Enjoy!

Chapter Four

Sam knew the second Mercedes saw the novel she would know the main female character was based off of her… well her likeness but he wanted to show his best work so this would have to do. He rode the elevator to her floor, letting out a deep breath before walking up to her assistant's desk with a warm smile.

"Hi, I'm here to give this to Ms. Jones." Sam said, earning a nod from her assistant before she got up and walked to Mercedes's office.

"Mr. Evans is back." Was all she said before he saw Mercedes poke her head out and nod him into her office.

"I see you just managed to catch me before I left." She said, closing the door behind him and walking to her desk where she sat down.

"Yeah… I wanted to make sure you got the work you requested." Sam replied, handing her the graphic novel. He watched her closely as she examined the cover which was hand drawn and very detailed, he made sure to use his best set of tools to convey the most beautiful shades.

Mercedes opened the novel not reading the captions but admiring the artwork and how much detail was put into making every image look as real as possible. She scanned over each person he had drawn and nodded approvingly at the realness their faces and eyes showed. She was just about to turn the page when she looked up and saw him looking at her intensely.

"Your work then was impressive this… this is-" She started but stopped when she turned the page and looked at the drawing of a woman that looked very much like her before she looked up at him with amusement in her eyes.

Sam was literally sweating bullets wondering if she was going to say anything to him about the female character or if she was going to question his choice in features but she just looked back at his novel and he started to get nervous because he was only expecting her to read through half of it. The second half of the novel was a bit more… rated x but he wasn't sure if that would matter or not.

"Ah the second half is a bit… graphic." He said feeling his cheeks grow warm when she raised an eyebrow only nodding in response. She flipped through the pages before finally seeing what he meant by graphic and she looked at him, smirking before closing the novel.

"You have a good memory I see." She said and he turned beet red.

"It's my most recent and so far my best work… I wanted to make sure you saw how good I am." Sam replied softly.

"The mole is in the wrong spot though." She teased and he looked at her confused before opening the novel again and pointed to the female's stomach.

"The mole placement is wrong, it's too high assuming you used my likeness." She added and he couldn't help blushing.

"Well I only got a short glance." He quipped earning a humorless chuckle from her.

"The position is yours, my boss will want to see this before I push it through to publication but it's beautiful." She said after a few moments and Sam couldn't help the bright smile that formed on his face.

"Really?"

"Mhm, be back here tomorrow at eight am to start your on-boarding and we can discuss salary, what's expected and get your studio space approved." Sam looked at her shocked.

"I get studio space?" He questioned.

"Yes, the people in my department are well taken care of and I'll also go over your monthly supply budget. A lot of the work can be done digitally but I prefer a physical copy for the archives." She answered, getting up and opening a cabinet that was halfway filled with all the other work she'd help get published.

"Wow, so you're saying this will end up in there?" Sam marveled.

"No, but your next one just might." She noticed his face fall slightly and felt compelled to explain.

"Don't take it the wrong way but this is good and I can't wait to see where you go with it but I'm also interested in seeing you work and come up with a new one completely. I'm very hands on so I will be coming in and out of your studio to see how everything is going. I don't hover but I like to know that my team is working well and feeling like they have the freedom to create just about everything."

"So this means you forgive me for the other night?"

"No, it means I am now your boss and you are to never mention my personal life to me unless I bring it up." She answered this time there was no heat behind her words but he could tell she meant it all the same.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then!" Sam said standing and extending his hand for her to shake which she did.

"See you tomorrow." She said with a warm smile.

"Mercedes, chica. What's this hear about that asshole coming over again?" Santana, asked as they walked into the bar around the corner from their job.

Mercedes sighed. "I really don't want to talk about Jason… besides I'm still trying to figure out how to move from my house to the new one without him following me."

Santana shot her a confused look. "I thought Shane came over, when the hell did Jason come by?"

They took their booth, nodding to the bartender to bring over their usual round of drinks. "They both did… Shane was easy to get rid of but Jason… he keeps holding my secret over my head."

The latina nodded. "I thought you got all that resolved? That was the whole point of you having that meeting with Mark… right?"

"I don't know, I can't give Mark what he wants and I don't want to so even though he's promised nothing will happen, nothing has been done. I did all that shit as a teenager and it's still haunting me."

"Here you go ladies, a round of tequila, two shots of vodka and two dry martini's." Sugar, the bartender said, smiling at them. "Where's my girl?"

Mercedes grabbed one of the shots of tequila. "She had a date but knowing her, she'll end it halfway through." Mercedes replied quickly down the shot. "Whew, I need to get laid."

Santana smirked. "My offer always stands."

Rolling her eyes, Mercedes grabbed another shot. "No thanks, I don't need that damn fool coming after you too."

Her friend shrugged, grabbing two shots, one for herself and another for Sugar. "Come on we gotta plot, we need your scheming mind."

Sugar gladly took the shot and slid into the booth. "Okay, what's the problem?"

Santana threw back her shot. "We gotta get Cedes here moved out of her house to her new one without her ex noticing."

Sugar nodded, slowly taking her shot before smirking. "Easy, we'll have my dad move her."

Mercedes shot Sugar a look. "Why on Earth would your father do that? You don't even talk to him."

The brunette grabbed another shot, taking a moment to look at the bar to make sure no one was waiting. "Sure I do… him cutting me off financially doesn't mean we don't talk and if I tell him it's to help my friend he'll absolutely do it!"

"See Cedes, problem solved." Santana said, sliding her a shot.

"Chillllllle! I will never date again!" They heard and all laughed as Unique sauntered in shaking her head. "Sugar girl, just bring me the bottle."

"Here have my martini, we're plotting for Cedes." Santana said and Unique sat next to Mereedes. "Sugar said her father can move her, which is good, we just gotta figure out when."

"Honey, that's easy, do it in the middle of the day. On a day when you are scheduled to work, you said he knows your work schedule so there you go. Pack that shit up at night or hell, leave all that stuff and buy new stuff. Just never go back."

"I love that idea! Daddy owns a few furniture warehouses! You can just pick what you want and I'll have him deliver it to your new place."

Mercedes nodded. "If you're sure… then I'm down but it has to be soon… I need to get the hell away from him and all of that bullshit. Wednesday will be best, I have a half day at work so I can distract Jason for a while."

"Then it's settled! Drinks on me!" Unique shouted and the bar cheered. "Uh-uh, I mean for these bitches, I don't even know y'all!"

The girls giggled. "One free shot!" Sugar shouted and the bar erupted once more. "Call me when you want to go to the warehouse."

Mercedes nodded. "Thanks Sugar." She replied feeling a weight off her shoulders.

"Now that's settled, let Mercedes tell you about this damn fool." Unique said and the two women listened as she talked about her horrible date.

By the time Mercedes got home, her mother had called her to let her know that Jack would be staying over and that meant she had time to pack up some of the things she planned on keeping before having a relaxing bath.

Pulling off her jacket, she tossed it onto her couch and slipped out of her shoes groaning when her toes were finally free.

"That's a sound I surely miss." She heard making her jump.

"What are you doing here!" She shouted, rummaging through her purse for her phone. "How the fuck did you get in here?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Same way I always do. Why are you getting here so late and where is my son?"

Mercedes frowned. "Get out, you can't just come here as you please!" She replied, grabbing her phone and dialing her brother's number.

Jason shot up, stalking towards her. "Who the fuck are you calling? I know it ain't the police, we both know you ain't that stupid."

She narrowed her eyes on him. "Ken, he's here. He's in my house!" She said into the receiver and watched as Jason shifted slightly.

"Hang up the phone before I tell your brother what you did." He threatened but Mercedes just kept staring at him.

"I did tell him to leave, he's refusing. Call Derek." She said before hanging up. "You got about fifteen seconds before Derek shows up."

Jason closed the gap between them, using his body to make her move until she hit the wall. He looked her over, ringing his hand up to her hair, twirling it around his fingers.

"You play dangerous games, you get violence. You can call the fucking army for all I care but never forget, I own you. I know your secret Mercedes." Jason warned, she saw his eyes go blank and felt herself begin to tremble.

"I was sixteen and you've been holding that over my head for a damn decade! Let it go!"

Jason smirked. "I'll never let you go, you're mine."

Mercedes tried to push him off but he didn't budge,thankfully she could hear the familiar sound of her brother's best friend's motorcycle which was quickly followed by the sound of his heavy boots running up the steps.

"You should've ran." She said as her front door burst open.

Jason backed away, hands up. "Easy, no need to turn this into a brawl."

Derek looked at Mercedes. "You good?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "Just get him out of here." She replied, walking down the hall feeling absolutely defeated.

Jason looked after her. "Don't forget, I know!" He shouted before Derek pulled him by the collar and shoved him against the wall.

"Let this be the last time I have to come here for you." Derek said before dragging him out the door and tossing him to the ground. "Because if I have to come back I won't be alone and no one will find you."

Jason stood, dusting himself off. "She's the mother of my child, I will always be around."

Derek shrugged. So will I and unless you want supervised visits, I'd leave now."

Jason took the hint, vowing to get her back for this. Derek waited until he couldn't see the man's tail lights before going back inside and going to check on Mercedes.

He walked into her room where she was sitting on the edge of her bed, "Hey, you okay?" He asked, sitting next to her.

"I can't keep doing this shit." She answered, laying her head on his shoulder.

Derek sighed, wrapping his arm around her. "Why not come stay with me tonight? I don't think he'll come back but I also don't want to chance it."

She wrapped her arms around his middle, as much as she could. "You sure you want to face my brother?" She joked. "Because if memory serves me, you have a one bedroom and I don't do couches."

Derek laughed. "I think I can handle your brother, if you want I can stay here. I think I'm more scared of your dad being mad at me for not making sure you were good before I left."

She looked up at him. "I'll go with you… I don't want to be here tonight. Just give me a few minutes to pack a bag."

Derek looked at her, seeing she was mentally tired. He gently rubbed her back. "I'll go make sure everything is locked up and check the back to make sure he isn't waiting for me to leave."

She leaned up, kissing his cheek softly. "Thanks."

He just nodded before walking out to do what he said as she went about packing a bag for the night.. She was tired and knew at least for tonight she would be safe.

Next chapter is... smutty and very non Samcedes BUT it's leading to that! until next time XOXO!