🥊 Hate or Fate 💕 {Enemies to Lovers}

.60.

Braxton's over-inflated ego was so wounded after Gray publicly dressed him down that he was useless for the rest of the shoot. So, like a pair of badass boss-bitches, Rebecca and I pushed ahead and got it done.

We met the client when they arrived and flawlessly orchestrated the big reveal to get a ton of excellent footage.

Some of the kids cried while others used their new tablets to film all of us, filming them, which the client absolutely loved. We got plenty of authentic reactions and interviews from the students and teachers full of heartwarming moments and happy tears. 

All in all, we turned a fucking disaster into a fantastic day. 

However, my career highlight didn't fix the agonizing sinkhole that opened up in the center of my chest as soon as we wrapped filming. 

Rebecca offered to blow off her date with Bart in order to spend the night with me, but I assured her that I needed time to think, alone. 

Before she left for her boyfriend's house, she tucked blankets around my legs and got me a fresh box of tissues (just in case). Yet another reason Rebecca was the best friend I could ever ask for.

I spent the rest of the evening lying on the couch like a useless lump. To distract myself from crying, I watched baking competitions I'd already seen into the wee hours of the morning. 

 Turns out, I didn't need a plan to cut Gray out of my life. I did it all on my own.

The next week went by in a similarly lumpish fashion. 

Braxton was forced to formally apologize to me and Rebecca for his behavior on set. I didn't bother listening to Braxton's half-assed apology because we had more commercial shoots to plan and more client meetings to keep me plenty busy. A few hours later, Maleficent told us that Braxton would be stepping down from the account altogether to focus on other projects.

Rebecca and Bart were getting serious quickly, and their constant lovemaking had motivated me to start searching for a two-bedroom apartment. I also bought my first pair of noise-canceling headphones.

Worst of all, even though I was mad at him for behaving like an unprofessional hothead and almost ruining our big commercial shoot, I missed Gray. 

So much so that it was constant and it was crushing.

It didn't help that Gray called me every night before he went to bed and left a voicemail, either. 

I was in the shower and missed his first call, but he left a message explaining that his plan was to call me every night until I picked up (or until I got a restraining order). 

He said that he knew I wasn't ready to jump into a brand-new relationship, but he wanted me to know that he wasn't going anywhere. That he was waiting for my answer.

He was right, too. I wasn't ready to jump into another serious relationship. I needed some time to sort through my feelings and to heal my broken trust. 

Gray's sweet voicemails quickly became the highlight of my whole day. 

I listened to every single one. In fact, seeing his face on the caller ID was like a tiny buoy keeping the remains of my eviscerated hope afloat.

Gray told me about little things that would happen during his day that reminded him of me while opening up about his past and his feelings. 

He also told me more about his sister, Molly. He said that she (just like her big brother, Gray) struggled with depression and their family's strict conservative views growing up.