all characters belong to JKR
Chapter 16: Blame:
The song ended much too soon for both of them. Hermione looked up at Draco, but he was looking over her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder as well, and saw a frowning Adrian Pucey. She pushed away from Draco and said, "Oh, great."
"Stay here." Draco started toward the other man. Hermione felt confused. Did he literally mean to stay in the middle of the dining room? The song was over, a new one hadn't begun, and everyone was moving back to their tables. She took the initiative, and moved back over to her empty table.
She looked over as the blonde man (she would think of him as exhibit A), talked adamantly to the brunette man (from this time forward known as exhibit B). Exhibit A was swinging his arms around. Now he pointed toward the middle of the room. He frowned, saw that she was back at the table, and pointed there instead. Adrian, or rather, exhibit B, was shaking his head "no" rather emphatically. Now Mr. B was banging on the table. Mr. A laughed and banged on the table and then pointed his finger at B. B stood up, threw up his hands, and yelled, "It's your company, so do what you want!" Mr. B stormed over to Hermione table.
She reached in her pocket, to see if she had her wand. Mr. A, well, she would now go back to calling him Draco, walked up behind Adrian.
Adrian said, "Listen Hermione, Draco just reminded me, less than eloquently I might add that he owns Malfoy International, although I've been with him since the start. He also reminded me that he could fire me if he so desired. I reminded him that he had an example to set to his other employees, and he couldn't do things that he wouldn't let them do. That being said, you have this weekend. That's it. After that, come Tuesday morning, when you come back, other arrangements have to be made, or I'll quit myself. I won't wait to be fired."
Adrian looked back at Draco, who was directly behind him. He said, "I mean it Malfoy. Figure something out that will benefit everyone. If you want to be taken seriously in the business world, you have to start thinking about these things. To have respect, you have to behave respectably."
Hermione was about to protest, when Adrian turned to her and said, "No offense to you, of course, Hermione. I would love to see Draco with someone like you. It would not only help our business, but it would help his soul. You're smart, so perhaps you'll figure something out." He leaned toward her and held out his hand. She shook it. "You have this weekend, use your time well, one way or the other."
Draco sat back down and said, "Charming man, isn't he?"
Hermione answered, "He has a point, and it sounds like he has your best interests at heart, as well as, the interest of your company."
Draco took another drink of wine and said, "Adrian and I had a common interest, or common enemy. We both worked for my father, we were both under appreciated, and in my case, under worked. In Adrian's case under paid, so we started Malfoy International three years ago from the ground up, with nothing, and now it's a viable business. I owe him a lot."
"In other words, goodbye, right?" she asked. She frowned and took a drink of her wine.
"No, Miss 'thinks she knows everything'," he spat. "In other words, you had better think of a way we can keep seeing each other, because I don't want to stop seeing you. I want more than just a weekend together."
His humble, sincere words surprised her. The waiter brought their dinner and Hermione started trying to think of a solution to their problem, but she was coming up short. "I don't have a clue about how to handle this mess. You know, this is your entire fault to begin with, Malfoy." She placed her chin in her hand and took a bite of her chicken.
He laughed and said, "Laying blame, my Granger?"
"Yes, my Malfoy," she mocked. "We wouldn't have this problem if you had been truthful in the beginning. If you hadn't come here, told my date that I had cancelled, and then tried to pass yourself off as my date, we wouldn't be in this predicament."
He let out a little laugh and said, "Your date was going to cancel anyway when he found out who you were, and we would still be in a predicament, sweet one." He took a large bite of his sirloin and explained, "Let me tell you why. The moment I saw you on the elevator at my office, in that too tight skirt, those sexy, red pumps, that lovely shirt, which was a tad too snug, we were destined for trouble, probably even before I stepped on your foot. In all seriousness, I recognized you the moment I stepped on the elevator. I felt something different, something new, which was confirmed last week after the meeting, when I took your hand, and I didn't want to let it go. I decided right there that I wanted to be more than whatever the hell we were."
"So you agree it's your fault?" she asked, dabbing her mouth with her napkin.
"No, I'm saying it's your fault. I didn't dress you that day. I didn't make you all sexy and sweet and pretty. I didn't make you charming and engaging. I didn't make the new Hermione, or the old one. That was your fault, and perhaps your parents, if you think about it." He seemed pleased with his logic. He sat back, and threw his napkin on the table.
"But," she pointed out, "if you had been honest with me before I left for my trip, and told me that you found me alluring, and had been truthful about the employment contract prohibiting us from dating, we wouldn't have gotten this far." She leaned forward and said softly, "By the way, the word truthful means to tell the truth, in case you didn't know." She seemed equally pleased with her logic.
"On the other hand, Granger my love," he expounded, "if you had been truthful, and told me you were coming here for a blasted, blind date, instead of a wedding, I probably would have laughed in your face, and then begged you to go out on a date with me instead. I wouldn't have had to come here to discover your lie. Now, if you had used that massive brain for something other than ways to look sexy, and you had read the employment contract that you signed, I wouldn't have had to explain it to you. See, all…your…fault." He leaned forward, took her fork, which had a large bite of chicken on it, ate the food right off it, and handed it back to her.
"So, your reasoning is if I hadn't accept the blasted date, and I had read the stupid contract, I would have stayed clear of you?" she quizzed.
"Quite right."
"However, Draco my debonair boss, again, it all comes back to you." She pushed her plate away and continued. "If you hadn't pursued everything in a skirt up to this point, then Adrian would never have had to come up with such an outlandish contract, and you would be free to pursue me. Your fault." She pointed right at him.
He grabbed her finger, pulled her toward him so that she had to rise from her seat, and he kissed her hand. He let go and asked, "My fault?"
"Basically."
Another song started. He drank the rest of his wine, stood up, and pulled her from her seat with one hand. He led her to the dance floor and said, "Let's have a synopsis of the facts as we know them so far." His hand went to the small of her back, his other hand held her hand to his chest. He looked down at her sweet face and said, "You blame me because I'm a randy little bugger, who finds you incredibly alluring. I manipulated a few things so that I could date you, I told a few lies a couple of times to save you from a disastrous date, and I lied a bit more to show you a good time. Good heavens, Granger, I am a smarmy bastard, aren't I?"
She put her hand on his face, ignored his self-accusation, and said, "Alternatively, none of this really would have happened if I hadn't liked you so much, so it's my fault, too. It's still mostly your fault, though."
He laughed and said, "Alternatively, in addition to, on the other hand, and however, if you hadn't decided to have a mid-life crisis at the age of thirty, and if you weren't so damned beautiful," he stopped for a moment and grasped her face in his hands. "And I didn't want you so much," he kissed one cheek, "and I wasn't falling completely head over heels for you," he kissed the other cheek, "I wouldn't have to probably fire you on Tuesday morning." He kissed her mouth softly. He raised his head to look in her eyes again. "You're right; it's mostly your fault."
She looked confused for a moment and said, "I didn't say it was mostly my fault, and wait…you're going to fire me?" She pulled away from him.
He reached for her hand right in the middle of the dance floor and pulled her back into his embrace. She looked flustered and said, "Nevertheless, mid-life crisis at thirty aside, if you hadn't hired a complete air-head before me, who wrote a stupid employment ad that had a stupid line about innovation being your middle name, and if you hadn't fire her before hiring me, you wouldn't be entertaining thoughts about firing me. I don't want to be fired, Draco! I still wouldn't be able to get another job for a year, and no matter how big of a severance package you gave me, I can't afford to be without employment for a year. Also, believe me, if you fire me, I wouldn't be inclined to date you!" Playtime was over, and she was becoming upset. She pulled away from his hand again, and walked outside. He followed.
She leaned over the balustrade and looked out at the lagoon. He skimmed his hand down her back. He wanted her so much. He placed his hand at her side and leaned forward, trapping her between himself and the railing. His voice was low and husky, as he whispered, "May I raise one more argument to our little debate, which might sway you to see the error of your ways, so that you might agree that the blame lies with you?"
She turned. His body pressed against hers as he put his right hand in her hair, at the back of her neck. His left hand skimmed down her face, knuckle side, then her neck, the side of her breast, and finally to her hand. She found speaking difficult, but finally said, "You have five minutes for a final rebuttal. Go."
"Gads, Granger," he started, "If you weren't everything that I ever wanted, and ever needed, I wouldn't be suffering so. If you weren't so beautiful - mind, body and soul, and if you didn't make me believe that there was a different world for me, then I wouldn't have to fire you, but if I can't date you as your boss, then I have no recourse." He leaned forward again, and he pressed his lips to hers. He played with her lips for a moment, as both her hands went to the front of his jacket. She held on for dear life.
He moved his mouth like an expert across her lips, her jaw, and chin, and down to the sensitive spot on her neck. He looked back into her eyes after a moment and said, "I love your sense of humour, your zest for life, your funny expressions, your intelligence, and everything about you." It was as close to an "I love you," as Draco Malfoy had ever uttered.
"You love my intelligence?" she asked softly.
He laughed a small laugh and said, "Is that all you heard?"
She put her head on his chest, grasped her hands together behind his back and held him tightly. Without looking at him she said, "The blame lies with us both. It's both of our faults, there's no solution, and I don't want to be fired. We'll have this weekend, and then that's it. It has to be, unless you can think of something else."
He smiled and put a hand under her chin. "I have one solution. We've already been playing at it all weekend. What's another few months, or twelve months, even?"
She frowned, held his gaze, and said, "What are you suggesting?"
"It's so simple, I can't believe I didn't think of it before," he said, honestly feeling anxious and excited at the same time. He pulled her away from the open doorway, toward the overlook at the end of the veranda. He held her hands, and in the light of the moon, he said, "Granger, why don't we get married? If we're married, we can date all we want."
She stared at him in shock.
A/N: Thanks to my new beta for this story: DHLane. Thanks to my other two betas, too, 'justlooney' and 'oliverwoods girl', who's helped me with my other stories. Thanks to mlui for suggesting the marriage part. I originally had Draco suggest something else, but I liked her suggestion that he suggest a fake marriage better. I don't know yet whether Hermione will agree.
My surgery went okay. I have a four inch incision across my neck, I feel tired and yucky, and I won't have the pathology back for a few days. They removed the tumor and one lymph node. Thank you so much for all of your powerful thoughts, prayers, and good wishes. Thanks!