Chapter Twenty-Five

"Can you fucking believe it, Elli?" I growled again, throwing back my chair away from the desk. "'I don't have the time...' Just what kind of shit is he trying to pull?!" I continued to rant as I paced the floor. My assistant could only watch helplessly while I did so, but I didn't let myself even glance her way. I couldn't blame the poor woman for being unsure of what to do, of course, since she knew me well enough to understand I wasn't exactly in the mood for any damn conversation. I didn't want any of her advice, either.

All I wanted was to vent.

"I'm fairly certain that Mr. Williams was only being truthful when he told you he would be busy this evening..." she squeaked, a forced smile making its way across her gentle features. I only shot her a piercing glare as soon as she uttered those words, and she immediately shrank back into silence.

"That bastard still could've worded things a little better..." I muttered under my breath before tearing open a new pack for another much needed cigarette. It was my second one, but even if it was gone before noon, I didn't give a rat's ass. I'd just about had it with all the bull shit I had to deal with on a daily basis with this office and these god damn incompetent people. "He's so fucking full of himself... If a damn fine looking woman like myself walked up to you and asked you on a date, wouldn't you drop everything just to go with her?" I demanded as I slammed my fist down on the desk. "Well... wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would," a smooth voice replied. Without even having to face him, there wasn't any doubt who that voice happened to belong to, but that person had to just about the last one I wanted to have hovering over me. That rotten son of a bitch...

"Dammit, Kai, no one fucking asked you!" I snapped, my head jerking in his direction just to glare at him. He simply shrugged, but it didn't ease the tension any.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was a rhetorical question," he assured me as he casually tossed a file on my desk. He smiled then, but although I was still pissed at him for even daring to speak out of turn, I couldn't keep myself from suddenly thinking that there was something peculiar about it. There wasn't any mischief in it... and because of that, that smile he was wearing just didn't seem right at all. Then I began to wonder just what the hell got him so damn depressed all of a sudden since it definitely wasn't normal for him to be that reserved about something like relationship troubles. Where was the usual snark? The suggestive comments? That sleazy grin he got on his face whenever he saw me?

Just what the hell happened to him?

Before I could even ask him, though, he'd walked right out of my office without another word. He really was just like a ghost of his former self if he was so willing to leave it at that, and I had to wonder whether or not I was to blame for it. After all, I was the one to send him off to that touchy-feely camp which was about the only thing I could think of that would bring such a dramatic change in a man like him.

"Ms. Hart... You're looking a little pale." I only glanced over to find that Elli had come to stand at my side, and soon I felt her delicate hand rest on my arm in her usual, comforting way. I still felt cold towards her, though, since I kept dwelling on other things. Like... why couldn't I keep this damn office together? None of these people ever had any discipline around here, and that could only be because of me and my own lack of responsibility. "Ms. Hart? Do you need to go home for today?"

"I'll be alright, Elli," I assured the woman, shrugging her off. "Sometimes you just have to get this kind of shit off your chest and move on," I explained with a heavy sigh. Her warm, brown eyes seemed to glaze over with doubt, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually care what she thought of me or the situation. Although I was tired, her offer didn't comfort me worth a damn. Home was always the last place I wanted to be. "So... you were trying to tell me something earlier. What was it?" I asked, hoping to change the subject to something more routine.

"Oh, yes," she began, her voice becoming soft and uncertain. "I just received a phone call from your sister," she said simply. "She insisted it was urgent, but when I asked her if she wanted to leave a message, she told me that she'd prefer to speak with you in person." Out of nervous habit, the young woman began fussing with her hands. "All she would tell me was that it concerned your father, so I really don't-"

"Then I'll handle it later," I replied as I waved off her concern. When Elli parted her lips to speak again, I only shook my head. "Tina knows I don't like to talk during working hours, so she can just wait for a couple hours until lunch."

"But-"

"Enough!" I snapped, causing her to jump. "If I said I'll handle it later, I'll handle it later, so just get the hell back to work..." I muttered as I struggled to bring myself back under control. However, she still stood there in a state of shock for a moment, and once again, I let my temper overwhelm me. "Now!"

My harsh words were more than enough to send the little woman scurrying out of my office, but as soon as she shut the door behind her, I immediately regretted ever barking at her in the first place. It certainly wasn't her fault that things just seemed to be falling apart around here, not to mention in my own personal life, and yet I'd still gone off on the one person who hadn't turned away from me and my irritable nature. However, I still felt my blood boil to think of what I had to do next since quite frankly... I'd never wanted much of anything to do with my younger sister. She was too much like my mother for me to keep my patience for very long when it came to dealing with her. I really had no choice this time, though...

Because when it came to the old man, I could never ignore him for long.

--

"Ma'am... I'm afraid we'll be closing soon," a young woman squeaked, her tiny voice straining with great effort to even speak to me. I only nodded as I stood from where I'd been sitting in the shoe aisle, wobbling a bit on my heels while I did so. I couldn't really explain why I'd even come to the place, but I guess that wasn't all that surprising when I didn't even know the store's name. However, that wasn't all that unusual for me since I often did this sort of thing with my free time. I drove from store to store, occasionally stopping by a restaurant or bar along the way as well, but I never had any real reason behind it...

Stepping outside, I realized that I'd gone into a Sears of all places. Being the woman that I was, it was clear I must've been desperate for a distraction if I was trying to hide out in bargain basement retail. I knew I didn't have many options left, though, especially on a Wednesday night. Glancing at my new Rolex which I'd only bought that day for reasons I couldn't even begin to explain, I wasn't surprised to find that it was a few minutes after nine. There was still that same damn thought that I need another place to lose myself for a while before finally admitting defeat and going home. After all, wasn't I supposed to be living the high life instead of playing little Miss Darling with only her matching curtains and table sets to keep her happy?

Even if I couldn't go to the clubs until four in the morning every night like I did in my younger days, I still had no intentions of letting myself slow down. I had some youth in me yet, dammit, and I wasn't going to let myself just waste away like my mother had.

Nancy hadn't been one to live for herself, and I knew that for a fact if only because that's what she told us every day. "I live for my family, and that's enough," she would always say whenever someone asked her why she decided to be nothing more than a housewife.

Married at seventeen, having two children by the time she was twenty-one... She never once held a job, and so any time she wanted something, she'd go straight to my father to ask before she'd even consider treating herself. It was clear to me and everyone else that he didn't give a rat's ass whether his wife wanted to buy a new dress or not, but for whatever reason, she still had that need to be told that it was alright for her to do something for herself. Whether it be her parents, her husband, or even her own children, she would always make sure it was alright with them before she ever made a decision...

Dying at forty-nine because of an unexpected brain aneurysm, it was like she was there one minute and gone the next, and yet my life still went on as if everything was still normal after her death a year ago. My father on the other hand...

Well, being as the good die young, I was pretty damn sure he'd be around for a while yet.

"Can't you at least come to the funeral?" my sister's voice had demanded on the other line. "You skipped out on Mom's, too, but I thought you'd be less selfish by now..." Then there'd been a frustrated sigh before she snapped, "Not everything's about you!"

Of course I knew it wasn't, but the thought of that man being in a casket was almost too much for me without even actually seeing him there in person. Or whatever you wanted to call what he'd become. He was only fifty-seven, and while I guess it wasn't surprising that he'd been taken out by a heart attack, it just seemed too damn soon. The bastard should've outlived me although I guess it would be like him just to off himself to spite his oldest daughter. After all, I had to get my bitterness from somebody.

That was when I finally decided just to let it go, all of it. I didn't cry, of course, because I just wasn't the kind of woman who could do that sort of thing. I was the cold-hearted bitch, the boss you just love to hate, and everything in between which meant I did not cry. Ever.

Unfortunately, I was so damn busy thinking that I didn't even notice I was making my way back to the same place I'd been so determined to avoid. However, none of that shit really mattered when I got a good look at the black mustang parked just outside my condo. That son of a bitch...

"Kai, what the hell are you doing here?" I hissed as I stormed up to him. He'd been waiting for me over by the front doors, slouched against the cement wall with a cigarette in his hand like some teenage has been, but at first he didn't say anything. He just flipped open his phone and showed it to me. Although I had to squint to read the damn screen, there was clearly a text message written out. Unlike most I'd seen, this was understandable as well without any of that 'chat speak' nonsense, so of course that could mean only one thing. "You got this from Tina?" I asked doubtfully, wishing that my younger sister could learn to just mind her own damn business. Especially if she had to involve him of all people.

"Yeah... she told me you shut off your phone and asked if I'd find you for her," he explained with a shrug as he passed off his cancer stick to me and turned away. "Apparently she had me under her emergency contacts," he added with a chuckle before he fell back into that new uncomfortable silence of his. "Sorry about your dad," he said almost as an afterthought. I knew he didn't mean it, though, if only because he had no idea what it was like to even have one, let alone lose him.

"Whatever..." I muttered under my breath while running my fingers back though my bangs. "Just tell her I'm fine, and... Wait, how the hell does she know your number anyway?" I asked, the cigarette dangling from my lips.

"Don't you remember setting us up a few years back?" he replied, tilting his head to the side. I just stared blankly at him. "Well, in any case, she just wanted to make sure you're alright, so I guess I'll be going then." Just like that, he was finished with both his task and me, but he'd apparently forgotten that I didn't tell him to leave just yet. Something told me he wouldn't mind staying, though... especially with what I was offering in return for his company.

"How about you come on up for a while, Kai..." I mused with the most seductive smile I could muster as I leaned my shoulder against the wall. "After all, you did go out of your way just to come here." The man hesitated for a moment, and for a while, he just stood with his back turned to me on the sidewalk seemingly lost in thought. Or maybe he was just weighing his options. Either way, when he glanced back at me over his shoulder, I felt a chill snake its way down my spine. I wasn't sure if it was even possible, but... he seemed to even more of a creep than before with the way he was looking at me. If you ask me, I'd say it was somewhere between...

Pitiful and god damn desperate.

"Sounds like fun," he agreed. He also smiled, but it was just about as fake as mine if not more so. Used to be that slime ball would shoot up there before I could even get my god damn keys out of my purse, and now here he was acting like he was doing me a small favor by sticking around. Having him just bum around the place would still be a hell of a lot better than me staying there on my own, though. Besides... something told me he'd come around to his usual way of thinking sooner or later. He always did.

My pent house might've been one of the more expensive options uptown, but when we came inside, it was painfully obvious I hadn't been there for quite some time. Everything was so god damn clean that I nearly fell on my ass on the hardwood floor on my way in, and the whole space seemed to sparkle as if someone had taken a wax buffer to it. Hell, my leather couch didn't even have a dent in it. Of course, that wasn't surprising since I never had any company to break in the cushions to begin with.

"Grace, are you really sure about this?" Kai asked, stifling what seemed to be a yawn. I just glanced over to see he was already unbuttoning his shirt, but I could only roll my eyes and chuckle. I'd completely forgotten about that habit of his. He was like a cat that couldn't be collared with the way he'd shuck the thing as soon as he got inside. Not that I minded... After all, he made things a hell of a lot easier for me once we got going. The less I had to touch him, the better as far as I was concerned.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I huffed, tapping off the ashes of my cigarette. He only continued to stare vacantly at me, but that look said it all. He felt sorry for me. As if Grace Hart would ever need that from anyone... especially him of all people. "Just get your ass in there," I ordered, not even bothering to see if he actually did it.

"You act like you bought me off the street," he chuckled. Even as he said it, though, he was already on his way into my bedroom, but he was so damn dense that I knew I had to call him out on it. Otherwise he might just forget what the hell he was here to do.

"That's because you're a whore," I replied smugly before taking one last drag. "If some girl calls you up, you're right there. No questions asked." And he was always eager to please, too. Sure, I gave Kai a little more incentive this time, but it didn't really matter. Hell... I could've just thanked him for his troubles, and I could guarantee that shameless bastard would still expect for me to bring him up for some hot coffee. The only reason he didn't do the same tonight was because I'd beat him to it for once, and even then I had my suspicions that he was just trying to play the 'nice' guy.

"I better stop doing this for free then!" he laughed, his voice somewhat distant. It would figure he'd already gotten into bed... the skank. However, when I finally came into the room, it was obvious Kai was only trying to rile me. After all, unless he really was a slut, there wasn't any reason for him to be laying down like that.

His back was turned to me, but the way my pink, satin sheets just slipped right off his tanned shoulders and pooled onto the small of his back suggested a hell of a lot more since it just reminded me of one of those classic centerfolds he kept stashed under his bed. The son of a bitch even glanced back at me with those brown eyes of his as if he was just trying his damnedest to prove me wrong about him being a selfish, narcissistic jack ass.

Which, not surprisingly, just pissed me the hell off.

"God dammit, Kai..." I muttered under my breath while shaking my head in defeat. "What's with the fucking doe eyes all of a sudden?" He only looked at me curiously as if he had no idea what I was talking about, but I wasn't so easily convinced that he actually had nothing up his sleeve for tonight. He had to be scheming something, after all. "As if you really don't give a shit what-"

"I don't," he assured me, picking up one of my burnt out cigarettes from the ashtray that lay beside the bed. "I only came up here because you asked," he explained with a shrug. Then, obviously trying to change the subject, he began mumbled something about me not being a 'pink' person... whatever the hell that meant. I only glared at him, though, because I was still trying to figure out exactly what the hell had happened to the man to completely turn around his whole way of thinking. After all, I knew that people like us didn't change. We always remained the same even if it meant screwing shit up for other people, and now he'd gone and done what I'd always thought was impossible.

"Wait a minute... since when do you smoke, Kai?" I asked just as he brought the butt end of the cancer stick to his lips and rested it between his teeth.

"Since I actually started thinking about things," he sighed before tossing it away and burying his face into one of my pillows. That only left me wondering just what kind of things he was going over inside that thick skull of his, but when he didn't say anything else, I just tossed myself down on the bed next to him. "So... did you ask me to come up here because you wanted me, or because Vaughn told you 'no?'" he murmured into the fabric still stifling his face.

"Kai..." I growled, laying my arm across my eyes. "Just shut the hell up." I didn't really care if he knew or not although, knowing him, that was exactly the opposite of what he would think. However, getting right down to it, the only reason I didn't want to tell him either was because I knew he'd want to talk about it. You just couldn't give him a simple answer and expect him to leave it at that. Hell no. He'd always find a way to get under your skin until you told him exactly what he wanted to know, and then you'd be cursing yourself for even letting him push you that far in the first place.

Even with that being the case, maybe that's just what I needed tonight seeing as everything had decided to go to shit all of a sudden.

Just when I was about to tell him everything I was feeling right then, though, I rolled over to see that the man had actually fallen asleep. Normally I would've guessed he was only trying to shit me, but the fact that he didn't even move after I jabbed him in the arm was enough to convince me he was out for the night. After all, once Kai drifted out, it was next to impossible to wake him up again until morning came around. Figures that the bastard would fall asleep just when I actually considered talking to him in the first place.

All I could do then was lay there and wonder what the hell I was going to do the next day. After all, by the sounds of it, Tina wasn't just going to let me off about the funeral this time around, and if I found myself actually heading home for once, I'd need someone to cover things for me at the office. God knows I couldn't expect the place to still be standing if I left that group of idiots to handle things on their own...

The only trouble was in finding someone else who could handle it.

Glancing over towards my alarm clock, I found that it was only just past midnight, and I reached for the phone resting beside it. While I already knew she would probably try and tell me that I'd woken her up, I also knew damn well she'd be full of shit, so there wasn't any real reason for me not to call her. Besides... it'd been a while since we last talked to one another on civil terms.

"Hey, Nami, I've got a favor to ask..."

--

Author's Note: Grace is actually rather tall for a woman at 5' 8" which might be another reason why she's attracted to Vaughn who stands at an impressive 6' 6." Although she's never told anyone, she actually got herself a breast reduction after suffering back strain in both middle and high school, and yet she's still sized at a DD. She's also a very curvy woman with some delicious meat on her bones.

Oddly enough, Grace was originally going to be a lesbian hence her close relationship with Elli, not to mention her annoyance with Kai and the other men in the office. If not in general. However, as these things have a habit of doing from time to time, her interest in Vaughn developed on its own, and so did her former relationship with Kai. The latter of the two was on a purely physical basis, though.