Chapter 25: A Conversation That Wasn't Needed

Grimmjow drove up to Evanston. He was on a mission for himself. He needed to talk to Orihime. It just so happened he also had an appointment at RBM that day. He parked in the lot beside the building and got out with his bag of documents. When he walked into the office, there were people talking.

Byakuya had sat down with Orihime, Susan, Karen, Julie, and Tim before the meeting with Grimmjow. The company Lucy and Grimmjow worked for was a potentially great client for RBM. They needed to employ some delicacy with this meeting. He was not especially pleased that Grimmjow had been selected as the ambassador for their company.

"Now, I know we all have our opinions about Mr. Jaegerjaquez, but we need to be professional, and that we shall do. He is a client now. He is to be afforded all the hospitality that Rotten Brand Management affords to clients. Orihime, if you are too uncomfortable with this, you may be excused."

Orihime shook her head. Her months in therapy had gotten her to a place where she felt like she had worked through the hurt that Grimmjow had caused her. Although it wouldn't please her to have to interact, she would be okay with it, she thought. "I can handle it, Mr. Kuchiki. I'm a big girl."

Her boss took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well," he said carefully and then continued talking about the strategy for hooking Constance Cosmetics.

Ulquiorra had been watching the business across the street. He knew Grimmjow walked into the building. He had to restrain himself from marching across the street. Orihime was an adult who could handle adult situations.

- I'm here if you need me, okay? I just saw Grimmjow walk in. Text me later.

That would have to do for now.

Orihime got his text and smiled, texting back a heart before the smile dropped. It was just a simple greeting to Charlie, but Grimmjow's voice brought back pain she hadn't expected.

She closed her eyes and took a slow breath before pumping herself up. She could do this. This was business. Grimmjow was a married family man now and what happened in the past was irrelevant. She took another deep breath before she swiveled her chair around and stood up to look at him.

Grimmjow noticed her. He was busy kind of ignoring Orihime, though. After all these boring introductions were made, his blue eyes finally zeroed in on her and Grimmjow walked over to the young woman. "Hey Orihime," he said quietly.

She smiled politely and replied. "Hi, Grimmjow, it's like old times having you back in the office, huh?" she joked lamely, unable to stop herself from crossing an arm over her stomach and scratching her other arm nervously. "Congratulations, by the way. I heard you and Lucy had a very nice little ceremony."

He let out a huff. "Yeah? Thanks. Where did you hear that from? Your little boyfriend?" The words came out before he could reign in his irritation. "You and I need to have a chat."

She furrowed her brows, but Byakuya's words about hospitality echoed in her mind. "Okay. We can chat. I heard the news from your best man. He said Lucy was radiant," she said, regaining her smile, although it didn't reach her eyes. "Ulquiorra is my friend, of course he'd tell me."

"Really? Because he said you two were seeing each other and fucking and all of that."

She closed her eyes and exhaled, shaking her head. "We are seeing each other. We're not doing anything else, not that it's any of your business," she retorted quietly. She didn't want to escalate this.

Scoff. Tch. Huff. Any kind of annoyed sound he could make, Grimmjow made it. "It was my business when we were together. You just used me to get that damn iPad and anything else I could do for you, like this cushy job."

Oh, no. This was crossing a line. Orihime couldn't hold back a scoff of her own. "Would you like me to return it to you? I would be happy to offload my data and reset it while you're meeting with Mr. Kuchiki," she said, still with a trace of a smile on her lips. There was no way she was going to join that meeting now. As it was, Susan was staring at her from behind Grimmjow with her lips set in a firm line, shaking her head no.

It was Karen who came to the rescue, though. "Orihime? Charlie is in the middle of a rush copy job. I know it's beneath your paygrade, but would you mind, for old time's sake, getting everyone some coffee? The card is in Charlie's drawer."

Orihime's head turned toward the older brunette and sighed in relief. "You got it. The usual for everyone?"

"Smores non-coffee latte for me, please," Susan's disembodied voice carried as she entered the conference room. "We are ready for you now, Grimmjow."

A scowl came over his face as he gave Orihime a hard stare. "This isn't over," he muttered before turning and walking towards the conference room.

Orihime waited until the door was closed before grabbing the card and running across the street to get the coffee. Of course it was Rangiku running the counter today. Just what she fucking needed right now. She really wasn't in the mood to make nice with Ulquiorra's ex whatever she was. She didn't have a choice, though.

When she got to the counter, she gave Rangiku the same tense smile she always gave the older woman. "I've come like old times to get coffee," she announced, handing a list to her. "Oh, and whatever you think Grimmjow would like. He's meeting with Kuchiki right now."

Rangiku gave Orihime a bitchy look before she rifled under the counter for a list that contained RBM's coffee orders. It wasn't her fault. It was just that time of the month where she wanted to stab people and things. She especially wanted to smack the look off of Orihime's face. "What do you know, it is just like old times, but you're not with Grimmjow. So, nothing different today?"

Orihime flinched. "Well, yeah, it's a lot different. Seems like it's a full moon; everyone is in a mood," she said guardedly.

"I guess. Ulquiorra left in a hurry, leaving me down here by myself. I wish I could just shirk responsibilities," the blonde said as she tapped on the order screen. In a moment, she had the total for Orihime. "So did you get demoted or something? Coffee duty isn't your thing."

She raised a brow at Rangiku's shirking comment. She used to run this place. It was pretty fucking rude of her to talk about Ulquiorra that way when she knew full well how late he worked at home every night. She said nothing to that, though. "I have not been demoted. I have been sent here because Grimmjow was being an asshole to me, and they wanted to de-escalate the situation."

A fake smile flashed across Rangiku's face. "He's only an asshole to people who deserve it," she stated before she turned to start making cups of coffee.

Orihime was stunned. Absolutely floored. She went over to the pick up counter and took her phone out.

- At C&S, getting coffee bc drama at work. Also, Rangiku is being a total bitch to me today. I told her that GJ was being an asshole and she said he's only an asshole to people who deserve it. What happened?

Ulquiorra was sitting at his desk upstairs when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He dug it out and looked at the screen. In the time it took for Grimmjow to walk into RBM, Rangiku managed to get under his skin, making a dig about Grimmjow going to visit Orihime. He was just insecure. He was the one with hangups. Giving a sigh, he answered her.

- I don't think Ran really likes the fact that you're in my life. Are you okay about the work drama?

Orihime pursed her lips as she read the reply and tapped out another.

- Yeah, they pulled me out of the meeting and probably off the account. Lucy is great but her husband is a dick. And Rangiku… Yeah she hates me. It is known.

Shaking his head, Ulquiorra stood up and started walking to the entrance door. He was going to have to sort this out.

- Be down in a minute.

Once he entered the coffee shop, he walked to the front of the shop and spied Orihime standing at the other end of the counter. He didn't miss the glare Rangiku gave him. "Orihime," he said, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her waist.

"Hey," she said a bit breathlessly, an easy smile on her face. "This is a nice surprise."

Slowly, Ulquiorra turned around so that she was facing him. He gave her a kiss, cupping her face with his hands. "It shouldn't be a surprise. You know I want to see you and spend time with you."

She blushed deeply. "I know, it's just that you were not here and now you are. Thanks for coming down to see me. Oh, also, can I run up and get my iPad? Grimmjow wants it back or some nonsense."

His face screwed up in irritation. What the hell? "No, I will take care of this," Ulquiorra stated. He got his phone out and tapped on the screen. A few moments later it made a ding. "The iPad is yours."

"What happened?" Orihime asked with a worried brow.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "It's yours now, flat out. Did he try to start a fight with you?"

Orihime took a slow, dragging breath and nodded once. "It seemed that way. He said he wants to talk to me after this meeting. I don't know…" She paused. "We don't have anything that needs to be talked about, at least nothing unrelated to business."

Ulquiorra sighed and shook his head. "You know you don't have to see or talk to him. Everyone at RBM will protect you. I would protect you. If you'd like, I can run the coffees over there."

She sighed. "I don't want to look like a coward. I told them all that I could be professional," she seemed like she was on the fence, contemplating his offer.

His hands drifted to the base of her skull and he ran his fingers through her hair. "It's up to you, Woman. I'm here if you need me," Ulquiorra said. He then kissed her again slowly, letting the touch linger.

Orihime hummed into his lips, and when the kiss was broken, she stood up on her toes and pecked at his lips four more times. "I know. Thank you. I feel like I can take on the world after that kiss, though," she swooned, batting her lashes at him unconsciously.

He smirked at her. "You can do this," he said. As Ulquiorra stepped away he saw Rangiku's face. This was definitely going to be a problem for them.

Orihime gathered the coffees and went back across the street, letting Charlie distribute them. She went back to her desk and got back to work, texting Ulquiorra,

- Safe. Didn't even see him.

Ulquiorra glared at Rangiku after Orihime left. He had gotten the redhead's text message and then Rangiku told him what she had done. "What the hell did you do?"

"I made everyone's order wrong."

"What the fuck Rangiku?"

"Oops I screwed up."

"Oh fuck off," Ulquiorra said as he walked away from his former lover. He heard Rangiku huff as she followed behind him. "Those are our customers! You can't screw up orders just because Orihime came in!"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Rangiku asked.

"I don't know what she is," he answered in a flat tone.

"So I could-"

"No!"

With that Ulquiorra slammed the office door and left the blonde woman on the other side of it. He sighed heavily as he sat in the office chair.

Try as she might, Orihime couldn't help the knot that was forming in her stomach as time went on. After about an hour and a half, she could hear voices on the other side of the conference room door getting louder as they approached the exit, and then it opened.

"It was very good to see you again, Grimmjow," Byakuya said in a very practiced, civilized voice.

"I'll email you the notes from this meeting as soon as I have them formatted," Susan said with a smile.

Grimmjow nodded and shook everyone's hand. He told them that Lucy would be in touch with them. After that he turned around and looked for the redhead. When Grimmjow saw her, he approached her. "Walk with me out to my car."

Orihime's eyes glanced at Susan's, whose face gave no clear indication about what she should do and shrugged. "Alright," she finally answered, grabbing her jacket and standing up.

Grimmjow waited for her, and then once they were outside the office, he began to talk. "I heard what happened between you and Nnoitra. Are you okay from whatever happened?"

She was surprised that he started with that, it seemed almost caring. She looked up at his face and shook her head. "I still won't go back to Starrk's. I've healed, though. Mr. Kuchiki introduced me to a good therapist who got me through most of it. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. Ulquiorra texted me about it a while ago. Look," Grimmjow said, but then paused. "I knew about you and Ulquiorra. I knew what happened on Halloween night last year. I knew what happened between you two the night he went to your place. I'm not saying you went out and fooled around with him. I know he wanted you then. I know he wanted something with you. I only saw it as fair that I let you go. We both needed a chance to be happy. You might have been happy with me, but deep down you probably weren't."

Her brows knit in confusion. What the hell was he talking about and why was he bringing it up now? "Well, if you knew, then you know that nothing happened between me and Ulquiorra," she said, shaking her head as the look of confusion deepened. "Anyway, it's water under the bridge now, isn't it?"

Grimmjow sighed. "You had a thing for him. All those drawings. I remember seeing that one of his head and shoulders and chest. You knew he had a tattoo on his chest. You two have a thing now."

"We're seeing each other now, yes. I did see him with his shirt off that time you sent me over there for the first logo meeting, remember? I told you he took me up to his place. He changed his clothes before we started the meeting and he just walked through his place with his shirt off for a minute, so that's how I knew. Don't you remember how weirded out I was after that meeting?"

The man was silent for a moment. He was thinking back to that time. Finally Grimmjow nodded. "I remember but, you also looked bothered. There were several times I saw you after you saw him and there was just-something was bothering you. I'm sorry about all of this. In the beginning I just wanted someone to fuck, hang out with, and occasionally take out. I didn't mean for it to turn into what it did."

There was something about this encounter that wasn't adding up to Orihime. She took a quick breath and asked, "And what did it turn into for you? When you threw me out you said you had been lying to me about everything just to stick it to Ulquiorra."

"I told Lucy the same thing months ago when I saw her at the conference. That's exactly what I was doing." Grimmjow sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I knew I didn't want to be with you when I saw her there. I was making plans to be with her when I started seeing Brady on a regular basis."

She scoffed silently and rolled her eyes. "You should have broken up with me then. You shouldn't have asked me to move in with you."

Another sigh. "I know. I know this. I was stupid, but you jumped the gun on everything with the love bullshit. I thought it would make us better. I thought if you weren't around Ulq or your mom, it would make our relationship like it was in the beginning," Grimmjow said quietly.

Orihime frowned. "And how was- Wait. What? You wanted it to be, like, just hang out and fuck until you were ready to finally play house with Lucy? What the hell? And I didn't "jump the gun" with the I love you stuff. I meant it." She was clearly offended now.

Grimmjow nodded. "That's basically what I was doing. You did jump the gun. We were together for like a couple months when you said it."

"I said it because I meant it. Jesus Christ, I dodged a bullet with you," she said in a huff and then turned around. She wasn't going to stand here anymore and listen to his bullshit.

"I dodged a bullet with you too; crazy ass, druggie mom and your fucking fascination with my friend," Grimmjow called out. "By the way, Lucy's pregnant again."

She stopped and wasn't going to turn around, but did anyway. "I know. Congratulations. My crazy ass druggie mom is dead, by the way."

"Good." Grimmjow turned his back to Orihime and then got into his car. He knew it had been a mistake to talk to her or even offer to come to this meeting. He sat there for a moment before he started the vehicle.

Orihime was a ball of dissonant energy. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to tear something up. How dare Grimmjow, after all these months, come back into her life just to try to flip over the careful progress she had made since she left town last spring?

It wasn't fair.

She sent a text to Susan that she was clocking out for the day. She had a class later that afternoon anyway. She left her purse in her desk drawer. She didn't care. She was too upset to even think about it as she stormed away. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She knew where to go. Orihime stomped out of the Rotten parking lot and past Coffee & Sadness. She'd go freeze her ass off at the Marina for awhile. It was a cold day. Maybe the chill would cool her head off.

Ulquiorra had come out of the office and helped around the storefront when he saw Orihime walk by the shop. His brow rose as he watched her. She looked pissed off, so he decided to send her a text.

- Are you okay? You look unhappy. Is there anything I can help with?

Orihime felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She was pretty sure it was a message from Grimmjow, trying to rub it in again. She didn't want to look, so she didn't.

Not until she got to the lakeshore, anyway. Then she took out her phone and saw Ulquiorra's message of concern.

Hot, writhing fury made her stomach clench. Ulquiorra was such a good guy. How fucking dare Grimmjow string her along just to hurt him and her? She started crying before she even got her response typed out.

- I'm not okay. Grimmjow's an asshole.

This made him frown as he read the message. Grimmjow was an asshole. Orihime was correct in that statement.

- Why are you not okay and why is he an asshole today?

Orihime sniffed and tapped out her reply.

- He came here just to rub it in my face that the only reason he was in a relationship with me was to keep me away from you and to use me for sex or whatever. Then he said "good" when I told him my mom died. I mean, yeah, but you don't say that!

Ulquiorra's next message came several minutes later.

- Where are you? I have something for you. It's just a coffee and a treat. I want to talk to you. I think you could use the company.

Maybe he was right.

- I'm at the marina.

Ulquiorra told Ethan he was taking off. He poured a cup of coffee and added a splash of skim milk to it before he left. Damn Grimmjow for upsetting her. Damn him for even being in her life.

When he pulled into the marina's parking lot, he got out, grabbing the coffee. He didn't have another treat for her. He just wanted to see her. It took him a moment to spot her red hair. With calm, measured steps, Ulquiorra approached her.

"Miss Inoue?" he said, shivering slightly. It was chilly out here.

She turned around to look, not expecting to see him there so soon, and raised her brows. She had to wipe her eyes to clear her vision, which was blurred from a mix of crying and the cold wind off the lake. When she finally saw his face, hers crumpled again. He looked concerned for her. "I'm sorry, you didn't have to come out here for me, Ulquiorra-"

She had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could continue. She felt a bit guilty for her next words; she was about to unload some buried hurt. "He only wanted me as a plaything. Now he wants to rub it in my face that he never cared about me and that I was only there for a good time," she whispered harshly before a sob tore through her. He had to open up old wounds. "He said he moved me out to Chicago so he could have someone to fuck until he could get Lucy to agree to be with him. It's all I am good for, apparently," she said, then wept bitterly.

Ulquiorra shook his head. "No you're not. You're a wonderful and amazing woman. You make me want to scream love poems from my balcony. You make me want to smile every day. You-" He reached down and tilted her head up. "You are my blind taste test, Woman. Everytime I kiss you, I close my eyes and I just wait for the moment I can do that again."

"Ulquiorra," she whimpered, looking at him with a pathetic expression. "Ulquiorra," she repeated. She didn't know what she wanted to say to him, but she couldn't look away.

"Shhhh," he murmured and held her close to him. "Clearly Grimmjow is an insensitive asshole. You are so much more than a plaything. You're not a crazy bitch. You're a strong, confident woman. He's trash." Ulquiorra pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment. "I want to give you so much more than what he did."

She looked up at him through her tears and put her arms around his torso and squeezed, sighing and taking the comfort he offered. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Come, let's sit in the car. We can talk. You can tell me about anything," Ulquiorra said to Orihime. "I'll drive you to your school when it's time for your classes."

She lifted her face to smile at him. "Thank you," she said again, sniffing and then taking a step back. "I'm sorry to make you leave work or whatever you were doing."

"It's fine. Ethan's managing the shop," he replied. Ulquiorra grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth, placing a small kiss on it.

She watched him and was reminded that she was totally smitten. She cursed Grimmjow for keeping them apart for so long. She wished she had met Ulquiorra first. She wished she'd never met Grimmjow at all. "Well, that's good. He will probably make sure the orders are right," she said, then winced. She shouldn't bring up Rangiku. She was a topic Orihime always strove to avoid. "Sorry, I heard Karen complain."

He sighed and shook his head. "Rangiku is jealous of you. I know she's jealous. I never wanted Rangiku. She had been a body to keep me warm and relieve my needs when I wanted it. She wasn't you. She was never you. She's pumpkin spice."

Orihime took a slow breath and looked up at him. "It must be really, really awkward working with her." She looked down at her feet, feeling a bit guilty. "I don't know why she stays, to be honest. If it were me… There are lots of other coffee shops to work at."

"She stays because I pay a lot more than other coffee shops. She stays because she's my friend. If she leaves, I have to work a lot more," Ulquiorra said then stopped walking. He pulled her to him. This time instead of a simple kiss, he wrapped his arms around her waist and captured her lips with his. He pulled back enough to do that little tongue flick before his mouth attached to hers again. "You're all that matters to me, Orihime. It's not awkward for me to work with her because I don't think about it."'

Well, Orihime was not convinced about Rangiku one little bit, but that kiss made it feel like the events of earlier in the day never happened. When he stopped kissing her, she looked at his face, She paused, looking down at his chest. It was true. Even before she got together with Grimmjow, she had been interested in him. She'd always watched Ulquiorra. It had intensified after she took on the logo project, but then the Grimmjow thing happened and she got swept up in the blue-haired man's pretty words and hollow declarations. Her sense of loyalty to Grimmjow and feelings of love for him were based on his misrepresentation of himself.

Ulquiorra seemed genuine to her, despite her mistrust of his ex working with him. She felt lucky that he still looked at her at all after misplacing her affection on someone else. She hugged him tightly and shivered. "I'm crazy. It's cold out here," she murmured into his chest.

"Which is why I suggested getting into the car. It's warm in there still." Ulquiorra hugged her before they headed to the car. He unlocked it and slid into the driver's seat and started the car just as Orihime got inside. "Your cheeks are red."

She snuffled a laugh. "I believe it," she turned her eyes to him and smiled.

A/N: So, we have some exterior conflict. What did you think about Orihime and Grimmjow's meeting? Thanks for reading!