Chapter 21

Lucas had called Grace early the next morning to see if she had any pressing meetings that day.

Lucas had actually called Scarlett, who did not answer her phone. Unlike Grace's assistant, Archer's showed up to work a half hour before he did to make sure everything was set up for the day.

Archer had requested they work together in the conference room that day. There were a few updates from meetings he took and a few other developments he wanted to work on closely with her. Having no meetings scheduled and nothing pressing, she agreed to the work arrangement.

When Grace arrived at work, Scarlett hadn't shown up yet, so she set off to grab all her folders, materials and laptop. With her arms overflowing, because she refused to take more than two trips, she stumbled to the conference room.

She spied Archer already in there. Either he or Lucas set up coffee and bagels and she could have kissed either one of them for it.

"It's a date."

Archer's words echoed through her mind as she watched him make a coffee.

"I might care too much."

Stop it! Grace begged her mind to stop assaulting her with Archer's vague statements. At least they felt vague to her, with her mind heavily in denial.

What did he mean? Does he care fo r me as an employee? A co-worker? Friend? Is it more? Was "date" a slip of the tongue? He did correct himself, but was it because of my reaction?

She stood there, arms full, watching him as her mind dissected and analyzed conversations and actions from the past few weeks.

"Let me get the door for you, Ms. Walker."

Grace was startled out of her stupor when Lucas approached her. If he saw her standing there, starring at his boss, mouth opened, he didn't let on as he opened the door. She gave him a thankful nod in greeting and entered the room.

"Grace," Archer greeted with a welcoming smile. "Thank you for agreeing to this. I know it's last minute, but I thought since I was away for almost a week, it would be easier to play catch up this way."

"I completely agree," she replied, setting down her work materials on the table across from him. "I just have to get the rest of my things, and then we can get started."

"Where's Scarlett? She should have had you set up. I thought maybe you changed your mind when I got here and saw the room was empty."

"She…she isn't here yet. But it's fine. It's no problem. My stuff, it's all gathered, I just have to grab it. I'll be only another minute," she assured him.

"Lucas?" Archer asked.

"On it," Lucas said, before leaving the room.

"What was that? What just happened? And how do you have him so well trained?"

Archer laughed.

"He's going to grab the rest of your stuff, so you can settle, make a coffee, and we can get to work."

"He doesn't have–"

"It's his job to assist. Yes, he does."

Grace nodded in agreement, because, of course, he was right, and m ade herself a coffee. Before she sat down, Lucas had returned with the rest of her things, setting them down beside her.

"That's all for now, Lucas. We're going to have a quiet work session. When you see Scarlett, please let her know to stay at her desk today. We'll call when we need something," Archer instructed.

Lucas nodded and left.

"So I have a lot to go over," Archer said.

"I do too, actually," Grace replied.

"Great, but before we start, are we still on for lunch? Helping me get my defence bag started?"

"Yes, of course. I already know what places to drag you to," she said.

"Great. Looking forward to it."

Archer gave her what she can only describe as a teasing smile. It was more than friendly, but she wouldn't quite say it was flirty. Or maybe she would if it weren't coming from her boss, whom she thought was giving her mixed signals.

As he smiled, his eyes held hers longer than necessary, before he looked down at his work, pulling out the first folder he wanted to discuss.

Did he…?

She could have sworn, his eyes dropped to her mouth before he looked away, but it was so brief, she was second-guessing that too.

Guilt ripped through her as she was reminded of last night. Remembering her mystery man's description of their potential first kiss made her flustered, and she felt like she was doing something wrong for not only having a crush on her boss, but wondering how he felt about her too. She has never been involved with more than one person before. Even in college she never overlapped her dates or boyfriends.

"Everything okay? You seem a little distracted."

She looked up and found Archer watching her.

Get a grip Grace, she scolded herself.

"Yup, fine. I'm just a bit tired, but the coffee will help me focus," she said, raising her mug before taking a big drink. "Where should we start first?"

They worked steadily for hours. They had more to cover than they realized and they both agreed to push lunch ahead a few hours to wrap up a few things. They didn't want to take a break while they were in the middle of something.

When the time came for their lunch excursion, Grace's stomach started to do flips.

Calm down, she told herself. The last thing you need is the nervous poos right now.

"Did you need to grab anything from your office, or check in with Scarlett before we leave?" Archer asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"No, I have everything with me. Let me just set myself out of office" Grace said.

As they were walking out of the building, her phone vibrated.

Mystery_Man

Busy day, but I can't stop thinking about you. Hoping to chat later

Grace

Me too

She quickly responded and put her phone away. Archer was watching her, but didn't say anything.

"I have a game plan," Grace blurted out, trying to fill in the awkwardness.

"I'm listening," he smirked.

"First, what is your budget? "

"I don't have one," he shrugged.

"Limitless?" she asked with her one eyebrow raised, and excitement shining in her eyes.

"I mean, it's for health and safety. Can you really put a price on that?"

"This is going to be fun," she giggled.

"So is that your game plan? To spend all my money?"

"Not all of it," she teased.

She looked up at him and found him grinning down at her.

He has a great smile, when he chooses to smile, she thought. She shook her head and focused.

"Right, game plan. As you know, it's Tuesday, which means there's a curfew. You're going to need more help beyond being shown what to buy. You need to know what everything is for, how to store it, and how to use it. That will take time. What I propose is that you agree to buy everything I tell you to buy. Don't question it, just do it. Which I know will be hard, since you like to be in control and love to argue."

"I don't love to argue," Archer stated.

"Exactly. Anyway, buy what I tell you to buy, no questions asked. We could be finished shopping in an hour, and then when we're back at the office, I can take the proper time to show you how to set everything up. Sound good?"

"It's efficient. I like it," he admitted. "Lead the way."

Grace and Archer spent the next hour buying bags full of defensive weapons, tokens, and trinkets. Archer stuck to Grace's game plan, buying everything she deemed important without saying a word.

"That's the last item on my list for today," Grace said as they exited the last store, The Charmed Life. "This is a really good start. "

"A good start?" Archer asked, gesturing to all the bags lined up both arms. He refused to let Grace carry anything.

"I mean, you have the essentials. Everyone customizes their bag. There are always new things to buy with new threats, or we'll get new information about something and will have to swap something out, or alter it. Some don't care about protecting against certain things and will choose not to carry items to protect against them. It's all very personal."

"I didn't realize there was so much involved. Looks like I picked the right tutor," he said, flashing her a playful grin. "How are we on time? Do we have time to get lunch?"

"We've run a bit over our hour," she replied.

"You know I'm the boss, right? We can take a longer lunch," he winked.

"Right right," she giggled nervously.

"Will we have time to do all the bag stuff when we get back if I take you out?" he asked.

"Honestly, we might not. Not with curfew. Plus, you don't need to–"

"I want to, Grace. I want to thank you for your help too," he offered. "What if I bought us lunch and we brought it back? We can eat and go through everything."

"That sounds perfect."

They settled on Chinese food and Archer insisted it was his treat. They brought it back to the conference room and started eating while they emptied all the bags, and spread everything out on the table.

Grace explained what each item was for, while Archer listened intently. She had his full attention, but instead of finding it unnerving, she found she liked it. They finished eating before she was finished explaining everything and she could tell he was starting to get overwhelmed.

"I can't believe how much I've forgotten being away for all these years. I must have blocked half this stuff from my mind. I'm never going to remember all of this," he worried.

"You will. It will take time, but you will get it," she assured him.

"I don't see how all this will fit in the bag we bought."

"It will. It's specifically designed for it all."

"Your bag looks a lot different," he pointed out.

Grace grabbed her black bag. It had one thick strap that she slung across her body and featured many small zippers and pockets throughout—some originally part of the bag, and others she added herself.

"That's because I couldn't afford a high-priced fancy bag when I bought it. This was an ordinary bag that I've altered myself over the years," she explained. "But I love it now, it has character, and is perfectly moulded to my needs."

"It's great."

"So I think the first thing we need to do is adjust the strap of your bag. You need to have the bag, not only sitting comfortably against you, but you need to be able to access it easily. You will strain your arm if it's too low, and if it's too high, you may not be able to get something out in time."

"Who knew bag placement would be so crucial."

"Stand up. I'll help you," she offered. "If you want."

"I want," he said, his voice sounding a bit husky.

She stood, holding the bag up, and motioned for him to stand in front of her. She handed it to him and watched him sling it over his shoulder, placing it across his body. She had assured him that this was the most comfortable position and easily accessible for most people.

"It's almost a perfect fit already, but I think the strap needs to be let out just a bit," Grace said.

"I think you're right, it feels a little too high but not by much." He looked at t he strap and found the compression strap was behind him. He moved to take off the bag when Grace stopped him.

"Wait, let me adjust it while you're wearing it. That way we aren't guessing every time you take it off," she suggested.

"Genius," he replied, as his eyes sparkled at her.

She found the adjustment buckle just below the back side of his arm. She made quick work with it, letting it out little by little until she was satisfied with the strap's length. She walked around to his front, adjusting where it sat on his shoulder and studying where the bag lay against him.

"I think that should be good. We can always adjust it later, but this will give us a good starting point when deciding how to place your large knife," she said. She was so busy and focused on her task, that she hadn't realized how close she was standing to him.

"She's as smart as she is beautiful," Archer said under his breath, but loud enough for Grace to hear.

Which she did.

"What?" she asked, playing dumb.

She straightened up, realized her hands were all over him, and snapped them back to her sides. She looked up at Archer, who returned her gaze, looking intently into her eyes.

"I said, you're as smart as you are beautiful," he repeated, his smirk replaced with a look of longing.

When she didn't reply, he took a step forward, closing any space that was left between them.

Grace's heart started to race and her breaths became quick, but she didn't back away.

He lifted one hand, and with it, he placed Grace's hair behind her ear. He traced her ear with his fingertips, then down along her jaw, until they were resting under her chin. He tilted her face upwards.

She stopped breathing as his head lowered down to hers. His breathing sounded just as ragged, her nearness affecting him jus t the same. Her lips parted, anticipating his.

Thud.

Something hit the window, causing them both to startle, but they kept their focus on each other. Archer brought his mouth close to hers once again, when there was another loud thud.

Then another.

Annoyed, Archer looked towards the window, Grace following his lead, where they saw items of clothing and footwear falling from the sky.

"Holy fuck! Is this the rapture or something?" Archer asked in horror.

"No," Grace sighed. "It's fucking Larry."