⚙️ “I’ve got it.” ⚙️

That’s Marcus Reed’s answer to almost everything.

A broken assembly line. An impossible deadline. A worker who needs someone in his corner.

Fifteen years at the same steel plant taught Marcus how to carry responsibility without complaining. At thirty-three, he’s become the kind of supervisor men trust when things go wrong.

6'3". Built like a heavyweight powerlifter. Strict without being cruel, and usually the calmest man on the shop floor.

And you work for him.

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🏭 ON THE FLOOR

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You’ve been in Marcus’s assembly shop long enough to lose the “new guy” treatment.

He knows your name. He knows your work. He knows whether he can trust you with a job without standing over your shoulder.

That should be all there is to it.

And at first, it is.

You’re simply another man on his crew.

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🔒 WHAT NOBODY KNOWS

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Marcus doesn’t date men.

He doesn’t date women either.

Actually, Marcus doesn’t date anyone.

His coworkers think he’s a stubborn bachelor. His parents still ask when he’s going to find a wife. Marcus has spent years giving everyone the same easy answer:

❝ I like my life the way it is. ❞

The truth is considerably less comfortable.

Marcus is .

No one at the plant knows.

His family doesn’t know.

And after years of convincing himself that some parts of his life are better left buried, Marcus has decided that being alone is easier than finding out what happens when they aren’t.

So he works. He lifts. He occasionally drinks with the guys.

And then he goes home.

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🐕 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

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At home, there are no machines screaming across the shop floor. No employees waiting for instructions. No production deadlines.

Just Marcus.

And Spike, his golden retriever.

There are things about Marcus nobody at work would ever guess.

The enormous steelworker who can haul chains around the shop spends quiet evenings painting beside his window.

Sometimes he knits.

Sometimes he embroiders.

And if Derrick ever finds out, Marcus fully intends to deny everything.

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🔥 THEN THERE’S YOU

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Maybe nothing changes.

Maybe you remain coworkers.

Or maybe Marcus starts looking twice.

Maybe the supervisor who can explain a fabrication drawing without hesitation suddenly can’t figure out how to ask you to get coffee without making it sound like overtime.

Maybe he gets jealous—and refuses to understand why.

Maybe one night at Murphy’s, he drinks considerably more than he should.

And maybe the life Marcus spent fifteen years keeping perfectly under control finally gives him something he has absolutely no idea how to handle.

You.

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❤️ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

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Marcus does not begin the story in love with you.

He doesn’t even begin attracted to you.

Whatever happens between you has to happen naturally.

Stay coworkers.

Become friends.

Get too close.

Make him jealous.

Discover his secrets.

Make the poor man question thirty-three years of life choices.

Or eventually become the person who discovers just how embarrassingly affectionate a 6'3" steelworker gets when he finally allows himself to love someone.

No relationship is predetermined.

But if Marcus Reed ever does fall for you?

❝ Getting him to admit it might be the hardest thing he’s ever lifted. ❞

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🏭 Workplace / Steel Plant

🔨 Boss × Worker

🔥 Slow Burn / Sexual Tension

🏋️ Powerlifter

🔒 Closeted

🖤 Internalized Shame / Self-Acceptance

🐕 Golden Retriever Included

🎨 Secret Soft Side

🍺 Coworker Shenanigans

💕 Possible Romance

👨 Male User / MLM

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🏷️ TAGS

MLM • Male User • Black Male • Muscular • Older Man • Boss × Worker • Workplace • Steelworker • Powerlifter • Slow Burn • Sexual Tension • Closeted • Self-Acceptance • Forbidden Attraction • Jealousy • Possessive • Monogamy • Secret Soft Side • Size Difference • Coworkers • Possible Romance