"A Deal with Consequences"

Lulu's phone rang, shrill and insistent, cutting through the quiet of her office. She hesitated for a moment, wondering who could be calling her at this hour. She glanced at the screen, and her heart sank as she saw Grayson's name flashing on the display. She hadn't expected to hear from him so soon, especially not after their meeting earlier that day. The memory of their conversation still lingered in her mind, and she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in her stomach. "Hello?" she said, trying to sound casual. "Hey, Lulu," Grayson's voice was low and smooth, and it sent a shiver down her spine. "I was thinking, since we're going to be meeting my parents soon, we should go over what to say when people ask about our... relationship." Lulu felt a surge of anxiety at the mention of his parents. She had been trying to push the thought of it to the back of her mind, but it was hard to ignore the sense of trepidation that had been building up inside her. She had agreed to play the role of Grayson's girlfriend, but the thought of meeting his parents and pretending to be in a romantic relationship with him made her stomach twist with discomfort. "Relationship?" she repeated, trying to sound nonchalant. "What do you mean?" "Come on, Lulu," Grayson said, his voice dripping with amusement. "We're not going to pretend that we're just colleagues, are we? We need to have a story ready, in case people ask. And my parents are bound to ask." Lulu took a deep breath, trying to think on her feet. She had known that this was coming, but she hadn't expected it to happen so soon. She thought about her team, and how she had made this deal to protect them. She thought about the promotion, and how it would secure their future. "Fine," she said finally. "What did you have in mind?" "I was thinking we could say that we met at a conference a few months ago," Grayson said, his voice smooth and confident. "We hit it off immediately, and we've been dating casually ever since." Lulu raised an eyebrow, even though he couldn't see her. She was already regretting her decision to agree to this. The thought of lying to his parents, of pretending to be in a relationship with him, made her feel sick to her stomach. "That sounds... good," she said, trying to sound convincing. "Great," Grayson said. "I'll pick you up at 7pm tomorrow night. My parents' place is about 20 minutes outside of the city. And Lulu?" "Yes?" she said, her voice cautious. "Let's try to make it look like we're actually in a relationship, okay? A little PDA wouldn't go amiss." Lulu felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of pretending to be intimate with Grayson. She didn't like the idea of it one bit. But she knew she had no choice. She had made a deal, and she had to see it through. "Okay," she said, trying to sound casual. "I'll see you tomorrow night." As she hung up the phone, Lulu couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in her stomach. She had a feeling that this was going to be a long and difficult night. She thought about her team, and how she was doing this for them. She thought about the promotion, and how it would change everything. And she thought about Grayson, and how she was going to have to pretend to be in love with him.