For the next few weeks little changed for Deeks, other than having Kensi by his side every day. While Deeks knew they needed Forthright's information as soon as possible, he also couldn't push. He wasn't the kind to request an invite to one of Bennet's parties or dinners. The Marty Deeks Bennett knew wasn't so impressed by his money or prestige and unlike most people, he didn't feel the need to suck up to his client. To a certain degree, Deeks thought Bennett admired that about him. Unfortunately, it also meant that searching out an invite would raise definite red flags.

So he went about business as usual and focused on prepping Kensi for her new role. No one so much as batted an eye when Deeks casually announced he had a new assistant and Kensi appeared. A few winked, one of his partners made a dirty joke under his breath, but so far, no one objected.

It helped that Kensi spent the last several years listening to him discuss legal procedures and regular critiqued his opening and closing statements. There were still some holes in her knowledge base though and Deeks didn't want to risk the chance that someone might call them out on it. His partners might accept him hiring his mistress, but they'd draw the line at an incompetent employee.

"Alright, how do these look?" Kensi asked, pulling a collection of paperwork from an accordion binder, pushing aside her half-eaten BLT. Deeks had an untouched club sandwich in front of him, forgotten amidst all the work. They'd taken to spending lunches in his office to brush up on and legal skills that were lacking.

Deeks had been picking up the slack while she got the hang of the appropriate writing format, but they couldn't keep that up indefinitely.

He scanned a subpoena, a slow grin developing as he read. Even though it wasn't the most difficult legal documentation, it took a certain level of legal knowledge and practice to write correctly.

"This is perfect, Natalie," he complimented her, glancing up in time to catch Kensi's look of surprise. Even though they swept his office for bugs and other tracking devices daily, he made a habit of using her cover name just to be safe. It still felt a little strange rolling off his tongue.

"Really?" A little smile played at the edges of her lips, and she gave him a mischievous look. "You're not just saying that because you get to sleep with me, right?"

Deeks snorted at that, choking slightly on a mouthful of coffee.

"Yeah, that definitely helps," he agreed jokingly. "Seriously though, you're picking this up really quickly. I think you're set to handle these on your own from now." He scanned the rest of the reports, making occasional comments and corrections along the way.

"Ok, these should be good. Of course I'll continue to review before you officially submit anything, it would ethically and legally incompetent not to, but I think you're set."

"Thank you, Mr. Deeks," Kensi said, affecting a flirtatious voice.

"You're terrible, Ms. Capon," he commented, leaning over to kiss her quickly. He enjoyed her playfulness. He'd expected her to be more rigid after seeing her interact with the team the last few days, but he didn't mind that he was wrong. They'd make no headway if she seemed uptight and nervous.

"Good. Hey, I spoke with Nell after you left and–" Deeks' phone rang before Kensi could finish, the ID showing a familiar extension number.

"Hey Mason, what's up?"

"Mr. Deeks, Bennett Forthright is here and he's asking to meet with you," Mason responded on the other end, making Deeks sit up a little straighter. "He said the matter was confidential."

He rolled his eyes at that, mouthing Bennett's name when Kensi gave him a questioning look. Forthright loved making unannounced visits just because he could.

"Ok, send him up in a minute." Deeks hung up, letting out a short breath. "Forthright will be here in a minute." He glanced at Kensi, at her neatly tailored pants and blazer covered shirt. "You ready for this?" he asked.

"I think I can manage it," she replied dryly, grabbing her binder. "I'll be in my office, wait a couple minutes, and then make my entrance." She cupped his cheek, expression shifting. "What about you? The brunt of this working depends on you."

"I'm good." And he was, even if he felt ever so slightly nauseous.

"Alright."

As Kensi started to walk away, he added,

"Hey, uh, you might want to pop a button and maybe tousle your hair. Just for effect."

Kensi rolled her eyes, but did as he suggested, even shedding her blazer before she stepped into her much smaller office. Taking his own advice, he ran his fingers through his hair a couple times and loosened his collar.

He settled back in his chair, drawing on the persona Bennett would expect to see. Calm, confident, a little ruthless.