Shit. Shit. Shit.

I jump up out of bed when I see the time on my phone. How in the hell did I oversleep this late? I wasn't even up that late last night, how did this happen? There's no way I slept through all of my alarms.

As I scroll through my alarms, I realize that I set my alarms for 7PM instead of 7AM. Great. Just great. I run into my closet and grab the first pair of black leggings that I find. These will absolutely have to do for now. I must look absolutely awful, I'm sure. I run into the bathroom to brush my teeth and somehow manage to throw my hair into one of the messiest buns on this planet.

Before I leave my apartment, I grab Grayson's sweatpants off of the back of my couch and rush out of the door. I'm nearly two hours late for work.

10:45.

Grayson is going to kill me.

Okay, he probably won't kill me, but I'm sure he's going to be absolutely pissed. Hell, I would be pissed too if I saw my intern was nearly two hours late for work and didn't even try calling to explain why. Thankfully, GRIP is only about a ten minute drive from my apartment. I'll be there in about five minutes if I keep this speed and don't hit any traffic.

As I approach the building, I realize that I didn't even wash Grayson's clothes. To make it even worse, I didn't even realize that I still had his sweatshirt on before leaving the house. So not only am I two hours late for work, but I'm going to have to explain why I am also still wearing his clothes.

Great. Just great.

I run into the building and stop at the coffee bar, grabbing Grayson a bagel and a cup of orange juice. I probably won't be trying to serve him coffee any time in the near future. Orange juice seems like a safe bet. The second that I see my order hit the table, I grab it and run for the elevator, yelling a quick thank you on my way out.

The ride upstairs seems never ending. Maybe he hasn't even noticed that I'm late? I doubt it, but the sliver of hope that I have doesn't diminish.

As soon as the door opens wide enough for me to squeeze my way through, I run out of the elevator and towards Grayson's office. My movements are halted as I collide with who else but Grayson. The bagel and orange juice crash into him and onto the floor.

"Oh my God. I am so, so, so, sorry." I say quickly, seeing the juice stain that now covers Grayson's shirt.

"It's fine." He says, looking at me with surprise. "Are you okay?" He asks with concern.

"Yeah, I just wasn't paying attention. I'm so sorry." I repeat.

He doesn't say anything in reply as he bends down to pick the bagel up off of the floor along with the now empty cup of juice.

"Do you want me to go and get you a new bagel? And juice?" He asks, throwing the items into the trashcan a few feet away.

"No! No, that's fine. Those were actually for you. I was trying to do something to make up for the fact that I was running late." I say with a nervous look.

"You were late?" He asks.

"Yeah...I just got here. I accidently set the wrong alarms and overslept. I'm sorry, sir. I'll stay late if you need me to. Anything you need, I'll be happy to do." I say quickly. I know I'm rambling at this point, and the look he gives me tells me that he can sense my panic.

"I didn't even know that you were late. It's fine. I just got here an hour ago." He says. "Those were for me?" He asks me, gesturing to the trash.

"Yeah." I reply in a small voice.

"That was nice of you." He says.

"Well, it was the least that I could do. Considering..." I say, trailing off slightly.

"It's fine, Natalia. Really." He tells me.

"Oh! Here's this by the way." I say, holding his sweatpants out towards him. He takes them from my hand and cocks his head a bit at what I'm wearing. He noticed his sweatshirt, I'm sure. "I didn't exactly have time to change this morning...so I'm still wearing your sweatshirt." I admit.

"I see." He says with a small nod.

"Not that I was sleeping in it or anything! I just...it was on my bed and the first thing that I grabbed just so happened to be yours and I didn't even realize it until I got here and-"

"Natalia." He says, holding his hand up to silence me. "It's fine." He assures me.

"Okay." I say breathlessly.

"I have a meeting in a few minutes. The other app finalists are downstairs working on their project together, so if you want to go down there you can. You can go home once you're done." He tells me.

"Okay. Are you sure I can't get you anything?" I ask once more.

"No, you're fine." He tells me. "Let me know if you need anything." He offers before walking towards the elevator. I don't even have it in me to turn around and see if he's gone or not. I swear I just continuously embarrass myself in front of him.

Instead of going to my office, I head straight downstairs to find Brian. Maybe he can help me figure out this mess I'm getting myself into. Hell, maybe I'll even be able to finish the next portion of my app today. After all of the work I was able to get done with yesterday, it's already nearly complete.

When I see Brian, I rush over to him quietly, careful not to disturb anyone else.

"Hey, Nat." He says with his usual bright smile. His voice is kept low, not wanting to interrupt anyone's work.

"Hey. Are you working on the app?" I ask in a whisper.

"Yeah. It's too quiet here. I'm about to take this back to my own office." He says with a small chuckle.

"Want to come upstairs to my office?" I ask him. He gives me a look that seems skeptical, but curious. Very curious.

"Your office?" He asks.

"Yeah. You have to check this out. Come on." I say, pulling him up by his arm.

"Okay, okay." He laughs, grabbing his laptop and following me upstairs.

-

"Okay, well this is much bigger than anything I've ever seen before. Holy shit, look at the view!" He says, walking over to the window and looking down.

"I know. Crazy, right?" I say with a small shriek. "So much better than my desk by Justin's office." I add.

"Yeah. Hey, I guess being the company leader's intern does have it's perks." He laughs.

"Yeah, you could say that." I say.

"So how is it?" He asks. "Is it as terrible as you were thinking it would be? I feel like I barely see you anymore. You're with the high class citizens now." He laughs.

"Well it's...different. So far, he just leaves me alone in my office to do whatever I want. I worked on my app literally all day yesterday. Occasionally I'll run downstairs and grab him a water or something, but he hasn't ever directly asked for anything. He just...leaves me alone." I shrug.

"Hey, that doesn't sound so bad." He replies.

"It really isn't. But last night as we were leaving, I asked if he wanted to walk down together. So, we did and just kind of had some small talk or whatever. He had told me that he usually takes an Uber to and from work every day. So, I offered him a ride home." I explain.

"So you took him home?" He asks with wide eyes.

"Yes! So he gets in my car and it's totally awkward, right? Well, we just talk about some family stuff and where he went to high school. Just small talk, you know? So when he tells me where he lives, it just so happens to be in Eastern Columbia!" I exclaim.

"My God...those apartments are like easily seven grand a month." He informs me.

"No, get this....he bought one. He literally owns his apartment there!" I exclaim in a whisper, not wanting anyone to hear. Given, I'm pretty sure both Grayson and Shane are at the meeting. Still, I don't want to chance it. Not today, at least.

"That's literally like a two million dollar apartment." He informs me. "I would know. I love looking at apartment I could never afford." He laughs.

"So I was saying that I bet the view was amazing and all. Suddenly, he asks me if I want to come up and see the view for myself. So of course, I wasn't about to let that offer slip away. Plus, I have never been in an apartment that nice. I wanted to be nosy and see what kind of life he was living." I say only half joking.

"Hold on, he invited you up?! That's like...you do realize that he probably has never invited anyone else from this company over, right?" He asks, nearly sitting at the edge of his seat.

"Oh, it gets better." I add.

"There's more?" He exclaims.

"I get out of the car and guess who else is there." I say.

"No. No way." He says, already knowing who i'm talking about.

"Yup. Shane." I say.

"He lives there too?!" He asks.

"Yes! Both of these guys are like...stupid rich!" I exclaim. "So, we go upstairs, and his apartment is beautiful. Oh, and spotless. It doesn't even seem like someone lives there. The view was amazing. Shane had mentioned before we left that the rooftop view was amazing. So, Grayson invites me onto the rooftop. There was a pool up there, so we end up putting our feet in the water and just talking for a bit." I say.

At this point, Brian is at a complete loss for words.

"Sorry, i'm literally speechless." He laughs.

"But wait. There's more." I say in my best Billy Mays voice. "My phone goes off, and as I try and get up to answer it I end up slipping and falling right into the swimming pool." I groan at the thought.

"That's embarrassing." Brian laughs.

"So embarrassing! So we go back to Grayson's apartment and he gives me some dry clothes of his to put on. After that, I leave." I say.

"I'm still at a loss for words." He says, processing everything I just said.

"And, I was late for work this morning and forgot to take off his sweatshirt. So now, I'm here and still wearing his clothes." I groan again.

"Hold on, that sweatshirt is his?" He asks with wide eyes. I nod my head and plop my body onto my desk with a groan.

"I swear I wasn't being creepy when I fell asleep in his stuff." I try and defend. Sure, his clothes smell better than anything I own. Plus, they're comfy as hell. But that doesn't mean that I only wore them because of those reasons!

"He likes you." Brian says after a few moments.

"What? No way." I argue.

"Uhm, yes. Look at where you're sitting right now. No one else has something like this. Plus, he invited you over! Well, not formally but it still ended up happening." He points out.

"That doesn't mean anything. He's just a nice guy." I counter.

"No. He isn't." Brian laughs. "He doesn't say a single word to any of us. It wasn't until you got here that he actually started communicating. Hell, he didn't say anything to anyone until he met you!"

"Maybe he's just...socially awkward?" I suggest.

"Maybe. Or, he has no interest in speaking to any of us because he thinks he's better. Which, totally understandable. I'd probably be the same way." Brian admits.

"I don't know. He seems really nice, Brian. Maybe we're all just too quick to judge him." I say, defending him. Grayson has been nothing but nice to me the very second that i've met him. I'm sure he would do this for anyone.

"Oh my God. You like him, don't you!" Brian accuses.

"What? No!" I exclaim quickly.

"You definitely do. I can tell." He laughs. "Don't be too embarrassed. Grayson's a good looking guy." Brian says with a suggestive shrug.

"If you think he's so good looking, why don't you marry him." I tease.

"If I didn't already have a girlfriend, I probably would. Because from what you've told me, the guy is loaded." He laughs.

"I don't like him." I say one last time.

"Yeah, yeah." Brian says with a wave of his hand. "Ask him out." He suggests.

"What? No! That's my boss!" I shriek.

"Yeah, and you're wearing his sweatshirt to work. You're into him and he's into you. Just ask him out. It would be really easy." He tells me.

"No, it wouldn't." I say. "And no, this isn't me admitting to liking him." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Just walk up to him and say 'Hey, you know I was thinking. Maybe you'd like to get a drink with me sometime? If you're not busy with anything else, that is. It could be fun." He says.

I hear someone clear their throat as I turn my attention to the door, revealing Grayson standing in the doorway. Oh God. How long had he been there and how much did he hear?

"Grayson! Sir, I...we didn't hear you walk in." I say quickly, jumping up and slamming my laptop shut out of pure nervousness before opening it up again quickly.

"I just got here." He says. He glances at Brian and then back at me.

"I should probably get going. Shoot me a text if you need any help later." Brian says, grabbing his laptop and shuffling past Grayson nervously. He gives him a tight smile before exiting the room.

Grayson offered no smile in return.

"Can I help you with anything?" I ask, mentally praying that he didn't hear us talking about him.

"I was up here for something but actually just forgot." Grayson replies slowly. His hands are shifting nervously and he won't even look at me.

Fuck. He totally heard all of that.

"Oh. Well..." I say, trailing off.

"So...Brian is his name, right?" He asks suddenly.

"Yeah, that's him." I reply.

"He likes you?" He asks, looking up at me.

"I...what?" I ask, shaking my head. "No, no. He's just a friend." I add quickly.

"But he was just asking you out?" He says, almost asking if what he heard was true.

"I...no. He was just...he was using that sentence as an example of how to ask someone out." I say, stuttering over my own words.

"Oh." He says, nodding his head in understanding. We both stand in silence for a few moments as he gives me a quick nod before exiting my office. I exhale deeply and slump back into my chair.

It's at this moment that I feel a small panic course through me.

It's not panic over running late for work or Grayson overhearing any conversation. It's not panic over accidentally wearing Grayson's clothes to work or spilling a drink all over him. This panic is over the fact that everything that Brian said is true.

I think I have a crush on Grayson Parker.