Days leading up to William’s big party were more tense and quiet than usual. Lorenzo was drowning in his work, trying to get everything done before he could take leave for the party. There was no room for taking breaks or sick days. If he had caught a cold he would chug a bottle of cold medicine before going back to work. Mercer on the other hand, stayed very organized throughout the busy days. He was right at Lorenzo’s side to deliver papers, get signatures, and print files. Sometimes, Lorenzo would be grumpy or annoyed and Mercer was right there every time to give him space or calm him down.

Their connection had grown so much from that night at the bar. Both Mercer and Lorenzo would catch themselves looking at each other and then quickly looking away. Because of this, the office was strained at times though things would go back to normal when more tasks piled back up.

“Mr. Mathew!” Mercer busted into the room, carrying a large stack of papers. But just as he made it past the door way he tripped on the rug.

Lorenzo froze for a moment before darting over to Mercer. Just as he was about to fall, Lorenzo’s large hands gripped his waist.

“Easy there tiger,” Lorenzo chuckled.

Mercer got a hold on himself and the papers he was holding. His eyes locked with Lorenzo but he quickly adverted his gaze.

“Thank you, Lorenzo,” He looked down testing the name on his tongue. He normally called Lorenzo by his last time but saying his real name made him flustered. “I’m sorry for the mess.”

“Its fine, Mercer. Things have been hectic so I understand,” Lorenzo looked down, noticing how Mercer called him by his name.

“I know,” Mercer huffed. “It feels like we are one the edge of our chairs and me being clumsy is making it worse.”

“Mercer,” Lorenzo said firmly. “Everything and everyone in this office is a shitshow right now, so stop putting yourself down about every little mishap.”

Mercer opened and closed his mouth while throwing his hands up. He tried to think of something to say or make words come out, but nothing did. Lorenzo waited for a moment, letting the silence hand. He leaned in closer, his voice softening.

“What do you need me to do, Mercer? Just tell me.”

Mercer huffed again, this time more shakily. “I-I just need you to look over all these reports and then sign off on them,” He looked down avoiding eye contact, not wanting Lorenzo to see the tears forming in his eyes.

Lorenzo reached his hand out to lift Mercer’s chin. Mercer sniffled, looking up tired and worn out.

“I will go through the papers now and then get them back to you within the hour. While I do that, you take your break,” Lorenzo grabbed the stack of papers from Mercer’s hands.

“Thank you,” Mercer whispered.

Lorenzo went back over to his desk, leaving Mercer standing still. Mercer took a minute before leaving the office and going to the bathroom.

A few minutes later Mercer walked back in. The tear that were once in his eyes were gone but replaced with light tear streaks. Lorenzo happened to look when the door closed and smile softly. He nodded for him to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Mercer complied and sat down.

“Feeling better?” Lorenzo asked gently. “And did you managed to get something to drink?”

“No, Mercer looked down. His voice raspy and weak.

“Alright,” Lorenzo’s voice held a bit of worry. He reached for his coffee and slid it over. “You can drink this,” He ushered. “You need it more than I do right now.”

Mercer looked up confused and silently questioned Lorenzo. Lorenzo met his gaze before flicking back down to focus on the work he was handed from Mercer.

“Just take your time,” He said “I’ve almost got the reports done.”

Mercer carefully grabbed the mug with two hands and took a small sip. He blushed lightly as the warmth spread through him, partially from the coffee and the kindness from the man across from him.

Lorenzo cleared his throat, the sound pulled Mercer from his thoughts. “I’ve finished with the reports. The one marked with red, needs to be doubled-checked by the team, but the one with the green, we need to go over together.”

He slid the stack of green-marked pages toward Mercer. Mercer set down the mug; the warmth still in his hands, and picked up the stack. He leaned forward, his eyes already scanning the pages.

“On a few of the designs I wanted to re-measure using you, since you have the same proportions as our size medium,” Lorenzo leaned back in his chair.

Mercer’s hand, reaching for his coffee, slowed and dropped back to the desk. “You want me to be the model?”

A low chuckled pulled from Lorenzo’s throat. “Was it too much to ask for?”

“N-no. I just didn’t think I was suitable for modeling. I’m your assistant, not a runway model,” He said nervously.

“Why not, you fit the criteria and have the same proportions.”

“Yes but…” He paused. “Are you positive you want to use me? Everything has to be perfect. What if-”

Lorenzo shushed him. “Mercer, its going to be fine,” He said firmly. “I’ve checked a dozen times and your measurements are spot on. If the designs are off, it’s the designer’s fault, not the model’s. All we have to do is check them and send them back over. If something happened to go wrong, then they can figure it out.”

Mercer huffed before taking a sip of his coffee. “Fine, but if something goes wrong it will not be my fault.”

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and pulled out a tape measure from his desk. “Up you go then,” He smirked and whipped the tape.

The tape managed to hit the top of Mercer’s thigh, drawing a yelp from him. He rubbed his leg and glared at Lorenzo. Mercer slowly stood up while keeping his glare. The two of them walk over to the middle of the office. Despite there being two desks and some filing cabinets, there was still a lot of open space in the middle. Mercer stood on top of a small box as Lorenzo positioned himself behind him. The measuring tape clicked at he held it flush against Mercer’s left arm. A shiver ran down his back.

Lorenzo’s measurements were slow and precise as he operated from writing down measurements and taking them. Each touch on Mercer’s back, arms, and neck made him more and more nervous by the second. Before he knew it, Lorenzo had finished measuring the back and was now in front of him. Their eyes met and heat pooled into Mercer’s cheeks. As soon as Lorenzo noticed the soft hue of red, he cleared his throat. Mercer felt the tape align with his chest, as his bust was measured. Despite being measured over his shirt, the tape felt like hot needless against Mercer’s skin. Lorenzo pulled away, letting the tape fall to the ground s he wrote down the newly taken measurements.

It all came crashing down when Lorenzo crouched down and started measuring Mercer’s legs. His breath hitched and his nerves flew through the roof.

“W-what are you doing?!” He blurted.

“I’m just measuring your wait, hips and inseam,” Lorenzo mumbled as he held his pen in his mouth.

He lined the tape up to Mercer’s waist and wrapped it around the front. He noticed Mercer’s trembling and how his chest heaved at he took each breath. Lorenzo made a mental note that Mercer was very sensitive; for work purposes of course.

“This won’t take long, so just relax,” Lorenzo looked up.

Mercer nodded and took a deep breath, slightly calming his nerves.

Lorenzo continued to measure. Mercer was still on edge but not as much at before, though what he didn’t know was that Lorenzo still had to measure his inseam. As Lorenzo finished measuring his hip, Mercer took a step down off of the box, thinking they were done.

“Oh, Mercer,” He hummed. “We still have to measure your inseam,” Lorenzo placed his hand on his hip.

“Huh,” Mercer looked up. “What my inseam?….Oh,” He blushed.

Lorenzo crouched down in front of Mercer and ushered him back on the box. Mercer followed orders and took a step up. Lorenzo moved the tape to the base of the other’s leg, slowly siding it up. Mercer immediately went stiff and his breathing stopped. He looked up at the ceiling to distract himself. Heat built in Mercer’s stomach but he refused to give in. Lorenzo kept his touch light and careful but still made his hand painfully aware on Mercer’s inner thigh. He worked quickly and soon finished.

Lorenzo withdrew his hand from Mercer’s thigh and stood up, awfully close. Mercer’s breath hitched as his eyes locked with the man in front of him. Time stood still as both men stood there staring at each other. Lorenzo’s breath hit Mercer’s cheeks. His eyes softened as he slowly moved his hand to Mercer’s hip. This drew them closer and Mercer couldn’t help but fidget. With his free hand Lorenzo separated his fidgety hands. Mercer looked down then up locked his eyes with Lorenzo once more.

Eternity passed and Lorenzo leaned in, his lips gently touching Mercer’s. Mercer’s eyes widen but he relaxed and leaned into the kiss. Lorenzo pulled him flush against his larger frame, drawing a gasp. Mercer gently wrapped his arms around Lorenzo’s neck. Lorenzo pulled this hips even closer. Before they knew it, it was getting harder to breathe. Mercer was the first to pull away, panting softly and his cheeks rosy. He came back to his senses and looked at Lorenzo wide eyes.

“Shit, shit, shit,” He ran his hands through his hair. “Lorenzo, I’m so sorry.”

Lorenzo looked at him worried. “Mercer, why on earth are you apologizing?”

“I-I messed up. We just made out!”

“Hey, Mercer breath,” He ran his hands down Mercer’s back. “I was the one who kissed you, it’s my fault. I am sorry.”

Mercer rested his head on Lorenzo’s chest and took a deep breath. “W-we can’t, y-you-” He stuttered.

“We’ll be okay,” Lorenzo said softly, wrapping his arms around Mercer.

“But our jobs and our positions?” He takes a deep breath.

“Nobody will find out. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” Lorenzo shushed him.” “We can just forget about it, pretend like nothing happened alright?”

Mercer sighs in relief. “Yeah, forget about it,” He said to himself. “You won’t thin about us differently though, right?”

“No, Mercer. You are my assistant,” He said firmly.

Mercer nodded and slowly pulled away from Lorenzo. He looked down and fixed his shirt, taking a shaky breath. Lorenzo also took a step back, slowly gathering his notebook and measuring tape. Silence fell between the two and Mercer headed to his desk. As he sat down, Lorenzo set a few sheets of notebook paper and design files on his desk.

“Um…these are all the measure designs that we just did. They need to be taken to the design faculty office,” Lorenzo adverted his gaze.

“Alright, I’ll take them right away,” Mercer said softly and stood up as slow as he had sat down.

Mercer grabbed the files and ripped out the papers from Lorenzo’s notebook. His footsteps echoes out of the office, slow but professional. As he walked out of sight from the office, Lorenzo cleared his throat and sat down at his desk.

“Shit…,” He groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “What the hell were you thinking Lorenzo, kissing your assistant, touching his thighs and hips that that! UGH, you perv,” He said to himself.

His head fell onto his desk and his shoulders slumped forward. Lorenzo took the time alone to bask in his stupidness.

Soon Mercer walked back into their shared office, no more papers in hand. He sat down with a sigh and went back to work, trying to avoid looking at Lorenzo, who was still slumped over his desk.

Eventually Lorenzo brushed himself off, chugged a cup of coffee and went back to work.