Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (5 page)

‘
Oh nothing
,
his name came up this morning in some research I was doing. It
’
s weird to see him on the same day. Anyway
,
work awaits.
’

The pair headed for their building and when they arrived made a beeline straight to their desks. Feeling restless
,
Grace ambled off to the kitchen for a drink. Already downing several coffees today
,
she opted for water so she would get some sleep tonight. Then she remembered the blind date.

What was I thinking?

When she returned to her desk
,
bottle of water in hand
,
Kate awaited her. As Grace sat down
,
Kate threw a proof of the evening edition
’
s front page on her keyboard.

‘
What
’
s this?
’
Grace asked.

‘
Front page again
,
Miss Smarty. Congratulations.
’

‘
Thanks. He mustn
’
t have had anything else to use and it
’
s the same as the online one I did earlier. I haven
’
t had time to write another one yet. It doesn
’
t say much without the verdict. The adjournment was unexpected so the public will be surprised when they expected a guilty verdict.
’

‘
It
’
s a great article and there
’
s some suspense there with the
voir dire.
It
’
s good writing
,
Gracie. Nick might even be impressed.
’

‘
H
e
’
s difficult to please. What are you doing proofing it?
’

‘
There
’
s a sub-editor off sick and it
’
s a slow travel day. I offered to help.
’

‘
Ever the willing servant
,
’
Grace winked at her friend.

‘
E
veryone
’
s talking about it and wants to know what happened. I better get to it.
’
Kate changed the subject.
‘
How do you find anything on your cluttered desk?
’

‘
Cluttered? I don
’
t know what you mean
,’
Grace said as she picked up pieces of paper looking for something.

‘
Congratulations
,
Grace
,’
Nick called from his office.

‘
Credit where credit
’
s due
,’
Kate cocked an eyebrow
,
again.
‘
Quick
,
write down the date and time so we can remember the Slave Master said something nice. What are you smiling at?
’

‘
Your cocked eyebrow. You and Celia are the only two women I know who can do that. I
’
m reigning in my jealousy.
’

‘
Yea
h
,
I
’
m sure that
’
s what the smile was about
,’
Kate said.

‘
I
’
m looking forward to my blind date tonight
,’
Grace said trying to mimic Kate by cocking an eyebrow
,
too
,
though she failed.

‘
Yeah
,
that
’
s unlikely but I am grateful.
‘
F
ess up. What
’
s going on?
’

‘
Grace
,
do you have a minute?
’
Nick yelled.

‘
Ah
,
duty calls. Meanwhile
,
proof the story
,’
Grace grinned. She finally found her notepad.
Into the lion
’
s den I go.

‘
Ah
,
Grace
,
I need you to go to de Silva
’
s first thing tomorrow morning.
’

Grace sat down opposite Nick and flipped open her notepad. He then ran through a list of details while she scrambled to scribe it all down.
‘
I want you to get some quotes from de Silva regarding his side of the story. He
’
s been crying innocent the whole time and it seems the public agree. Find out if he knows who might be involved and why. And I need to know what happened in the
voir dire.
Tell him we
’
ll run it up front if he tells you. If he doesn
’
t
,
get down to the courthouse and find out under what circumstances the trial was adjourned
,
especially as this was an open and shut case and they were about to throw the book at him.
’

Great
.
‘
I
’
ll do what I can.
’

‘
Thanks
,
Gracie. That
’
s all
,’
he dismissed her and looked back to his paperwork.

She knew he was in a good mood when he called her Gracie and she hated the familiarity he considered an entitlement.
‘
Don
’
t call me Gracie
,’
she reminded him.
‘
Anyway
,
de Silva now appears innocent. His reputation has shown he
’
s been an upstanding citizen. He certainly can
’
t be as hollow as those empty-headed models you parade around this office
,
subjecting us all to your philandering ways.
’

‘
Ouch
,
too harsh. I
’
m going to choose to ignore your sharp tongue.
’

‘
Why are you such a pig when it comes to
,
well
,
people in general
,
Nicky?
’

‘
You can
’
t let people take advantage.
’

‘
No-one would dare. Did something happen to you in your childhood?
’

‘
Drop the psychobabble
,
Grace.
’

‘
Hit a raw nerve?
’

Nick fired off a few more details for the story and closed the meeting for the second time. She was almost at his door when he said
,
‘
Don
’
t let me down.
’
She spun around
,
looked at him
,
opened her mouth
,
thought better of it and turned on her heel. She paused with her hand on the door handle.

‘
Grace? Something to add?
’

She thought of telling him about her dawn meeting. In several silent seconds her mind fought itself.
‘
Have you had your foils done recently?
’
she asked instead
,
her back to him.
‘
Gotta take care of your glorious mane.
’

She felt something fly past her ear and hit the door.

‘
Reminds me of the Carly Simon song
,
You
’
re so Vain.
’

‘
Out
,’
he screamed.

Graced hummed the song all the way back to her desk.

7

She pace
d
in her bedroom with palms sweating and beads of moisture clinging to her upper lip. Her mouth felt as dry as a desert on a hot summer day. These were some of the symptoms Grace experienced before any regular date
,
let alone a blind one. She looked at Kate and thought she should cancel
,
it wasn
’
t too late.
What would convince anyone in their right mind to go on a blind date? This man could be a released terrorist from Guantanamo Bay.

Grace was heading as fast as a bullet train into panic mode. So
,
he was an IT guru
,
smart and a tri-athlete in his spare time
,
therefore
,
super fit. He was tall and successful. Rich too
,
Kate had said. Grace remembered that part of the deal.

‘
He is you know
,’
Kate had said with a cheeky grin while looking through Grace
’
s wardrobe for a faultless outfit.
‘
How do you find anything in this mess?
’

Hang on
,
was Kate reading her mind?
‘
I don
’
t care. I hate to sound cliché here but anyone with bullet-proof credentials usually ends up being too good to be true. I
’
m sure he
’
ll spring a leak at some point during dinner.
’

‘
Clichés
,
clichés. You have bullet-proof credentials
,
Grace. Gorgeous
,
vivacious
,
super intelligent
,
humanitarian
,
gifted and a wonderful friend
,’
the emphasis increased on each word and then she cocked an eyebrow.

‘
You need to find a new
‘
thing
’
besides the eyebrow show. And don
’
t snow me. I
’
m neurotic
,
dysfunctional
,
a nervous wreck
,
messy
,
too
,
as you
’
ve mentioned many times
,
and wondering how my best friend managed to talk me into this travesty.
’

‘
H
e drives a Lexus and has a yacht. At least he can afford to take you out for a decent meal unlike loser David.
’

Kate was referring to Grace
’
s previous choice of a poor excuse for a date. He had taken her to Sizzler for a romantic dinner amongst forty-seven screaming rug rats in an atmosphere akin to the sound of a semi-trailer truck driving through the restaurant
’
s wall. Added to this were the one hundred and fifty senior citizens who had turned down their hearing aids and turned up the volume of their voices.

‘
What do you think?
’
he had asked her after his eighth visit to the salad bar.
‘
It
’
s all included
,
ya know.
’

Oh
,
I know
,
I know alright.
That had been their first and last date. She hadn
’
t dated since.
Am I cursed when it comes to men?

‘
Are you off with the fairies? Concentrate. This little red number is ideal
,’
Kate said.

‘
It
’
s early spring
,
as in
,
the end of winter. Besides
,
I don
’
t want to give the wrong impression here. I
’
m doing you a favour and that
’
s all. If I remember correctly you
’
re the one who made me buy this
‘
Here-I-come
,
I
’
m-more-than-available
’
handkerchief in the first place
,’
Grace reminded her best friend and then threw the dreaded item on the bed.

‘
Remember Michael at the Christmas Party? He nearly had to change his shirt from all the drool on it?
’
Kate laughed.

‘
Funny
,
you
’
re so funny.
’

While Grace had often been complimented on her figure
,
she was self-conscious about too much attention and didn
’
t want to look tarted up. She berated herself for letting Kate talk her into wearing the barely-cover-all-your-bits-dress to the Christmas Party. It wasn
’
t her style and it was probably why half the staff gawked at her during the night.

‘
This one is stunning
,
what do you think?
’
Kate held up a pale-blue
,
knee-length dress with long sleeves.

It was a little too figure-hugging for a complete stranger and it would enhance Grace
’
s bustier assets she was not too keen on showing to this unknown man. She said in a clear voice
,
‘
Next.
’
Then she scolded her friend.
‘
Because you have a figure like Kylie Minogue
,
you think we should all wear tiny clothes.
’

‘
Oh Gracie
,
I
’
d love to have your voluptuousness. Think yourself lucky you don
’
t have old fried eggs
,
like me
,
along with no hips. I look like a boy. At least you don
’
t get
,
‘
Still in training bras are we
,
Kate?
’
Now try these on.
’

Kate tossed Grace a pair of old designer jeans and a charming
,
black knitted top with three-quarter sleeves and some intricate beadwork on the front.

Grace looked at her friend and envied her petite figure and bubbly
,
energetic nature. Kate
’
s life was all about having fun. Grace could be so serious about her life. She decided to lighten up and enjoy the evening despite her reservations.

Grace wriggled into her favourite jeans and slipped on the top she
’
d bought on a whim for a work function last year. If memory served
,
she wanted to impress the vice-president of the organisation to receive a promotion to a position she had coveted for a long time – columnist. Then she could write about any topic that inspired her. She had worn it with her favourite black suit reserved for special occasions. It screamed sophistication with a hint of sexiness. It made heads turn. However
,
the job didn
’
t happen and she was crushed.

‘
What do you think?
’
Grace asked.

‘
Perfect. And not sending the wrong message either.
’

‘
Thanks for the reassurance. I mean it. And I
’
m only doing this for you and for Jules. No payback required.
’
I wouldn
’
t do it for anyone else
,
Katie.

‘
Awww
,’
Kate said and the girls had a quick hug.

Together they worked out the accessories
,
shoes and hair when Kate noticed the time.

‘
I
’
m going to have to get ready
,
too. Call a taxi or we
’
ll be late.
’

Boy
,
typical redhead
,
bossy.
She smiled. She loved it when Kate took over. It saved her having to do it for a change.

She zipped up her black
,
knee-high boots and pulled her jeans down over the top of them.

‘
It
’
ll be here pronto
,’
Grace called to Kate from the kitchen.

Kate went into the living room to see Grace pacing – again. Grace looked at her friend and said
,
‘
So
,
little miss together under any circumstance. This is the second time today I
’
ve seen you come undone. You okay?
’

‘
I
’
m nervous. If this turns out to be worse than attending an all-day cricket event then I
’
m going to do something you
’
ll regret.
’
Grace looked at her friend with the sudden realisation of
‘
What am I doing?
’
on her face.

‘
You hate cricket.
’

‘
That
’
s my point.
’

‘
Oh
,
don
’
t be a limp fish. We just had the hug moment and now you
’
re second guessing yourself. Have a good time for once. How often do you get to go to Aria
,
one of the most expensive restaurants in Sydney? He picked the place so he pays
,’
Kate said.

‘
Yeah
,
probably doing the typical American thing and showing off his cash.
’

‘
T
his is your time and it
’
s been a long time coming so get with it
,
breathe and enjoy.
’

She looked at Kate and they both burst out laughing.

‘
I
’
m trying
,’
Grace said and checked the time on her phone.

Kate picked up the phone and dialled
,
‘
Can you tell us how long the taxi will be? A-ha
,
I see.
’
Kate hung up.
‘
When it gets here
,
it
’
ll be here. Helpful
,
huh?
’

‘
I don
’
t want to be late.
’
 

‘
Oh
,
aren
’
t we a keener?
’

‘
Stop it. Anyway
,
if it gets here in the next fifteen minutes it
’
ll be fine.
’

Half an hour passed. Grace paced up and down in the living room with her lipstick drying out and wearing a track in the rug.

‘
What is wrong with you? Since when do you pace? Shadow
’
s gone to hide under the bed and his nickname is Mr Social. Relax
,
so you
’
ll be a bit late. We
’
re supposed to be
,
men expect it.
’

‘
I want to get there and then I
’
ll feel better.
’

Grace couldn
’
t tell Kate exactly how nervous dates made her feel. Yes
,
she was doing this for her and
,
in all honesty
,
an expensive meal at Aria would be a treat she could not afford on her wage. However
,
Kate wouldn
’
t understand the anguish she experienced on these nights. She had bitten her nails down to the raw flesh and she had to do her best repair job on them. Earlier
,
she soaked them in some hand cream and covered them with clear polish to reduce the red and sore look.