The Handsome Clerk Part 3
Quatre tapped the end of his pen on the open file as he eyed the clock.
Duo had called him the night before to talk about his date with Heero, only Quatre had been occupied. They had hung up with the promise to talk before Duo flew out for his trip, and now Quatre sat in his office waiting for his phone to ring.
His mind side-tracked to what he had been occupied with when Duo had called. He'd just finished a late dinner with his lover and they had retired to his bedroom. Quatre had been sitting on his lover's hips when Duo called; he had been testing his lover's memory by talking and giving instructions on what he wanted that night, teasingly of course.
Duo's call had distracted him and by the time he hung up, Quatre had forgotten about what he had been talking about and what was left on his list for his lover. The man lying beneath him immediately pulled Quatre down and reversed their positions before reminding Quatre, with actions and not words, of every instruction he had left.
He smiled to himself, remembering the way his lover had teased him about his poor memory. His only retort was that he was the boss who didn't need to have a good memory; his secretary was the one who had to remember things he said.
The quiet chuckle and the 'yes, boss' had sent shivers down his back.
A knock on the door startled him and he looked up with a smile. "Trowa," he greeted his secretary.
"What are you smiling about?" Trowa asked as he shut the door and approached the large desk.
"You," Quatre said. "I was thinking of last night."
"Which part of last night?" Trowa sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.
"Take a guess," Quatre teased.
Trowa thought for a few seconds before he smiled. "Yes, boss," he murmured.
Quatre flushed and Trowa laughed. The phone rang and Quatre picked it up.
"Hello? Duo!"
"I'm going to go buy you lunch," Trowa said, getting up. "I'll choose something for you."
"Thanks, Trowa." Quatre waved at his lover and turned his attention back to the phone.
"Why is it that every time I call you I'm interrupting a moment between you and your secretary?" Duo asked.
"It could be that he spends a lot of time with me, both at work and out of work," Quatre said. "So tell me. How was your date last night?"
"Good," Duo said.
"Good? That's all you can give me? Good?" Quatre asked. "Come on, Duo, I want all of the details!"
"We talked about ourselves, our jobs, mundane things like that."
"So it was boring?"
"No! When he talks about his job he gets all animated and everything."
"Just like you do when you talk about being inspired."
"Do I?" Duo asked. "I guess so, maybe it's the same feeling of being passionate at what you do."
"Jobs aside, anything else?" Quatre pushed. "Did you go to his place or invite him to yours? Did anything happen?"
"We...kissed," Duo confessed. "It wasn't even planned or anything; I was leaning forward to kiss his cheek and I think he was going to do the same thing and it just happened! We're going to have dinner on Sunday evening. It's probably a good thing to step back and take this slowly, right Quatre? Because right now I'm standing at the airport, waiting for my flight and thinking that I really don't want to go anywhere."
"What about Jack?" Quatre asked. "He asked you out the last time you were at a show with him, remember? He lives on the other side of town but you guys are probably going to end up on the same flight to this show."
"You're right. In fact, I see him now, coming towards me. I don't know, Quatre, Jack might be a good guy and share common interests but the feeling I have talking to him is so unlike talking to Heero. I can't explain it."
"Then you need to let Jack know, Duo. Don't lead him on."
"I will. Thanks Quatre. I'll call you when I get back."
"Have a safe flight, Duo."
"Bye, Quatre, and say hi to Mr. Secretary-Double-Agent-Lover for me."
"Duo!" Quatre glared half-heartedly at the phone before putting it back into the cradle. He looked up to see Trowa re-enter with a bag advertising a sandwich shop downstairs and immediately his mouth watered.
"Finished with Duo?"
"Yes," Quatre said. "He said and I quote 'say hi to Mr. Secretary-Double-Agent-Lover for me.'"
Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Double agent? Well..." He walked around the desk and set the bag down on a clear spot before leaning against the edge. "If I'm a double agent, I should get double pay, right? So if you're paying me a salary for being your secretary, what do I get paid for the other job?"
"Job?" Quatre asked, feigning hurt. "Well, if you don't want that job, you can just be the secretary."
"I'm thinking that my payment for the second job is much more flexible in terms of negotiating a better deal for me." Trowa straightened and turned Quatre's chair, setting a hand on either armrest before leaning down. "I'll have my lunch time kiss now." He immediately claimed it and tasted Quatre for a long minute before pulling back and dropping gracefully to his knees. "I think my second job leaves me spoiled, Mr. Boss-Double-Agent-Lover. I want my dessert before my lunch and I'm pretty sure I can't get what I want anywhere else but here." He set his hand over Quatre's swelling hardness.
"I like to think of myself as a good boss," Quatre said. "I'll give you whatever you negotiate, because you're my best worker."
Hands swiftly removed his belt and unbuttoned his dress pants before emerald green eyes gazed up at him. "Best? Probably not. Just one with a lot of practice. Shall I prove to you that practice can really make perfect?"
"Be my guest."
~*~
Duo smiled at the man approaching him. "Hey, Jack!"
"Duo!" Jack pulled Duo into a brief hug. "Ready for the fashion show?"
"Ready to see what the big designers made this time," Duo said. "You?"
"Ready to see that and maybe a little more," Jack said, looking up and down Duo's body. "You look good," he added.
At the show last month, Duo had found Jack to be funny. His obvious physical attraction to Duo was flattering. But now, Duo suddenly felt uncomfortable and his thoughts immediately turned to Heero.
They hadn't officially started dating, but offering any reply to goad Jack towards more teasing seemed almost like cheating.
"Thanks," he simply said. "I'm going to run to the washroom before we board. Where are you sitting?"
They compared their boarding passes and realized that they were not sitting remotely close together.
"Oh well," Jack said. "We'll just have to wait until we settle at the hotel to sit down to chat, right? How about dinner tonight?"
"Sounds good. I'm sure lots of others will be arriving and eager to join us."
"I guess," Jack agreed. "But you'll join me for a drink after the dinner, won't you?"
Remembering Quatre's words to clear things up with Jack, Duo nodded in agreement. "See you when we land, then," Duo said before heading off towards the washroom.
Dinner was provided at the hotel for all those invited to attend the fashion show. It wasn't long before Duo found himself at the quiet lounge of the hotel with Jack, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to.
"So, Duo, have you given any thought to what we talked about last time?" Jack asked after they had ordered their drinks. "You're a very interesting person and honestly, you inspire me in my work."
"That's very flattering, Jack," Duo said after a moment. "It's just...I promised to think about giving it a try and I think I'd prefer that we just stayed friends."
Jack gave a mock-frown. "You'll cut off my paycheque just like that?"
Duo laughed off the comment. "No, I'm telling you that you'll find some better inspiration."
Jack sat back. "Not even a chance, Duo? Even a couple of dates?"
Duo shook his head. "Sorry, Jack," he said sincerely.
"Is there someone else?"
Duo shrugged. "Regardless, this is about you and me, isn't it?"
"Well, it would play a pretty big role in our relationship if there was someone else. Unless you want to have two..."
"I'm not like that."
"I didn't think so," Jack sighed.
Looking past Jack, Duo saw another friend waving at him. "Would you excuse me a moment?" he asked politely. "I see a friend. I'll be back in a moment."
When he returned to the table, Jack seemed to be in better spirits and they spent the next little while talking about the fashion show taking place the next afternoon and what they thought they might see.
Tired from the drinks and the flight, Duo decided to call it an early night along with Jack instead of joining his other friend. He excused himself for another minute to tell his friend that he wouldn't be joining for a round of drinks, he returned to his own seat and finished off the remainder of his almost-empty glass before taking the elevator up to the ninth floor with Jack.
The other man caught Duo when he stumbled getting out of the elevator. "Watch yourself," Jack teased.
"Sorry," Duo chuckled. "Tripped over my own feet."
"Happens," Jack said although he didn't let go. Duo shifted, trying to dislodge the grip on his elbow, but he stumbled again, his vision dimming for a moment.
"Whoa," he mumbled, flattening a palm on the wall to steady himself.
"All right there, Duo?" Jack asked, sounding concerned.
"Yeah," Duo said, realizing that they had stopped in front of his room. "Thanks, Jack. I can take it from here." He fumbled for his keycard, taking several tries to unlock his door. It finally opened...
...and then everything went black.
TBC...
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