It was last few weeks before the end of term and Christmas break.  Grace was in her office doing her best to fight off Rush's unwanted advances when there was a knock on the door and Angie appeared, looking flushed, with Cassie standing behind her.

"Grace, you have a visitor." Angie made an excited face since her back was towards Cassie before regaining her composure and turning around to make sure it was true, and the Cassandra Stevens was standing right behind her.

"Cassie," Grace greeted, unable to help the surprise and shock that was in her voice.

Dr. Rush stepped away from Grace and smoothed his hair, what little there was of it, across is forehead. "Dr. Winston, won't you introduce me?" he asked holding out his hand.

Cassie took it with a forced smile, holding as little of the hand as was possible as Grace introduced the two. Cassandra made polite chitchat for a few minutes before she gave a warm smile and mentioned that there was something urgent that she needed to discuss with Grace. Thankfully, Rush took the hint and left them, taking Angie with him.

"What a creepy little man," Cassie said as she fell into a chair looking around her. While she did that Grace looked at her and noted that she looked stunning. She was wearing a navy wool dress and her hair was a flame around her shoulders.

"He is, isn't he?" Grace agreed as she sat in her chair and tried her best to relax.

"Is he your boss?"

"Unfortunately." Grace pushed some paper over to the side of her desk as she tried to curb her questions with a one word answer.

"You look stressed Grace," Cassie noted, leaning forward to look at her more closely.

"I'm having a little trouble with him, that's all." Grace reached for her cold coffee and sipped it watching Cassie. She was finding it a bit surreal that the famous Cassandra Stevens was sitting in her office, but the funny thing was that she felt like she was talking to an old friend.

"What kind of trouble?"

Grace shrugged not wanting to say. It was a bit embarrassing.

"Come on, I'm an impartial friend, I can listen, maybe talking though it will help sort it out for you." Grace leaned forward.

Grace shrugged. "Rush is a little handsy and it's getting worse not better. I'm his latest challenge because I'm the newest woman in the department. I've filed an official complaint, and I've tried to get some of the others to lodge complaints as well, but no one seems interested. With only one complaint against him it's his word against mine and he has been here for years."

Cassie thought for a moment. "Have you talked to Bryce? He could take care of it for you." It was delivered off handedly, but Grace had a feeling she was doing a little digging.

"No, I don't talk to Bryce, I wouldn't even know how to reach him." It wasn't a lie she assured herself. She had erased his phone number as soon as she had finished the job in Kent. She hadn't wanted to be tempted to call him. If she really need to get him she could have called Clive, but there was really no reason to, she had been fighting her battles on her own and she saw no reason for that to change.

"You should," Cassie said standing up in a rush, changing the subject. "But that's not why I'm here. I didn't get to talk to you that much last week at dinner so I thought we could go out to lunch." Her smile was so sincere and sweet Grace couldn't say no.

They went to a little sandwich shop a few blocks away from campus and Cassie did most of the talking. Surprisingly, she didn't mention Bryce and Grace had been convinced that she would. They were halfway through their meal when she realized why.

"Bryce!" Cassie rose, her greeting full of surprise.

Grace's heart flipped over in her chest as Bryce crossed the restaurant towards them, it was evident that he was not surprised to see either one of them, and Grace looked from him to Cassie with an angry look. She had been setup.

"I think you can cool the surprised act, Cassie, Grace isn't buying it." He gave Cassie a kiss on the cheek then took the chair between the two women. "Now, what it so urgent that you felt the need to pull me out of a business meeting."

"Cassie!" Grace said in her most disapproving voice.

"What!" Cassie looked defiant. "You weren't going to call him so I did. It is urgent!"

Grace peeked over at Bryce, he looked commanding and sexy and ready to take control of whatever was thrown at him. He must be exhausted from fighting everyone else's battles, and she wasn't going to give him another one to fight.

Bryce glanced at her with nothing but mild curiosity on his face, as if being called from a meeting to defend an ex-lover was something that happened all of the time. Grace's heart beat erratically as she remembered the ex-lover part of their relationship.

"Grace is being sexually harassed at work by her boss, and even though she has lodged a formal complaint no one is taking it seriously," Cassie said in a rush.

Bryce appeared calm as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms after sending the waitress away when she approached. His head was tilted as if he was all ears, but she could tell he was livid by the set of his shoulders. Grace couldn't blame him. She would be mad at being pulled from an important meeting for something so trivial too.

"Is this true Grace?" Bryce's voice was pure silk.

"Of course it's true!" Cassie insisted.

Bryce ignored Cassie and focused on Grace. Having all that intensity directed solely on her was making her want to squirm in her seat. She could see how he was effective at both his job as a lawyer and herding the unruly Stevens family.

"Its fine, I have it under control," she said softly, shooting Cassie another death stare.

"Why won't the other girls lodge a complaint with you?" Cassie asked as the waitress refilled their drinks and brought Bryce some water. "You said that you're not the only one that he is harassing?"

"It's a case of better the devil you know then the devil you don't. While he is annoying he's not necessary threatening." Grace shrugged.

Grace looked at Bryce. Now he looked threatening. There was silence as Bryce tried to silently boss Grace into letting him do something about it, but on this she would not cave. She was not putting another problem on his already heavy shoulders.

Cassie must have sensed the tension because she stood up, leaving the table with some excuse that Grace didn't hear.

"Tell me more about this boss of yours."

"Leave it Bryce, I'm not your responsibility. You made it clear that you didn't want any more of that, remember?" Grace's voice was harsher than she meant it to be.

"I can help, Grace." He ignored her comment, but she could tell that she had gotten to him by the tightening of his hand where it rested on his arm.

Grace was stubbornly silent.

"No benefits, remember our agreement? And by no benefits I mean none, not even legal help." She picked up her glass of tea to take a sip.

She noted the set of his shoulders and the tightening of his hand again. It amazed her at how cool he looked on the surface but he had his little tells, and he was so easy to read when you knew those, and right now they were telling her that he was still angry.

"That was the stupidest thing I ever agreed to," was his harsh rebuttal.

Grace sat her glass of tea down so hard that she was surprised that it didn't shatter. How dare he? He was the one that said he didn't have relationships, she had honored that, but in return she had asked that he not keep her dangling with a friends with benefits relationship.

"But we agreed just the same. I honestly don't know why life has thrown us into this situation. Had I known I would see you after I finished my work in Kent I probably never would have agreed to any of it." She picked up the glass again trying to hold her hand steady as she took a sip. She sighed realizing that she was lying to herself. "Who am I kidding?" she gave a self-deprecating laugh as she looked at him. "Knowing what I know now, I would do it all again."

"I'm sorry I hurt you kitten," He whispered reaching out to her but she jerked away before he could touch her, knowing that if he did she would be lost.

There was a tense silence that was interrupted after a moment by Cassie returning to the table.

"Thank you for your offer of help Bryce, but I'll handle my boss on my own," Grace concluded stiffly.

Bryce's mask was back in place and had been from the moment she had pulled away. "If you change your mind, let me know." He rose and with a nod and left them.

Grace was silent after that, and Cassie didn't try to push her into a conversation. All Grace could think of was that she had finally made Rainer lay off and now she was going to have try to do the same with Cassie.

What was with Bryce's family? Why were they all so interfering, didn't they know what Bryce was like, that he was more than capable of handling his own affairs? Lord knew he had enough of them to be a pro at it.