"How could you do that to me?!"
Drake bowed his head. He knew she would be upset by him and the staff giving their boss a not-so-subtle hint about whom he should consider marrying, but he hadn't expected shouting. "I'm sorry, Miss Farrell. It's only that Miss Annie—"
"You're the adult, Drake! I've had this conversation time and time again with Annie. Mr. Warbucks can't possibly be so oblivious that he doesn't realize my part in all this."
"I'm sure he doesn't think you put anyone up to anything."
"But he has to know now! At least before I could pretend he really wasn't aware that I would be willing to marry him. Now he sees me as an option and still rejects me."
"Anyone could see how embarrassed you were. He probably didn't want to make things worse."
"If everyone could see the humiliation, why didn't anyone have the decency to stop?"
"So many of us… want to see you two end up together." He wasn't sure anymore if he was lying. He wanted Grace to be happy, but he did wish she might be able to find that happiness with him rather than with another man.
"And this is the way to go about it? Because an eleven-year-old pressured you into it?"
"What more can I do other than apologize?"
Hugging her arms to her stomach, Grace shook her head. "I don't know. I… this is all becoming too much. Now that Mr. Warbucks knows that I've officially been offered a job in Washington he's going to be even more difficult. You should have heard him – demanding I stay as though he owned me."
"You're an asset to him."
With a scoff, she said, "Sure. At the end of the day, that's all I am. He's forgotten I'm a human being. He has no right to tell me what I do and don't do with my life. I'm not another one of his possessions."
"Wait a minute," Drake said, daring to take a step closer despite her temper. "It sounds like you've made your mind up about this."
She looked away. "I haven't yet. I'm only contemplating it."
"… All the way to Washington?"
"I don't know. I don't know much of anything that's happening anymore. I just know I'm unhappier in this house every day."
"As your friend, I encourage you not to make a decision just yet. He hasn't picked a wife yet. There may still be time. He can be a little bit slow on personal matters. Perhaps once he's had time to think—"
"About that song and dance you all did?" she laughed bitterly. "I'm lucky I didn't get fired."
"You had nothing to do with it. Annie owned up to it all. She adores you. That has to have some bearing on his decision."
Biting her lip, she kept her eyes fixated on a spot on the wall. She'd kept it together these past couple of weeks and she wasn't about to start getting emotional now. "Clearly not enough."