Chapter Text
The clock, that stupid invention that never worked for him at all, stayed in his nightstand without making any sound. The useless thing was laughing at him for sure. How many times he overslept because that damn thing doesn’t do its mainly and only job?
And that morning wasn’t different at all, of course.
Cursing under his breath, Alec stood up and walked directly to the bathroom. There was no time to lose.
Looking at the mirror, he giggled. There was no doubt last night was really good rest. His hair was a big mess all over his head, pointing wherever it wanted, and his eyes were puffy and a little red but in a good and comical way, synonyms of being tired as fuck but rested at the same time.
Funny.
Oh, yes. A shower after a hot Sunday night was lovely. No better way to start the week. Alec could feel his muscles relaxing under the water and his face totally waking up.
It was refreshing, to say the least.
He got out of the bathroom and picked up a dark blue shirt and black jeans. He hated wearing fancy clothes. The style wasn’t for him, even though it make him feel elegant and important. Alec was meant for old and simple jeans and hoodies. Lots of hoodies. Pajamas, if he felt like it.
But no. Of course not.
You can’t look like that if you work in such important company. You will get fired, dummy.
Eyeing his wristwatch, Alec cursed one more time before running down the stairs, using his hands to accommodate his wild hair in something more appropriate.
Isabelle, his little sister, was there, somewhere around the kitchen, saying something with energetic voice, nothing weird about it. But to be honest, Alec didn’t pay attention to what his sister tried to say. There was no time. Not at all. The clock was winning the usual morning contest, and it wasn’t allowed to do it.
The portfolio flew in his hands while he got out of the house. Catching it was easier every time he ran down the streets to the nearest Starbucks where for sure, Simon Lewis, the six-months-boyfriend of his little sister, waited in the counter for Alec to pick up the usual order.
‘One Macchiato, a Venti Caffe Latte, a really big blueberry muffin and fifteen dollars in hand to pay for all that.’ The visit lasting less than three minutes, no more.
Simon smiled gently while opening the exit door for him, that way the Lightwood boy won’t drop anything by accident. Alec was sure Simon didn’t know whether pitying him or envy him for his job in the big company.
Alec didn’t know either.
Finally, when Alec got out of the elevator and entered to the office ten minutes later, he breathed with relief.
“You did it! Thank God. I was so afraid you won’t be here on time.” The small red head said, taking one of the cups of coffee and pouring it in a big black mug with ‘MB’ letters in white.
“For me or for you?” Alec said smiling.
His desk was a total mess, no matter how many work he had done on Saturday, how much effort he invests every evening before leaving the building, papers were everywhere. He has to fix that soon. The boss hates when the reception of the presidential office doesn’t look perfect. He hates that… and ugly clothes. Never forget.
“For both of us!” She exclaimed while entering in the principal office. Ten seconds later she was out and more relaxed. “We don’t want to start the week with a grumpy boss, right? Coffee is important, Alec.”
Both of them started laughing because there was nothing else to do.
The good moment flew away when footsteps started echoing from the hall, in their direction. Clary and Alec looked at each other in alarm and ran directly to their own chairs.
As any other day at Bane Corp, when the clock pointed out 8:00 AM, people changed drastically, like magic.
A man with so much power can intimidate with his only presence. And that was the case with Alec and Clary’s boss. A man full of power, intelligence and money. It’s almost admirable.
Almost, for sure.
The thing is, despite his many talents, the boss was well-known as a tyrant too, or the daily villain, as Alec liked to call him. And yeah, that’s an ancient story. For people in general, bosses were just that, mostly. A pain in the ass that ruins your mood.
However, Alec wasn´t making it a big deal on purpose. He wasn’t lying or making it up.
The truth is, Magnus Bane, CEO of Bane Corp, was a sparkly-flirty asshole.
When the man arrived, Alec observed him with a small smile in his face, trying as always to be nice, polite and don’t give Mr. Bane the chance to make his day a living hell. Clary did the same every day. She was all rainbows and sunshine with him, having coffee ready and talking to him very soft and clear about how meetings were going.
The perfect presidential secretary.
He was the screwed one.
Alec Lightwood’s job was more… operative. And he hated it so much.
Every contact he has with Magnus Bane is just to inform him about insider problems of the company, social events that were coming, and of course, following him around to help him with every task he was doing at the moment, no matter how crucial or dumb the activity was, he has to be by his side, doing what an assistant does: assist.
“Good morning, Mr. Bane.” He said, feeling his face tense up in an awkward smile.
Magnus Bane, shinny make up, perfect hair and fancy wardrobe took off his sunglasses and make a lazy smirk in response.
“Hello, Alexander. Good morning to you, Biscuit.” The last part directed to Clary. “What a wonderful day, don’t you think?” The man mumbled, disappearing inside the office, closing the door behind him.
“What was that?”
“A mental trick? I’m not sure.” Alec said, thinking the same as Clary.
Mr. Bane never said more than two words before his morning coffee. And even when he did, where’s the sarcastic/ironic/annoying tone of superiority? In what life that guy can see you and don’t make a comment about your bad hair or you decision in clothes?
This was weird…
But they weren’t going to complain.
“Oh, no.”
“What’s wrong?”
Alec looked at Clary with a worried expression.
“Mr. Santiago’s birthday is this weekend and Belcourt enterprise send a memo asking for the council to meet the same day. There’s an important announcement, they said.” The boy explained, showing a yellow folder in his hands.
“And what’s the big deal? The council is more important than a party. I think it’s pretty obvious where Mr. Bane is going to be.”
Alec sighed, wishing it was that simple.
“No, you don’t get it. Mr. Santiago is like the best friend of the boss, and last year the Seelie Union tried to do a project the same day.” He remembered that. It happened while he was still the mail boy, but the drama was so big that people talked about it for weeks. Even workers like him, in the bottom of the scale, had knowledge of that dark time. “Mr. Bane had a really bad discussion with Raphael Santiago for missing the celebration, and while the boss was upset about it, he fired eight persons. No good reasons. One of them just because he went to the bathroom for more than two minutes!”
“Labor lawsuits?”
“Eight, right the next morning.”
“Okay, that’s awful. What if he decide to fire us next week? I need to pay rent, Alec. Lawyers are too expensive!”
“I can lend you some money if that ends up being the case, but don’t worry, we haven’t done anything so wrong to deserve that… right?” He said, trying to sound okay with a possibility like that.
“… Okay, yes.” She tried to calm herself. “We need to keep it cool.”
“Oh, how cute. People asking each other for money. Sounds like a sad life, don’t you think, daddy?”
Clary and Alec froze at the new voice.
Looking at the two persons standing in the reception, the workers knew in the moment who they were. And they also knew that the almost good mood of Magnus Bane for today was already death.
At noon, Magnus Bane had an unpleasant visit. And that just brought the moody part of him to the surface.
Bane Corp is not just his current job. It’s not just the project his father forced on him after his eighteen birthday. Oh, no. That fucking building was his everything, his absolutely whole life.
A lot of people don’t get it. No one can truly understand how important it is.
After his father passed away, all that he did with his life was to keep safe the company and protect it from people that he liked to call ‘bastards’; in a corner of his mind, obviously.
Maybe the few exceptions inside the company were Clary ‘Biscuit’, and this boy Alexander, whatever his last name is. The two of them were the only people that he truly liked in Bane Corp… deep down.
Magnus was sure that both kids usually have a hard time keeping track of him, but they were so good at the job and has proven to be so loyal to him, that Magnus honestly felt okay with them around.
So yes, Magnus Bane was the daily villain. He liked to yell and liked to be rude and sarcastic. But that was just a part of him that needed to be there. Leadership, after all, is not something easy to do. And if you can’t separate personal stuff from work, well, better get the hell out of the business life style.
The phrase was so stuck in him that, trying to be honest to his philosophy, he turned around and smiled directly to his new visitors. Familiar faces that he happily could forget anytime.
“Camille, my dear, what brought you to my office in this lovely morning?”
“Magnus, darling.” She said walking to him and pecking him in the lips. “Daddy and I wanted to say hi to you and bring you a really wonderful conversation that cannot wait anymore.”
“Really?” He asked, biting his tongue.
“That’s right, young man. Camille and I have a proposition to do to you and we’re very sure you’ll be very happy about it.”
“Really?” He asked again, nervously. Magnus had a clue to where this was leading. And was a really bad situation. If it was what he was thinking… Belcourt Enterprise will stop being an ally and will become his worst enemy in the council. “Wait. We can’t keep talking at so early hour without me offering you a nice cup of coffee.”
Magnus sit down in his chair and pushed the red button of the phone in his desk.
‘What can I help you with, Mr. Bane?’ Clary’s stressed voice sounded at the other end.
“I need you to bring two coffees for my guests. Hurry up.” He demanded.
‘On the way, sir.’
And then, the awkwardness.
One of the things that Magnus is famous for is his ability to do negotiations. He learned that in school and while spending time with his father.
You wanted to go to this party? Great. What about you do an extra hour of work before you leave? Not so great but, at the end, it was cool that thing always went ‘yes’ more than ‘no’.
Negotiation is important for so many things in life that it was really hard when the activity became a death point. Magnus was pretty sure this was the case. You can call it ‘a feeling’, or you can blame his late nights at home with gossip shows, where last week was announced that Camille Belcourt was, actually, getting married to an important man in the field of business.
So yes, it was awkward.
Magnus was aware of the meaning of declining an offer like this one. He could see Camille yelling and insulting him. And he can pictured the coldness of Charles Belcourt and his obviously revenge after despise his only child.
The meetings in the council would be a nightmare to say the least. But there wasn’t other way. Magnus Bane wasn’t getting married with her.
Oh, God, no.
“Magnus, son, we came here to talk to you about a really important thing. As Camille said, you’ll probably be delighted with the proposition that, for me, is not a big surprise at all. I mean, you and my baby girl have been dating for almost three years now and-…”
“Actually, Camille said we weren’t together anymore in his birthday, five months ago?”
Charles frowned and Camille smiled nervously. Of course, she hadn’t talked with the true to his father. So typical of her.
“I’m sure it was a misunderstood. Right, Camille?”
“Yeah, of course, daddy.” She said with a fake smile. “We’ll never be over each other, Magnus.”
“See? There’s no problem. And, like I was saying…”
Magnus kept listening. Sort of. But every word that came out of that family, was nonsense.
He needed a plan.
He needed a permanent way out of Belcourt family.
“Izzy, I’m at work. You know I cannot-…” He started within seconds of answering the phone call.
“Alec, please, this is important. I tried to talk to you in the morning but you didn’t hear a word, did you?”
Guilty.
But come on, Izzy’s a morning person. She never runs out of the house because she’s never late. On the other hand, Alec did ignore her and he shouldn’t do it no matter how difficult his morning was. What if it was something of life or death? What if Isabelle was in trouble and he just walked off without a glance? It was a possibility. And Alec will never be that kind of brother. Never.
“Sorry.” He said before anything else. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Jace called this morning.” She said and Alec tensed up immediately. “You were asleep and I didn’t want to bother you. I know how tired you were the whole weekend and you love sleeping more than anything, so I waited for you to have breakfast. Then you left and I couldn’t tell you what he wanted.”
“And what is that?” He whispered, trying to hide his face from Clary’s curious eyes.
“He said that mom and dad want to have a special dinner with us.”
Alec couldn’t help it. He laughed, bitterly.
“Really?” The tone of his sarcasm was very sharp. Just remembering the last day back at home made him feel stomachache. “And to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Maybe they want to fix bounds?”
“Mine is too broken for their shit right now.” He mumbled, upset. Sighing, he tried to be calm. “I don’t know, Iz. This is too weird. They ignored us for almost two years and now they want to see us, out of the blue?”
“I know, I know. I’m not desperate to see them either, but there’s nothing to lose, brother.” She tried with soft voice. “Our parents are not perfect, but I would love to have a chat with Jace. It’s been so long since I spend time with both of you…”
“Yeah…”
“Alec!” Clary interrupted him. She had two coffees in her hands.
“Izzy, I have to go. We’ll talk about it later, okay? Bye.” He said hunging up
“Sorry for that but I need your help.” She declared, making obvious that she was going to ask for something unpleasant. “I will owe you a big favor.”
Alec stayed silent for a moment. Sighing, he nodded.
Well, if Clary needs him, why not? Friends do this things. Right?
“What do you need?”
“Alexander.” Magnus said, looking confused at the tall boy who entered to the office with coffee and embarrassment in his pale face.
“Mr. Bane, here it is what you asked for.”
Alec offered the coffee to the Belcourt pair and lend them a couple of spoons, sugar and all the stuff that goes with it.
“Oh, how cute. I thought the red head was your secretary, darling. But it looks like poor people accept any job.” Camille, the beautiful girl commented, making his personal assistant look even more nervous. Magnus felt almost sorry for him.
“Well, he’s my assistant, actually.”
“A cute assistant.” She said, checking Alexander out.
“Yes, he-…” Wait a fucking minute.
Magnus smiled slightly.
Charles Belcourt wasn’t as good as negotiation as him, it was a fact.
But he wasn’t a lost cause. Charles had values. More than the ones his daughter practice. And if there’s something that the head of Belcourt enterprise is known for, is the love for his family. The respect for alliances and...
That could be his precious way out.
That… and the boy who was getting close to him while offering more coffee.
Should he..? Could he, maybe…?
Oh, come on. Screw this!
In that moment, Magnus only hoped that a demand for sexual harassment was easier to deal that the imminent revenge of the Belcourt family.
Alec wasn’t good at making poker face.
He wasn’t a good actor, and he’s bad at lying.
That’s the main reason why he yelped while Mr. Bane, out of the blue and like if he did it all the time, put his hand in… well, a really private zone of his body.
The attention was immediately.
The girl, long dark hair, nice make up, outstanding dress, frowned and tried to kill him right there. Suddenly. Alec realized that she was taking back the ‘cute assistant’ statement for a ‘fuck you’ statement. A clear act of jealousy and envy.
The other man, the one Alec assumed was her family member, frowned too; but more than ready to kill, he seemed confused and disappointed as hell.
This facts where nothing to him anyway. Alec couldn’t think straight. His mind was replying ‘what the fuck?’ in a loud voice.
“Magnus, darling, what-…”
“Camille, I have to tell you and your father something important too.” The serious voice came out of his boss making Alec froze in his spot, trembling for that confusing hand resting in the top of his ass.
“Who’s this guy and why-…” She started to demand while Mr. Bane let him go, stood up and hugged him closer by the waist. Alec was shaking in confusion and fear. What the hell is happening? Why he was…? And why he wasn’t doing something to-…?
“This boy, his name is Alexander. He’s my personal assistant.”
Alec nodded, slowly.
Even when things were taking a really strange path, he had to be polite. That was his job, after all.
Remembering his sister’s babblings in high school, a gold rule when you’re acting –even when you suck at it-, is that you never deny what’s already on the table. Alec planned to keep the show going on the best he could. Even when the show was so uncertain for him.
Why Mr. Bane was acting like this? What was happening and why he-…?
“And also, we’ll be getting married soon. Right, babe?”
Wait, what?
‘Excuse me?’ Was his mainly and only thought.