Apologies and a Threat

Mason had decided to go home early to get some rest. He had had a stressful day at work trying to show Bryan the ropes and reining in his annoyance, after all he was the one who decided to hire an incompetent assistant. Twice he had forgotten to inform Mason on his next appointment, luckily Ben understood that Bryan wasn't the best person to rely on and had popped in to double check that Mason was aware of each appointments.

He had also accidentally spilled tea on a board member and Mason had to apologise on his behalf while Bryan was ordered to go clean the man's jacket, which of course he managed to rip and was once again saved by Ben who somehow managed to get the exact same jacket from a nearby store. As the closing hours drew near, Mason couldn't wait to close for the day so he sent both men home early and headed to his house. He was walking past the entrance to the living room when he heard sounds coming from the TV. "Lisa must be home" he said to himself and decided to go see her before going upstairs. He watched her from the entrance for a while, she was sitting on the couch with a woollen shawl over her shoulders and a bowl of popcorn on her lap. She chuckled softly as she watched her movie making Mason smile at her back She glanced up as he walked in and her face hardened as soon as she realised it was him "Hey little sister" he said affectionately and leaned down to kiss her cheek only to kiss the air because Lisa had shifted away from him. He sighed and said "I'm guessing that means you're mad at me" and was met with cold silence

"Lisa I–" he tried to speak again but was drowned out as Lisa increased the TV volume and continued to ignore his presence.

He was wondering what to do next when Mary walked in, as soon as Lisa saw her, she paused the movie and faced the woman "Hi Mary" she said brightly to the woman making Mason roll his eyes.

Mary smiled at her in return and said to the both of them "Dinner is ready, would you like me to set the table now?" Mason started to speak again and Lisa cut him short "Actually Mary send mine up to my room. I'd rather eat alone " she said and stood up, she walked around Mason not sparing him a glance and left the living room.

Mason watched her leave and sighed before turning to Mary "You can set the table for me alone, I'll be down after a shower" he said and thanked her before leaving the room too. He had been wrong when he thought the lack of an outburst was a good sign, right now he'd rather have his sister screaming her head off at him than the silent treatment he was getting. He knew he had to fix this, he would find a way to talk to Lisa and make her listen to him and he would make it up to her. He stepped into the shower brainstorming on ways he could appease his very angry younger sister.

He left for work very early the next morning not ready to face Lisa yet, he stood by her door for a few minutes listening to her light snore before going downstairs for a quick breakfast. As he drove to work, he thought about the two people he cared about most in the world, Lisa and Evans and how they were both mad at him. To be fair they both had a reason to be mad but he wanted their quarrel to be over quickly, not being able to relate with them like he used to hurt his heart and he hoped they would get over their aversion to his latest decision.

As he pulled into his parking space, he noted that the garage was practically empty which was understandable as working hours had not started yet. He scanned the cars around and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Evans' car parked in its spot, it reminded him once more that he wasn't on good terms with the man he loves. "What a gloomy day" he said to himself as he locked his car and headed into the company.

He approached the elevator and to his surprise, Evans was there waiting for the elevator doors to open, it appeared that his best friend had only arrived a few moments before he did. He considered turning back and walking out but it was too late, Evans had heard footsteps and looked back to see who was coming.

"Hey man" he said to Evans as he stood beside him, Evans was about to respond when the doors opened and they both stepped in. They reached for their floor button at the same time and their hands brushed against each other. Mason withdrew quickly , muttering his apology and stepping back to hide his blush. They were both silent for a while before Evans spoke "Look Mason, I'm really sorry I gave you a hard time about Bryan. I was just trying to help and I think I may have overdid it" he said earnestly

"What?" Mason replied with surprise, of all the things he had expected from Evans, an apology wasn't one of them, definitely not this soon.

"I know you're mad at me but I miss us being on the same team. Forgive me?" Evans said pleadingly

"Um, y yeah sure of course. No hard feelings really. I'm really sorry too man, I shouldn't have lost my cool like that" Mason responded eagerly. Evans laughed and pulled him into a bear hug, a few seconds later, the elevator doors opened at their floor and Evans released him making Mason inwardly curse as he lost the warmth of the embrace. "See you later bud" Evans said cheerfully as he walked to the direction of his office while Mason walked to the direction of his smiling from ear to ear and replaying the elevator experience over and over in his head, each time making it a little more R-rated

He walked in and was surprised to see Ben already at his desk "Good morning Ben, you're really early today" he called out brightly

"Good morning sir, we did close early yesterday sir so I thought I'd make up for it" he responded rising to greet his boss

"Oh good. It's such a wonderful day isn't it " he said a little absentmindedly thinking of Evans again

"Yes it is sir" replied a puzzled Ben as Mason nodded at him and walked into his office with a dreamy smile on his face.Evans was tired, he had spent the entire day in one meeting or the other and only had one break during which he hoped to have lunch and a chat with his friend but to his disappointment, Mason came with Bryan and even paid for his meal. He headed towards the elevator and pushed the button, the doors opened almost instantly and he stepped in, it was about to close when a hand stopped it. Bryan stepped into the elevator, his tie loose around his neck and grinned when he saw Evans in the elevator. He entered and pushed the button for the ground floor "Hello, hell of a busy day for us isn't it?" He said as he leaned against the elevator wall looking at Evans. The latter folded his arms across his chest and turned to face Bryan squarely, he wasn't smiling "Listen to me Bryan Holding because I don't like to repeat myself. I don't know what your deal is but trust me you do not want to mess with Mason or Lisa, not when I'm around. My best friend might be a straight arrow but I don't mind getting my hands dirty especially when it comes to the people I care about, Lisa and Mason top that list so if you know what's good for you, you will be a good little personal assistant for as long as it lasts and stay within your limits or I'll make you wish you had never been born" he said calmly and coldly giving Bryan a freezing glare. The silence that followed was deafening and the atmosphere was tense. Mercifully, the doors opened and Evans stalked out greeting the receptionist cheerfully on his way out.

Bryan walked out of the elevator slowly, shaken by Evans threat. He knew when someone was bluffing and Evans definitely wasn't. He knew he could be reckless but he wasn't stupid, it wouldn't be wise to get on Evans' bad side. The memory of Evans with his folded muscular arms and lean jaw flashed in Bryan's mind sending a flood of heat through him "What the hell" he thought as he tried unsuccessfully to banish the image of the man who just threatened him from his mind. As the memory replayed in his head, Evans started to look more and more like a god, a very attractive god. He shooked his head hard to clear his mind and said to himself "I must be going crazy".