Business and Pleasure SLASH, MxM

Chapter 5

“You sure did take your time.” Patrick’s voice was smooth and even as he sized up his exhausted co-worker who was leaning against his door frame. He noticed how red Marshall’s face was and how out of breath he seemed and had to fight off a grin. He didn’t actually expect Marshall to take the stairs. He would have expected him to just say fuck it all and go home (leaving Patrick virtually fucked in that retrospect). So he assumed that it was best not to tell the brown haired man the elevator only worked if one had a card key to unlock it and that he himself was too lazy to leave his apartment. Trivialities aside, he needed to get what he made him come all the way here for.

                Too exhausted to come up with a well thought out retort, Marshall just glared and shoved the file in his hands. “Here.” He hissed as he leaned against the door way. Patrick took the file from him with a smile before he turned and went back into this living room. When he noticed the other man was not following him he stopped and turned to him. “Are you going to come inside or are you going to hold the door frame in place?”

Marshall snorted and rolled his eyes, but trudged inside the apartment anyway. When he was fully inside he finally got to see just how large it was. It was probably three times the size of the apartment he shared with Ann when they first got together. But he shoved that comparison out of his mind with quickness. She was last person he wanted to be thinking about.  There were better and more important things to focus on, like how he was standing in the living his boss who desperately wanted to get into his pants, and apparently had succeeded before.

Said boss reappeared with a laptop in his hand before Marshall had even noticed he had gone to retrieve it.  Patrick gestured for him to sit down the couch. It was bright white, like the ones you see in catalogues  that you know no one would ever have the ordaisity to sit on, lest ruin it’s stark white cleanliness. But Marshall did as he was instructed and sat. And he swore this couch must have been made by gods. Christ, he was sitting on a cloud. Patrick noticed the look on his face and gave him a knowing smirk, before sitting his laptop on the glass coffee table in front of them.

“I’d like to thank you for bringing this over.” The blond said, as he opened the file and flipped through. “Unfortunately I don’t have the time to read over it myself and see what the hell they are all about. So, I’ll need your help. I need to type up a letter all about Quartz Co. and send it to the CEO about why it would be wise to purchase or at least partner with them.  Thus, you are going to help.”

Marshall stared at him briefly. “Yeah, ok. My shift ended at five so unless…”

“You’re going to get paid overtime. I understand your sentiments. Let’s just get this over with.”

Well in that case.

-

As they worked, it evolved from Marshall helping his boss write this letter, into Patrick simply writing down every word. It turned out that Patrick wasn’t as articulate as the Marshall when it came to putting his thoughts onto paper. Hell, the brunette was certain that if he was not such a slow typist, Patrick would have handed the laptop over to him and hand him do all of the work completely.  Sucking his teeth, Patrick stopped and sat back against the couch and ran his hand over his face.  “I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?” He asked, turning towards the other.

Marshall shook his head no. Even though things have been relatively calm between them, he wasn’t going to take any chances. He would rather not have his drink spiked by his boss. The taller man just shrugged and disappeared into an area where Marshall assumed the kitchen was. Taking a break to stretch his legs, he stood up and stretched his arms over his head leaning forward to slightly crack his back. The brown haired man was going to sit back down but then a picture in a small brown picture frame caught his eye.  It stuck out like a sore thumb against the rest of the flat’s decorum. It was old, small, and the ugliest shade of brown he had ever seen. But that didn’t stop him from picking it up and getting a better look at it. Of course, what he saw perked his interest.

 In the photo were two young teens. Both were wearing similar clothing, a uniform, but besides that, they looked as though they were complete opposites of one another. One of them had black hair cropped short, with vibrant green eyes. He was pretty well built. In fact he was perhaps the poster child for athleticism. Now, the other boy was slightly taller than the first and his body type was different in every way. Tall, lanky and gawky.  His hair was a greasy pale blond and he had a face full of acne which made parts of his face look blotchy and red. But for what he lacked in physical appearance Marshall could tell he had a bright personality. His smiled was wide and bright though his braces seemed to give him a bit of a geeky charm.

“I leave the room for a second and you’re already snooping through my stuff.”

Marshall turned around quickly to see a bemused looking Patrick, holding a glass of wine in his hand. He wondered if this man was a closet alcoholic. That or he just enjoyed drinking whenever it was available. Letting his thoughts drift away from that he shook his head. “No. I was just looking at this picture…” He paused when he saw Patrick blink in surprise and move closer towards him. But when the man caught sight of the picture in his hands he stopped and scowled. Marshall’s curiosity was instantly peaked.

“That’s me and an old friend. I’ve been meaning to throw it out. Give it here.”  

Patrick had to have been joking. There was no way this geeky kid could have been him. No way at all. Looking from the kid in the picture to the man standing in front of him. He tried to connect the two. The kid was blond. And he was tall. And he had the man's elegant facial structure though it was a bit softer looking on the kid. And the same deep brown eyes.

Well, shit. It was Patrick. He had heard of puberty changing people but this absolutely took the cake. Patrick looked like an entirely different person. "I said, give it here." The blond hissed, snatching the frame from Marshall's hands startling the man. His blue eyes widened at his boss before he casually snorted and waved him off. “Weren’t much of a looker back in High school, were you?” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

The blond noticeably tenses and Marshall instantly worried if he said something he should not have. Much to his surprise, Patrick just looked at him before throwing his head back with a laugh. It wasn’t a happy laugh. But it wasn’t full of any kind of sadness either. It was dry. Dry and bitter. “Yeah, well. Not everyone was blessed with flawless genes and let’s leave it at that.” The Department head replied as he returned to his position on the couch, his eyes going to the computer screen. “It’s late you should be heading home now. Ann’s probably waiting for you anyway. You should probably apologize to her as well before she slaps you hard enough to leave a mark again. It’s long since faded but don’t think I didn’t notice when you first came here.” The blond quipped as he saved the document and closed the laptop, getting back up. He plastered a false smile on his face and moved beside Marshall, placing a hand on the small of his back and steering him towards the door.

“H-Hey, now wait a minute!” The brunette stammered, trying to grasp what was going on. Of course, Patrick had already pushed him through the doorway. “You should be heading home. I expect you to be on time for work tomorrow.”

Marshall looked confused for a second before a frown found its way to his face. There was no reason for the younger man to act like such a dick. “Look man, I was just teasing.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Evans.”