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Magnus Bane, CEO of Warlock Industries, a businessman of the highest standards, a firm but fair boss to hundreds of employees, was exhausted. He had been working non-stop on this merger for months, eighteen to nineteen hour days, fuelled by salads and the delicious coffee from Coffee Institute, a little place just around the corner. Walking there just after the mad morning rush, when he had already been at work for at least three hours and getting a shot of much-needed java had become a habit in the last few months. It had become something of a sweet torture in the last several weeks, however. One morning, running on two hours sleep, sporting a thumping headache and already annoyed that the Belcourt account was calling him before 8am, he had stormed into the little coffee shop and snapped is order at the person behind the counter. It wasn't until he looked up to pay, the sun slanting through the big front windows, that he saw the vision before him. The man behind the counter was a little taller than Magnus. He had ebon dark hair sticking up in adorably mussed spikes that made Magnus want to, simultaneously, straighten them and mess them up further. His whole face was shaped like a Greek classic, something the ancient sculptors would have fought to immortalise in marble or bronze. His heavy, crow dark brows were raised in a look of astonishment above his beautiful, hazel eyes, the green of them sparkling like emeralds in the morning light, the brown turned to gold. Magnus stared, drinking the face in for a long moment, utterly captivated. Then his phone buzzed sharply in his pocket, jolting him back from dreams of waking up to that face. He snatched up his drink and floated away in a daze, feet taking him back to the office on autopilot."Hey, boss, you should have said you were going ou... Are you alright?"Magnus blinked, surprised to find himself back in his office, his assistant Cat staring at him with a worried frown. He blinked several times, brain slowly coming back online as he looked at her, then he groaned, sinking into his chair."I was so rude," he wailed, head thumping onto the glass surface of his desk. "I didn't even say hello. Or thank you. Oh, Cat, what he must have thought of me! He would have been well within his rights to throw the damn coffee at me."Catarina Loss had known Magnus for many years, they were best friends as well as co-workers. She stared at him for a long minute, wordless and bemused, then closed the door and sat in the opposite chair."Alright, tell me what the Hell you are talking about," she sighed, crossing her long legs and watching her friend expectantly. The story, when it tumbled out, would have been funny if she didn't know her friend so well. It could also be easily fixed with a smile and an apology, but Cat had seen Magnus slowly change over the last few months. This merger was wearing on him in a way she had never seen before, eroding the usually suave, confident, charming man into a snappish, worn automaton. He was almost a shadow of his former self and she had had enough of it."Well, he sounds lovely. You should try and find a way to talk to him again," she suggested even as Magnus shook his head."Someone as perfect as him would never give someone that was as rude as I was a second chance. I think, in this case, I am destined to only look and never touch."So it had continued for weeks. Magnus would go to Coffee Institute every day and, although he never saw the beauty behind the counter again, he did see him sitting in one corner, dark head bent over a book of some kind, studiously ignoring Magnus. Cat had accompanied him a few times, always chatting with the store's owner, Isabelle, while he stood there, surreptitiously admiring the gorgeous man he had made such a terrible impression on, heart heavy as a stone that he couldn't think of a way to fix the mess he had inadvertently made.Then, today, Cat had returned from the late afternoon coffee run with a smile on her face and a double shot in her hand like a goddess bestowing life for a few more hours. The merger was complete, the paperwork had been done and the whole office was a much more pleasant place to be. Magnus, smiling his old, glorious smile, had danced across the room to take his cup, twirling his friend around as he did."And what are you smiling about, Catarina?" he asked, sipping his coffee."I am smiling because I have decided what needs to go in the blank space in the main waiting room.""Oh?" Magnus asked, curiously. They had argued about that space often until he had dumped the decision on Cat with a yell of "fine, do whatever you want!""I want a portrait of you.""Well, I do have several large photographs..." Magnus began, a little dubiously."No, a proper portrait, painted by an artist. And I know just the one. His name is Alec Lightwood and we are going to meet him later today."**When the tall, paint adorned man had entered the coffee shop, Magnus' heart had fluttered like a trapped bird of paradise. Even with the purple smeared across his face, he was still beautiful. His night dark hair was even messier than usual, curls making a surprise appearance at the edges of his hairline. As Izzy hopped down with a cry of "Alec!" the pieces clicked in Magnus' head. He cut a look at Cat, who just beamed back at him, motioning with her eyes to go on and, for the love of all the angels, do it right this time. Smoothing his hands down the front of his dove grey suit, Magnus stood."Mr Lightwood," Magnus greeted in his most silken voice, heart lurching again as Alec turned to look at him with hesitate, almost frightened emerald edged amber eyes. "I would like to commission a painting from you."Alec blinked at him for a moment, like he couldn't believe Magnus was actually talking to him. Then he jerked forward, holding out one paint covered hand, nodding."Uh... Hello, hi," he stammered endearingly, face colouring as Magnus gripped his hand and shook it. "A... A painting? By me? How did you know I...?"Cat, taking pity on the poor boy, stepped forward to shake his hand too, smiling."I was chatting to your sister about the need for a painting in our main office space. She was showing me some of the pieces you've done that are in here and I just knew you'd be perfect. Izzy tells me you also have a talent for portraiture. That's perfect for Magnus here. He said I could decorate any way I wanted and what better way than a picture of the boss?" She grinned at the blushing artist, elbow digging sharply into Magnus' side. He was staring, completely lost in the taller man's face. Cutting a quick look at Izzy, both ladies rolled their eyes fondly. What a pair of idiots they had to deal with!"How rude of me, I didn't introduce myself," Magnus admonished himself, pulling his focus back from large, chocolate brown pools edged in moss green. "I'm Magnus Bane. I have been admiring your work here. You have a true talent. Do you have any examples of your portrait work?"Alec threw a panicked look at Izzy who just touched his arm and motioned to his bag. "How about the one you did of Jace and Clary at the park? she suggested gently. "You know, from a few months back?"Alec loved his sister even more at that moment. She was giving him a chance to showcase his work and avoid the awkwardness of showing Magnus his own face staring back from the leaves of Alec's sketchbook. Scrambling with anxious, jittery fingers, the tall artist flipped to the portrait of his best friend with his girlfriend. The blond Jace was sitting under a tree with the fiery-haired Clary in his lap, autumn leaves drifting around them as the breeze caught their hair and mingled it together. Their faces were full of laughter, soft with love for each other as they enjoyed their time together.Magnus studied the picture for a long time, awed by Alec's undeniable talent. When he finally looked up, caught once again by those jewel bright, green brown orbs, the businessman knew he could not go another day without getting to know this sweet, talented, mysterious man."We have just finished a big merger project," Magnus blurted. "I'm giving everyone a few days off to recover, myself included. If you are free, I would be happy to discuss the portrait with you further. Perhaps over a coffee, here, tomorrow?"Alec winced as Izzy jabbed him hard in the back, a silent signal that would leave bruises."11am?" Alec managed to ask, voice a little too high with nerves as his eyes flickered over Magnus' handsome face."Perfect. I can honestly say, I am very much looking forward to it."