Chapter 12

"Hello?"

"Grace?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry, I didn't expect to get straight to you," Archer said.

"I sent Scarlett to complete a few errands before she came into the office today," Grace explained. "She should be in after lunch."

The truth was, she didn't want to hear about Scarlett's night with Archer. She was brutally hungover Saturday and Sunday, and still not feeling that well, so hearing Scarlett go on for hours about how she got railed by her boss didn't sound appealing. At least not first thing Monday morning. She planned on having a heavy carb-filled lunch in preparation for Scarlett's stories.

"Did you want one of the interns to fill in for the morning?"

Susan and her flashy gifts from her sugar daddy popped into her head, making her feel nauseated.

"No, I could use the peace and solitude this morning. What can I help you with?"

"Trying to plan my day. What time are we meeting Gus?" Archer asked.

Shit, I completely forgot about that .

"Let me just confirm. Opening my calendar."

Relief washed over her when she saw that Scarlett had actually done her job and created her schedule for the week.

"10:30," Grace replied.

"How far is his building?"

"About a thirty-minute walk."

"Great, I'll swing by your office soon. We'll leave at 9:45. See you then," Archer said before ending the call.

"Oh sure, Mr. Kennedy, that time works great for me, Mr. Kennedy. Thanks for asking," she said mockingly, holding the phone away from her ear.

"Sorry, what was that Grace?"

Oh shit!

"Nothing. I thought you were gone, see you later, bye-bye," she said quickly before she hung up the phone. She thought she heard him snicker before she slammed the phone down.

"Probably thinking of all the ways to torture me for being insubordinate," she mumbled.

Grace had an hour to work before their meeting, so she did her best to push Scarlett and Archer out of her mind.

As promised, Archer met Grace and they left promptly at 9:45 a.m.

"I called Gus to confirm that he would still meet with us. I've learned the hard way that he likes the courtesy call, but I'll warn you, there is a small chance he could call and cancel at any moment," Grace warned while wiggling her cell in her hand.

"How does someone like this run a successful business?" Archer asked.

"In this digital market, he's the only one who dares to run a paper-based business. People still want flyers, so he's making a killing, and with no competition, he gets to select who he wants to work with, I guess."

"This city is so strange," Archer murmured.

"Yes, because Gus is what makes this city weird," she replied sarcastically.

Grace's phone started to vibrate.

"Ugh, here we go," she said.

"If he cancels, this is going to set back our timeline," Archer complained.

"I know, I know."

Mystery_Man

Good morning. I think I upset you last night. Hoping to chat later. I'm not great at this and would love a chance to explain myself better

"I'm sure you would," Grace mumbled.

"Another warlock? Or have we upgraded to Bigfoot?" Archer asked with a smirk, looking over her shoulder.

"You have a bad habit of reading people's phones," she said, as she dramatically swiped away the notification.

"I thought it was Gus," he shrugged.

"It's no one, it doesn't matter," she snapped.

They continued walking for a few minutes without speaking, Grace, unwilling to talk further on the subject. Archer was the first to break the silence.

"I'm sorry, by the way," he offered.

"For what?"

"I joke, and maybe I shouldn't, but what happened Friday night was a lot. I'm sorry you had to go through that. And I'm sorry your date didn't work out," he said as an afterthought.

"Thanks," she said, offering him a slightly confused look. He was being nice. It was weird. "Maybe I'm cursed. Doomed to stay single forever, and everyone who dates me ends up dead," she laughed.

"We ll, if that guy who just texted you keeps bugging you or won't leave you alone, you can always invite him out for a drink. Let the curse do its thing," he chuckled.

Grace burst out laughing. A loud, belly-deep laugh, the kind that made your sides ache. Archer joined in, Grace's outburst becoming contagious and his deep, rich laughter harmonized with hers.

Until she snorted.

She covered her mouth, eyes wide in shock at the strange noise she just made, not only in front of someone but in front of her attractive boss.

Wait, when did I start thinking of him as my attractive boss? she thought.

Archer chose not to address her unattractive swine-like laugh. As his laughter died down, he flashed her an amused smile, his eyes lingered on hers longer than she felt they should, before he moved his gaze to his feet, then back up to the road ahead.

Gus didn't call to cancel.

They arrived at his warehouse with five minutes to spare.

"Remember, don't speak first, but wait until you're spoken to," Grace warned.

"Don't worry Grace, I'll play by the rules," he assured her. "I need this to work."

Grace's shoulders relaxed from their rigid position between her ears. She had feared pushback from him, but surprisingly, he gave her no resistance about this, allowing her to take the lead.

The warehouse was closed to the public. Employees gained entry by keycards. Access to Gus's office was located at the side of the building and was always locked, with heavy su rveillance.

When they reached the office, the door swung open before Grace had the chance to knock.

"Grace!" Gus said excitedly, pulling her into a friendly hug. "And you must be Mr. Kennedy."

Archer shook the hand Gus offered. "A pleasure."

"Come in, come in," Gus said, waving at them to follow him.

His office was small but clean and organized. He directed Grace and Archer to have a seat in the brown leather chairs in front of his desk, while he sat in his desk chair opposite them.

"Grace, you look as stunning as ever. It's been too long since we last saw each other," Gus gushed.

Grace tried to reply, but he cut her off.

"My fault, of course," he finished. "I heard what happened Friday. All of it, and I'm relieved that Mr. Kennedy was there to save the day. If anything happened to you, Grace…" Gus trailed off and sat there in quiet contemplation, staring past them.

Archer threw Grace a curious look when Gus continued to space out, and she shrugged her shoulders lightly in reply. They both stared at Gus, waiting for him to come back to reality, when he finally shook his head and continued.

"I just hope you know, that if I was there, I would've done everything in my power to make sure you were safe too. Your boss and I would've had to share your rescue," he laughed. "Or fight for it."

Gus gave Archer an inquisitive look with one eyebrow raised. Then he shook his head, snapping himself out of whatever thought ran through his mind. "Anyway, your act of bravery has already put you in my good books, Mr. Kennedy."

"Please, call me Archer," he replied.

"Does Grace call you Archer?" Gus asked, turning to Grace for her answer .

"I do, yes. He is Archer to me," she said somewhat unconvincingly, taken off guard by the question.

Gus looked to Grace, then to Archer, then back to Grace again. He was doing his silent contemplation thing again, and Grace started to worry that she screwed this entire meeting up.

"Great," Gus blurted out excitedly. "We're all friends then."

Gus's phone started to chime loudly. He dug it out of his pants pocket and looked at the screen.

"If you'd excuse me for a few minutes. We're having a problem with Stella's knobs. I'll be right back" Gus said, before he ran out of his office and into the warehouse.

Grace slowly turned to Archer to gauge his reaction. Archer looked confused and slightly amused.

"He names his machines," Grace explained. "He swears that they run better if they're treated like people."

"When you talked about Gus, I pictured an old, eccentric man, with wild grey, balding hair, with a mustache to match, and long hairs sticking out of his ears. Not a tall, muscular, clean-shaven man in his late thirties, who is definitely not balding, or has one grey hair in his perfectly styled jet black hair," he said in disbelief, but with amusement in his eyes.

"It never occurred to me to describe his appearance, but if you'd like, I can create a dossier for everyone we work with and describe, in great detail, their physical appearance," she joked back.

"Is this going well? I honestly can't tell," Archer asked.

"I think so…" Grace replied.

"You don't seem sure."

"I mean, I think it is, but you can never be completely sure."

"He likes you," Archer said.

"I know."

"No, he like likes you," Archer sai d, his eyebrows wiggling.

"Stop it. What are you? Ten? No, he doesn't," she snapped.

"Does too," Archer said in a playful voice.

The door to the warehouse opened, interrupting her retaliation.

The meeting was a success. Grace watched in awe as Archer easily won over Gus, and in the end, Gus not only agreed to work with Archer but was excited about the prospect. He even gave them a tour of his warehouse and showed off his beloved machines before they left.

"Thanks again, Gus, for this meeting. We're going to do great things together," Archer said, shaking Gus's hand goodbye.

"I'm just happy that if I can't be with Grace, she has someone like you to be with," Gus replied.

"You mean work with," Grace corrected him while being pulled into a hug.

Gus released her and winked at them both.

"Sure, work," he said, flashing them a grin, before closing his office door.

"He is definitely in love with you," Archer declared when they started walking back to their building.

"No, he's not. Why didn't you correct him? He thinks we're more than colleagues," Grace fumed.

"Because he was jealous of me, which somehow worked in my favour," he chuckled. "Weird, guy. I like him."

"You need to call him and tell him he's wrong," Grace demanded, as they turned the corner, onto a busy street.

"Relax, it's harmless," Archer said, dismissing her.

"It won't be harmless if Scarlett finds out," Grace warned.

"What about Scarlett?" Archer started, uncertainty clear in his voice, when the ground started to shake.

The asphalt beneath them started to shift and lift, and screams could be heard all around them and down the street. Archer grabbed Grace's waist, pulling her back just as the ground opened up where she had been standing, and a large purple tentacle exploded out of the hole.