Day 18

"Since when do we ever do deliveries?"

"We don't." Alan answered dryly, "Except when it comes to Mr Anderson. Even if he asked us for a drink from our rivaling cafes, we would still buy it and deliver it to him."

"Wait, we have rivaling cafes?"

"It's a metaphor, Ron. Pops gave me a lot of help in running this place. This is the least I can do for him." the brunette handed him two carrier bags, "You should be happy that you finally get to visit them in their natural habitat."

"And by 'them' I think you mean two exotic animals named Grell and William."

"Precisely." Alan smiled, "Say hi to them for me."

"Alright…" the boy grabbed the two bags and went for the door, "Say hi to Eric for me too now that you've successfully got rid of the third wheel."

"Just go do your damn job, Ronald."

Alan's little calculations aside, Ronald had meant to visit Grell in her studio for some time but just never got around to actually make the trip. He had been working across the street for almost a month now. This seemed like the perfect chance.

The elevator opened on the 4th floor, where Reaper Tools Ltd. was located.

He walked straight up to the receptionist, for obvious reasons as well as reasons he'd rather not explain. "Good morning, Miss-"

"Jasmine." the girl raised her head, "How can I help you, Sir?"

He placed the two bags on the counter, "I believe this is ordered by Mr L. Anderson. Do you know where I should take them to?"

"Yes, one second." the girl quickly dialed a number and after a few exchanges with the other end of the phone, she stood up and pointed to the end of the hallway, "Just leave them in the meeting room over there. There's a lounge right next to it, you can wait there while I find someone to tip you."

"Oh there's no need for that. My boss said we're doing this for free."

"Mr Anderson insists that you take it." Jasmin answered, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Yes, I want your number. "No, not right now. Thanks." Ronald dragged the bags off the counter and walked towards the closed meeting room.

Are they already having a meeting? Will I interrupt them?

He knocked on the door. There was no immediate answer so he pushed the unlocked door open -

VRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMM!

A chainsaw came ramming through the door, almost cutting the boy's face in halves as he frantically backed away.

"Who the fuck opened the door?!" Grell pulled off her headphones and deactivated the chainsaw before finding the boy on the floor, "Oh Ronnie dear! What brought you here?" she put the frightening tool away and helped the boy up. "I hope I didn't scare you…" she smirked.

Ronald squinted at her, "Of course not… Geez, what were you doing in there? And what's with this chainsaw?"

"This baby…" Grell proudly raised the weapon to the level of her eyes, "is what I've been working on all year long. It's still just a prototype, but once it's complete, it'd be the most magnificent thing you've ever seen." she put it down after seeing the boy's baffled expressions, "People like you just wouldn't understand my passion, would you?" she eyed his carrier bags, "Coffee?"

"Yes, for your meeting, I presume?" Ronald remembered what he was there for and went inside the still empty meeting room.

"Too bad I have to be in this lousy meeting. Otherwise I could give you a tour of the place." she suddenly sneaked closer, "Did you flirt with the receptionist?"

"What? No!"

"Well, it's not what Melissa told me."

"I thought her name was Jas-"

"HA! Got you!" Grell laid her chainsaw on the boy's shoulder, "Hitting on the ladies when you're in MY territo-"

"Honestly, save your energy for something else." with a swipe on the tip of the chainsaw, William pulled its blades away from the youngster, and hurried Grell back into the meeting room, "You design garden tools, not murder weapons. Please sit down and act more professionally."

"But no one has arrived yet!" the redhead protested as William forced her into a chair.

"I'd prefer you wait for others to arrive than the reverse. And don't scare people with your prototype, that'd raise a lot of concerns, and I know how much you hate additional safety requirements." he handed Grell a folder and closed the door.

The hallway returned to peace again. Ronald looked around and spot a group of people coming out of the elevator and heading towards his direction. He knew better to not block their way, so he quickly slipped into the lounge as he waited for his tip.

The meeting began without much noise to be heard from the outside, and Ronald soon got bored waiting. He walked around the empty lounge and found a window - curiously located behind one of the cupboards - that allowed him to see across the street.

There was Eric, walking into their little coffee shop.

"I knew he wanted to get rid of me before Eric comes in!" he muttered to himself in triumph. These two are moving faster than he had ever expected, but he can't say he was jealous. Not at all. He was absolutely not jealous. Definitely not.

He got lost in the street view when someone suddenly burst out of the meeting room and ran right into the lounge. He peeked from behind the shelves to find Grell throwing herself on the couch, grunting something he couldn't quite make out. Somehow, he decided to remain hidden, not wanting to appear like a creep although he was in fact watching someone in secret.

William soon entered the room after her, shutting the door behind him, "Do you have any idea what you have just done?" his eyes were cold and his voice kept low. Ronald had never seen him like this before and it almost scared him.

"Leave me alone!" Grell yelled, "They don't need me there anyway."

"You need to learn to control your temper, Grell."

"I'd like to see you try if your entire year's work just got flushed down the toilet! Did you even see how they dismissed my designs? And Angie, well, FUCK HER!"

"Watch your mouth!"

"She said she would support my designs, but she flipped the moment that damn kid raised an eyebrow! Did you even see the look on her face? Coward! Coward! COWARD!"

William sighed as he walked closer, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Mind move a little so I can sit down?"

Grell inaudibly cursed as she swung her long legs to the other side of the couch, back still facing William.

"As much as I dislike their attitude, you didn't have to throw a tantrum when Pops is around…" William spoke in a low voice, "You put him in a very difficult position…"

"Then go back to the meeting and help him. I don't need your company here." Grell said coldly, her arms crossed on her chest.

"I…" William paused, forgetting why he chased her out in the first place. Now that she mentioned it, it did seem much more reasonable had he just stayed in the meeting room, rather than leaving their boss alone with their hostile guests. "I don't want you to do anything stupid." Honestly, that was a stupid thing to say.

"Like what? Slaughtering everyone with a chainsaw?" Grell huffed, laying her head on the back of the couch, "I'm fine, Will. You can go if you want to. There's no need to waste your time here with me."

But William just sat there, a bit taken back by the fact that Grell would even suggest that it was a waste of time to be her company. He moved closer to her, his hand almost touching her arm, "I know you put a lot of time in it... I'm sorry about what happened."

Grell shivered at his words, "It's not your fault, Will…" she closed her eyes, "I knew that brat was up to no good. Should have known better to not trust someone this young and pretentious."

"And his demon of an assistant…" William muttered under his breath, "It was a dreadful meeting. I don't blame you."

Grell chuckled at the mention of the man whom-shall-not-be-named, "Are you jealous, Will?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Everyone saw that you were especially mean to him, even though he only repeated the kid's talking points and has no actual say in the deal." she turned around to face him, a small smirk creeping on her face, "Had I not gone mad first, you might be next."

"Well, you always know that I despise that man." William turned away, not looking at her directly.

"Yes, because I casually called him 'Handsome' for, like, two times." she lightly punched him on the arm, "Why are you always in denial whenever I call you out?"

William wondered if he should relax a bit now that Grell seemed to be in a better mood. He sank into the couch and took off his glasses to wipe them, "It's not a done deal yet. I'm sure Pops will figure out a way to convince them to accept your designs." awkwardly dodging the question and getting back into business. "I'll try my best as well. Don't worry too much about it."

Grell nodded mindlessly, "What a waste of a perfect seat."

"What seat?"

"Opera." Grell muttered, "I had such high hopes for the meeting, I even promised to take Angie to opera this weekend. Guess that won't be happening…" she sighed.

William stared at the beaten redhead, as if contemplating something.

His silence caught Grell's attention, "What's wrong, Will?"

"Nothing, I was just…" William gazed into the emptiness in front of him, "I, um, don't have plans this weekend."

Grell blinked for a second before widening her eyes at the realization of what he meant, "Will…" she leaned closer, almost whispering against William's ear, "are you asking me to ask you out?" she smirked, breathing warm air down William's chin.

William took a deep breath and backed away a little, "Honestly, if you'd rather go alone, I won't have a prob-"

"Let's go together." Grell smiled, her fingers finding their way up William's legs, "Thank you, Darling." She knew she must have looked like a mess, but that barely noticeable blush on William's face made everything seem fine now.

"It's nothing." William said softly, obviously struggling to keep his composure as Grell crept closer.

"Why won't you look at me, Will?" she asked, one hand slowly turning William's face towards her.

William revolved his shoulders and took Grell's hand in his. His lips were tight shut, for words felt redundant in this situation.

Grell picked up the signal and leaned forward as well, her grin wider than ever but she managed to keep her teeth hidden.

Their lips drew closer to each other and-

VVVVVVRRRRRIIIIIN!

The pair almost jumped off the couch as if they were tasered, and directed their eyes to behind the cupboard.

"HOLY-" Ronald almost fell out of his hiding as he violently answered the unwelcomed call, "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" and before poor Alan could even begin talking, the angry youngster had hung up. There he was, leaning against the wall and clutching his phone, having just committed the ultimate crime of spoiling the moment, "I'm so...so sor-"

"Why the hell are you still in here?!" Grell exclaimed, her hands unconsciously clinging onto William's suitcoat, "I thought you were gone!"

"I WISH I was gone too!" the blond got on his feet, but didn't dare move an inch, "I was just waiting here. I didn't mean to watch you or eavesdrop your conversation or creep you out although I'm sure I accomplished all of that…" he covered his face in embarrassment, "I am terribly, terribly sorry, guys. Do whatever you want to me. It's all my fault."

Grell bit her lips to keep herself from laughing before turning back to William, who was now burying his face in the back of the couch, his ears and neck visibly burning up. "Relax, Darling." she leaned against his beating chest, "Why don't you go back to your meeting while I deal with this creep? You can find me in my studio after you finish."

William gave Grell's hand a quick rub, stood up and left too quickly for anyone to capture his facial expressions.

And Ronald was now alone in the lounge with his redheaded friend. He audibly swallowed, not wanting to know what awaited him.

"Well, well, well, what do you say the punishment should be now that you got in the way between my dearest William and I…" she pinched Ronald on the face, 'Should I lock you up in the janitor's closet, strap you to the roof of my car or do you prefer a taste of my…" she made a handle-pulling gesture that reminded Ronald of a certain item she loved.

"Free coffee for a month! On me!"

"Both of us?"

"Yes, both of you!"

"Deal!" Grell patted the boy's cheek and turned around, "I'm sure William would appreciate that offer too." she blew him a kiss and left the room.

Ronald was glad that he was still alive. After what he had seen, it could have been much worse.

Grell and William didn't show up at the coffee shop that day.

"Do you think they are still mad at me?" Ronald asked timidly.

Alan let out a long sigh, "If it happened to me, I might be upset for a while, of course."

"You are at least partially responsible for this mess too!"

"How could I possibly know you were watching them in secret? Shouldn't you have at least set your phone to vibrate before you do something like that? I'm not a psychic after all."

"I do hope they got to finish their business after the meeting though." Ronald murmured.

"We'll never know." Alan chuckled and left for his movie night with Eric.

The shop was awfully quiet without the usual customers. Ronald also began to feel a little drowsy after a long day when the front door swung open and entered an elderly man. Ronald knew immediately who he was, despite having never been introduced to him. "Mr Anderson!" he greeted, "You've finally come!"

To the boy's surprise, the first thing his distinguished guest asked had absolutely nothing to do with coffee-

"Tell me about what happened today."

"So that's why…" after hearing Ronald's recount of the morning's events, the old man let out a small laugh, "No wonder they grunted 'not this again' when I walked into Grell's studio. I mean, she didn't lock the door so I thought she wouldn't mind me walking in. But apparently it was bad timing."

Ronald almost wanted to hug Pops, but he didn't want to make things weird between them. While he was grateful that the old man made him seem less of a screw-up, he couldn't help but feel bad for a certain couple-to-be.

He wondered if they got their long-deserved kiss after all.

T.B.C.