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He and Nicky had not met under the best of circumstances, both going for the same promotion within Merrick Publishing Services in Jerusalem division, so the competition between them had been fierce. They had taken quite a few metaphorical stabs at each other in a game of one-upmanship until they realized it was all for nothing. Merrick had never intended to give either of them the promotion to Head of Division.
As Joe watched Merrick's boyfriend, Keane, settle into the nice corner office that both he and Nicky had coveted, his eyes drifted across the busy, cramped room to where Nicky was also silently fuming. He flicked his head and saw Nicky's eyes narrow in confusion and regret before resignation set in. Nicky grabbed his jacket and wandered over, and Joe fell in step with him as they headed for the elevator.
"I know a coffee shop that does a decent espresso," Nicky stated.
"I know one that does a good caramel latte."
Nicky wrinkled his nose in disgust before shaking his head in good-natured fashion. "I should have guessed you were a coffee lightweight."
Joe huffed out a laugh. "And I should have guessed you would be a coffee snob."
It was the start of a beautiful friendship as they put their differences aside, embracing them instead. They were opposites in so many ways and yet their individual strengths seemed to smooth away the other's weaknesses as if they were truly two halves of a whole. Working together they became a formidable team, much to Keane's annoyance, and to Merrick's too once Joe and Nicky caught the eye of a rival company.
Her name was Andromache. She and her wife ran The Old Guard, a small publishing house that had been passed down through several generations.
Most of the smaller publishing houses had been swallowed up by companies such as Merrick's but, somehow, The Old Guard had managed to fend off any takeover bids. Instead, Andromache had earned a reputation for knowing how to spot the next trend in books, offering contracts to new authors and stealing that corner of the market until the giant houses caught on and caught up.
"We should speak to her," Joe insisted as they sat at their usual table in the corner with Nicky watching his back.
They'd had a minor disagreement when they first came to this coffee shop together with both of them wanting the seat facing the door, eventually taking it in turns until Joe got too excited over a new project and totally missed Keane's entrance. Even with his back half-turned to the door Nicky had sensed something and had kicked Joe's ankle in time. Keane often tried to undermine any selections he and Nicky made from the glut of new authors offering up works for publishing each day. On one memorable occasion, an unknown author was catapulted into international fame through another publishing house after being sent the polite 'no thank you' notice from Keane, and yet Keane had still found a way to blame him and Nicky: they had not pushed enough to get Keane interested; they had left out pertinent details deliberately to sabotage Keane.
They had almost got fired on the spot, and Joe knew next time Keane might get his wish.
"I... have heard good things of The Old Guard," Nicky stated cautiously but Joe knew he was intrigued.
Joe knew Merrick's had never had their best interests at heart yet Nicky was a strangely loyal creature, or perhaps he was simply not too keen on change, so it took a little more persuading to get him to agree to meet with Andromache and Quynh. Joe had expected some ostentatious show because Merrick liked to dazzle everyone with his power and money, so the quaint coffee shop on the other side of the city was unexpected, but the coffee was to die for. Even Nicky perked up after taking a first cautious sniff then sip of his espresso.
Andromache was offering less pay, but halfway through the meeting Joe caught Nicky's eye and a silent understanding went between them. They were both getting the same good vibes from Andromache and Quynh, and by the end of that meeting Joe had already mentally composed his and Nicky's resignation letters to Merrick.
Keane downplayed their loss to Merrick but Merrick was livid. The egomaniac didn't employ staff, he owned them. They were his intellectual property and when they left Merrick's they rarely worked in the book industry again. It was actually fun watching the fall-out as Keane and Merrick's head of Human Resources, Meta Kozak, scurried around trying to appease their delusional master by saying they knew enough about how Nicky and Joe worked to counter any loss.
They knew nothing.
It was during this transition from Merrick's to The Old Guard that Joe started looking at Nicky with fresh eyes. They had started out as enemies, or at least rivals because that was the way Merrick liked it. He wanted his staff to compete with each other, believing it brought out the best, but once he and Nicky put their rivalry aside they became good friends. Best friends. Now, with Merrick Publishing in their rear-view mirror, Joe saw more of those small smiles he used to have to coax out of Nicky. Now Nicky smiled more frequently as they relaxed into their new roles. Joe noticed how his heart beat would pick up every time he heard Nicky laugh, how his eyes always sought out Nicky when they were in the same room together, his mouth going dry. He had always noticed Nicky's striking eyes, and classic features, like someone had breathed life into a renaissance statue.
And then one day he caught Nicky looking back at him the same way, and he knew.
The morning after their first time as more than best friends, Joe wandered into the office with Nicky a few steps behind - watching his back as always - and Quynh shrieked, startling Joe and Nicky until Andy clapped them both on the shoulders.
"About time," she said with a smile.
END