all characters belong to JKR
Chapter 15: Observations:
Hermione didn't stop running until she was back at the resort, outside the door of her suite. There was no reason to run, because Draco didn't even try to follow her. If he had, she would have turned around, drawn her wand, and hexed him to kingdom come!
The bastard was the biggest liar in the world! The universe! She threw her bag across her room, kicked off her shoes, and then she took her wand and blasted the vase of roses that he got her into tiny, little, microscopic pieces. She sat on her sofa and said a line of expletives, which would have normally made her blush. She hit a pillow and then she cursed again.
Damn him! He played her for a fool! That alone would make her angry, but more than that, he made her fall for him. She might even be in love with him. Damn him!
There was a knock on her door. She turned quickly, wand still in hand, sprang up from the couch and threw the door open. If it was he, she might just have to kill him.
It was Adrian Pucey.
"May we speak?" he asked, his hands rose in the air, in fear.
"Go away," she said, as she tried to close the door.
"Just for a minute?" he insisted. He placed his foot in the doorway.
She nodded and allowed him to enter.
Twenty Minutes Earlier:
Hermione stormed off the upper deck, away from the table, and said, "I've decided that I don't want to know your secret, Malfoy!"
She ran down to the lower deck, with Draco and Adrian hot on her heels. Once there, Draco ushered Hermione into her stateroom, grabbed her wand out of her hand, slammed the door shut, and placed his back against the door, while she tried to push it open.
The whole time she was yelling, "Draco Malfoy let me out of here!"
"Draco, what is she doing here, and what's going on, and why do I have a feeling that something's rotten in Denmark?" Adrian inquired.
"I've never been to Denmark," Draco said flippantly, "and furthermore, I owled you and told you not to come!"
"And why was that?" Adrian asked.
"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Hermione yelled. She pushed on the door so hard that Draco almost faltered, and he stumbled forward. She almost escaped. He pressed his shoulder hard into the door, slamming it shut again. He pulled out his wand and barred the door shut with magic.
Draco pleaded, "Please, just take Penelope and go to a different country for the weekend."
"A different country?" Adrian rolled his eyes.
"For an hour at the most, and then the yacht is yours, as long as you sail it far, far away," Draco said.
"I'm not stupid, Malfoy!" Adrian said. "I have eyes. I know what's going on here."
Hermione yelled, "I'm not stupid either! Let me out!"
Draco hissed at the man, "Leave!"
"Tell her the truth or I will," Adrian preached.
"What truth? That you're an uptight, son of a bitch?" Draco harped. "What truth do you want me to tell her?"
Hermione spat, "Tell me the truth as to why you locked me in my stateroom, and why you can't say the word 'date' in front of Adrian!"
Adrian put a silencing charm on the door, so they could no longer hear her. Draco assumed the charm went both ways, however, she could still hear them. Moreover, to Adrian, that was the point. He wanted her to hear, because he had observed something from the moment he set foot on the yacht, and that was that Draco Malfoy had undoubtedly lied to Hermione Granger, and he felt it was time she knew the truth.
Adrian pulled on Draco's arm, taking him slightly away from the door and said, "I can only assume that you're here with her this weekend, and you know why that's wrong on so many levels. Does she even know?"
Hermione's ear was pressed against the door. She wondered, 'Do I know what?'
Draco spat, "We aren't together this weekend! Listen, this is easy to explain." He took a pause, prayed to the god of liars for strength and wisdom, drew upon all his experiences with lying, and continued. "Granger told me last week that she was coming here for a blind date this Friday. I was already planning to come check my investment, as you know. I became aware that her date stood her up, so I felt sorry for her and I asked her to eat with me, that's all."
"Why is she here now?" Adrian quizzed. Then he looked shocked and said, "Merlin's pants, tell me you didn't sleep with her! I refuse to have to hire another Director of Marketing, Malfoy! I'll quit myself first!"
"I didn't sleep with her!" Draco practically yelled. He wanted to add, 'at least not yet,' but he didn't. "She wanted to talk to me about starting an internship program, and she was anxious to find out what I thought about it, and how to implement it, so she joined me on the yacht for lunch. That's all. We aren't dating in any sense of the word, but I knew you would get the wrong idea, that's why I owled you not to come."
Draco hadn't owled anyone. He had forgotten that Adrian and Penelope were joining him this weekend. So far, the lies were piling higher and higher, and he wasn't sure he would ever be able to claw his way over the high pile.
Adrian regarded Malfoy for a moment, and then said, "Fine, I believe you," even though he didn't. He took Hermione's wand from Draco's other hand, opened the stateroom door with his own wand, handed her wand back to her and said, "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions, Hermione. I know your reputation is above reproach, but Draco's reputation in this area is murky at best. We've lost a number of good employees because he's dated them, then tired of them, and either fired them or made them quit."
Hermione wasn't even looking at Adrian. She was staring right at Draco. She was observing the way he was acting. Downcast eyes, body leaning against the wall, refusing to speak to her, in other words, he was guilty as sin. Hermione was having trouble focusing, and her breathing was irregular and shallow.
She walked up to Draco and said, "How's your stomach? Does it hurt at all?"
He looked up quickly. He had just lied, and he suddenly realized that Hermione heard the whole thing. He looked at Adrian and said, "Didn't you put a silencing charm on the door?"
"Yes, because she was screaming so loudly, and I couldn't hear you," Adrian explained.
"But I heard you both just fine," Hermione said softly. She turned to Adrian and said, "Nice to see you again. I'll be back to work on Tuesday, and perhaps we could start on the internship project."
Adrian smiled and nodded. "I look forward to working with you. I was doubtful at first when Malfoy hired you, but I see that it's all going to work out fine. You're trustworthy and above reproach." He laughed and added, "Damn former Gryffindor." He patted her shoulder, and then walked above deck.
Draco said, "May I say something?"
"No, because it will be a lie," she stated. "But you may answer one, which I've already asked once. How is your stomach? You just told a barrelful of lies, and I wondered how you were handling the pain."
"I'm not the only one," he said, although it was without malice. "My stomach was never in danger of pain from your fake, little, truthfulness spell, was it?"
"No, it wasn't," she snapped. "But that doesn't mean it's not in danger from me." She pulled back her arm, and punched him in the gut as hard as she could. He doubled over in pain, and she ran back in the room, grabbed her things, and walked over his doubled-over body, ran above deck, and she disapparated back to the dock.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Now, as she let Adrian Pucey into her room she felt shame, embarrassment, and something akin to guilt. She thought to herself, 'Irony, thy name is Hermione.'
Adrian sat on the sofa, and she sat in a chair beside it. "You were on a date with Malfoy today, weren't you?"
"I wouldn't date Draco Malfoy," she said.
He cocked his head to the side and she said, "Fine, I thought we were, but I don't know what he thought." She sat slightly forward. "I did have a blind date. That much of his story was true, but Malfoy, unbeknownst to me, sabotaged it. He told the man that I cancelled. Then he pretended to be my date, by of course, lying to me."
Adrian grinned and said, "Ah, finally, the truth, because that sounds like Malfoy."
"Then he told everyone we were married, for some reason."
"But of course," the other man said with a laugh. "Still sounds like Malfoy."
"Then he planned a wonderful weekend for us, showed me perhaps the best time of my life, and then he lied to me."
"Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy," Adrian said with a laugh.
She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. He stood up from the sofa and walked over to the chair, and knelt beside it. "May I say something?"
She merely nodded.
"Are you aware that you signed an employment contract when you started at our company?"
She sat upright. "It's true? Malfoy kept mentioning a damn contract, but I don't remember signing anything! Oh no, does it say that I can't cut my hair?"
He looked at her oddly, stood up and said, "Well, no. If you recall, you were so excited on your first day, that you breezed through all the paperwork, and you didn't read a thing, even though I told you to do so. Then, I gave you copies to read, and you said that you would read them later. You're such a smart woman, that I assumed that you did, but now I see that you didn't."
Hermione stood as well, looked up at the dark-haired man, and asked, "What did I sign?"
"An agreement to work for our company for at least a year, and if you decide to leave before the year's over, you won't seek other employment, and if we fire you, for any reason, you still won't seek other employment, for a year."
"Why would anyone sign something stupid like that?" she asked, shocked. He gave her a small smile, and she said, "Oh, right, me."
"It's our way of protecting our company from espionage, and thrill seekers. Of course, if we fire you, we would pay you compensation." He went over and looked out the window. With his back to her he said, "You also agreed not to date anyone who isn't on your same tier, or level, meaning you can't date anyone under you…"
She finished his sentence…"Or over me?"
He turned to face her and nodded. "Malfoy is as high as it gets, I'm afraid. You see, we've lost so many employees because Draco's dated them, and it's turned sour, or he's had a one night stand with them, or with some of the men it was because he stole their girlfriends, or slept with their wives, so I came up with this. He has to sign each employment contract too, and since it's a wizarding contract, it's very binding. You can't date him, and be employed with us at the same time."
"And if I quit, I can't work anywhere for a year, which means I couldn't afford my new car, my new house, or anything," she surmised. "I'd be penniless."
"A word of advice, Hermione," Adrian said, as he started toward her door. "Read all the fine print of everything you sign, and don't fall for a bloke like Malfoy, because he's really not good enough for you. It pains me to say so, but it's the truth." He smiled, held out his hand for her, and after she shook it, he left.
Then she sat on the couch and cried.
When the last of the afternoon light wafted through her opened curtains, and laid in streaks on the carpet of her floor, Hermione finally stood up to get dressed for dinner. The truth was that she had spent one and a half days with the man, and nothing more. She wasn't in a romance. They hadn't had an affair. They had barely kissed. She would get over this.
Her heart wasn't even close to being bruised, let alone broken. She showered, dressed, and then she walked down to the dining room. The truth (if she could recognize it after the haze of lies that threatened to drown her the last 24 hours), was that she had come to this resort with the intention of having ONE blind date on Friday night. She had it.
She had intended to spend Saturday sunbathing, reading, and reflecting. Well, it was Saturday, and she sunbathed, so she would consider that a success, too.
Then, she intended to do something bloody fab, by herself, for her thirtieth birthday, which was now a few hours away. This too, she would do. Her weekend was a critical success, in her opinion.
She was shown a quiet table in the corner of the dining room, and she ordered a salad, the chicken, and some white wine. Then she felt like crying again, for some insane reason. Well, not completely insane. She felt like crying because she observed Draco entering the dining room.
Draco walked into the restaurant, scanned the crown, saw her in the corner, looking sad and forlorn, and he asked the maitre d' to show him to a table beside hers. She observed him enter, and watched as he sat down in a table next to hers, facing her. He unfolded his napkin, and placed it lightly over his lap. He ordered his food and then he stared at her.
She looked away first.
She finally looked up again, and he was still observing her, completely in quiet, but intently. She looked down again.
He sighed. Was it so wrong of him to want to have a nice weekend, with a nice woman? He hated Adrian Pucey sometimes. Hermione wasn't like the other women whom he had dated and then, in Adrian's words, 'ruined for life'. He actually liked Granger. He might like her a lot. Hell, since she had spoiled lying for him, he was going to be truthful, even to himself, and say that he might like her a whole lot. Love might be a good word to describe how he felt.
Was that wrong? Was love wrong? Was it wrong to want someone like her? She looked sad. He was the cause of that. He threw his napkin on the table, grabbed his glass of wine, and walked over to her.
She felt him before she saw him. She didn't want to look up, but she finally did. As soon as she looked up, he sat down. She looked back at her lap. What could she say to him? It was partially her fault, for not reading the employment contract, yet he must have known that she hadn't read it, the way he kept referring to it, making jokes about it. It was his fault, too.
"Hermione, how about you look at me, please," he said, exasperated.
Hermione looked up at him. "How about you go back to your table," she responded.
"How about you talk to me first." He sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. He took a big swig of wine and banged the glass hard on the table when he was done.
"How about you go to hell," she said steadily. She took a small sip of wine, and placed it gingerly on the table.
He took her glass of wine, put it on his side of the table, and said, "How about you let me explain."
"How about, no."
"How about you take your wand out of your arse, and listen for just a minute," he said.
"How about another, no, you lying sack of shite," she responded. She leaned forward, grabbed her glass, and down the whole thing in one drink.
"How about this," he said slowly. He motioned for the waiter to bring her more wine and said, "Adrian's gone, so let's finish having the wonderful weekend that I had planned for us, and when we get back to London, we'll sort through this whole mess."
"How about this, instead," she said, as the waiter filled her glass. "I finish with the weekend I had planned, and on Tuesday, we go back to being boss and employee, and I contact the best lawyer I can find to see if I can get out of this bloody contract, so I can find another job, one far, far, from you!" She took another large drink, dribbled some down her chin, and she wiped it with her napkin.
He took her glass again, held it this time, and said, "How about you stop drinking so much, and just let me tell you that I've had the best time of my entire life this weekend, with you." He set her glass down, and grabbed her hand across the table. "I have felt things I've never felt, had more fun than I thought was imaginable, and decided that for once in my sorry existence, that I don't want to lie, cheat, or do any of the other things that previously made me Draco Malfoy. In the space of less than 24 hours, you've made me a better person. You've made me want to be Derek Malone, if that makes sense."
"I've made you want to lie about who you are?" she asked. She left her hand in his. She had decided that she liked it when he held her hand. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across the top of her hand, then in an act of sheer boldness, and he leaned down and kissed the top of it.
"No, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You've made me want to be truthful for the first time in my whole life. Hermione, sometimes people need deception to help them find the truth. You've helped me discover that I really want you. I want everything about you. I want to love you."
She looked at their clasped hands, and said, "How about you hand me a bowl so I can spit up the bile that's in my mouth, because I no longer believe a word you say to me." She stood up, pulled her hand from his, and started out of the dining room, just as the band started to play a song.
He stood up quickly, ran to her as she hit the middle of the room, and he pulled her into his arms, and answered, "How about we dance first?" He held her tightly, so that she couldn't leave. The music played all around them, but he wasn't aware of the outside noise. His heart was thrumming directly to his brain, and was close to bursting. He couldn't let her go. And apparently, for the moment, that was fine with her.
She placed her head on his chest, and she put her arms around his waist. He enclosed his arms around her body, and they barely moved. He kissed the top of her head. To everyone around them, or to anyone who might want to observe them, they would assume that they were two people in love, or perhaps, a young couple on their honeymoon. They could even pass for a couple of their anniversary, or better yet, a couple who had just started dating. In many ways, they were all of the above. For this moment in time, this song, this dance, at this resort, they were together, and if it could not, or would not, extend past this, then that was a shame. It really was.
A/N: There probably won't be another chapter before my surgery on Friday. I don't have any of the other ones edited, but hopefully I'll get them to you soon! Thanks for reading and reviewing, it has made me feel better, in a strange way. How about that?