This chapter doesn't have smut, but I worked hard. There will rarely be chapters without smut, but when there is, I'll mark the title with "NS" and put it in the summary. Please enjoy.

Continuation of Chap 2

The next two years went by slowly.

But I couldn't slow down. I was building my business. I found new clients and get better at my productions for the shares. I became the third most successful brokerage firm in New York. I was able to give my job all my energy because when Mercedes- the only person in my life- left, I decided not to give my time to anyone else.

My secretary dropped the folders on my desk. She turned to study me as I stood in the mirror. "I know that you like your office, but most people take time to go home and change."

I was getting dressed for a fundraiser. "And most people don't let their assistant speak out of turn," I argued. I couldn't get my bow tie right, but I let go when she stepped forward to tie it. "Did you get the car?"

"It will be outside in thirty minutes." She knew that I had planned to get more work done after I changed into my tux. "I'm glad you're getting out of the office, and it's for a good cause." She stepped away when the bow was tired.

I returned to my work until the car arrived.

The fundraiser was for a children's hospital. You'd pay hundreds of dollars to drink champagne and talk to pompous millionaires. Every minute of it made me wish that I had sent in a check and stayed at work.

I stood with the group that listened to a surgeon brag about her job. I wasn't really interested in what was being said and repeatedly let my eyes wander to scan the room. I saw doctors, lawyers, bankers, actors... and then I saw her.

Mercedes looked beautiful in her gown. She smiled as she talked amongst her group. She was happy, but she wasn't alone. She was on the arm of a blond fashion model, Sam Evans. The way she looked up at him was… nauseating.

I dragged around the party, hunting for the chance to get Mercedes alone. "Hey." I leaned against the bar.

Mercedes smirked and greeted me. "How are you? You look good." She nodded at my answers, but when silence fell between us, she nervously brushed down her bangs. "Did you bring a date?"

"No." I was the same ol' Puck and wasn't planning on changing. I nodded my head at her date across the room. "You and Blondie are-"

"Taking it slow." When her drink arrived, she ran her fingers along the stem of the martini glass. She wanted to talk about why she left, but was nervous to start the discussion. She admitted, "I still think about our last day together. I cherish it."

"The day that I was mad at you?"

Mercedes was quick to correct me. "The day you held me." She looked at the countertop to avoid eye contact. "I loved you, and when you-"

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I did. I told you how I felt more than once. I always knew that you weren't listening to me," she sighed. She gave me the chance to rebuttal, but I didn't. "When you held me that night, I didn't feel wrong for feeling what I felt. I thought that if I waited, you'd feel something too. Do you know how stupid you made me feel the next morning?"

"What did I do?" I had to ask. I couldn't remember anything special. Leaving was normal.

"You left $191 on the table. You payed me like an employee. The only difference between me and them was that I gave you sex while they filed papers. Then I knew that you weren't going to feel anything special for me, so I wasn't going to stick around. I was packed and gone by the next night. How long did it take you to come to the apartment and see that I was gone?"

I didn't answer her question. I felt bad for what I did to her. "I'm sorry," I apologized, but she said that she didn't need it.

"I've been with Sam for eight months, and he appreciates me. I don't have to bend over backwards to get his attention." She blinked away her tears, but when one escaped, she quickly wiped it from her cheek. "I feel his love… and I never had to take my clothes off for him."

Sam was silently watching us from a distance, but when he saw Mercedes' tears, he came over. He took her hand and asked if she was okay. He got a nod.

Mercedes put on a smile for her boyfriend. "This is my old friend, Noah Puckerman. We were just doing a little reminiscing." When asked why was she crying, she said, "They're happy tears, I promise." She always lied to make others happy.

He squeezed her hand and offered to take her home. He lead her away.

I went on with my life. I thought about Mercedes on occasion, but I was sure that I was never going to come across her again. I just did what I knew: I worked.

It was late, but I couldn't sleep. I was on my computer researching stocks when I heard a knock on the door. "Hold on!" I didn't have visitors, so I couldn't have guessed.

Although I was rarely there longer than the time it takes to sleep, I moved into the apartment that I had rented for Mercedes. It was bigger than the one I had for myself. It was closer to my office. A lot of things had been changed in the apartment over the years, and there was little reflection of the previous owner.

Mercedes stepped back when the door opened. She weakly smiled. "I was on this side of town and-"

I was too confessed to let her finish her statement. "How did you know I was here?" I hadn't seen her in five weeks, and then she was randomly at my door.

"I just hoped." She was too tired to hold her smile, and it slowly faded. "I just wanted to see you. I didn't want anything specific. I'm going to go." She dropped her head and turned. As she started to walk down the hall, her fist tightened at her sides. She was beating herself up about something, and I couldn't let her go.

I invited her in. Closing the door, I asked, "Why are you really here?" I was blunt, but I didn't want to waste time. I was ready to help her, but I had to know what she needed.

"I don't know," she lowly answered. She kept her back to me and her head hung. She'd exhale and let a word escape, but quickly take it back. Eventually, she had the nerve to tell me the truth. "I, um… Actually, Sam cheated on me with a photographer, and I didn't know where else to go. I don't want to be alone right now." She wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks before I got to her.

The first thing I wanted to do was punch Sam in his pretty face. The second thing I wanted to do was help Mercedes- whatever she needed it to mean. I knew I couldn't do the second if I was in jail for doing the first.

Mercedes hesitated before accepting my offer to stay the night. She moped a little longer over Sam and then decided that she wanted to clear her mind. Her favorite method of relaxation was a long bath.

Although I had gotten a lot of work done while she was in the bathroom, I couldn't let her stay there forever. I didn't want her to shrivel up like my nana. I stepped into the room with towels and my robe. "You can wear this, and I'll send your clothes to-"

"You don't have to. I have a personal shopper. I will ask her to send something tomorrow morning." She had a personal shopper? Mercedes continued to stare up at the ceiling as she soaked. "Sam goes to LA Wednesday. I'll get my things then. I have to find an apartment."

"Well, you can stay here until you find a place."

She had never been apartment hunting, and don't know what to look for. She first moved into the apartment that I had chosen for her. When she left, she moved in with Sam. She took his second room and was to keep up the apartment when he left for wherever in the world he had to be. She started to have feelings for her roommate, but instead of history repeating, she had someone that could be with her.

Mercedes deeply sighed. "I bet you're happy that I learned my lesson. Fuck feelings. I get attached and only get disappointed." She climbed out of the tub and wasn't shy to stand naked in front of me. "Never again," she promised, snatching a towel off the counter.

I tried to focus on my computer screen, but kept getting distracted by the constantly changing voices behind me. I turned in my seat to watch Mercedes as she lounged on my sofa and flipping through the channels as if there wasn't a guide. I was tense from my work, and she wasn't making me feel better. I was so thankful when she stopped channel surfing.

"I like this movie," she admitted, curling under the blanket.

It was a Julia Roberts movie- I don't know how I knew who that was.

I raised my eyebrows at the skimpily dressed woman on my TV. "Because of the pros-" I stopped. I decided to drop it and get back to work. I started to turn, but Mercedes spoke up.

Mercedes sat up and muted the movie. "You know that no one wants to be a prostitute… Well, I didn't." When asked why she did it, she shrugged. She took a moment to gather a reason. "Peer pressure and student loans."

"You went to collage?"

She nodded. She nibbled at her bottom lip as she thought about her past actions. "Most of my scholarships were revoked when I started my junior year. I didn't want to be left in debt after college. A friend brought the idea up and help me sign up with the agency. God, I felt so awful the first time. I was giving my body to someone I didn't know. I was told that it would be easier with the second guy, and a few guys later, you'd stop feeling anything." She grew silent.

I asked, "Did it?"

Mercedes did not rush to speak up. "I didn't have a second guy. The first guy came back and offered me so much stuff that I couldn't turn him down." She looked into my eyes as I came to the revelation. "I graduated college, and you helped pay for it. That's why I couldn't give you back all of your money."

"What did you study?" I moved to sit beside her.

She smiled for the first time that night, and I realized that I had never told her how beautiful her smile was. She was proud to announce, "Music. I'm a songwriter. I'm not a big deal, but if you ever left your office, you would have heard at least one of my songs."

I was a little surprised that Mercedes had built her life right under my nose. I didn't really ever ask about her, so of course. I didn't think about what she did with her day; she was at the apartment at night. I didn't know, but I wanted to- I wanted to know everything about her.

In my business, money was everything. Money doesn't feel. Money doesn't lie or cheat you. Everything is based on facts and trends. Unlike relationships, it wasn't complicated for me.

Mercedes soaked in everything I said to her, but when she realized what I wanted, she shook her head. "No. No." She began to rub at the sleeve of the robe. "If you want sex, you don't have to say all that. I- No." She was unsettled by what I really wanted.

"I'm serious."

"You want to date me?" She chuckled as if she had caught me in a lie. "You can't have a relationship because you can't stop working. How soon would we be back into our same cycle? I would be back here waiting for you to want me. I can't do this again with you, Puck. I don't want to fall in love with you, if you don't want to try."

I promised. I was always told that old habits die hard, but Mercedes deserved better- she deserved instant results. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her soft body. I was honored to hold her, and she would never have to ask again.

Thank you for reading.