so she walked around the counter and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for looking out for me Kurt, I promise that I'll let it go…for now."
"Good." Kurt gave her a wide smile and tapped out another quick message on his phone before sliding it into his back pocket. "So now that we got that out of the way what are you going to wear to your afternoon delight—er, I mean your lunch date?"
Mercedes grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the stairs leading to her room, "what in the hell do you think I called you over here for?"
Two hours later Mercedes was walking through the lobby of the newly named Evans Advertising Company and she couldn't help but feel a pang as she surveyed the surroundings of her old job. She really missed this place and if she were honest with herself she would admit that she really wanted to back at work. She knew she told Sam it would be a bad idea for them to work together but it was so hard to remember the reasons why when her job was once again a tangible thing and not just a distant memory.
"Mercedes?"
The timidly spoken question broke Mercedes out of her reverie and she turned to find Mrs. Halbright hurrying towards her.
With a big smile Mercedes went forward to meet her former co-worker halfway and once they were within arm's distance of each she enveloped the older woman in a big hug. After a long embrace, Mrs. Halbright stepped out of it and regarded Mercedes with bright shiny, tear filled eyes. As her eyes wandered down Mercedes torso she gasped audibly at the sight of her rounded belly and she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my God…look at you," Mrs. Halbright murmured almost reverently, "you look so beautiful Mercedes, pregnancy truly does agree with you."
"Thank you so much, Linda. How have you been?"
"Good…better now that you're here." Linda's eyes traveled down to Mercedes hands as she finally noticed the two large take-out bags she was carrying. "Oh! Let me get those for you, honey."
"I'm fine," Mercedes laughed, "It's just a couple of sandwiches and some chips and cookies."
"From that deli Sam loves so much?"
"Of course, I wouldn't dare go anywhere else."
The women laughed as the made their way to the elevator banks. They got in the one that led to Sam's office and Linda quickly put in the code before turning to Mercedes and saying, "I'm so glad you came…especially today."
"Why especially today?" Mercedes asked in a worried tone, "did something happen?"
Linda's featured darkened noticeably before she started speaking.
"Tami, Sam's latest assistant, is useless. I wonder day in and day out what that girl does with her time all day long because it isn't work. She messed up a meeting last week and this week she did it again! It was bad enough that it happened last week but this week it had catastrophic results."
"What do you mean?"
"After weeks of cancellations and tardiness the customer finally had enough and they pulled out of the deal. Sam missing the meeting he knew nothing about was the straw that broke the camel's back."
"Which client was it?"
"Black Pearl Corporation."
Mercedes audibly gasped because she knew all too well about the importance of the deal because she was the one that made initial contact and got the ball rolling.
"That was a multi-million dollar deal!" Mercedes responded angrily, "Sam has been working on getting that account for months!"
'Honey, I know it. I felt so bad for him this morning. He has been trying to get in contact with somebody…anybody from Black Pearl but nobody is taking his calls. I fear this may be a lost cause." She shook her head sadly. "Anyways, I need to get back to my office so I can start looking into employments sites to see if I can find a suitable candidate for the job I'm sure is going to be vacant before the day is done."
Mercedes smiled in response but she couldn't ignore the sharp pang again at the thought of another more qualified assistant doing her job.
"That's nice, I hope your job search is productive."
"Thank you sweetheart," Linda responded kindly just as the door to the 110th floor slid open. "Don't be a stranger, do you hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am." Mercedes answered as she leaned forward to give Linda a quick hug before stepping off the elevator.
She walked into the office that she knew so well but she was brought up short but a short blonde standing in front of her with icy blue eyes blocking her path.
"May I help you?" Tami snapped rudely.
Mercedes raised her eyebrows and took a deep, calming breath before plastering a fake smile on her face and saying, "Hello, I'm Mercedes, I brought lunch for Sam."
"Fine, just sit it on the desk. I'll make sure he gets it."
The fake smile melted off of Mercedes face and she gritted her teeth in an effort not to go off on the bitchy girl standing in front of her.
"Let me rephrase that," Mercedes stated firmly, "I'm here to eat lunch with Sam."
"And who exactly are you again?"
"Mercedes."
Both women turned at the sound of the gruff voice coming from the doorway to their left. Mercedes caught the quick crestfallen expression on Tami's face before she turned and gave Sam a big smile.
"Mr. Evans' I was taking care of—"
"What's going on?" Sam snapped, glaring at Tami.
The smile quickly disappeared as Tami stammered, "I…I…was making sure…I didn't want…I know you didn't want to be dis-s-s-turbed…."
"I didn't want to be disturbed by you. Not unless you got the clients back. Have you?"
"No…not yet."
"Great." Sam muttered rudely under his breath as he rolled his eyes. His hard gaze shifted to Mercedes and his cool green eyes instantly softened.
"This," he said pointedly to Tami, "is my girlfriend Mercedes, from now on whenever she comes she is to be let in with no issues no matter what. Understood?"
"Yes sir."
Sam took the two bags from Mercedes and gathered them both in one hand before grabbing her hand with the other. She spared a quick glance at Tami when they walked by and she noticed the blonde looking at the clasped hands with a slight sneer on her face.
Mercedes concern about Tami quickly went away because the second they stepped in the office Sam took the two bags and set them on a chair next to door and then almost immediately after he grabbed Mercedes face in his hands and nudged her body backwards until she was trapped up against the door.
He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them Mercedes could feel the warm breath coming from his mouth as he whispered, "Hi" against her moist lips.
"Hi," She whispered back before planting and soft kiss against his lips. Sam smiled slightly at the contact but the worrisome furrow between his brow was still there so Mercedes reached up and smoothed it away with her fingers.
"This day has been hell."
"I know baby," she whispered sympathetically, "…what happened?"
"Tara or whatever her name is has proven yet again what an imbecile she is. I have been trying to get that account for months and in one day she ruined it!"
"What happened?" Mercedes asked again in a soothing voice.
Sam sighed before grabbing the deli bags from the chair and leading her over to the couch.
"Remember that account that I have been trying to get with Black Pearl Corp? It was going to be print ads, TV, radio, internet, the whole nine, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well we were finally getting into the final stages of the deal, I mean I could have had them signed today but that idiot," he spat out as he pointed at the door, "started cancelling meetings left and right for no apparent reason! Her excuse was I seemed stressed so she cleared my schedule of what she deemed 'unimportant' meetings so that I could have a little time to myself."
Mercedes cringed at Sam's re-telling of the story. That girl really was an idiot.
"Anyway, they finally had enough and who can blame them? There was a meeting this morning but she rescheduled it on my schedule but didn't bother to tell the clients and reschedule with them so they were here at 8 am sharp and I wasn't scheduled to be in until 9. Unlike last time the idiot didn't even bother calling me so they sat in the conference room for about 45 minutes before leaving. I've been trying to get in touch with them for hours but they won't return my calls. I can't say I blame them, if it had been me I would have backed out of the deal a long time ago."
Sam rubbed the bridge of his nose warily before turning his attention to Mercedes. A small smile flitted across his face as he took her in.
"You look beautiful today."
"Thank you, all the credit goes to Kurt."
"The outfit is nice but that isn't want makes you beautiful."
"Awww," she whispered before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, "I won't tell Kurt you said that because he would lose his shit."
Sam gave a tired half-hearted laugh that tugged at Mercedes' heart-strings. This situation was really wearing on him and it showed. She got up from the couch and collected their food from the small side table that Sam placed it on. She pulled out their sandwiches and handed Sam his. He unwrapped it quickly and groaned audibly at the sight of the saucy, cheesy meatball sub sandwich.
"It looks good…so damn good."
Mercedes laughed at his enthusiasm, "it's from that deli you like so much, I only got it a few minutes ago so it should still be hot."
"Mmmmm, thanks baby," Sam murmured before taking a big bite from his sandwich.
The two fell into silence as they began munching on the sandwiches and chips. Before long Mercedes was picking at her food as the urge to talk about the proposal that wasn't almost overwhelmed her. She opened her mouth to speak but Kurt's words came back to haunt her,
"If you managed to escape that potentially epic awkward situation and get back to normal, why in the hell would you want to go back to the awkward place?"
Kurt was right, the whole proposal thing could made things so awkward for them but because of Sam completely ignoring it things have went back to normal. Maybe she should be grateful for the fact the proverbial wound is healing and acknowledge the fact that it's happening because she isn't picking at the proposal scab.
"Why aren't you eating?"
Mercedes looked up from picking at her chips to find Sam watching her worriedly.
"Are you okay…you don't feel sick do you? I can find you something else to eat if—"
"I'm fine…I just ate breakfast a little while ago with Kurt, that's all."
"Oh, okay. Sorry, I'm overreacting."
"Don't be, it's sweet. Now eat up before your food gets cold."
15 minutes later Sam laid back on the couch and he patted his full stomach. After clearing all of the trash out of the way, Mercedes curled in beside him and laid her legs across his lap and seconds later he placed his large hand on her belly and started rubbing gently.
"Has she been moving around a lot today?"
"Not too much, although she was going crazy when Kurt was there. I have a feeling that she's going to love him so much."
"I wouldn't doubt it, I just hope I don't have to get an extra storage unit for all the clothes I'm sure he's going to buy her."
"Him? He's not the one you have to worry about!" Mercedes laughed as she pointed to herself, "besides I don't know even know why you're trying to front we all know if anybody is going to be spoiling this baby it's going to be you."
Sam didn't respond but the smile on his face got even wider as he continued rubbing lazy circles on Mercedes belly. They sat like that for a few minutes more but before long Sam's hand stilled and his face had darkened noticeably.
"Babe, what's wrong?"
"I just…I hate it so fucking much that I lost that account." He muttered darkly, "all that work, all the plans…and I don't have a damn thing to show for it."
"I'm sorry," Mercedes murmured apologetically.
"Don't be, it's not your fault. Although, speaking of which I need to go downstairs and talk to Mrs. Halbright about how the job search is going. I need Tamera out of here as soon as possible."
"Tami."
"What?"
"Your assistant's name is Tami, not Tamera," Mercedes answered with a laugh.
"Oh…well, it doesn't matter. Her name is about to be 'unemployed' very soon as far as I'm concerned. Will you be alright up here for a few minutes by yourself?"
"I think I'll manage." Mercedes said with a playful eye roll.
"I won't be but a minute," Sam said before lifting her legs of his lap and leaning over and giving her a kiss on the lips. He gently placed her legs back down on the couch and he bent down and gave her another loud smacking kiss that had her giggling. He smiled down at her but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes and it made Mercedes angry. She watched as he walked out of the office. Once he was out she got up from the couch and went over to his desk. All of the files concerning the Black Pearl Corp. deal were strewn all across his desk. She scanned the paperwork and she noticed that several of the sheets of paper had her handwriting scribbled on them. They were the notes that she had taken when she first got in contact with the company. BPC was an advertisers dream and she had to work to even get her foot in the door but she was relentless and because of that Sam all but had the account. Just being faced with all of the work she had pored into getting this account was enough to have rage building up inside her, the same rage that she was sure Sam was feeling. They had both worked too damn hard for this account to slip through the company's fingers because of one incompetent assistant.
Mercedes shook the anger off and got down to business. She poured over all of her notes and within a couple of minutes she finally found what she was looking forward. It was a number to the assistant of the CEO of BPC. The two of them instantly hit it off when they talked before and Mercedes was sure that if she could get through to her Sam might still have a chance.
Mercedes dialed the number and within seconds she heard a sweet, high-pitched voice on the other end of the line.
"Walter Pearl's office, this is Molly speaking, how may I help you?"
"Molly?" Mercedes asked excitedly, "this is Mercedes from Evans Advertising, how are you?"
There was a long pregnant pause on the other end.
"Um, it's good to hear from you Mercedes. I was under the impression you were no longer with the company."
"I'm not….I wasn't…I've been out of town for the last few months but that's not important. I'm here now and I was hoping we could work something out."
"I'm sorry Mercedes but I don't think it's possible. Mr. Pearl was really looking forward to doing business with Mr. Evans but after getting the run around for weeks he is ready to move on with someone else."
"Has he gone with another firm yet?"
"Um…I'm not really at liberty to say."
"Come on, Molly. It's just a simple yes or no question."
Another long pause.
"No." Molly finally answered quietly.
"So there is still a chance?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Mr. Pearl is pissed off and frankly he feels like the trust has been broken."
"I understand that completely but that wasn't Sam that was his assistant. I can assure you though that she will no longer be an issue."
"No?"
"No. Sam is in the process of getting another assistant right now."
"Well…" Molly hedged, "who's to say that the new assistant won't be just as bad as the last?"
"He or she won't be."
"Can you guarantee that? If I stick my neck out with my boss and tell him to come back to do a deal where he was disrespected only to have it happen again that would be my ass on the line. I just don't know if I can risk that Mercedes."
"I…I'll be there, I'm his assistant again." Mercedes knew she was putting the cart before the horse but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Wha—I thought you just said he was finding someone else?"
"I'm sorry my fault, I meant to say he already found someone else…me."
"Well, in that case Mr. Pearl may be more open to having a meeting if he knew he would be dealing in part with you again. Give me a minute to see if I can work some magic."
"Thank you so much, Molly."
"Don't thank me just yet," Molly cautioned, and with those parting words she put her on hold. For five minutes Mercedes nervously tidied Sam's desk as she waited for the verdict. Sam's company would be just fine with or without the account but she knew how important it was to him and if nothing else she wanted it for him.
After what seemed like an eternity Molly finally came back on the line.
"Mercedes, you still there?"
"Yes, I'm here. What did Mr. Pearl say?"
"You're in luck. He is willing to meet with Sam and he is still at his hotel in New York for a few more hours. He said if you and Sam would come and meet him he would be willing to listen to the proposal. The only catch is you have to be there within the hour otherwise the deal is off completely and there will be no more chances."
"We'll be there," Mercedes answered quickly, "let Mr. Pearl know we will definitely be there."
Molly gave her the details of where Mr. Pearl was staying along with a warning reminding Mercedes that this would be the last chance. Once off the phone Mercedes quickly gathered up all of the information pertaining to the BPC account and she shoved it back in its folder. She did a quick scan of the office to make sure she didn't miss anything important before picking up the phone to call Mrs. Halbright's office to see if Sam was still there. After a quick conversation she found out that Sam had already left her office and she prayed that he was on his way back and she wouldn't have to go find him. The hotel wasn't too far away but Mercedes didn't want to risk it so as far as she was concerned they needed to leave immediately.
Not even a minute later Mercedes heard Sam's deep voice outside the office, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly scooped up the folder as well as her purse and headed towards the door to meet Sam.
"Not now Tasha." She heard Sam say loudly as he got closer to his office door, "I told you I didn't want to be bothered unless you had the BPC account back."
"Mr. Evans, please listen, I have something better than the BPC account."
"What is it?"
"It's this up and coming business—"
"Will it be a multi-million dollar deal?"
"Well, no but—"
"Then I don't want to hear it!"
"Mr. Evans, please, I'm just trying to make this right and—"
Mercedes couldn't help but roll her eyes at the whiny woman and neither she nor Sam had time to listen to her. She opened the door wide and the angry look on Sam's face melted away into one of surprise while a sneer appeared on Tami's.
"Are you leaving," Sam asked in confusion as he noticed that Mercedes had her purse slung over her shoulder.
"Yes, and so are you."
"Mercedes, trust me I would love nothing more than to go home with you right now, but I have to keep working on the BPC account."
"You mean this BPC account?" Mercedes asked as she waved the folder in Sam's face.
"What are you doing with that?" Tami snapped, "that is confidential business information that only employees are privy to."
"First of all what I'm doing is cleaning up your mess, and secondly you're right only employees should be privy to this information which is why I'm taking my job back."
"Excuse me?" Tami asked incredulously while Sam looked at Mercedes in surprise with a slight smile playing across his lips.
"You heard me, Tami. You've been replaced."
"Who are you? You don't have the right to tell me what to do. Fucking the boss doesn't give you the power to do anything."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sam yelled as he whirled around to face Tami, "You're fired and you would've been whether Mercedes wanted her job back or not."
"What? You…you can't…you can't fire me!"
"I just did." Sam answered coldly as he pressed a button on his phone that Mercedes knew alerted security, "you have 15 minutes to clean out your desk and security will be escorting you out."
"So I just lost my job because your baby mama," she spat out in disgust, "told you she wanted it back as if were just some toy she discarded?"
"No you lost your job because you're incompetent. You cost me a multi-million dollar deal, not to mention you have made me look bad with numerous other clients. I just spent the last 20 minutes with Mrs. Halbright scouring employment websites looking for a replacement. You being let go has nothing to do with my 'baby mama' and everything to do with your lack of professionalism. After today, you were going to be gone one way or the other."
Tami looked wildly between the two of them and her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I'll sue, you can't just fire me without cause."
Sam rolled his eyes, "I really, really wish you would try and take this to court. If you genuinely think that you are some great employee that is being wrongly accused then by all means do what you have to."
After a few seconds Tami huffed in disgust before practically growling out, "fuck it, it's not worth it anyway."
"I didn't think it would be." Sam answered smugly, "Get your things Tami, security will be here soon."
"Well, we won't be around to see it." Mercedes interjected.
"Why not?"
Mercedes held up the folder in the hands, "Remember me saying I was cleaning up Tami's mess?"
"Yes," Sam answered as Tami gave out another loud huff in annoyance.
"I just got off the phone with Walter Pearl's assistant and after a little begging and pulling strings he agreed to meet with us."
"Us?"
"Well, I told Molly, his assistant, that I was working for you again. She wouldn't have put in a good word for us if I hadn't done that."
"So are you?"
"What?"
"Working for me again?"
Sam's green eyes were twinkling in amusement and Mercedes knew he was teasing her.
"It depends. Am I eligible for re-hire?"
"I'm sure we can arrange something."
"Well, if you'll take me back then I'm all yours."
"Promise?" Sam's tone turned from teasing to serious in a fraction of a second and Mercedes felt that she was giving an answer to more than just the current question.
"Promise."
The two stared at each other for a long minute but the slamming of drawers and cursing coming from Tami ruined their moment.
"We have to go," Mercedes said quietly, "Mr. Pearl only gave us an hour to get to that meeting and that was almost 10 minutes ago."
A ding rang out announcing someone's arrival and a second later the elevator door swung open and there were two gruff looking security guards inside. Tami visibly blanched when she saw them and all of her earlier bravado instantly vanished.
"Let her finish getting the rest of her things and then escort her out the building."
"Yes, sir." The two guards answered simultaneously.
Sam grabbed Mercedes towards the elevator and without a backwards glance at his former employee he stepped onto the elevator. Once inside he backed up until his back hit the far wall of the elevator and he tugged Mercedes until she was flush against his body.
"So it's me and you again, huh?"
"Don't get cocky." Mercedes instructed even though she could see that smug smile crossing his face. "I'm only doing this because you need me."
"I'll always need you," Sam whispered in her ear as he nuzzled the side of her face. Mercedes felt her knees get slightly week at the feel of his damp breath against her neck.
Mercedes pulled back a bit and she looked in his eyes and that same serious, deep look was back in his eyes. She felt at a disadvantage because she had the distinct feeling that they were having an underlying conversation that she didn't know the topic to. She knew what she wanted him to be talking about but after her failed marriage proposal and Kurt's latest advice she felt a little unsure of where they stood. Instead of running the risk of humiliating herself for a second time she decided to take the coward's way out and change the subject.
"So, about BPC…."
An hour and half later Mercedes and Sam found themselves inside another elevator in a hotel not too far away. As soon as the door slid shut Sam let out a large whoop and he reached forward and picked Mercedes up and spun around with her.
"Sam!" She squealed, "Put me down!"
"Sorry, I'm just so…can you believe we pulled that off?"
"You were amazing, of course I can believe it." She answered with a huge smile on her face.
Sam grabbed her face and gave her a big smacking kiss on the lips.
"Thank you so much," he whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers, "I couldn't have done this without you."
"You're welcome," she answered shyly, "I'm glad I could help."
Sam gathered her in a hug and they stayed like that until the elevator's ding announced their arrival to the lobby. Sam grabbed her hand and led her towards the valet where their driver and car were waiting.
"So shall we celebrate tonight?" Mercedes asked excitedly, "somewhere super duper fancy where we can get some overly expensive small-portioned food that neither one of us will actually eat. A glass of champagne for you, something non-alcoholic for me...what do you say?"
"I'm sorry babe but we can't. I have to finalize some details on the account and you have that thing with Kurt."
"I have what thing with Kurt?"
"Some thing…a thing, I don't know what." He answered evasively typing a quick text on his phone, "You don't remember telling me about it? We talked about it quite a bit a few nights ago. It must be that whole 'pregnancy brain' thing."
Mercedes glared at Sam and his 'pregnancy brain' reference. Can't a girl forget a few things without it having to be linked to some hormonal issue?
"I don't have pregnancy brain," she snapped, "if I had plans with Kurt I would have remembered."
Sam gave her a bland smile, "I'm sure you would have, honey."
"Don't patronize me, Sam." Mercedes warned, "if you don't want to go out tonight we don't have to."
"It's not that, it's just I have a lot of work and I'll be at it late and—"
"It's fine."
"I'm sure you and Kurt will have a nice night out together."
"Me and Kurt don't have plans!" Mercedes answered angrily but she was cut short from saying more from the buzzing coming from her iPhone clutched in her hand. She looked at the screen and saw that she had a new text message from Kurt:
Hey sweetie, just checking to make sure we're still on for tonight. I'm picking the spot, remember? Be ready by 7:30. XO
Mercedes' felt her face grow hot in embarrassment as she read the text. Had she really forgotten plans with Kurt? She made such a fuss about not forgetting things and now she felt like an ass.
She glanced up to find Sam watching her expectedly, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah its fine, I guess you're right, I do have plans with Kurt tonight." She answered sheepishly.
"That's alright baby, we can always celebrate another night, okay?"
"Okay."
Mercedes stared down at her phone again before looking back up at Sam who was regarding her intently. She gave him a small smile but she couldn't help feeling something was off with him. But then again, maybe it was just her? Maybe she was just overly-sensitive today because she had that same feeling about Kurt earlier that day and that seemed to be unwarranted. Maybe this pregnancy really was messing with her brain?
Once they were settled in the car Sam pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her. "Thank you again," he whispered in her hair.
"You're welcome." She replied as she snuggled into him, "are you sure you don't need my help tonight with the paperwork? I'm sure Kurt will understand."
"No, it's fine. You go out and have a nice time with Kurt and leave the boring paperwork to me."
"Well, if you insist..."
"I am insisting, have a good time with your friend. I'll be waiting on you when you get home."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
"Kurt, where exactly are we going?"
"It's a surprise! Can't you be patient for once?"
It had been several hours since Sam dropped her off back at their place with a kiss and a smile before he went back to work. Hours since Kurt decided that he didn't trust her to be 'properly' ready by 7:30 so he came over at around 4:00 with a garment bag full of expensive dresses and a determined glint in his eye. Hours since she had been plucked, buffed, and slathered with as many lotions, oils, and perfumes as Kurt could shove into his bottomless magical bag that even Mary Poppins would envy. Her skin felt softer than silk, her hair was a shiny black mass of heavy waves down her back and her make-up was flawless. The form-fitting burgundy one shoulder dress fit her body like it was made especially for her. Mercedes knew she looked amazing but she didn't quite understand what she looked so amazing for.
"What is this restaurant called again?"
Kurt sighed loudly and shot her a blistering glare, "you promised back at the house you wouldn't ask anymore. It's a surprise so sit back, enjoy the ride, and don't get any wrinkles in that dress."
Mercedes rolled her eyes but sat back in the seat without another word. Sam had sent back his driver so that she and Kurt would have transportation for the night. Kurt was living it up and he had even taken to waving at 'the peasants' every time they passed a crosswalk full of people.
They rode in silence for about five more minutes before Nina Simone's rendition of 'I'm Feeling Good' rang out in the interior of the car. Mercedes looked down at her phone and smiled softly as a picture of Sam kissing her pregnant belly popped on the screen.
"Hey baby," Mercedes said as soon as she put the phone up to ear.
"Hey, yourself," Sam answered, "I hate to do this, I really hate to do it, but is there any way you could swing but the condo and pick up a file that's on my coffee table and bring it to the office before you go to dinner? I know Kurt will freak out, but tell him I'll make it up to him."
"What kind of file is it?"
"Um, it's an old file connected to the BPC account. I had taken it home weeks ago but I forgot to bring it back to the office. There is a few pages of information inside that I need now and I would go get it myself but I'm swamped here and—"
"You don't have to explain I'll be happy to go get it. As a matter of fact we aren't too far away from your place so it isn't out of our way at all."
"Well, that's convenient," Sam laughed, "thanks, babe."
"You're welcome, see you in a bit."
"See you."
"So, it appears we are making a side trip?" Kurt asked sarcastically.
"Yes, and Sam said he would make it up to you so hush."
"Oh, believe me I know he will."
Mercedes rolled her eyes at her friend before leaning forward and letting the driver know that they had to make a quick stop by Sam's condo. The driver shot her a quick smile in the rearview mirror and informed her that they would be there shortly.
True to his word the driver had them there in less than ten minutes. Once there he hopped out of the car as was around to Mercedes side to pull open her door in a second. She thanked the driver before glancing over to Kurt and asking, "Are you coming with me?"
"How many people does it take to find a file folder?"
Mercedes shot him a dirty look and with a loud breath stepped out of the open door that the driver was holding for her. She gave him a kind smile before leaning down to give her friend the stink eye again. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Don't take too long, we have reservations."
"Jackass," Mercedes muttered under her breath as she made her way inside the building. She gave the doorman a large smile and a slight wave and he winked back at her in return. She hurried towards the elevator banks and once inside pushed the button that would take her to the Penthouse.
Within seconds the door slid open and Mercedes walked in she made a beeline towards the coffee table and she found the file in question almost immediately. She tucked it under her arm and turned to head back to the elevator but she was brought up short in her tracks but the soft sound of music wafting from the direction of Sam's guest bedroom. She walked towards the room thinking she would find a radio or TV left on but the sight that greeted took her breath away.
Ever since Sam had moved his things from the guest room to the extra bedroom at the townhouse this room had been empty…until now. There were dozens of flameless candles littering the floor and they were surrounded by what seemed to be a blanket of red and pink rose petals. In the middle of the circle that the candles and flowers created was a stool with a thick white cushion.
"You stole my thunder," came a warm voice from behind her. Mercedes whirled around in surprise to find Sam standing behind her with a slight smile on his face. He wore an all black suit with his dirty blonde hair carelessly tousled and he was holding a single red rose.
"This is for you," he said quietly as he held the flower out.
"What's going on, Sam?" Mercedes asked in a tear-thickened voice.
"I have an answer to give and a question of my own to ask."
"I don't…I don't understand."
"You will." Sam grabbed her hand and led her over to the white stool and he smiled down at her while she got comfortable.
Once she was settled in he took the file that was she was still clenching under her arm in a death grip. She raised her eyebrow questioningly and he opened the file folder to show her the blank pages inside.
"Sorry, had to tell a little fib to get you here."
"And Kurt?"
"I'm sure he and my driver are on the way to pick his date up right now for the all expense paid thank you dinner that I'm bankrolling."
"Thank you dinner?"
"Let's just say Kurt was my partner in crime, I couldn't have pulled this off without him."
Mercedes thought back to all of the secret texts and 'plans' she was involved in that she had no recollection of so she just had to ask, "So I don't have pregnancy brain then."
"No," he laughed, "you definitely don't have pregnancy brain…but you do have the pregnancy belly. How's my girl doing?" He asked as he came forward and rubbed his hand lovingly over her stomach.
"She's a little bit confused about what her Daddy's doing."
The smile on Sam's face faded and his green eyes darkened as he focused his attention back on Mercedes.
"You can tell her that he loves her mommy very much and he wants to spend the rest of his life with her."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, you can also tell her that because Mommy jumped the gun a little bit she caught Daddy unaware and he made a bit a fool out of himself."
"He did?" Mercedes asked with a watery smile.
"Yep, and don't forget to tell her that this is a moment that neither one of us will forget."
"And why is that?" She asked in a thick voice.
"Because," Sam said as he got down on one knee and pulled a small black box from his jacket pocket, "this is the moment I tell you that I love you more than anything else in the world and I know that losing you…that living without you is a hell that I don't want to ever go through again. This is when I tell you that I promise to be a best husband, the best father, the best man that I can possibly be. You are the love of my life, Mercedes and I can't imagine my life without you in it. So, my answer to your question is yes, I will marry you…will you still have me?"
Sam opened the tiny box in his hand and Mercedes gasped as she saw the glittering diamond shining back at her. She put her hand over her mouth as the tears pooling in her eyes finally spilled over and ran down her cheeks. Her vision blurred but she could still make out Sam kneeling in front of her and staring up at her expectantly.
"I love you, Sam" she choked out, "and yes, I'll have you."
"For the rest of our lives?" He breathed as he came off his knees and stood so that they were face to face.
She nodded, "For the rest of our lives."
Sam slid the diamond ring on Mercedes and they both let out a breath that neither one of them realized they were holding. He pulled her up so that they were both standing and he captured her lips in a deep soul-stirring kiss.
"I'm gonna love you forever, you know that right?" Sam whispered in here ear once they broke their kiss off.
"Promise?"
"Promise."