Hanna giggled. “I said I’m fine,” she said. “But you probably want to wear a hat.” She sat back down at her desk, shivering again. “It really does look cold.”
The rest of the day crawled by. I spent most of it staring at my computer, ignoring emails from my shareholders, and wondering what the fuck I had to do to get back into Hanna’s good graces. At five o’clock on the dot, I grabbed my coat and shoved my laptop into my briefcase. I’d called Harry and made plans to meet with him at a bar – there was just no way I could stand being around Hanna without obsessing over her any more for one day.
On my way out, Hanna looked up. “Is there anything else you want me to wrap up for the day?”
“No,” I said. “Just go home, Hanna. Get some rest. How is your burn, by the way?”
Hanna bit her lip and winced. “Better,” she said. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” I said. Thinking about her burn got me thinking about her magnificent, long legs and I had to shake my head to clear the image from my brain. Jesus, James, I thought as I stormed out of the office. There’s something really wrong with you today.
Thankfully, Harry was waiting for me at our usual meeting place – the bar in the hotel across the street from Magnate’s offices. He’d already ordered a scotch-and-soda for me, and he passed it to me without saying a word. I took a long, grateful sip before putting it back down on the bar and sighing.
“You look like hell,” Harry said cheerfully. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I muttered. As soon as I’d “found” Hanna again, I’d told Harry everything. To my annoyance, he’d been amused…and surprised that I hadn’t asked her out again. Since then, I’d avoided talking about the subject. But I knew it was going to be hard to keep my mouth shut today.
“Nothing, my ass,” Harry said. He took a long swig of his drink and belched loudly. “Something’s up, West. And you’ve got to spill.”
“I just don’t know what to do about this girl,” I said, shaking my head. I took another long drink, enjoying the familiar burn of the scotch as it traveled down my throat. “She’s driving me crazy. She’s so close, and yet totally out of reach.”
Harry whistled. “She’s not out of reach,” he said derisively. “You’re just being a pussy, James. You need to go and get her.”
“That’s the problem,” I said. “She won’t have anything to do with me.”
Harry shrugged. “Find her another job,” he said. “Or get her off your desk. It doesn’t really matter what happens if she doesn’t report to you, does it?”
I frowned. Harry’s words put a bad taste in my mouth. “It does matter,” I said. “I tried offering her another job…but she wouldn’t accept it. And now she just acts so professionally, all the time.”
Harry narrowed his eyes and clapped his hand on the bar. When the bartender appeared, he ordered two double shots of whiskey for both of us. The shots appeared and we clinked our glasses together before downing them.
“Well, you’ve got to figure something out, or just go fuck someone else to get her out of your system,” Harry said in a matter-of-fact voice. “In fact, I know a girl you’d love. She’s single, blonde – totally fuckable.”
“Don’t bother,” I replied. “I’m not interested.”
“You’re kidding,” Harry said. He narrowed his eyes, toying with his empty shot glass. “This girl must be like, a complete ten or something. Why the fuck are you so hung up on her?”
“Because we had a perfect night together, and then I chased her for a year,” I said. “And I know it doesn’t sound like much to you, but I felt a real connection with her.”
“I think you’re just projecting,” Harry said. “Go find some other girl and fuck her. Wait a few months. I’m sure you won’t even be thinking about Hillary anymore.”
“Hanna,” I corrected automatically. “Her name is Hanna.”
“You sure about that, man? I mean, she did lie,” Harry said with a shrug. “Who knows what else she’s lying about?”
“I can say for sure that she’s not lied about anything else,” I said. “Magnate runs a strict background check on all potential employees, and she passed with flying colors.”
“Well, then, I don’t really know what you want me to say,” Harry said. “But you’re a charming man, you can figure it out.”
I frowned.
“You know it’s true,” Harry continued. “You could fuck any woman you want.”
I shrugged. “I don’t want any woman,” I said. “I want her.”
Harry winked at me. “You’ll find a way to make it happen,” he said. “If I know anything about you.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. “That’s a real confidence boost.”
The rest of the week didn’t go much better. I was basically useless – I almost fell asleep in a meeting with my shareholders – and I was more obsessed with Hanna than ever. I’d even begun dreaming about her. By Friday, I knew something had to change. There was no way I was going to put Hanna in a bad position – or risk putting myself in danger of harassing her – and I vowed to get her out of my head, once and for all. I spent all weekend working out: running in the park near my condo, swimming at the indoor gym, and lifting weights until my arms were so sore I could barely type. I vowed that this would be the beginning of something new.
After all, it had been a year.
It was time to move on.
The following Monday, Magnate Group entertained one of the clients I’d picked up for us in London. I was in all-day meetings, which didn’t even stop for our catered lunch, and by the time I got out of the conference room, it was dark outside. Most of my employees had left, but Hanna was sitting there in near-darkness, illuminated by the glow of the green banker’s lamp she kept on her desk. Something about the way she was quietly working touched me. She really is something, I thought. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had an assistant who stayed late voluntarily.
“Hey,” I said, coming up from behind Hanna. “Working hard?”
Hanna looked up from her screen and yawned, then rubbed both of her eyes with her fists. “Yeah,” she said. “I just wanted to wrap this up before the end of the day, I know you need it for tomorrow.” She pointed at her screen and I saw it was a list of all action items for the following day’s meetings.
“That looks almost done,” I said. Impulsively, I added: “We should get dinner. You feel like going out?”
Hanna’s face fell and I knew I’d made a mistake.
“You know what, forget that,” I said hastily. “It’s freezing outside, and I know you won’t feel like coming back to the office. Let me order something in. You like Indian food?”