FIVE hours later found the pair sprawled out on Mac's sitting room floor, a mountain of lined paper and enough Chinese takeaway to feed a small army placed between them. They had been working nearly non-stop since they'd returned from the golf club, as per Mac's behest. He was sure that Zed could have easily made some excuse and called a cab home, but instead, here he sat, feet away and working just as hard as he was.

Though he had groaned and complained about doing such simple work, Mac had forgotten how fun it could be to spend what seemed an eternity to find a tiny something only to have several tiny somethings suddenly click into place all at once. While he was sure some would still find it incredibly tedious, it gave him a small sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. It was like putting together a ten thousand piece jigsaw puzzle and stepping back to see the larger picture after hours of work. Little, annoying tasks that made something beautiful. Even if they were only numbers. Perhaps finding the beauty in the numbers was why he had managed to climb the corporate ladder so quickly. It was just after this thought had occurred to him that the numbers in front of him suddenly aligned in his favour.

'Ha!' Mac sat up with the swiftness of a lightning strike and clapped his hands together.

Zed startled beside him. 'Jesus—! What was that for?'

'God, we've got them!'

'Would you mind filling me in so I can celebrate, too?' His tone was alight with amusement.

'Don't you see?' Mac gestured wildly at the screen of his laptop. 'They're going to let Legacy go, I just know it! They're a tech start-up— the sort of thing that my father would never get behind. But what he doesn't know are the whispers that they're about to unveil something huge; whispers that he would never waste his time listening for. But we did, and it's going to pay off, big-time! If everything goes to plan, it’ll be a bigger contract than Newcastle with less labour and larger output. A win-win!' Mac laughed joyfully once more and waved his arms in the air like a lunatic, not caring in the slightest what he looked like.

Zed joined in the laughter, possibly at Mac's expense, but he couldn’t care less. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd ever been so ecstatic just sitting in his own living room. That was, save for the last time they'd been in this room together. The memory was enough to send so much colour to Mac’s cheeks that he hoped Zed would ignore it as the excitement.

A hard pat on the back from Zed shook the thoughts from his head. 'That's wonderful, mate!’

'Yeah, it's bloody wonderful! We're about to hand Angel Corps' arse to them!'

'While I'm just as ecstatic about that as you are, I don't think your neighbours will be as thrilled about being woken up.'

Mac flushed darkly as he recounted his behaviour from just moments prior. 'Quite right.' He cleared his throat, looking back at his work.

'You know, for a moment, I thought you might burst into song.'

He shook his head, but couldn't hold back a smile. 'Don't be ridiculous. It's just... I forgot how good it feels when you know something that no one else is the wiser to. It's a different sort of power than having an office or a fancy title.'

'It's almost better,' Zed interjected with a look that said “I-told-you-so”.

'Almost,' Mac agreed with a good-natured eye roll.

They settled back into a comfortable silence as they worked. There was something oddly intimate about sitting in the darkened room on the floor with far too much Chinese and faces illuminated only by the harsh glow of electronic screens. Perhaps that’s why the conversation took a small turn.

'Can I ask you something?' Zed’s voice was so quiet that Mac almost missed it under his own thoughts.

'I hope you know that those are famous last words.' Mac glanced up from his laptop for only a moment to meet Zed's eyes and smirk.

'Duly noted.' But he paused, as if debating whether or not to continue.

'Out with it, then,' Mac, encouraged, gesturing with the chopsticks he'd been using to pick at a carton.

'Why did you take me with you when you left the office today?'

The words froze the won-ton that had been en route to his mouth, much like they’d halted the gears of his brain. 'No comment,' he managed after a moment, taking the bite to excuse himself from continuing.

'Oh, come on. You're not doing this right now.'

He chewed and swallowed before feigning a look of innocence 'I'm sorry. What exactly am I not doing?'

Zed sighed deeply, shaking his head. 'Really? Fine. If I have to spell it out for you, so be it. I'm not going to let you pretend that there isn't a hidden meaning behind every bloody thing you do.'

Mac laughed. 'I know you think highly of me, but there's no need for absurdities like that.' But Zed merely held the other man's gaze, his eyes imploring and unwavering in their sincerity. Mac’s laughter faded as he realised that Zed was far from kidding. 'God... You really do think that, don't you?'

'You haven't given me any reason to think otherwise.'

'Well, sorry to disappoint, but I'm not actually that interesting.’

'Okay. Maybe, you aren't. But you still haven't answered my question,' Zed reminded him.

'For the love of God, Higgins... You're impossible.'

'Thank you. I know. Now, why did you take me with you?'

Mac sighed deeply, dropping his chopsticks. He scrubbed his hands roughly over his face, then tugged them through his hair. 'I don't know...'

'Sure, you do.'

'Would you let me finish!?' He snapped, then immediately regretted it as Zed looked as though he’d been physically struck. His features softened and a bit of the colour drained from his skin. 'Sorry. As I was saying... I don't exactly know. Sometimes it's just nice to feel a little less alone. You— do that for me, I guess. I could have gone alone; the golfing has been helping, regardless. But for some reason, I knew that it wouldn't be enough. So, it was either drunken golf… or you.' He shook his head dismissively and cleared his throat. His face felt hot enough to fuel a furnace as he returned to his food. 'Are you satisfied, now?'

Zed blinked slowly for a few seconds too long, then nodded jerkily. 'I— Yes. That's satisfactory. Thank you.'

'Good.' Mac cleared his throat once more, cursing the lingering heat in his cheeks. 'Now, can we get back to work?'

'Of course. We still have more arse to kick, don't we?' Zed offered with a tentative smile.

'Quite right.' Mac smiled. 'First rule of business: there's always more arse to kick.'

He stifled a chuckle. 'Duly noted.'

What followed were more hours of work, and nearly as much laughter. The intimate conversation appeared to be completely forgotten. In reality, it was anything but.

THE next morning, Mac manically paced about his office fueled by a fourth shot of espresso and something a “Red Bull” that the barista had strongly suggested he not buy but seemed like a good idea at the time, anyway. About a quarter to nine, Zed entered his office with a long yawn and bags under his eyes that would have made Louis Vuitton envious. 'Zachary! Good morning! Did you sleep well?'

Zed blinked slowly as if he’d never heard speech before. 'Not really, no. I take it you did, though.'

'Nope. Didn't sleep a wink. Spent the entire night working on the proposal. Coffee?' He turned, handing his friend a fresh and steaming cup. Zed took the beverage with all the speed of a tortoise which caused Mac to bob his head slightly, his nerves taking over his motor skills. 'Good! Need you awake for this! Gather the team in the conference room. I want everyone there in five. Attendance is mandatory!' He snagged his laptop and headed out the door not bothering to check how Zed was getting along.

As Mac happily set to work getting his presentation ready, the rest of his team filed in. They were oddly silent but, no matter, surely they just hadn’t taken advantage of the same amount of extreme caffenation that he had. 'All right!' Mac stood with a happy clap of his hands after the last person was finally seated. 'Now, you are all aware, no doubt, that we lost the Newcastle deal yesterday.'

The group's collective eyes were the size of dinner plates as all breath seemed to halt inside the room. Unsure exactly why, but chopping it up to his team simply being very attentive, he continued. 'But, with every cloud, there is a silver lining. As Mr Higgins so helpfully pointed out, that deal was so massive that we would have lost a great deal of current clients just to fit it in. Well, Angel Corps. now finds themselves in that very boat. And who is going to be there to take all of those wayward clients off their hands?' Mac's face was alight with a smile so wide his cheek physically hurt. But not a single person around the table shared his smile. Quite the contrary: the entire room looked fearful beyond measure. As he finally processed what he was seeing, his face fell. He took a step back to take in the sight of them all. 'What's the matter? You all look as though you've all seen a ghost.'

A timid yet determined voice rose from the back of the table. 'So— we aren't being sacked?'

It was very rare that Mac found himself speechless, but the shock of those words had done it to great effect. He turned to Zed who looked back neither stunned nor fazed by the question, confusing him further. Turning back to the group, Mac tried his best to be reassuring. 'Of course you’re not sacked! Why on Earth would I sack you?'

Another voice spoke, shaking the smallest bit. 'W—we lost the Newcastle account.'

'”We” didn't lose anything. We were outbid. It happens! Your performance was exemplary; it had nothing to do, whatsoever, with not gaining the account. Sometimes you can do everything right and still fail, anyway. That’s just life.’ The group looked astounded and bewildered as they turned to one another, unspoken thoughts flying between them. 'Seriously, what is going on?' He let out a small laugh. 'You didn't really think I would let you all go just because—'

Mac shifted his gaze to Zed who’s sobering look said yes, they really did think they were about to be jobless. As he exchanged glances with the other man, Zed’s words rang through his mind. Glimpses of humanity.

Clearing his throat loudly, Mac turned back to his employees. 'Mr Cuthbert—' The man so-named looked as though he would jump from his skin at any moment. ‘Your grasp of individual client marketing has helped to put our customer service on the map. It's a large part of the reason we are able to keep ninety-seven percent of the clientele we accrue on a yearly basis.' A huge sigh of relief left the employee’s lips.

'Mrs Garcia—' The woman blushed wildly, locking eyes with a piece of paper in front of her. 'I've never seen anyone as talented at making numbers work as you are. You make my maths skills look like child's play. And that's saying something!' The woman looked up, trying very hard not to beam but failing miserably. Her smile was quite contagious, infecting Mac almost instantly.

'And Ms St Clair: if I ever find anyone more apt at information acquisitions and applications than you, I’ll be very surprised, indeed!' Amelia grinned graciously, shooting Zed a look that Mac would have missed if he’d blinked.

Mac continued to call out and compliment each employee by name. He knew that, if his father were here, he’d say something akin to “compliments make people soft”, or “if they think they’ve done well, they won’t do better”. But the joy and gratitude he was seeing in their faces was– well, frankly, it was amazing. The heaviness and acrid energy that seemed to constantly surround the office atmosphere lifted with each comment, until only pleasant clarity remained. Mac felt his own spirit lifting in a way it had not done in years.

'And Zed—!' The word seemed to jolt the man so named out of his own thoughts, looking up into his friend's face. His face broke into a wide grin as they locked gazes. The feeling of his eyes on Mac’s was bloody magnetic. 

It was only after a solid heartbeat that he realised he’d used the man’s first name. 'I mean— Mr Higgins. This entire plan was your idea: stealing those companies right out from under Angel's nose!'

Zed gave the smallest nod and smile of gratitude before moving forward and grabbing a stack of papers from the desk. 'Yes, it was, and if we don't move quickly, we're going to miss our opportunity.'

'Right you are, Higgins! Now— who's ready to show Angel who really got the better end of the deal?'

The group cheered, all smiles as they left the conference room, newly energised and ready for the day. By five o'clock, every former client of Angel's was now a new client of E.G., including Legacy.

AS Zed finished organising the books which had accumulated on his boss's desk, Mac fell back into his chair feeling absolutely content. 'We did it, Higgins! We just accrued double the clientele from the last three months in a single afternoon! And, it's all thanks to you!'

Zed shook his head. 'No, Mac. That was all you. And I must say— it was bloody brilliant to watch.'

'What are you talking about? The whole scheme was yours from the get-go!'

'That may be, but you were the one steering the ship. I've never seen anyone change a tide the way you did today. It was a wonderful bit of captaining, if I do say so myself.'

'All right, enough with the sea metaphors. What's your point?'

'My point is: this morning every single person outside that door was deathly afraid of you. And, in one speech, you managed to turn their fear into loyalty. Just like that.' He snapped his fingers for effect.

But Mac merely scoffed. 'I think you're exaggerating just a bit.'

'Oh, I'm really not. You did the same thing to me on my birthday.'

'What the bloody hell are you talking about?'

Zed sighed, taking the seat opposite him. 'I guess, I can tell you now. Back in May, I was one foul word from walking out that door. Hell, I'd even started applying to other jobs!'

Mac felt as though he'd just been slapped in the face. He considered Zed such a close friend now that he had almost forgotten how recently they hadn’t been. He sat forward slightly, trying to remember all those months ago. 'So, what stopped you, then?'

'A crappy birthday card and three simple words. “You are appreciated”. Just a small acknowledgment that you knew I was doing my best. That's all I needed to stay. I repeated those words more times than I'd like to admit. You did the same for our team today. And just look at what they accomplished! Imagine what doing it more often could do.'

Zed smirked openly as Mac considered his words. Was I really that close to losing him?

Mac shook his head, deciding on sarcasm to cut the moment in two. 'If you're quite done with the pat on the head, Mummy, can we get to celebrating?' With a laugh from Zed, Mac grabbed some champagne from the mini fridge behind him and opened it with a loud pop.