Nicole Edwards - Perception

Uncharacteristically restless, Xander leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he glanced up at Mercedes to see that she was smiling. He wondered if she was entertained by his unease. Probably.

Any other day, he might’ve taken offense to her obvious amusement at his expense. But today… Today he just couldn’t find it in him to get pissed off.

No, today he was apparently going to spend every waking moment thinking about her naked.

The woman had blown his damn mind last night.

Having known her for years, Xander had to give himself a significant amount of credit for keeping his hands to himself all this time. Lord knows he’d been tempted ever since he first saw her in that rat trap of an office she had been working out of back when Shane introduced them.

Rather than try and seduce her, which he knew would’ve been futile because Mercedes had a firm set of beliefs and his intentions didn’t fit them, he’d allowed their relationship to mold into a rather intimate friendship.

Xander didn’t have many friends, but those he did have, he kept close. Both Mercedes and Shane were in that category. But, unlike any normal friendship, when it came to Mercedes, Xander had suffered some unbearable physical aches through the years, fighting tooth and nail to pretend the woman didn’t turn him the fuck on.

Oh, how she did.

But after last night, seeing her in a different light, he wasn’t quite sure he could continue on with the charade. Or rather, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Even if it were obvious that she wasn’t happy about the outcome from their scene, no matter how hard he tried, Xander could not stop thinking about the way she’d come apart in his arms. It’d been incredibly difficult to make it through the night knowing she was tucked in her bed while he was just one floor above tossing and turning from an aching hard on that couldn’t be sated.

When Shane approached again, Xander glanced over his shoulder, remembering where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

“Seriously, X. Tell me you’re joking.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Xander stated firmly, keeping his expression blank as he forced his attention back to the task at hand.

It wasn’t a secret that Xander enjoyed the shit out of getting Shane riled up, but this morning he just wasn’t feeling it. It was usually the highlight of their interactions, which these days seemed to be more and more frequent as Shane’s business continued to grow.

Boone Development, LLC, was a light year ahead of Gibson Enterprises, but that divide was shrinking as Shane built a name for himself. And despite the fact that they often found themselves in direct conflict with one another, Xander was genuinely happy for the man.

“I’m making an offer on the Milton building, and you fucking know it,” Shane said as he stalked across the room once again. “Why can’t you ever make this easy for me?”

“Life’s not easy,” he told him, knowing his blasé attitude would only piss Shane off more. It didn’t change how he felt about the whole deal.

They were currently discussing an undeveloped opportunity zoned for either commercial or residential that had just come up. Shane was interested in buying the property, and Xander didn’t blame the guy. Shane was a housing developer, and this particular area was growing by leaps and bounds.

The problem was, there was more residential space than necessary in the area, but he couldn’t seem to convince Shane of that. As for Xander, he mainly dealt in commercial property development, and in this particular building, he already knew of a company interested in relocating. Either way, their offers would be quite competitive, but when it came down to it, Xander would walk away with the property. He always did.

“Fuck you, Boone.”

That statement, and the fierce expression on Shane’s face made Xander laugh. He pushed up from his chair – after all, his size was his best intimidating factor – buttoning his jacket as he did. Turning away from Mercedes, Xander thrust his hands into his pockets and addressed Shane directly.

Through the years, Xander and Shane had managed to meet somewhere in the middle on many deals much like this one. By middle, Xander meant more so in his favor. When there was a business opportunity that Xander wanted, he would certainly do what needed to be done to ensure he didn’t lose. Pissing off one of his closest friends in the process was usually the end result.

“I’ll back off of the land if you want it,” Xander informed him. “But I’m not letting go of the Milton building. As far as I’m concerned, this conversation was done before it ever even started. So, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to move on to something else.”

Business was business, and on that point, he and Shane always butted heads. They probably always would. They frequently found themselves in direct competition, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Despite their business relationship, Xander knew that, by the end of the day, Shane would’ve forgiven him. Somewhat. They were also friends.

 “Are you handling this for him?” Shane directed his question at Mercedes, clearly annoyed with Xander’s lack of cooperation.

“If he asks me to,” she said.

“What if I ask you to handle it for me?” Shane questioned, thrusting his hands in his pockets and mimicking Xander’s stance.

Xander tried not to laugh.

“I can only work for one of you, so you’ll have to decide which one that is. You know I won’t get in the middle of this. I don’t get paid to be a referee.”

“I’m not letting this go,” Xander told Shane firmly, ignoring Mercedes’s comment. “You can bid on the land, and I’ll back off, but I’m gonna take this building.”

“Fuck,” Shane hissed, sliding his hand through his spiky blond hair. “Why do I even bother?” Shane huffed on a frustrated sigh. Although it was phrased like one, Xander knew it wasn’t a question.

Glancing over at Mercedes, Xander nodded his head. It was his approval for her to move forward with the offer. She tipped her chin in agreement and leaned forward, her fingers flying over the keys on her keyboard.

“You two don’t waste any time, do you?” Shane asked, sounding much calmer than before.

That’s the way things worked between them. Shane would get pissed; Xander would tell him how it was going to be and then Shane would move on with his life. The guy didn’t have much stress because of it. Or maybe he didn’t have much stress because he worked a lot of it out at the club. After all, the blond-haired, blue-eyed pretty boy was one of the most sought after Doms at Kink.

“When you’re done with that, move forward with my offer on the land.”

Mercedes glanced up at Shane and smiled. “Already working on it.”

She knew them both so well.

“Y’all going to the club tonight?” Shane’s sudden change of subject released the tension in the air.

Looking over at Mercedes, Xander said, “no” at the same time she said “yes.”

He pinned her with a glare.

Shane then directed his statement to Mercedes, seemingly ignorant to the underlying tension that was lingering between them. “Want me to pick you up on my way there?”

“Yeah, that’ll be great.”

“You sure you don’t want to go?” Shane asked Xander, forcing him to look away from Mercedes.

“I’m sure. I’ve got another commitment. I’m sure you’ll have a good time without me.”

“We certainly will, won’t we, doll?” Shane said to Mercedes with that damned pretty boy smile.

She didn’t answer, but Xander didn’t need her to.

Shane didn’t waste any more time, nodding his head at Xander. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Later,” Xander called after him as Shane darted out of the office.

Xander listened to his friend’s footsteps down the hall, then across the Travertine entry way and then finally when Shane opened and closed the front door behind him.

As soon as he knew they were alone, he turned his attention back on Mercedes. “There is no way in hell you’re going to the club tonight.”

Mercedes didn’t know how she managed to keep from cracking her keyboard right in half when Xander spoke.

She inhaled slowly through her nose and then out through her mouth as she tried to control the anger that snaked its way into her bloodstream and threatened to burn her to a crisp.

The man had balls; she’d give him that.

She could handle a lot of things, such as Xander being an asshole when it came to his business dealings, but she damn sure didn’t do well with anyone telling her what she could or couldn’t do.

“Last I checked, you don’t make my decisions for me,” she told him, grateful she’d managed to hold on to some semblance of calm.

“The hell I don’t,” he bit out.

Mercedes clamped her jaw shut, afraid if she didn’t, it just might hit the floor. Never, in all the time she’d known Xander had he talked to her like that.

The man was clearly delusional.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Mercedes got to her feet and moved around to the front of the desk to where Xander stood. She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her back straight, her chin up as she approached him.

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t go nose to nose with him because he was several inches taller than she was. But she did meet his eyes. “Is there something we need to talk about?” she asked him curtly.

“No,” he bit out. “As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t anything to discuss,” he argued, sounding not at all like the calm, confident man she knew so well.