They'd done it. They'd nailed the suspects and Neil had intended to ask Grace on a date after work. He wanted to apologise for earlier, for not telling her about Jake. He knew she felt betrayed by him now and he needed to put that right. He had explained already, he knew that, but despite already knowing deep down, how much Grace cared for him, her reaction to the revelation that he would have broken down if he'd told her, had taken him by surprise. Her words' 'I could have coped with that' went over and over in his mind. This was a conversation they had to finish.
Also, a part of him was still angry - reeling from the fact that she had put herself in danger and didn't seem as bothered as he was that she could have got herself killed. Reeling from the fact, that damn man had known what would happen to Grace if she had got into their van and had still told them that she was a police officer.
He had intended to ask her on a date after work, but she had already gone. Neil couldn't help wondering if she was avoiding him after their highly emotional conversation earlier. It wasn't often that Grace Dasari let her guard down. She usually managed to stop herself in time and the front came back up. Few people had seen her sensitive side, but Neil had. If she was avoiding him as he suspected, it wasn't going to stop him.
Grace had rushed out of the office as soon as she could. She had a feeling that Neil would want to continue their earlier conversation, since Banksy had interrupted it, but she couldn't face him. Of course, there was a large part of her that wanted to wrap him in a comforting embrace, but she was emotionally drained. And he was her boss.
Grace felt better after her shower. She settled on the sofa in her pyjamas with a blanket and a steaming mug of tea. She was just about to consult the tele listings in the paper, when there was a knock at the door.
Grace went to the door. She knew it was Neil. He wanted to finish their earlier conversation and she knew it would take more than her abrupt disappearing act to stop him. She sighed and opened the door to him.
Neil had brought wine. She hadn't stuck around in the office long enough for him to ask her on a date, so he had brought the date to her. If she said 'yes' to it. To him.
"Come in, guv" She said quietly. "Coffee?"
"Yes, please. And you don't need to call me 'guv'. It's 'Neil' when we're not at work." He answered following her into her kitchen, where she started to make his coffee. "Surely, you know that after our earlier conversation." He added softly.
"Yeah, I guess so." she nodded, as the kettle started boiling.
"You left." Neil stated, watching her actions intently as she poured the newly boiled water into the mug. "You left without a word."
"I know, I'm sorry..."
" "Why?"
Grace turned and handed him the coffee, before motioning towards the sofa. "I'm tired, Neil." She stated simply, refusing to look at him.
Neil swallowed. "Do you want me to go?
"No!" It came out a little louder than she had intended and he looked a little surprised. "No." She repeated in a more normal voice. "I feel better now and it's nice to have the company."
He smiled at her as they sat down and began sipping their drinks. Neil cleared his throat nervously. "Grace, we need to talk about earlier."
"I know" Grace sighed. "But I'm not sure what else there is to say about it, Neil. We both got caught up in the moment and then it was broken when Banksy interrupted. I'm no good at this sort of thing. I don't know how to..."
Neil put his empty mug on the coffee table and moved closer to her on the sofa. He took her hand in his. "You just have to let me in." He said quietly. "Please, let me in."
Grace hesitated. "Neil, you're my boss. I don't know if we should..."
Neil let go of her hand again and stared at the floor. "You're worried about what people will think...are you ashamed...?"
Grace hastily took his hand back. "No! No, that's not what I meant." She placed her own mug on the table and took his face in her free hand. "I think you are amazing, Neil. I did as soon as I met you. I just don't want to make things more difficult for you at work."
Neil relaxed. He put his free hand on her face. "It's really sweet that you're concerned about me, Grace, but isn't that up to me?"