Broken ankle 3

He really wished she would call him by his name like she used to and look lovingly at him. He honestly wouldn't mind it if she doted on him, he'd do the same for her but he didn't want to scare her more than she already was. She was so timid in his presence, it irked him, it was like a huge barrier and he wanted to break it. He wanted to be able to touch her and finally kiss her after years of waiting, he wanted her to touch him too, he hadn't been touched intimately by any other woman.

"You don't have to be so tense around me, I don't bite."

She lifted her gaze to him in what he assumed was shock. Baby steps

"you can interact freely with me just like Dave, you're both my secretaries and need to be comfortable around me." Apparently, there was something that good for nothing Dave was good for

"okay sir."

He almost smiled as he noticed some of the tension slip from her. They got to the hospital without incident. Thankfully, it was just a small sprain and she would be fine in a couple of days, she had her foot bandaged and Will sent her back in a cab after giving her two days off work. He would have dropped her off if he didn't think it would draw too much unwanted attention. For now, he was pleased with his little victory.

***

Christie was a stream of excitement when Gracie narrated the whole event to her. She had been worried when she saw her bandaged leg but when Gracie told her tale, she even sat beside her with a pack of chips. It wasn't like there was much to tell

"He really said that to you?"

Gracie nodded, Christie was way too interested "I could've sworn the atmosphere in the car lifted just then."

She popped a chip in her mouth "he really does have such an intimidating aura." She nodded pausing long enough to finish her chip "maybe he has a soft side to him."

She shook her head "I honestly have never seen a smile grace his face."

"He did give you two days off."

Gracie shrugged. She was honestly surprised he chose to do that but maybe Dave was right after all and it wouldn't be fair to let peoples opinions cloud her judgement like that. She decided to be open minded and let go just like he advised "I guess I'll just have to find out."

"if you don't want to then I don't mind. You could quit and we could switch places. I don't think I'd mind looking at that all day no matter his temperament."

She turned to Christie and saw the dreamy smile on her face. She was a lost cause. She hit her "stop dreaming." That man was their professor and even if he wasn't, he was no ordinary man. Gracie thought back to the little boy she had met as a child, she wondered if she would ever get to meet him again. He was stoic but also sweet, she had a lot of fun memories with him but doubted she'd ever get to see him again or if he would even remember her, if he would remember their pact.