Grace was nervous as anything as she walked into the office the next morning and asked to discuss something with him.
"Yes, what is it, Grace?" He said distractedly, staring down at the latest Dow Jones figures.
"Sir, I was wondering if…if it would be possible, I mean, only if you think you could manage…I mean, if you would be gracious enough to…"
He raised his head and stared at her with narrowed eyes, impatiently waiting for her to continue. Grace nearly lost her nerve.
"Do you think I could finish work a little earlier, or well…on time", she gave a nervous little chuckle, "A night or two a week?"
His brow furrowed. "I don't believe I've ever asked you to extend past your contracted hours."
"W-well, no, not explicitly, but well…things just always seem to come up…practically always, that mean I end up working much later."
"Well, yes, I guess that's true. I do remunerate you fairly for that, do I not?"
"Oh yes, Sir. More than fair", Grace's eyes widened. She didn't want him thinking she was ungrateful for what he gave her and what he had done for her. She sighed lightly. This was even harder than she thought it might be. She supposed it might just be easier to give him an honest reason why she wanted the extra free time.
"Sir, I um…I want you to know that I'm very happy here and that I love my work a lot, but lately I've been thinking about my future and what I see in it and I think it holds more than just work."
He laughed in a self-deprecating way. "What else is there?"
Grace swore she could see a little glimpse of pain in his eyes as he said it, almost as if he too wished there was more to life.
She felt a tug of emotion at her heart, her eyes misting up slightly. "I'm getting older, Mr. Warbucks and I don't have a lot of time left if I ever want to have children…and I do."
"Ah", he said simply, leaning back in his chair. "Well...um, yes, of course, Miss Farrell. It would be wrong of me to deny you that, if it's what you so keenly desire."
She nodded her head gently. "I think it is. Perhaps more than anything else."
"And I presume you're seeking the nights off to…search for a beau?"
Grace giggled a little at his turn of phrase. "Yes."
Oliver nodded his head. For a few moments, he stared at his desk in silence, then looked up at her again. "Well then, you should most certainly take all the evenings off you wish. I don't think your love life should have to be held to a schedule. From now on, I will ensure that you finish your work and are free to go by six o'clock each night."
"Really, Sir?" Grace was astonished. She was hopeful that he might say he could spare her for one night out of the week, but every night…Grace could hardly believe his generosity.
"Of course, we will have to be extra proficient during the day, but if I know you, and I do, there's no cause to be concerned." He smiled kindly at her.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Warbucks, thank you!" She shook his hand quickly.
"Not at all. Now, I trust you're ready to get started? We have a lot to do if we're going to finish by six." His tone was light but serious at the same time.
"Absolutely, Sir. Ready when you are", Grace sat down with a wide smile on her face and picked up her notebook and pen, ready and willing for whatever the day would bring and excited for what could happen come evening time.
…
To Grace's dismay, the six o'clock radio broadcast brought news of a large economic downturn in stocks that Warbucks Industries were heavily invested in. Suddenly, Mr. Warbucks seemed to forget all prior promises he'd made that morning to let her leave promptly.
She could see how dire the situation was though and as disappointed as she was, she knew that anything affecting the company she worked for, affected her directly too, plus she really didn't feel right about leaving Mr. Warbucks in such a fraught state.
She stayed dutifully behind and took notes and made calculations for him until the evening was well and truly gone and night had fallen.
Oliver let out a long sigh, his face red from stress and shouting. Grace daintily and quietly stacked the mounds of papers she'd filled in the last few hours.
Suddenly Oliver looked at his watch. "Grace! I'm sorry. I know you wanted to go out this evening…"
She shrugged, giving him a small smile of understanding. "It's alright, Sir, nothing was set in stone. I'll try again tomorrow night."
"Thank you for all of your help this evening. It was incredibly stressful and I would have been at such a loss without you."
"You're welcome", she bowed her head graciously. "Why don't I go and see what Mrs. Pugh has left for dinner?"
"Oh, only if it's no trouble", he said almost sheepishly.
She shook her head. "No trouble at all. I'm quite peckish myself."
She went to the kitchen and Mrs. Pugh served up a bowl of lamb stew and a slice of cornbread for each of them. Grave thanked her with a growling stomach.
She took the meals to the dining room where Oliver was already keenly waiting.
His eyes lit up when he saw his dinner, his mouth salivating as he realized just how hungry he was.
They ate happily and as Oliver wiped the last remnants of gravy from his bowl with his bread, he said to Grace, "Well, that was a delicious meal but I'll bet you wish you were dining with a suitor this evening instead of me."
Grace let out a short sound of amusement, smiling soberly. "Oh, it's not so bad. The food was indeed lovely and the company, quite nice as well", she fluttered her eyelids at him sweetly, trying to help him feel less guilty about keeping her from going out.
He chuckled. "Not exactly fulfilling your purpose for this evening though, is it?"
"No, but there'll be other nights", she reasoned. "For tonight, this was just fine", she raised her glass of water to his and the two shared a fond smile.
As it happened, that night wasn't the only night that Oliver's promise to let Grace leave early fell through, however. In fact, it was more often than not that Grace had to stay behind late into the evening.
On the one opportunity that she actually did go out and manage to meet someone respectable and kind, she barely made it through a second date before yet again finding her evenings filled up for weeks on end with work related issues. By the time she did get another evening free, her potential suitor had lost interest.
Grace began to get quite angry and upset. It was one thing to not be able to go out, but she absolutely hated the fact that she'd met someone nice and had then come across as if she was merely stringing him along. It was not in her character at all and she was utterly distraught to know she had left him with such an impression of her.
"Well, he can't have been all that great if he wasn't willing to wait a couple of weeks for you", Oliver pointed out when Grace, quite justifiably brought it up with him.
Grace's jaw dropped at his gall. She was extremely dedicated to her work and indeed, to Mr. Warbucks, but her patience with him was starting to wear thin.
"Well, do you expect him to feel obligated to me after only allowing him two dates?!" She scoffed in response, then bit her tongue, realizing that even though she was frustrated with him, she really shouldn't be addressing her boss that way.
He looked at her remorsefully then. "I'm sorry Grace, I had no right to make such a comment. It was rude and unprofessional of me. I apologize."
She sighed deeply. "What do you think it's going to be like when I do get married and have children? I won't live here anymore and it just won't be reasonable to expect me to stay so late into the night."
She didn't want to speak out of turn but she also realized that some boundaries were probably needed to be set.
Hearing Grace talk about not living there anymore suddenly put things into perspective for Oliver. It finally dawned on him what that would actually mean for him, not to have his trusty secretary within arms reach at all times.
"Now, I don't want to have to make an ultimatum with you, Sir, but if it continues on like this then I'm afraid I may be left with no other choice but to leave altogether."
There was immense sadness in her voice as she said it. She loved her job there, she loved her life there, but there was a huge hole in her heart that had to be filled. She knew that not to do so would leave her never feeling truly complete.
Oliver meanwhile was suddenly thrown into a mad panic. She couldn't possibly be serious about quitting, could she?
He stared at her, dumbfounded, as she quietly and somberly left the room.
He knew he couldn't possibly do without her, and with a cold shiver he suddenly realized what it would actually be like if Grace did indeed get married and have a family.
She would no longer be at his disposal. No longer at his beck and call. Even if she did decide to stay on as his secretary, not having her living with him would put a significant and timely barrier on a company that was reliant on things running like clockwork. In fact, Oliver realized, having Grace living with him was essential for his business being as successful as it was.
He realized he couldn't possibly ask her to reconsider her decision to have a child. Even if he didn't understand her motivation to be a Mother, he knew it was wrong to deny her the chance and he also knew that even if he tried, it was likely to only make Grace want to leave him more.
He poured himself a large glass of brandy and flopped down in his office chair.
His first thought was that all those years ago he should have hired a man.
His second, overruling thought was that there was no man, no woman, no one who was as good as Grace was.
He knew that no matter what, he had to change his demand of her, to put his pledge of support for her to have a child, into action. He had to show her the same loyalty she had shown him time and time again over the past few years.
If he didn't, Oliver knew, he would risk losing her completely.