All characters belong to guess who: JKR!

Chapter 32: Outcome:

Hermione was so deep in thought that she didn't notice when she ran right into someone. She looked up as the man put his arms on her shoulders.

"Miss Granger?" Adrian said. "Are you alright?"

To the surprise of them both, she threw her things on the floor of the wrap-around porch, and then flung her arms around his neck. Then, horror of horrors, she started to cry. "Oh, Adrian, I don't know what to do!"

No, Adrian Pucey didn't know what to do. Hermione Granger was holding onto his neck for dear life, gentle sobs coming from her lips, and he was torn. Hermione Granger was undisputedly one of the strongest, most self-reliant, intelligent women he had ever met, yet here she was, crying on his shoulder. And he knew the reason she was crying was that someone lied to her. However, whoever that someone was, was still up for dispute.

And whether all of this was Draco's fault, Hermione's fault, or his own, he knew what the outcome had to be. It was time for the truth. Adrian had never considered himself anyone's social conscious, however for once he wanted to do the right thing.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Draco's lied!" she cried.

"Yes, I know. I know all about it. I know about the lies he had the owners of the resort tell you, I know how he offered you the whole place, and I even know a few other facts. Come inside, we have to talk." He bent down to pick up her things, and then he ushered her into the resort.

She took his hand and then they walked into the resort. They sat down in a corner of the large lobby, and Hermione told him everything. EVERYTHING. She told him about lying to Draco about coming here for a wedding. She told him about her blind date. She told him how Draco made the man leave, proceeded to pretend to be her date, then about the wonderful night they had. She told him how they flew on a broom, walked the boardwalk, and met the Johnsons. She told him about the next morning, and breakfast, and pretending to be married. She told him about the sandcastle, the spa, the stolen car, the notes, his marriage plans, and the cathedral.

She told him that she had possibly the best birthday of her life. Heaven help her, she even told the man how she and Malfoy made love. (Actually, she didn't tell him the mechanics, just the fact that they made love, not how.)

When all was said and done, she even revealed how she had read the last note. She knew Draco had bought her the resort, though she didn't know how she could possibly really accept it, and oh yes, for some insane reason he had the Johnsons lie about how they met and married, information which Adrian already claimed to have known.

Leaving out nothing, she came to one conclusion: she should never have signed that employment contract without reading it. She concluded that every problem they had faced this weekend was because of that wretched contract, and the fact that she was too excited on her first day to read it.

Adrian looked almost in pain when she was done speaking. It wasn't because she had confided in him, although he wasn't used to such things, it was because he himself had a confession to make. "Hermione, please, don't beat yourself up about that contract."

"But if I had read it, I might not have even signed it and I might have encouraged Malfoy from the start, because I felt an instant attraction to him. On the other hand, if I had read it, I might have discouraged Malfoy from the start. Even after I found out about it, I ignored it. I lived in the moment for a change, not worrying about the outcome, and now that the moment has past, the outcome is horrible! I love him, Adrian. I do. And I'm lost at what to do. I don't even care that much that he had the Johnsons lie to me. It's sort of sweet in a sick, sycophant, perverted, Malfoy-sort of way."

"The thing that I'm most upset about is that I let it all occur, when I knew better. I'm upset that I lied to him about that last note, and he knows it, and apparently he doesn't even care! He still wants to marry me! He bought me a resort! A RESORT! Who buys someone a resort?"

"Malfoy," he answered. Adrian didn't mean to say it aloud, but he did. Malfoy was the type to buy someone a resort. Adrian said, "Hermione, again, I have to ask you not to worry about this. I came here because Malfoy admitted to me that there was one outstanding little lie that might affect your relationship with him, and I thought the lie had something to do with me and the contract, but now I don't think he even knows about my lie. I guess the lie he was referring to was the thing about the Johnsons."

Hermione looked confused and said, "What was your lie?"

"It doesn't matter. Malfoy must not know about it, and I don't know why I was worried that he did. There was no way for him to know about it, but I thought that was his lie, and I'm sorry."

"What are you trying to say?" she asked.

"Hermione, I have a confession about the employment contract," Adrian said.

The day Malfoy hired Hermione, after they left the lifts:

Adrian and Draco walked off the lifts and headed toward the conference room. Draco glanced behind his shoulder once, then twice.

Adrian gave him a funny look and then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Hermione Granger looked good, didn't she?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Adrian answered back, almost with a sigh. He didn't like the way Malfoy said that statement.

"She's prettier than I remember. She's grown into a beautiful woman," Draco said, almost to himself.

Adrian looked to the side and watched Malfoy's face. He seemed introspective and in deep thought. The look on his face wasn't the usual look he had when he talked about women, and Adrian wondered why.

"Did you see how nice she looked?" Draco asked when they walked into the conference room to wait for the staff meeting.

"Yes, Malfoy, I have eyes. She's a beautiful woman, she looked nice, she's grown into her looks, and her legs were really nice, and her red shoes were sexy." Adrian sat at the opposite end of the long table.

"What are you doing looking at her legs?" Draco asked with one eyebrow in the air. "You're engaged."

"I still have eyes," he said, although he didn't know what else to say, but if he didn't know Malfoy any better, he would say that he was smitten with Hermione Granger, of all people. Adrian was tired of Malfoy and his woman problems. He was constantly breaking hearts, making empty promises, having meaningless flings. He said, "You just hired the woman, you know. You shouldn't be thinking about her the way you are."

Draco leered back at him and asked, "And how is that?"

Adrian almost answered, but the conference door opened and more people started inside, so he never got the opportunity to respond.

That evening, as Adrian was leaving work, he walked into Draco's office to place some papers that needed signed on his desk. He started to walk in unnoticed, as Malfoy was looking at an old, yellowed news clipping. Adrian knocked on the doorframe and said, "Malfoy, here are the papers you need to sign before tomorrow."

"Oh, yes, bring them in," Draco said, sounding distracted. "Are you heading home?"

"Yes, Penelope is cooking tonight, heaven help us," Adrian said with a laugh.

"That's nice," Draco remarked, putting the news clipping in his top desk drawer.

"You wouldn't say that if you'd tasted her cooking before," Adrian retorted.

"I have, and you're right," Draco said with a smile. "I meant that it's nice to have someone to go home to, huh?"

"Sure," Adrian said simply.

Draco stood up and said, "I'll be right back. I have to see if my assistant left yet. I need her Floo Serpent's Cove to make sure my penthouse suite is booked for this weekend. I'm going there to check on making it a possible investment. I'll be right back."

Adrian merely nodded. Once Draco was out of the office, Adrian rushed to Draco's desk and pulled open the top drawer. Inside the drawer was a faded, old, news article, ripped out of an old copy of the Prophet, and above the article was a picture of Hermione Granger.

Adrian picked it up, scanned the article, and then placed it back in the drawer. He hardly knew what to think. Did Malfoy have previous feelings for Granger? God help them all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione's third day of work, before the staff meeting:

Adrian took his usual place at one end of the large conference room just as Draco was sitting down at the other end. Draco said, "We have nothing but morons working for us, present company included."

"The phrase is 'present company excluded,' Malfoy," Adrian said with a laugh.

"I know what I said," Draco said lightly with a smile.

"Does that include Granger?" Adrian asked. "She's never been described as a moron before, I'm sure."

"She's not present, but time will tell," Draco replied. "Actually, she's, oh never mind."

"What?" Adrian asked.

Draco looked at the door, which was closed. Adrian and he always arrived before the rest of the department heads. He said, "She's different, isn't she?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation the other day? Yes she's changed, yes she's beautiful, yes she has nice legs," Adrian conversed.

"Stop talking about her legs," Draco said, actually fuming. "No, what I was going to say was that she's a challenge. A challenge I would like to, well, you know."

"Sleep with her?" Adrian said dryly.

"NO!" Draco retorted, and then softer, with a bit of a smile he said, "Well, yes, but what I meant was, she's someone I could," and then he stopped. "Never mind. You'll make me angry in a minute if I continue."

"I'll make you angry?" Adrian came back. "Do you have a thing for her?"

Draco glared at his friend and then with all the intellect and articulation he could muster said, "Shut up."

Adrian laughed. Draco must have a thing for her, and if his feelings were genuine, and unique, and he wanted to pursue her as more than a sleep partner, Adrian would be pleased. He thought if Draco could settle down, he would be more inclined to do well in business. However, he wasn't sure of Draco's feelings, not really, and he didn't want to lose a good employee if Draco just wanted a good shag.

"Draco, I won't let what you say go beyond this room, but do you like her?"

Draco was quiet for a long time before he said, "What the hell difference does it make. You ruined everything anyway. You and that stupid employment contract."

"Yes," Adrian said softly, "the contract."

"Of course, there's ways around everything," Draco said with a stupid smirk plastered on his face. "It might be fun to find a loop-hole in your ever-loving contract, Pucey." Draco opened a folder and began to read as other members of their team began to walk in the room.

Two different people pulled out the chair next to Malfoy, and twice he begged them off; once by saying directly to the man, "Sit somewhere else," and once by actually growling. Adrian knew that Draco was saving that seat for Hermione. His suspicions were confirmed when Granger arrived late to the conference room with her assistant department head, and her administrative assistant. Hermione went directly to the empty seat by Adrian, and sat down.

Draco popped his head up and snapped at her to sit next to him. She looked shocked at first, and Adrian was certain that she wasn't going to get up and change seats, but at the last moment, Malfoy told her to sit next to him, and she did.

Then Adrian knew. Granger reciprocated whatever Draco felt. He took a deep breath, looked down at the table, already dreading the outcome of both of their actions.

During the meeting, Hermione kept her nose to her notes. She barely looked up, but the two or three times that she did glance up, she didn't look toward whoever was speaking. She looked at Malfoy. Likewise, Draco would bark something at someone, either to call them names, or make fun of their ideas, but almost every time he made a comment, he would look over at Granger to gauge her reaction.

Adrian knew these two fools were meant for each other. At the end of the meeting, Draco demanded that she stay. Adrian almost stayed as well, but he knew he wouldn't be welcomed, so he left the conference room. About ten minutes after everyone left, Adrian poked his head back in the door, and there they sat, side by side, Malfoy reading her notes, and clutching her hand, and a blush on Granger's cheeks.

Later, Adrian went to find Hermione. He needed to talk to her, to find out if she had feelings for Draco. He just had to, because if she didn't, he wanted to get her to sign the employment contract, because even though he had told Malfoy that he had already had her sign it, he hadn't. He wasn't sure why, but something in his gut told him to hold off having her sign it. Now he was glad that he had.

He was almost to her office when he saw Malfoy closing and locking his office door. "Looking for Granger?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes," Adrian replied. "Do you know if she's left?"

"Yes she did. Get this, Adrian. She's going to a wedding this weekend," Draco said smiling.

Adrian didn't seem to think that was very interesting news, and Draco was about to reveal WHERE she was going, (because it was the same place that Draco was going) when Draco stopped. He couldn't tell Adrian that he was going to the same resort as Hermione, because he knew that Adrian would never approve. He would remind Draco of that effing contract, and tell him to stave off Granger. Finally, Draco said, "Isn't that nice. A wedding."

"Sure," Adrian said, sounding bored. "Well, I need to get home," he added.

Draco and Adrian both walked toward the lifts, when Draco turned to him and said, "One last time, you did have her sign the employment contract, which states we can't date, right?"

Adrian put the contract behind his back and said, "I told you I did, but please, just answer my question, which I will ask one last time. Do you like her? Are you interested in her as something more than a quick shag, or a challenge, or a game? I mean, this isn't just to prove that you can supersede the contract, right? Please, it's important that you tell me the truth for once, Malfoy."

"Hmmm," Draco hummed. "Don't worry about it. I have no feelings at all for the woman, and no intention of acting on any impulses, so don't fret your ugly, little head about it." He leaned against the wall of the lifts. Adrian could tell that he was contemplating something, and knowing Draco, it was something to do with the contract. He also knew Draco Malfoy was lying. He knew one more thing. If lying was more important than the truth to Malfoy, then he didn't need someone like Hermione Granger.

Because of that last thought, Adrian, who almost blurted out that he hadn't had her sign it, changed his mind at the last moment. He would wait. When Granger came back from her weekend wedding, he would find out if she was as interested in Draco as Draco was in her, and if he was convinced that this was something more than the norm for Malfoy, he would tear up this contract and never have her sign it.

Nevertheless, he had to be sure. He had worked too hard to make this company a success to let Draco ruin it. Also, if Malfoy was too much of an arse to admit his feelings, and he would rather lie to Adrian than tell the truth for once, Adrian felt he deserved everything BUT Hermione Granger. For that reason, he kept the fact that she hadn't yet signed it a secret.

The Present:

He kept the fact that Hermione hadn't even signed the employment contract a secret until that moment, sitting in the lobby of Serpent's Cove. He told her everything Draco had said that first day when he hired her, and that day before the staff meeting, and the night out in the hallway.

"You see, Hermione, at that point, I knew he was interested in you, but to what degree, I didn't yet know, and I had no clue what you felt for him in return. He said you were a challenge, don't you see? I thought that was all there was to it. I thought he viewed it as a game." Adrian suddenly stood and started to pace. "I've heard him say the same thing about other women a hundred times. He said he wasn't interested in you. I asked him directly if he liked you, and he said he didn't. Even though I recognized it as a lie at the time, he lies so often, and so well, that I didn't want to risk it!"

Hermione almost interjected with a question, but Adrian continued, "So I thought it was just a game to him. I thought he wanted to try to get you, only because you DID sign the contract, and because he wanted to best me in a way. I thought he wanted to prove that he was smarter than any stupid contract."

"If he had just been honest with me, and told me that he liked you, then things might have been different, but he lied. I say, it came as a surprise to me when I arrived with my fiancée to his yacht on Saturday, and found you there with him. So yes, after you left the yacht, I suggested to him that if he wanted to get around the contract, he should marry you or something, but I never thought in a million years that he would actually plan to do just that! I never imagined in a billion years that he would buy you this resort, just so he could date you! I never thought in a trillion years that his feelings were true."

"Stop with all the hyperbole and just tell me what you're trying to say!" Hermione said to his ramblings and exaggerations.

"I didn't have you sign the contract. That's why you don't remember signing it. I lied. There, I said it. I'm a deft liar, just like you and Malfoy!" he confessed.

"Why did you lead him on to believe that I did? Why didn't you tell us? I've been in such anguish and agony. I thought I had to pick one over the other, him or my job, because frankly, I never would have married him that quickly, I really cannot accept the resort, and all along, I wouldn't have had to do either. I could have dated him and kept my job!" she said, upset. She stood as well.

He said, "If you had signed it, and he hadn't planned a marriage, or did something outrageous like buy you a whole resort, what would you have picked, if it came down to the wire. If it was between your new job, and a man you apparently have fallen in love with over the course of a weekend, which would you have chosen. I really want to know. No, I need to know."

She didn't want to answer rashly, so she sat back down, placed her hands in her lap and thought for a moment. "My life was so empty for so long. I'm tired of being alone and lonely. I'm tired of searching for things that will make me happy, instead of them finding me. I'm tired of trying to create my own happiness, and failing miserably. Oh, Adrian, you really should have told him, but I am sincere when I say that I would have chosen him."

Adrian almost looked in pain. He sat beside her and said, "Heaven help me, but Malfoy will never forgive me, you know. I caused him extra anguish and pain, and while I usually enjoy causing him discomfort, this time it was at your expense, so I feel a tad bit bad about it."

Hermione almost wanted to laugh.

"You know," she finally said. "None of this would have happened if you both hadn't lied. Why do you former Slytherins lie so often, and well?"

"I don't know, it's a mental handicap," he said, only partially joking. "But, Malfoy's lies supplant mine, don't you think? And maybe he needed my lie, to see what his true feelings were for you. Sometimes people need a lie, to know what's true."

"Oh, do try to stop sounding so noble. You lied, Adrian, plain and simple, and you're not getting off that easily, buddy," Hermione said. "I think you've learned your lesson the hard way, although, he should be taught a lesson, too. If he had told you his feelings for me, you would have told him that I hadn't signed the contract, and perhaps then he wouldn't have told so many lies to me this weekend."

"See, you agree, its Malfoy's fault," Adrian said with a nod.

"You're right, one less lie on Malfoy's part, and you would have undoubtedly told him that I never signed that contract before he left for the resort, and things would have played out much different, with a lot less drama and grief. Yes, I think a dose of his own medicine is in order."

"What do you have in mind?" Adrian asked, with a smile. He knew he had a few good suggestions up his sleeve.

Hermione had something good in mind, as well. Something that would teach Draco Malfoy a lesson in which he would never forget. She would cure him of his lying, for the last time.

A/N: The next chapter is done! After it there's only three more chapters and then it's bye, bye, Proxy!

I have a poll on my author's page to help me decide whether my next story will be a regency period piece, like my story "Arrogance and Ignorance" or the third "An Unlikely Pair" story, but so far, the voting is almost neck and neck. Each time I look at it, it one way or the other, separated only by a point or two. So, I was going to let the one-thousandth reviewer of this story decide for me, but that was an anonymous reviewer (I just opened my stories back up to anonymous reviews, but I swear by all that's holy if I get slammed with hateful things again, I'll stop writing on here altogether, seriously.) but the point is, I can't PM an anonymous person to ask them to pick.

Therefore, I've come up with another number. I totally random number and the person who leaves this review will get to pick, because if I had a preference, it would be the regency era story, which I have two chapters already written, but the third Unlikely Pair will be easier to write. Who knows, I might start one, and then start the other. I've been known to have two or three stories going at once, but still, one has to be first. So, good luck out there to all of you, and I hope you pick wisely, and don't let my drithers influence you. Thanks!