It had really happened; Nathan had actually dumped her. Grace stormed down the wet streets of New York, her kitten heels angrily splashing in the puddles on the sidewalk. She didn't want to go back to the apartment because that would mean talking to Will, which was a road she wasn't ready to go down just yet. So she decided to go to the only place that would give her peace — the office.
Earlier That Day
Grace was happily flipping through her swatch book awaiting her lunch date with Nathan. Karen had decided not to come in until noon, throwing the door open and breaking Grace's concentration.
"Ugh, sorry I'm late… Well not really, but I'll never understand why it's so hard for Rosario to follow instructions! I specifically asked to get high last night and she gave me Temazepam instead! I woke up an hour ago!" She growled as she dropped her purse next to her desk and plopped down in the chair.
"That's it, I'm calling backup Pharmacist for a refill. I knew the color was off!" Karen yanked the phone off the hook and sharply dialed a number.
"No Karen please, I'm waiting for a call from Nathan it could be any minute!" Grace said, waving Karen away from the phone.
"Oh Grace can't you get your jollies with him in your own apartment instead of on the phone?" Karen spat sarcastically as she rolled her eyes, her call going to voicemail.
"Gross that's not what I'm waiting for! We have a lunch date. And for your information, he sounded pretty serious when he asked to meet! I think he wants to take us to the next level." Grace smirked, leaning her elbows onto the desk. She reached a hand into the cup of drawing utensils, digging around for a certain color.
"Really?" Karen questioned, walking over to Grace's table. She lightly grabbed her skinny arm, stopping her from grabbing yet another variation of a green colored pencil. "Honey, you've only been together for a few months. Do you really think it's that serious already?" She looked into Grace's eyes, searching for her attention.
Grace mirrored Karen's stare, trying to figure out what she meant by that statement. "Karen we have a deep connection." She said, placing her hand on her chest to emphasize her point. Karen scoffed and headed back to her desk. "Hey it's not just about the sex this time, okay? I'm serious, I really think he could be the one." She said, softly smiling down at her sketchpad.
"Alright, honey, whatever you say. Don't say I never warned you!" Karen quipped as she grabbed for the dark red nail polish sitting on her desk.
The phone rang before Grace could react to Karen's snide remark. She snatched the phone off of its base, "Hello? Oh, hi Nathan!" Grace's face broke out into a smile as she giggled into the mouthpiece.
Karen watched as she painted her nails, "There's no way they're going to stay together much longer." She thought as she blew on the wet polish, watching Grace absentmindedly twirl the phone cord around her fingers. "She could do so much better." Karen rolled her eyes at Grace's cackle, surely her attempt at sounding sexy over the phone.
"Okay great, see you in fifteen minutes!" Grace hung up and gave Karen an exuberant smile as she picked up her purse and headed for the door, not before stopping at the mirror to scrunch her hair and give herself one more look before she grabbed for the handle. "I'm not sure when I'll be back so you can have the rest of the day off." She chirped as she closed the door, leaving Karen alone in the office.
"Whatever." Karen muttered. She sat for a minute trying to digest the thought of Grace actually being in a committed relationship. "No way!" She giggled and smiled to herself, picking up the phone and dialing backup Pharmacist one more time.
20 Minutes Later
Karen walked into the small restaurant, sauntering straight past the line of people, adjusting the scarf around her head and lowering her sunglasses, "Anastasia Beaverhausen." She whispered over the frames to the maître d'. Leading her to a corner booth, Karen sat down and awaited backup Pharmacist's appearance.
As she was skeptically scanning the tables of people her phone vibrated, "Change of plans - won't b able 2 meet." She rolled her eyes and grunted, slamming her phone shut and sliding out of the booth. After smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her sunglasses, she made her way towards the door.
"What?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Karen's head snapped back at the sound of Grace's shrill voice from across the restaurant.
She stood up from the table almost knocking her chair over in the process, "You son of a bitch." Wadding up her napkin, Grace threw it at Nathan's face before making a beeline towards the entrance.
Karen just stared as she approached where she was standing; her flaming hair bouncing as her footsteps became more forceful. Not paying attention to where she was walking, Grace rammed her shoulder into Karen, knocking off her sunglasses and eliciting an oof from the scarf-clad brunette.
"Sorry." Grace mumbled as she bent down to pick up the sunglasses. As she grabbed them from the floor she looked at the shoes of the woman she just plowed into—Louboutins. Slowly she straightened up, analyzing the articles of clothing that covered her curvy assistant. Her bloodshot eyes met the slightly scared, hazel eyes of Karen.
"Honey—" Karen started before Grace cut her off, "No. I don't want to hear 'I told you so'." Her voice broke as she shoved the sunglasses into Karen's hands and slid past her into the streets of New York.
Karen furrowed her brows, looking down at her hands and fiddled with the accessory before putting them into her purse. She looked up and made eye contact with Nathan, her blood immediately beginning to boil. "Not my girl." Karen thought as she narrowed her eyes and marched towards his table.
That Night
Grace had practically ran down the sidewalk to the nearest bar, managing to get inside right as the rain began to fall. Slamming back four shots in a row, she looked at the clock. It was only 1:15 in the afternoon and she was getting drunk. At first she felt guilty about yelling at Nathan in front of a restaurant full of people, then she remembered the look on Karen's face as she left—one of pure pitty. Angrily wiping the tears from her face, she ordered another round of shots, drinking them all in less than ten minutes.
The bartender threw a worried look her way as he filled the glasses one more time. "Don't worry," Grace slurred as she stuck her hand in the peanut dish, throwing a few in her mouth. "I'll be here for a while." The bartender nodded his head and began preparing her a glass of water.
As the hours passed, she wondered how she was going to break the news to Will. Then her mind went straight back to Karen and what she said in the office earlier that day. She moaned in frustration before stealing another glance at the clock, it was now 8:53pm and she was in the same spot as she was hours ago. She stood up from the bar, letting all the peanut crumbs fall to the floor before closing her tab and making her way towards the streets.
She opened the doors to an absolute downpour. She squeezed her eyes shut and let her head fall to her chest as she held back the tears burning her eyelids. She couldn't go back home yet, there's no way she could talk to Will about this right now. Stepping out into the rain, Grace slowly walked back towards the office. As the feeling of defeated overwhelmed her, she let the tears fall; the salty substance mixing with the rain as it hit her cheeks.
She walked into the building and dragged herself over to the elevator, stepping inside as other people stepped off. Punching her floor number, she waited for the doors to close before she slid her back down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest, letting out a sob.
The doors of the elevator opened, but Grace didn't move from her spot. She looked up from her rain and tear soaked dress to see Karen standing next to her desk, her face filled with concern.
"Oh, honey." Karen sighed as she carefully approached Grace, taking in her wet and sobbing appearance. She walked into the elevator and squatted down, gently lifting her boss' face to look into her pleading eyes. "Honey, I'm sorry for what I said before lunch. I didn't mean it that way. I had no idea this was going to happen." She said apologetically, softly sweeping the tears from Grace's pink cheeks. She let out another sob as she dropped her face down to her knees again, hugging them tighter to her chest. Karen felt tears spring to her eyes as she sat down on the floor, scooting closer and wrapping her arm around her shaking friend.
Grace leaned into Karen, resting her head on her chest as she let the tears flow freely. Karen softly ran her hand up and down the redhead's arm as she hesitantly leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
"You w-were right y-you know." Grace stuttered between sharp breaths as she lifted her head to meet the soft hazel eyes of her assistant once again. Karen raised her hand to Grace's cheek and wiped another tear away, cupping her face and holding their gaze, inches away from each other's faces. "No I wasn't. You didn't deserve that, honey." They kept their close proximity as Grace's eyes went from Karen's hazel to her lips and back, noticing the sincerity of her words. Gradually, Karen closed the gap between them, gently pressing her lips to Grace's, tears mingling between them. The kiss lasted only for a second before they both pulled away with a satisfying pop, but not too far, their eyes still locked.
"Come here sweetie, I want to show you something." Karen whispered into Grace's ear before standing up and holding out her hand. Grace accepted her assistance, getting up and lacing their fingers together. Karen led her into the office where there was a shiny motorcycle with a big red bow stuck to the seat.
"What's this?" Grace questioned, looking at the bike and back at Karen. The brunette just offered a small smile, shrugging her shoulders.
"I just figured this should be a little painful for him too. No one hurts my Gracie and gets to keep the goods." Karen said, squeezing Grace's hand and pulling her into an embrace. "I know it's not much, but I love you, honey. He doesn't know what he's losing." She said as she felt another sob wrack the redhead's body.
Grace wrapped her arms around Karen's waist, tucking her face into her neck as she cried. Karen's soft shushes calmed her as her strawberry scented shampoo invaded Grace's nostrils, relaxing her.
Karen felt the tension in her friend's body lessen, lightly sliding her hands along Grace's spine to her shoulders, pulling her just far enough away to where their noses were almost touching. Grace sniffled as she looked into Karen's warm eyes, "Thank you Karen." She leaned in this time and closed the small distance between them, taking Karen's bottom lip gently between her own. The kiss lingered for a bit longer than the first, giving Karen enough time to react by taking another step closer and pressing her lips further into Graces, slightly deepening the kiss. She slowly pulled away with another soft pop.
"I love you, too." Grace whispered into her assistant's ear after pulling her back into another embrace.
Karen didn't care that her designer clothes were now ruined from hugging Grace's rain soaked body; all she cared about was making sure her little girl was okay.