Chapter 31

"No. Fucking. Way. I'm dead. I'm fucking d ead, and you just killed me!"

"Dammit Scarlett, keep your voice down," Grace spat. "I'm serious, if you tell anyone, if this gets around the office, you're fired."

"Grace, I swear, I won't tell a soul," Scarlett promised, tracing a cross over her heart.

"You seriously didn't know about this? Hear anything?"

"How would I hear anything? You just told me."

"Lucas. I'm asking if Lucas told you anything," Grace clarified.

"Nothing. I can ask him if he knew, but then that would be me telling someone, and I don't want to get fired."

"You're sleeping with him, you were going to tell him anyway," Grace remarked.

"I was going to tell him anyway," she confirmed. "But he wouldn't tell anyone."

"Can you just find out if Lucas knew? Then set up a meeting with Mr. Kennedy."

"Oh ouch. You're using his last name already?" Scarlett observed.

"And I want a proper meeting time, no lunch, or coffee or anything like that. I want this to be as impersonal as possible."

"A woman scorned," Scarlett sighed, shaking her head at Grace.

"I'm not…I…that will be all Scarlett."

She didn't want to tell Scarlett what happened, but she also desperately needed to tell her. She needed to talk about it and Scarlett was the closest thing to a friend she had. Was it a jerk move to threaten to fire her if she talked? Absolutely, but she also knew she couldn't go through with it. Probably not, anyway.

So when Scarlett asked Grace about her date first thing that morning, she spilled all the details without any extra prodding or poking.

Despite Archer promising to stay away from the office, Grace hid in hers all day. No one knew what had happened but she felt like she wore her embarrassment, like a scarlet letter pinned to her blouse, and anyone who saw her would immediately know her shame.

She kept her head down and worked on her pieces for their campaign. When her mind refused to let her focus on that, she searched to see if any firms were hiring.

"No one posts jobs, you just need to show up and explain how they couldn't afford not to hire you," she murmured, as she pulled up her resume.

She didn't want to leave Still Standing Inc. She had sacrificed too much to get to where she was now. The thought of starting from the bottom again was depressing.

But I wouldn't be starting from the bottom, she thought. I'm well-known and respected in my profession. So maybe not the bottom, but perhaps mid? That hurts too though.

Scarlett walked into her office, and for once, Grace welcomed the interruption.

"Two things," Scarlett started. "First, Lucas had no idea. At all. He was just as surprised and had questions. So do I."

"So do I," Grace added. "And the second thing?"

"So Mr . Kennedy hasn't set a time, instead he wanted to find out your preference. He has the first block of the morning free, and the last three hours of the day. However, he had stressed that if you needed another time, he would gladly move things around."

"So accommodating," Grace said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, yeah, he is," Scarlett said. "He obviously feels bad. I'm not saying forgive him for what he's done, but his actions are showing remorse at least."

"I know, I honestly don't know how I'm going to approach this," Grace admitted.

"How about with an open mind?" Scarlett suggested. "Maybe, for once, don't have a plan or a strategy. Go in unprepared, let it get messy."

"Scarlett, that's actually…" Grace trailed off.

"I know, I know, I'm brilliant. A genius really. Just remember this moment the next time you feel like you might need to fire me, again," she said teasingly.

"Noted," Grace chuckled. "I guess you can tell Mr. Kennedy that I'll choose the end of the day."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I think seeing him around the office before we talk might help sort out some feelings. And if it doesn't, at least I can go home right after the meeting if it all goes to hell."

"I'll let him know," Scarlett said with a sad smile before she left.

Grace stayed late at the office. Working late sounded better than going home to overthink about, well, everything. Plus, they were on a tight deadline, and her billboard contact was giving her the runaround.

At 7 p.m. Grace left her office to make another coffee. At this time of night, she should only bump into the after-hours cleaning staff. She hoped they weren't well-versed in the office dr ama, but with Scarlett, anything was possible. The entire office knew she had the blind date on Friday night and rumours already started to circulate as to why Grace wouldn't talk about it.

The most popular rumour was that Grace was, in fact, cursed. There were even reports that she had seen a specialist and had been professionally diagnosed with a love curse. (Such a thing doesn't exist, she knows, she looked into it.) So naturally, her date on Friday suffered a horrific death. There were even some whispers that the vampire she and Archer disposed of killed her date, or her date was with the vampire, or worse, Grace went temporarily insane and killed her date herself because of said curse.

She was surprisingly fine with the rumours. People tended to leave someone alone if they believed that person was hexed. Sure, the rumours might leave her single for the rest of her life, but at this point, that was looking like a decent option.

"Maybe I'll get a dog," she chuckled to herself, as she made her drink.

Her phone vibrated.

Grace froze.

She didn't want to look. He promised her time. She wasn't in the headspace to deal with him right now. She was so conflicted with how she felt.

Her phone vibrated again.

"Maybe I will give him a piece of my mind," she grumbled as she unlocked her phone, ready for a fight.

Bassbro_69

Hey sexy ??

We matched a while ago, but for some reason I missed u

Ur hot! What u up to 2night?

Grace laughed in relief and at the ridiculousness of the messages and messenger.

"I think it's time to delete this stupid app," she snickered as she left the kitchen, and walked right into Archer.

Literally.

The stack of papers he was carrying went flying, and the coffee Grace had just made spilled everywhere, with most of it finding Archer.

It was hot.

He yelped.

"Are you okay?" he worried, even after being scalded by her drink.

"I'm fine, but I'm not the one who got burned" she replied as she tried to peel the scorching, soaked shirt away from his skin.

"Luckily I'm wearing an undershirt. It's mostly on my arms," he said, as he started to unbutton his shirt.

Grace watched him remove his dress shirt, relieving himself from the wet, burning heat. His t-shirt was fitted and Grace caught herself staring at his muscular form.

Stop it , she scolded herself and gave her head a slight shake.

"What are you doing here?" Grace asked. "You promised not to be here today."

"To be fair, I meant working hours. I didn't think you'd still be here. I wanted to wrap up a few things before I went home. But you're right. I'll go."

"No, you stay, I'll go," Grace offered.

Grace started to walk back to her office when she felt him gently grab her elbow to stop her. She turned around, glanced down at his hand, then up at him with a stern look.

"Sorry, " he said releasing her and putting his hands in the air, showing he meant nothing by it. "I just…we…what…"

Arch er sighed and roughly ran his fingers through his perfectly styled hair.

"Grace, we could talk now," he pleaded. His eyes held hers with a mixed bag of emotions.

"Fine, let's get this over with, but I'll need something stronger than coffee to get through this," Grace grumbled. She knew she was being bitchy, but also felt it was the appropriate response right now.

She only felt a little guilty for it.

"I have something in my office. But we can take it to yours, or wherever you feel comfortable," Archer said, being overly accommodating again.

"Your office is fine," she replied, and let him lead the way.

His office had the best view, and when she couldn't bear to look at him, she could at least look at something pleasant. The city was beautiful at night.

When Grace walked into his office, she paused just inside the door. There were several boxes filled with wine stacked in each corner of his room.

"Why do you have so many bottles of wine? You must have like fifty bottles in here."

"Seventy-five, actually," he corrected her. He was rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact.

"New client?"

"No…" he hesitated. "These are all for you," he confessed.

"No, no they aren't," she answered quickly. "Why would you do this?"

"I heard you that night, upset about not stocking up on wine. I called Scarlett on Saturday to ask if she knew what you meant. She told me how you stock up on bottles of your favourite wine every year at the festival. She couldn't tell me all your favourites, but I bought a few of the ones she could tell me, then a bottle from each vendor. It's all Cab Sav, your favourite."

"I can't accept this."

"You can. It's just a friendly gesture."

"It doesn't feel just friendly," she accused.

"No, I guess I see that now. I was hoping it came across as romantic. I promise, I'm not trying to buy your affection."

"I know. I believe you," she said.

She walked over to one of the piles and found one of her favourite brands. Without being prompted, Archer handed her a corkscrew, and she made quick work of the cork.

"Alright Archer, let's talk."