What A Lie Looks Like | ✓

2.16: hayes

"So fighting is what led to that?" Grayson asks incredulously as I grab another glass out of the room I'd designated to be my study. I didn't plan on Sephine hearing what we were talking about, and knowing her, she'd stick around or she'd run the other way.

"I don't know, it all happened so fast. One minute we're arguing about her being afraid for the reason why she left before I asked her to be honest with herself. The next, she was kissing me." The ice cubes clink in my glass as I try to process tonight.

Gray's jaw is on the ground, "God, I need to fight with my exes more if I end up in the same position you were in when I walked in."

There was a trusting look in her eye when I took her shirt off, and when I started to remove the only layers left before Grayson walked in. "I thought the key I gave you was for emergencies."

He puts his hands up in surrender, "Excuse me, but this is a seven hundred dollar bottle of rum that I didn't have to pay for. I'll be stingy next time and not bother offering to share it with you."

"You could have at least knocked before barging in," I protest, regretting giving him the key more than ever now.

Gray takes a drink of the rum and pauses to savor the taste. "And you could have put a sock on the door! I mean, how was I supposed to know that you and Sephine would be getting it on in the living room?"

"There are so many things wrong with the sentence you just said: first of all, I'm not putting a sock on my front door for my neighbors to see especially when I'm in the comfort of my home where I can do whatever I please. And second of all, no one says that anymore. Third of all, we weren't having sex." I finish the last of my glass moving to grab the bottle to refill my cup when Grayson jerks it out of reach.

"So you both say, but the two of you looked pretty damn close to having sex from the angle I can't unsee." He taunts, holding the bottle out of reach, and I roll my eyes leaning back in the chair.

"So, you brought expensive alcohol just to take it away from me after I had one glass?"

He grins widely, "I want to hear you admit that I was right. You do have feelings for Sephine, and then I'll give the alcohol back."

"Fine, I have feelings for Sephine."

It's not exactly hard to admit because I made up my mind a few days ago, but Sephine's a loose cannon. I have no intention of setting her off by telling her this. If she wants a relationship, then she can decide for herself. It doesn't hurt to give her the option though.

"And?" Grayson presses as I sigh defeatedly.

"You were right."

He hands the bottle back, "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

I give him a flat look, "Excruciating."

"You two are so oblivious to how the other feels that you two making out was the furthest thing in the back of my mind that I expected to see. But I also don't blame you because Sephine looked damn good tonight."

"Yeah, she did."

He takes another swig of his glass, "She told you about how Sascha lost his shit during the meeting the other day, right?"

My curiosity is caught, "She briefly mentioned it at dinner but never went in-depth."

"The guy is batshit crazy." Grayson doesn't bother trying to filter himself, considering this is usually the way he gets after only two drinks, thanks to his low tolerance. "It would not have surprised me if he flipped the table over when she told the director what happened in Toronto. She has a case for a lawsuit, but she made it pretty clear that she didn't want to go that direction."

"You don't think he'll act on his anger, right?"

Confusion warps his features, "She didn't mention any of this?"

Why the hell hasn't Sephine said anything? "I haven't seen her much the past few days."

Grayson chuckles to himself, "Well, I think you've seen her, but the guy gave me some bad vibes. He was fired right in front of us, and I'm not saying he didn't deserve to be fired. Sascha did the wrong thing putting Sephine in unnecessary danger, but there was just something off about him."

I ignore his slight dig at I'm still stuck on the fact that Grayson is this bothered by him. "The guy was a major control freak from what I'd gathered, but we've seen people lose their shit in meetings before. It doesn't mean there's something off with him." I try to reason, but Gray shakes his head.

"I don't know Hayes; I would talk to Sephine and see how she feels about it. She'll probably take your advice over mine just since it's coming from you."

I roll my eyes as the ice clinks in my glass, "That's false. She'll probably be even more stubborn about it, but thank you for going to the meeting. I appreciated it. I just wanted to make sure they wouldn't force her into a payoff."

"I didn't think I had a choice, but I would have gone regardless. Sephine's a decent person, and I think you two are good for each other. I guess my question now is, what the hell are you going to do about the fake engagement. It was pretty obvious that something was going on between you two even before tonight."

In my pocket sits the ring that was a collar weeks ago but now might be the key to my happiness. "Gray, I have no idea. I hadn't planned for any of this to happen." I take a sip of the rum as I think.

I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do, but I want to keep it to myself for now. "Isn't the announcement coming out in the morning?" I nod, making the decision not to pour more rum since I'd rather not be hungover, and Grayson rubs his temples, "Shit, what time is it?"

I glance down at my phone screen, "It's almost midnight, I don't mean to kick you out, but I need to get some sleep," and Grayson laughs lightly.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what you'll be getting." He teases, putting the lid back on the bottle as I head for the door of the study.

I don't even bother giving him a response because he's just going to keep making digs at me if I try to defend myself, but I can't even defend myself because he caught us red-handed.

"Since you have a key, don't forget to lock the door." I scoff, walking into the kitchen to put the dirty glasses in the sink.

"I wouldn't dare forget, but I advise you don't forget to put a sock on the door next time." He replies, the door shutting behind him as I take a deep breath to sort through my thoughts that are muddled with the presence of rum, but they've never made more sense to me.

I pull the ring out of my pocket, and I look at it, thinking how ironic it is that I ended up giving it to Sephine for a fake engagement when I kind of always pictured that she would get it anyways.

Sometimes it's funny how some things turn out the way you always expected it would, and other things occur that you never imagined would happen.