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There were certain behaviors that had to be observed in a professional setting. For one, Lazard had worked hard to gain the trust and respect of his men, and all the harder for the respect of the rest of the Board of Directors, given he was one of the youngest executives, certainly to hold as much power as he did. And Sephiroth had a reputation to maintain, both amongst the ranks and with dealing with those same executives. So while there were suspicions, and certainly their closest friends were aware, neither man was quick to make their relationship public.
That said, if you knew what to look for, there were some tells. Like the fact that every time Lazard had attempted to get coffee, someone had replaced it with some variant of black tea. Someone with high enough clearance to come and go as he pleased into his private office. And someone who was not only aware of the meaning behind the change in the decorative fold of his handkerchief to something much more practical for use, who would all but verbally call him on it.
Leaving a box of tissues on his desk was going a little far, however, and the next time Sephiroth came into his office, Lazard hit the automatic door lock and glared at him. “You will stop that.”
A fine silver brow arched, and there was a slight shift between ‘general’ to ‘lover’ in his tone. “And how late are you working tonight, Director?”
“As late as my due work demands, General.”
“Mmhm.” Funny how much two syllables could say, without even using words. “You know what you’re going to do to yourself.”
“It’s nothing I can’t manage.”
“Every fall, Lazard.” He crossed to the desk in a soft swish of leather, gloved hands resting on the desk. “I could set a clock by you.”
“Exam and promotion season is an extremely busy time, to say nothing of the end of the year,” Lazard said, and no, he was not being defensive; it was fact.
“It would be much easier if you would delegate,” Sephiroth reminded him, an age old argument.
“I’m the Director, not all of it can be delegated.”
“I’m the General; who, exactly, do you expect to tell me no?”
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