Enjoy!

Chapter Three

Mercedes walked into her office feeling completely drained and already ready to go back home to crawl back into bed. She had been visited by her ex again several times after Sam came over giving out ultimatums before she finally managed to get him to leave her the hell alone. She only had a few more weeks before she would be able to move away from there and she had no intention of telling anyone outside of her mother.

She smiled at her assistant who shot her a knowing look before she got up and followed her into her office.

"Tell me that the asshole finally left you alone." Unique, her assistant questioned and she just let out a heavy sigh.

"Yes, after he finally got tired of coming to my damn door and getting no answer." Mercedes responded, placing her things down and accepting the cup of coffee Unique handed her while shaking her head.

"Child… I told you to bring that baby and come stay with me or hell even Satan." Unique said, making her chuckle.

"There's a lot of things Satan will do but children is not one of them, though she did offer to let me have her babies once." Mercedes said with a giggle.

"I don't think she actually meant it, I think she more so meant the act of making said baby." They both laughed because it sounded more like the truth than anything.

"Okay now business, what do I have on my plate today?" Mercedes asked and Unique immediately went into assistant mode.

"You have three interviews for a new artist, two of which are already waiting, you have two meetings with the board and then you need to review these for the newest series." Unique answered, handing her three booklets and three resumes for her to look over before the interviews.

"Anything else?" She asked and Unique just shook her head.

"Short day today but you know Satan will want to see you at some point."

"Yeah I'll call her after the interviews, you can send in the first one and send this one home unfortunately we're looking for someone with more experience." She said handing one of the resumes back.

"Okay, I'll send in the first applicant." Unique said walking out.

Mercedes was very impressed with the first applicant but didn't want to show it before meeting with the second, she smiled and waved her off before asking Unique to send in the second applicant. She had her back turned when the person walked in but when she turned she let out a deep breath.

"Oh hell to no!" She said, shaking her head and was given a confused look.

"I… hi." Sam replied with a nervous smile.

"Are you stalking me too now?"

"What- no I'm here for the interview…" Sam said confused and Mercedes looked down at the resume seeing the name Samuel Evans with a note attached saying highly recommended and gifted.

"You're Samuel Evans?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes at him and he nodded before handing over his portfolio. She took it keeping her eyes trained on him before opening it and immediately looking back at him surprised, she slowly flipped through his work before taking a seat and completely understood why the note was attached.

"Take a seat…" She said reluctantly and Sam did as instructed.

"I didn't know that you worked here, I thought you were-"

"A lounge singer?" She questioned. "Or just some fresh ass at a club that you go to… to you know buy drugs?" She added and instantly felt bad for being so harsh.

"So I guess that means I wasted my time by coming here then." Sam said getting up before she reached over and grabbed his arm stopping him.

"No and I shouldn't have said anything like that, that was unprofessional of me. You have beautiful work and clearly come with recommendations… you graduated from Pratt as well?"

"I did, top of my class too. I got a scholarship my sophomore year of high school because of a few of my paintings I submitted for a competition. I've been commissioned to paint a few items for the mayor and his office." Sam explained and Mercedes nodded, listening to him still completely surprised that the man she'd met a few days ago actually was this talented.

"You do know this job is a very serious one and you'll have to stop your habit right?" She asked and he looked at for a moment.

"It's not a habit, I did it for recreational reasons and I don't plan on using it again… not after everything." He admitted and she just rose an eyebrow.

"I shouldn't have come back, especially not over some drugs that I was only using to impress a woman who said I needed to liven up more." He added and she just nodded before sighing.

"Don't do it for my benefit, we test monthly and randomly plus if you're selected it's a part of your on-boarding." She informed and Sam nodded before shooting her a confused look.

"If I'm selected? I was guaranteed the internship."

"See you're still believing you're entitled to everything, this isn't an internship you'd be getting paid but if you're interested in the internship here." She said, handing him a card with the name Mike Chang on it and the floor. "Mike pushed your resume to me apparently, I guess he figured you'd be better suited in my department."

"Oh… I- I didn't know that my dad-" He stopped when she smirked because everything she thought about him was basically true.

"Still doing what daddy tells you?" She teased and he let out an annoyed breath.

"No, I had no choice but to do this or I was going to be disowned by my parents." He blurted out and her expression went into full amusement which only made him even more mad.

"Must be tough with that silver spoon." She quipped.

"At least I don't have baby daddy issues and use my body to get out of sticky situations." Sam shot back and the look on her face didn't even so much as falter.

"Mr. Evans, understand this and understand it clearly, this is my department and I do all of the hiring and firing. This interview you're having with me is for me and no one else." She started before standing and leaning over her desk to get closer to him. "My personal life, what little glimpse you saw of it has nothing to do with my ability to do my job, however me bringing up your personal life has EVERYTHING to do with your ability to do yours should you be selected." She finished and Sam couldn't help but feel the tension that had a subtle sexual undertone.

"I just need a chance to prove that I can do this." He said after she sat back down feeling bad for bringing up her personal life when all she did was speak facts because his drug use would have affected his job and her reputation for hiring him.

"Submit one complete work and you'll get it." She replied and he looked at her confused.

"This isn't recent. You dated everything, I need a complete work and I will personally make sure you're hired and commissioned for that work. You listed your graphic novels here, do you have one I can see?" She asked and he was shocked how quickly she switched back to being professional.

"I do but it was just something I was doing in my spare time…" He admitted not wanting her to be interested in because it involved a curvy woman from a club he frequented.

"Bring it in by the end of day and we'll go from there, my assistant will give you my information just in case I'm not here so I can get it from you." She said standing.

"I could just-"

"Don't ever come back to that house." She cut him off as she walked over to the door and like nights before she simply nodded him over to let him out.

Mercedes sat through her two meetings racking her brain on how she was going to move out of her place without Jason ever noticing. She should be paying attention because these meetings were vital to the next push out of comics. She'd been a fan of comics her entire life and thanks to her father she'd chosen the route she did when she was in college.

"Mercedes, how are we looking on that new hire? I saw some of his commissioned work and think he will be a great addition." Mike asked, forcing her to pretend to know what was said beforehand.

"Oh well both applicants were perfect but I must agree that Mr. Evans has exceptional talent however I requested for him to bring in his most recent work to see if he has anything worth pushing out now." She replied, earning a few looks from the other staffers.

"Wait, you're requiring him to submit new work by..?"

"By the end of day, he informed me of a graphic novel that he had-"

"Mercedes, you do realize you turned away one of the most gifted applicants we had in years." Will interjected, making her roll her eyes.

"Then he won't have any problem making sure to bring in the new work I requested." She replied simply earning a glare from him.

"Mercedes, your department is currently under review and this makes me question your ability to lead and make the best decisions to keep this company running efficiently." Will retorted and Mercedes couldn't help the confused look that crossed her face because she had no idea she was under review and this is when Mark finally spoke up.

"Mercedes I was going to inform you about the review as ALL departments are under review not just yours." Mark clarified and Will deflated slightly.

Will had been on Mercedes' case since she joined the company a few years ago and ever since she managed to fast track her position to department head of creative production and operations his attitude had soured even more. She got along with pretty much every other department head but there were a few that believed she received favor because Mark, the CEO, had a not so subtle crush on the young woman.

She could tell as much but never entertained any of the men she worked with except Mike, who had become a friend through his girlfriend Tina. She was Mercedes's assistant before leaving the company after meeting Mike and falling in love, they'd gotten married six months after they started dating and she was expecting their first.

Mark was undoubtedly handsome and she could admit that at first she found herself attracted to him and his subtle advances but when she moved up she realized that she couldn't and wouldn't allow anything to advance between them. Mark on the other hand chose to respect her stance but found delight in flirting with her every so often.

"I personally think she made the right decision, we need people especially in the creative department to be able to work under pressure and produce quality content. She gave him a reasonable deadline with him already having something in the works." Santana chimed in shooting a wink at Mercedes that made her smile in appreciation.

"Frankly her department is the best in numbers and she has been consistent in pushing out amazing works, I mean she did get the Puckerman brothers to sign on with us and she even managed to get Roderick Meeks to sing for the upcoming release of our digital installments." Mike added and she couldn't help but to smirk when Will huffed.

"I agree her department is flawless but we have these reviews for a reason and we are in need of some fresh blood to vamp up our next series. So Mercedes, as soon as you get the novel I want a copy sent to me so I can help make the final decision." Mark said and she shot him a look before nodding.

"Good, lunch is the company so feel free to order whatever and we'll reconvene at the same time on Thursday." Mark concluded and everyone started to pile out with Santana lingering back waiting on Mercedes.

"Mercedes, a moment?" Mark said and Mercedes told Santana to go ahead and order something and that she'd meet her in her office.

After everyone was gone Mark went and closed the door before looking back at Mercedes with a disappointed look across his face.

"Mercedes, why did you decide now of all times to change your hiring practices?" Mark questioned and she rolled her eyes.

"He comes highly recommended and he has exceptional work but we need to see how well he works under pressure." She answered leaning against the table and sighing.

"You know this is a big move for us to reintroduce graphic novels and this was your idea to begin, so all eyes are literally on you. We got lucky this resume came across our desk again." Mark informed and she looked at him confused.

"Again?"

"Yes, he was up for an internship right out of high school… from what I understand he wanted to go to college first so we held it. A few weeks ago it appeared again, he must have some connections but still his talent was good enough for my father to hold on to it."

"Well we better hope he shows up right?" She asked dryly.

"No, you better hope he does because despite how I feel you being under review and losing out on this potential addition could derail whatever plans you have and put your job performance in jeopardy."

"I get it, I'll make sure he's a part of the team." She said before heading towards the door but he grabbed her arm stopping her and pulling her close.

"You know I won't let anything happen right? I know your personal life is riding on things working out here." Mark said and she noticed the longing in his eyes.

"Mark, I appreciate the sentiment but you can not practice favoritism and furthermore nothing can or will happen between us. I will make sure he's hired on after I review his work and I do myself reviewing, I won't be undermined because of Will Schuester." She replied pulling away and finally walking out heading to Santana's office.

until next time xoxo!