Up The Business Ladder
Title: Up The Business Ladder
Rating: R (language, mature situations)
Disclaimer: I disclaim/Merlin belongs to BBC/Shine. But boy did I have fun twisting them into this reality, lol.
Genre: SMUT, and some humor, and maybe if you blink, romance and very loose drama
Characters: Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, Merlin
Summary: She’s about to be fired. Then again…
Author’s Note: The original is a 137 word fic written for ag_fics MC3 that actually was in the top 5. The expanded is based on the genius prompt: “Step Into my Office, Baby.” Cutting it down to 137 words was hard as heck, lol. So now here we go, Merlin and Morgana get their part even! Theme word(s) used: first time and omen. Word count now a whopping: 4530 (so if it sucks just read the short one) lol, thanks.
*Original*
Up The Business Ladder
First time in his office, she’s getting sacked. As if a bad omen, they’re neatly, sternly on his desk, bright red severance-letter pens.
“Mr. Pendragon, once ag-
His sexy pouting lips cover hers in seconds.
Office liaisons are bad. SCREW it. She wants to shag Mr. Pouting Lips.
Fuck, he’s going to burn for this.
Worst receptionist ever, and yet amazingly wicked with numbers. She’s a dark haired statistical goddess. Up against his big executive desk, he presses her impolitely. The files empty and the documents fly.
Neither cares.
“Mistakes happen. You’re being promoted. To marketing.”
With astonishment, she smiles, before slyly gesturing to the desk.
“And this?”
“Relations training.”
Aware of his knee edging within her skirt, she daringly cups his ass.
He grunts.
She moans.
The bright red pens messily roll to the floor.
***
*Extended*
Up the Business Ladder
“You want to shag him. In his office. On his big desk.”
“Morgana!” Gwen exclaims from the adjoining cubicle. “Just stop that.”
“Stop what? It’s true!” Morgana insists. Gwen’s coworker and best friend, Morgana has long flows of dark hair and porcelain white skin. She’s definitely feistier of personality though, than delicate.
Gwen considers herself maybe a smidgen less tough. While Morgana is tall, she has a petite stature and to Morgana’s almost straight hair, Gwen’s is wildly curly. Morgana is strongly outspoken while Gwen most of the time refrains, except when she has a suddenly unexpected outburst. Then whoever on the receiving end needs to prepare.
Gwen’s complexion is naturally dark, a bit of permanent golden sun tan you could say. With midnight curls and a tightly curved body, Morgana refers to her as an ‘exotic beauty’, which Gwen sees as pretty much silly. Morgana is the tall beautiful one. Gwen supposes without any whining that she is just kind of ordinary.
At the moment, there’s a lot more on her mind than just looks and what guys may prefer. She’s in big trouble. Morgana’s just been trying to strongly keep her mind off it. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I screwed up the deal with Morgause Sullivan, just the most important possible business partner for Albion Corp and I royally ruined it. I’m probably one minute from being sacked.”
Morgana watches curiously, and with a bit of concern, as her sometime neurotic best friend starts twisting the pen caps off the pens in her little pen jar. With a whole bunch of caps rolling around aimlessly now, devoid of their pen base, Gwen starts to mutter nonsensically,
“Oh those red pens!
You’ve seen them right? Those foreboding red severance letter pens? They’re squarely on his desk. Couldn’t miss them. Well he’ll be using one of those to write in big letters across one of those letters, TERMINATED.”
Gently Morgana wrestles one of the blue pens away from her friend before she can get the ink all over her hands, rolling her eyes at the motley display of abused pen caps. “Gwen, you’re paranoid. One stop away from insanity possibly, but I’ve always known that about you.”
In a very childish way, Gwen sticks her tongue out, before letting out a long sigh.
Morgana grins, continuing with her point. “I stand by my conviction. And it seems to be returned. Office party last week, wouldn’t have been surprised if you guys had decided to just do it on the pub’s pool table, with the intense looks you were giving each other.
Office liaisons in the corner pocket.”
***
“So?”
“I saved it.”
Arthur Pendragon lets out a long grateful sigh as he sinks down into his black leather office chair. “Thank God. What kind of magic did you work Merlin?” The blonde haired, perfect looks all the way, man asks. Life has never really been difficult for him, except for maybe now with this new challenge that if truth be told, he loves taking.
He attracted all the gorgeous girls in high school and grew up in the lap of luxury. It bored the crap out of him. Then in college he met Merlin, definitely one of the strangest behaving and saddest looking guys he ever encountered. Merlin is a mess of pale ghost skin, thin measly limbs and almost jet black gothy hair. Seems to work in his favor though. He regularly has a slew of women going ‘aaaahhh’ the first time they meet him. They all think Merlin’s ‘adorably gorgeous’.
Beyond that Merlin is a relations extraordinaire, the reason why Arthur asked him to be his partner after he made the rash decision not to continue in his father’s footsteps at the well established, handed from one generation to another, Camelot Industries. Needless to say, when he delivered the news that he had decided to form his own company with Merlin’s help, his father was less than excited. In fact the man pretty much cut him off except for the money Arthur built up in his account during his years of childhood, allowances, monetary family gifts, that kind of thing. It was just enough to start his business and purchase a modern, but mostly bare bones, condo. Didn’t matter, it was his, and the business was actually doing very well for something that was still quite new.
As for his relationship with his father, uh, well that was alright, except for the fact that Uther Pendragon liked to regularly try to buy him out, by messenger of course. Arthur always politely declined. A few times Uther had come to visit, begrudgingly telling him that Albion Corp seemed to be…existing. That was a compliment for Uther Pendragon.
“Alright Merlin.” Arthur gives his friend a sharp eye, tapping a red pen against the desk idly. “How did you do it?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Merlin grins with an air of mystery. He prides himself on that, being a bit different from everyone else and giving off a first appearance that is very deceptive. “So hey, Arthur, she gets fired now?” Merlin asks the question half regretfully. She did nearly put their business into a web of a mess, but she’s also as sweet as pie, smart, and Morgana’s best friend. Even if there are other women who admire him, Merlin’s been holding a bit of a penchant for the sometimes more elusive (to him anyway) Morgana for a long time. He doesn’t want to screw anything up with her before it can even commence.
Arthur twiddles the bright red pen, its brightly glaring mates in a small jar at the middle of his angular shining desk. They were a gag gift from his jokester of a friend and college frat brother, Gwaine. They’re ridiculous, but after his father came in once, reminder that such visits are very rare for Uther Pendragon, and commented that he liked them, even more outstandingly rare, they have since stayed put.
Arthur shakes his head to Merlin’s question concerning the debacle that nearly brought Albion Corp to its knees. Moving a few files to the side, he searches for it on his desk. Locating a piece of paper with numbers all over it, he shoves the paper under Merlin’s nose. “Check this out. Look at the worked out figures.”
Merlin takes in the numbers, suitably impressed. “Wow, who did this? Do they work for us, because if not, we need to start cajoling them over our way.”
Laughing dryly Arthur writes down a word.
Merlin gasps. “You’re kidding.”
“Not one bit.”
Merlin grins. “No wonder you’re not upset. You get to keep her on.”
Arthur plays with the red pen again, giving Merlin a look of disdained pity. “Don’t know what you’re talking about Merlin. As usual.”
Merlin is firmly onto him though, especially as his wavy blonde haired friend continues to play with that bright red pen like it’s a mini sword, slashing it against a notepad of data. “Liar. Prat. I saw the two of you at the office party. You couldn’t keep your eyes off her. I’d say she looked kind of interested too. Though why she’d want to be with someone like you, I have no idea.”
Arthur gave a grimacing grin. “Well I have no idea why anyone thinks you have a brain Merlin.”
“Hah hah.” Merlin complains, but then there’s a flash of knowledge in their bright blueness.
Arthur wrinkles his nose as his friend gives one of those silly beaming smiles.
“You never even planned on firing her in the first place did you-
“Shut up Merlin.”
Merlin lifts two fingers with an equally knowing and fumbling point. “Ah, I knew it!”
“Get out Merlin.”
“But-
“Out.”
Merlin breaks through with the oddest request now, proving that Arthur was right in justifying him as a sort that can be very strange. Merlin sees it as being cleverly original. “Just don’t do it on the desk, okay Arthur. It’s unsanitary. And it could be dangerous. You guys could stab yourselves, your, you know, your, uh posteriors, or other parts of the anatomy on those pens.”
“Get OUT Merlin.”
“Have a shag at your condo, not at work. Good motto to follow don’t you think?
“OUT.”
***
As the tanned, black rimmed door shuts behind her, Gwen nervously clasps and unclasps her hands against her pencil-thin purple shaded skirt. It goes with her lavender blouse, which really doesn’t matter because this is it. First time in his office, she’s getting sacked. As if a bad omen, they’re neatly, sternly on his desk, bright red severance-letter pens.
Arthur eyes her quietly. Does she purposely wear the exact color with the exact fit that makes him ponder on a lot more than just business?
Why oh why does he have to be so gorgeous and at the same time so threatening to her lifestyle? After all, if she loses this job, how on earth is she going to pay the rent for her flat? Oh it’s no use. She’s just delaying the inevitable. Well, enough is enough. She’s going to apologize one more time and then just face whatever reaper there is.
Man, he wants to take her against the desk. Screw Merlin’s warnings.
“Mr. Pendragon, once ag-
His sexy pouting lips cover hers in seconds.
Office liaisons are bad. Oh they’re bad Gwen, they’re bad, they’re bad. Isn’t he supposed to be FIRING her? Probably still is. Bad. Bad office etiquette.
SCREW it. She wants to shag Mr. Pouting Lips.
First thing you learn in business class. Or maybe fourth or fifth or the day the professor decides to give you a lecture not based on anything in the text, but anyway. He knows the deal. Personal involvements at work are detrimental to the business. They’re strongly frowned upon. Discouraged. Shouldn’t be allowed.
Fuck, he’s going to burn for this.
Too bad he doesn’t care enough.
Worst receptionist ever, and yet amazingly wicked with numbers. She’s a dark haired statistical goddess.
Everything escalates. Arthur isn’t even sure how it gets so far. Neither is Gwen. Desks are made for organizing company work and being professional. This is not that.
But it happens anyway.
Up against his big executive desk, he presses her impolitely. The files empty and the documents fly.
Neither cares.
“Mistakes happen. You’re being promoted. To marketing.” Arthur gets out between nibbles of her way too tasty lips.
Her hands find his back, start to traverse lower. Curiously interested. Curiosity killed the cat.
Bye bye kitty.
Oh come on, she’s not that cruel, has her own little shaggy (bad choice of words, bad Morgana!) feline. They have nine lives right? Eight more left!
Really, she’s not normally like this, but when a gorgeous guy who just happens to be your boss tells you that you’ve been promoted and shows you that he’s definitely getting as lusty about you as you’ve been about him, well, screw normal.
She smiles, before slyly gesturing to the desk. “And this?”
“Relations training.”
Merlin’s not going to be happy. Said for them to do it in his condo. Not enough time. Not enough care. His office, not Merlin’s. And Merlin shouldn’t really be on his mind at such particular time. Especially when her hands and fingers are just above his-
Fuck.
Sorry Merlin! No, not really.
Aware of his knee edging within her skirt, she daringly cups his ass.
He grunts.
She moans.
The bright red pens messily roll to the floor.
***
Pulling up the zipper of her skirt, Gwen bends down to get the red severance letter pens that descended to the floor, a victim of their sudden, er, exertions. Who knew executive desk sex could be so…satisfying? She always thought it would be painful. Lots of precarious things on desks. Well, now with her zipper all the way ascended, she’s feeling a bit happily dangerous. Twiddling them within her fingers, she notices all the other desk items that took a nosedive straight to the floor during their meeting of intercourse.
Making her way, Gwen holds up the perfect little red pens to her boss. “Here you go. Every bright red pen retrieved.”
Arthur laughs at that, feeling as relaxed and satisfied as her as he lazily buttons up his shirt. The window is cracked open, cool city air blowing into the semi-hot interior. “Didn’t even notice. They were a gag gift.”
“What?” She asks, feeling him holding at her hair as he whispers, “You may want to fix this. If you don’t want them to know out there.”
Gwen blushes, pushing down her hair and fastening it back into its business twisting bun. “What did you say about the pens?” She asks again as she finally gets her wild curls of hair into polite order.
Arthur gives a casual shrug, admiring how her curving figure looks flattering-sexy in that purple shaded color. “That they don’t really mean anything. But my dad likes them so I keep them. Silly I know.”
She laughs for a moment, thinking how she thought those pens were so meaningful, about severance letters and he really doesn’t even care about them that much.
“Will you go out with me Gwen?”
That halts it.
She gestures down to the desk making both of them laugh, before she starts a wild rant. “This is so wrong.” She tells him. “I thought you were going to fire me. Not that we’d have an executive office shag. Not that I’m complaining. Oh I really, oh, this is crazy! You promoted me. And now you want to-normally my hackles would rise because having your boss coming onto you at work, along with the hot wild sex, uh-uh, at least not in my book, which is null and devoid now I suppose. Even if I sort of came onto you, well, really came onto you, my hands were on your-
Oh God. This is bad.”
She’s reaching that point of neurotic wandering that Morgana likes to tease her about, but it’s almost like being in a dream. Not only does she now have a better job, she has-uh…
Arthur kind of likes neurotic behavior. Look at his best friend. And well, most of his friends thought he had gone batty when he told them he was giving up his dad’s fortune to become his own business man. Plus neurotic is attractive. Anything is attractive when it comes to Guinevere. He’d probably be turned on by how she chops an onion. She has sexy wrists. “Say yes then.” He charms, aware of the way to look at a woman to get her to agree with him, yet just being natural now. He really wants this, beyond just an office desk shared entanglement. Albeit a hot stimulating one.
It’s that pout wanting to do her in, that bottom lip getting so fat with indulgence and erotic persuasion. Oh, but this is completely iniquitous, salacious and-oh, this argument is losing itself fast. Morality took a nosedive the moment she put herself in the horizontal position on his desk, with his help of course.
Seeing her doubt, Arthur pulls away the red pen she’s holding and drops it down to the floor without care. “I swear I don’t usually do this. I’m not some office propositioning boss who seduces his employees.”
Gwen shrugs with meaning. “I’m not complaining about what we did. It was very very…”
“Yeah, agreed. Now maybe we could just spend some quality time together. You know, get to know each other better.”
“Better that going at it on your desk? I’d say you know me pretty intimately now. I definitely know a bit more about you.” Like how the size of the hands matched the-ahem.
Arthur smiles impishly. “I’m very intrigued by you Gwen-
“Intrigued?” They did just have sex on his desk after all. Hot wild grunting moaning rolling around the shiny surface hit the mark sex. Thank goodness for thick walls.
“Okay, wrong choice of words. Look, I don’t mix business with pleasure. I know all the warnings, but then I hired you and uh, pleasure found its way into business. Crap, I sound like a robot or a craps ass romance novel, not that I ever read them. Ever. I want to see more of you, not meaning-
“Yeah I think I get it. The distinction.”
He lets out a relieved sigh. “Good. What do you say Gwen, dinner and a movie? Cliché I know, but it’s a start.”
Gwen’s eyebrows go up. “We’re very backwards aren’t we? Sex before dinner and a movie. That’s irregular Arthur.”
“I gave up a fortune to own this company Guinevere. My friends, other than Merlin who is disturbed himself, think I’m unstable already.”
Gwen steps closer to him, curling his tie around her fingers. “I notoriously twist caps off pens when I’m nervous. Mine probably want to have me sentenced.”
He smiles, and presses his lips slowly against hers, murmuring in between, “I feel something when we’re together. And yes more than just lust, but that’s there too.”
“Glad you admitted it, because I didn’t want to sound like a slutty secretary.” She has his tie wrapped tightly around her fingers, begins to unconsciously pull him forward. He gives in with a lazy grin.
Her tongue nudges wetly over his bottom lip, that really sexy pouting one.
“You’re not my secretary.” He grunts out.
“No, just your number analyst.” She murmurs, getting a little lost in his neck now as she still has his tie held prisoner.
His hands go a little lower than the politeness of her back, brushing over the twin roundness of her posterior with smiling desire. “I swear this is more than just physical.”
“What was that? Sorry I was too busy staring at your pouting lips.”
“No bother. I was rather preoccupied with your perky breasts.”
She’s indecisive, thinking this is morally corrupt and at the same time so enticed by all of him. “We’re going to fry.”
“Already felt the fire when I had you up against my desk.”
“Oh yeah, that.”
They almost give in again, but realize that could make people in the outer office just a tiny bit suspicious. They’re only ready to face that kind of scrutiny from friends. Instead they settle for wet languid kisses and indiscreet hand positions. Bringing it to a close, Arthur murmurs against Guinevere’s neck huskily,
“Let me take you out.”
She’s happy and lazily warm right now, in a position really so close to him where no has no option. “Okay. After-sex dinner and a movie it is.”
***
Gwen returns to her cubicle, soon to be ex cubicle, gracefully, giving a casual pat to her twisted up hair. She tries not to think about how Mr. Sexy Pouting Lips was really good at pulling it out of its combs and tangling his fingers all the way through-
Morgana returns to the adjacent cubicle, back from getting herself a cup of tea.
Gwen bites her bottom lip, trying to keep as straight a face as possible. Morgana has laser vision when it comes to certain matters.
Anxiously now her friend asks, “So?”
“Actually I got promoted to marketing.” Gwen excitedly announces.
Morgana puts down her tea and hugs her enthusiastically. “That’s great Gwen, means you’re staying!”
“Um-hum.” Gwen gives a sweetly innocent smile. “I am definitely staying. Staying put. Right here. Well, not this specific desk. The one instead in the marketing department. Because that’s where I’ll be working…yep marketing…
“So how was the sex?” Morgana slips in smoothly in between her best friend’s mutterings.
“HOT.” Gwen reveals spontaneously with a lazy grin before realizing that um, she’s been caught.
“I KNEW it!”
Gwen looks around nervously, flipping caps off pens wildly. “Morgana, don’t be so loud!”
“You SHAGGED the boss!”
“Morgana! Everyone’s going to hear!”
Her friend laughs covertly before forcing her chair all the way into Gwen’s cubicle, a very small cubicle for the two of them, but when Morgana’s determined nothing gets in her way. “So hey, what’s next. You’re not going to have one of those really kinky master submissive secretary relationships like in that James Spader Maggie Gyllenhaal movie, are you? That film is utterly neurotic, but James Spader, enough said.”
Gwen rolls her eyes, dropping the pens down to the table. No need to be nervous. This could be kind of exciting actually.
“So was there discipline? In that movie James Spader-
“Morgana.” Gwen glares at her friend.
“Did you bend over for him?”
If Gwen was drinking something she would be choking furiously right now, the kind requiring the Heimlich Maneuver. Her face goes from sort of red to as bright as a tomato, especially with what Morgana says next.
“Or did you make him bend over for you? Ooohhh, dominatrix secretary, even better. Boss is submissive to his marketing genius. I wonder if sweet, lanky, but somehow his boniness is so sexy, Merlin, would ever submit to me. Hah. But back to you and the boss. Did you notice a belt, or maybe you should wear your own and give it to-
Gwen stares up at the ceiling, fighting the impulse to throw uncapped pens at her best friend as she goes on and on about incendiary actions in the workplace stemmed on from that movie she mentioned that Gwen’s never even seen. But uh, if this stays as unconventional as it commenced, maybe she and Mr. Sexy Pouting Lips can have a movie-in night, after sex.
Or before.
One of these days they’ll get the order right.
Or right order.
A lazy grin finds her face.
Who cares? She snagged the handsome sexy neurotically sweet wild boss.
And got a promotion too.
Not bad for a day’s work. Hmmm, moving on up that business ladder…
***
Arthur picks up the last fallen red pen, happily humming a tune. His desk fully back in order, he returns the red pen back to its little jar. With a sly grin he recalls how wild she looked after he managed to get those comb things out of her hair. Then how she brazenly pushed up his shirt, running her fingers all over his chest as-
The door opens with no warning. It was locked when she was here. Arthur moves away from the jar, busily straightening files that need absolutely no straightening.
Merlin eyes him sharply as Arthur continues to hum a peculiar tune. Not to mention he’s smiling like a cat that got the canary. Crap. “You did it? Didn’t you? HERE!”
Arthur shrugs noncommittally, reaching for one of the little red pens, twirling it between his fingers. She said her friends thought she was strange for twisting caps off pens when she was nervous. Hah. Not only sexy, but sweetly abnormal. He must have some kind of obsession with deviant behavior after leading a way too ordinary perfect life.
Merlin groans, pointing harshly as Arthur keeps on stupidly humming whatever tune that is. It’s driving him batty, not to mention the fact that they did it right…here! “What about my warnings? The work place is no place for, well for---fornication!”
Arthur snorts at Merlin’s ‘technical’ choice of words, before resuming his relaxed humming and then stating with an amused smirk, “Don’t worry Merlin.” He tosses the red pen to the other man. “No one stabbed themselves.” Another spontaneous snort.
Merlin frowns, catching the pen waywardly at the last moment, juggling it from one hand to another like it’s a wicked spider.
Arthur watches with a grin before turning to the window with a dreamy expression, humming that tune again. Okay, so far everything is backward, like she said, but um, it certainly started out with a bang. Hmmm, possibly queer choice of word, but uh, oh well. Dinner and a movie is going to be---good.
“You think this is funny, don’t you? But you know what Arthur, you’re just go-
“Morgana said she’d really like your help with the Fyrien proposal.” Arthur states calmly, not turning away from the window, feeling before he can finish something hit his back with little effect. The bright red pen falls harmlessly to the floor.
“Oh no, you’re not getting away with this so easily! Now listen to me Arthur, what you-
Wait a second.
Merlin cuts himself off. Did Arthur just tell him that-
Arthur turns around, seeing Merlin’s eyes wide, before he gets a goofy grin.
“She did? Morgana said she wanted my assistance?”
“Uh-huh.”
Merlin’s smile is erratic. No other way to put it. When he’s really happy he smiles like fifty kids put together. Arthur swears sometimes the guy glows, could float to the sky when he’s this joyous.
“Oh, well then I’ll just have to---have to help her.”
Arthur gives him a look like he’s the appeasing father. “Yes Merlin. Good idea. Now get out of my office.”
Merlin rants back like a child, very very excited though about assisting Morgana. “Fine. I was just leaving. Next time you come to mine, I’ll throw you out. Who knows, maybe Morgana and I-
Arthur shakes his head easily. “No Merlin. I don’t think so. Not at work. We’re partners, but I’m the boss.”
“What the heck does that mean? You’ve yet to tell me how we’re actual partners when you give all the orders.”
Arthur gives a righteous only half amused reply. He takes things like this a bit seriously, having grown up with everything he wanted, but interestingly maybe a lot he never needed. “I’m the king. You’re the---uh… Duke…of…Sorcery! Yeah, there we go, with the magic you worked with Morgause! You’re the Sorcery Duke! Reason hence why your office is just...” He squeezes his fingers together. “A bit smaller than mine.”
“It’s HALF the size of yours you geometric idiot!” Merlin gives a scrunched up facial frown. “And Duke of Sorcery? What the fu-
“Anyway. You’re not a do it at the office guy. You’re a condo guy. Keep it there. Not good to mix business with pleasure.”
Merlin looks at him incredulously.
Arthur doesn’t miss a beat. “Unless you’re me. King.”
“You sanctimonious-
“She’s waiting Merlin.”
Goofy grin returns. Arthur chuckles at it before turning his attention to the window again. Once more he hums that peculiar little tune as Merlin departs to assist his barely concealed crush.
Arthur doesn’t feel bad for it, the fact that he just told a little lie. Morgana never said such thing, but it’s a hard case so she’ll be happy for the assistance plus it’s time to push their two little magnets together. Office liaisons, yeah, frowned upon and all that, but everyone warned him not to set up his own business and so far things are going along swimmingly, out of the norm. So who knows, maybe it won’t hurt at all to have a little bit of fraternizing going on.
He grins, turning the hum to words. Arthur slips out from between his…pouting lips:
“Step into my office…
Baby…"
Hee, thanks for reading. Comments will get you a shiny red pen. No, but anyway, comments are loved!
The Secretary: starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal was a different kind of movie. It has James Spader who I had a sort of crush on for a long time. What Morgana said about it is mostly true. It's that kind of independent adult themed drama. Anyway, the sweet person who reviewed the original story and was responsible for the prompt, mentioned this movie in her feedback. And I have seen it, but when I first wrote this it didn't even cross my mind. So now when I wrote the longer version I couldn't resist putting a reference to it. Thanks prompter, once again, genius prompt!