Page 57 of The Dis-Graced

Stephanie:I can’t. The details are confidential, but it wouldn’t start for a couple of months, so it would give you time to finish whatever you have going on over there. I can tell you more in person.

The thought of another job is tempting, and she seems fairly confident that I can get it. Although Drake’s assignment will easily be the best in my career, it may not release for another year, maybe longer, and what will I do during that time?

Grace:I don’t know if I can swing it, but I’ll try. No promises, though.

Stephanie:Yay!!!

?

Drake

My phone vibrates, and I look down to see a message from Grace. It’s hard to put into words what her text does to me. I’m one part giddy excitement, another part dread, and wholly confused.

The one thing I know for sure is that I want her more than I’ve ever wanted any other woman before, and I’ll never have her.

Our interactions have been scarce, barely a word uttered between us. It’s probably for the best, but it feels terrible. Ever since that night in her room, a hollowness has been growing inside me, making me feel so empty that no amount of work fills the void. I tell myself that I’m doing right by her, giving her an assignment, allowing her to earn a position back in her field, but I’ve been careless with my intentions and my words, deepening the void between us.

I click into the text, deciding it’s best to get the interaction over with rather than dwell on it.

Grace:I know this is a lot to ask, and it goes against the rules, but a friend will be in town later this week, and I’d like to meet up with her. She has a potential job for me in the future, which you know is important to me.

Relief overwhelms me now that I know I’m not her only chance at work. I can’t guarantee that we will definitely go ahead with the docuseries on ALAN, especially since I have learned so much about him as of late. I just don’t know if the world is ready for him, or if it ever will be.

Then the sadness hits because I know at some point Grace will move on. It shouldn’t matter much to me. It’s not that we have a lot of interaction, but something about her ‘aroundness’ brings me a small measure of joy. That is, when it’s not torturing me.

Drake:They better make sure you’re home before bedtime.

Grace:Okay, real talk—that was creepy.

Oof!There are very few times in my life that I’ve regretted words as strongly as I do right now.

Drake:Yeah…didn’t mean to go into creeper territory.

Grace:I appreciate you working with me on this. I promise ALAN won’t come up.

Drake:I hope it works out for you. Good luck.

Chapter 17

Grace

“ALAN, how do I look?” I do a twirl in the hallway right outside my door.

Stephanie is known for her eccentric fashion sense, and me for my more demure, so I decided to meet her halfway in an outfit that is sure to draw heads without drawing too much criticism. The tops is pink silk, button-up, short-sleeved, with a plunging neckline. I coupled it with a black skirt that goes midway to my knee, flaring out in a sweet and flirty style.

“It looks like you are trying to attract a mate, but it seems to me that your friend Stephanie is a woman. Because it is obvious you are attracted to Drake, the logical conclusion is that you are also attracted to Stephanie, which makes you bisex—”

“Who the fuck programs that shitty logic into you? Whatever articles they’re choosing aren’t giving you the bigger picture of how women dress and why!”

“Recently, Drake has vastly increased the content being programmed into me. I get many academic journals as well as newspapers, magazines, and—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You read a lot.”

“There was another conclusion, but I think you’d find it offensive.”

I arc a brow. “Oh?”

“You are meeting with Stephanie for a potential job. It is possible that it is Stephanie that is the bisexual or lesbian, and you are merely trying to appeal to her—”