[[ON HOLD UNTIL AFTER ONC]]Grace finally has it all together. Her smoothie bar is running and generating profit, she's got a second store in the works, and no one is around to break her heart. Not this time.
When her coworkers decide she needs a vac...
The girls had been there for hours snapping selfies. Grace was sure they had gone into the bathroom to change into new shirts twice now. The drinks they were holding weren't even from By the Grace of Mangoes. The one small drink they'd bought was sitting on the table behind them in a puddle of condensation. It was still full.
Right on time, Reid sauntered in. He gave the girls a disapproving look and grabbed the smoothie waiting for him on the counter. "Again huh? You should start charging people to rent time in front of your wall."
Grace took her green smoothie and moved from behind the counter to join him at a table. "And lose what little foot traffic I have? No thanks."
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Reid Bennet, the perfect boy next door. Not next door to Grace though. They'd never been neighbors unless you counted him going to the dance studio next door to her business. He was unendingly kind and devastatingly handsome. A deadly combination.
Now, he was covered in questionably colored gunk from the knees down while Grace wiped a trembling hand along the back of her mouth. The camera flashes were going off in rapid-fire behind her. Reid was shouting at him to go and hotel security was also running down the hall towards them.
One of the security guards grabbed onto Grace's arm first and started escorting her towards the elevator. She mumbled something in protest but between the shock and queasy stomach she wasn't up to much of a fuss. It wasn't until she was outside in the sun again that she realized what had happened. The paparazzo was grinning ear to ear as he flipped through the photos.
"Damn girl, I don't know what you ate but that was a masterpiece," he crowed.
"Delete those," Grace demanded. She was finding her voice again now. A voice that wasn't leaving any room for argument.
The guy waved her off and walked off. Grace's voice might have been growing in confidence but her knees were still wobbly as a baby deer's. Chasing someone down wasn't in her plans by any means. She wanted a bath and maybe an entire sleeve of thin mints. One of those was easier than the other. With the way security was watching her she was starting to think it wouldn't be the cookies.
"Ma'am, if you continue this we will have to involve the authorities," the man who had grabbed her had his hand up to stop her.
Grace sighed with her hands dangling at her sides where they wouldn't get her clothes any dirtier. "Look, I promise I didn't have anything to do with that guy. I just came here for a vacation with zero plans to harass anyone. I would like to go back up to my room and get the puke off myself." Her words were met with eye rolls. People couldn't possibly be that desperate to get photos of Reid that it was going to ruin her trip.
Luckily, Alan came to her rescue. The concierge moved mister eye roll aside with a little shove. "Would you lunkheads stop bothering the guests before you have a lawsuit on your hands?" He put himself between the guard and Grace as she passed through the doors. They did not follow them back in and Alan escorted her to the elevator himself. "Can I send up something to your room to help you enjoy the evening a bit more?"
