Second Chances (13 page)

From the moment he met her, he couldn’t imagine wanting her out of his sight.  Hannah Matthews was an enigma, wrapped in a most attractive package.  If she had been vapid, or selfish, or any of the many horrible things he imagined a person searching out a sugar daddy would be, then his plot for revenge would have come off without a hitch.  He would be rubbing his hands gleefully at this moment.  Unfortunately, Hannah was none of those things and watching her discomfort brought him very little pleasure.  He sighed.

Hannah could feel her face growing pinker by the minute.  The people in the nearby offices and cubicles were talking about her.  Of that she was certain.  She stood in the doorway feeling utterly exposed and Gavin, at least on some level, was doing it intentionally.  “Is this my punishment for not getting you coffee?”  She asked warily.  “Will you leave me on display all day or are you going to offer me a seat in one of those chairs?”  Her tone was growing icy.

Raising his head, he stared at her.  No one spoke to him like that.  She had this way of reprimanding him, making him feel infantile.  He both admired and detested her for it.  “Have a seat, please, Miss Matthews.”  He laid the file on his desk and folded his hands.

A perky blonde bounced over to the door, leaned way in, exposing ample cleavage in her low cut translucent white v-neck blouse, and started to ask him a question.  “Not now, Leslie.”  He said solemnly.  “And please shut the door behind you.” 

Hannah glanced over in time to see the woman pout a little as she sashayed out the door.  She sighed.  He
would
surround himself with the stereotypical office personnel. 

“You don’t approve?”  He asked with a smirk.  Leslie had been his father’s hire.  For years she had tried to insinuate herself not only into a position as Gavin’s assistant, but also into any number of positions in his bed.  He knew the type and wasn’t interested in either option. 

“It’s your company.”  Hannah said evenly.  “Well, where shall I begin?”  She asked, hauling a pad out of her bag and preparing to take notes.

“I’ve been thinking about that all morning,” Gavin said as he glanced about the room.  “I have been too long without an assistant, I’m afraid.”  He gestured to the piles of paper work lying about.  “I really need to get this place organized so that I can be more productive.”  He watched as she jotted her notes.  “I guess that can be your first task, then we’ll see where we’re at.” 

“Okay,” she said, feeling immensely better.  At least she would be somewhat challenged.  That was what she needed.  A professional challenge would inspire her creative juices, her problem solving skills.  That was precisely what her last job lacked.  And creative problem solving was her forte.  She hung her coat and purse on the rack behind his desk while he watched with elevated brows.

“What are you doing?”  He asked, confused.

“I’m going to get to work.”  She moved about, examining the piles and trying to get a sense of where they belonged.  Confident she knew what she was doing, she began to open cabinets, study the lay of the office.  Immediately, it was evident the room design was poorly planned.

She was gliding about the office, supremely confident in her abilities and Gavin couldn’t take his eyes off her.  Her hips were swaying this way and that, mesmerizing him as successfully as any pendulum.  The worst was when she would bend over to look in cabinets.  The more he studied her, the more obvious it was that she was utterly unaware of her appeal.  He nearly groaned audibly.  This woman was entirely too dangerous.  And there was no way he was going to accomplish anything with her flitting about the office in that tight black skirt that though long, had a small slit up the left thigh.  And though she wore a two-piece beige top, it still inspired his already overactive imagination.

Sighing, he stood and packed the files he was currently working on.  “I’ll be in the conference room,” he announced.

“Umhm,” she responded vaguely, completely engrossed in the task at hand.

She hadn’t even looked at him.  Frowning, Gavin said, “I’ll be back around lunch time.”  He planned on taking her out to lunch.  Not originally.  Suddenly it just seemed like a good idea.  “Don’t leave without me.”

“No problem,” Hannah replied, barely glancing his way.

Without another word, he grabbed his mug and files and exited the room, leaving the blinds and door open.  The conference room was on the other side of the office, and with the blinds open and if he stood in the farthest corner, he might just be able to catch a glimpse of her, if he wanted.  Somehow he knew he would want to.

Without Gavin around to distract her, Hannah made short work of his office, despite the numerous interruptions.  The first came in the form of Aaron Maddox, who dropped off some papers requiring signatures. 

“I rarely get up this way,” he mumbled, “but I thought I might drop by and introduce myself.”

She flushed as she realized this was the man who had drafted their unconventional contract.  “You did a fine job on that contract,” she said warmly.  “I doubt my friend, Amy, could have found a flaw in it.”

“Amy?”  He asked as his eyebrows knit together.

“Yeah, she’s a divorce lawyer,” she said.

“Oh,” he said, clearly racking his brain for knowledge of a lawyer with that first name before backing out of the office.  He froze for a moment then rushed from the room.

Several other male executives popped by to drop off files and introduce themselves.  Each time she paused to be polite, not wanting to appear standoffish.  And each time, she was glad to be finally left alone again to complete the task at hand.  She was determined to have finished by lunch.  And really, she only had the furniture left to take care of.  By the time she was done, Gavin would be impressed with her abilities, astonished at her accomplishments, and certain he had made the correct choice in employing her.

The file cabinets moved easily enough.  And the ugly brass floor lamp required no effort at all.  She merely angled his desk to take advantage of the lighting.  It was that tall wooden cabinet that was giving her the most trouble.  In addition to being ridiculously large, it was also in the wrong corner of the room.  If she could only move it to the other corner, the layout would be perfect, the flow, the aesthetics, everything.  She glanced around, but for the first time all day, not a man was in sight.  Hannah knew she should just wait for Gavin, but it would really ruin the surprise and make her look helpless.  Shrugging, she turned her attention back to the cabinet.

It was only eleven thirty by his watch, and the conference room clock, and the laptop.  He sighed.  He wondered what she was doing.  Slowly, he walked over to the corner of the conference room that would allow him a view of his office.  Hannah had moved the furniture about the room and was currently studying that monstrosity of a cabinet shoved in the corner of the space.  She wouldn’t.  Gavin thought about all he knew of her thus far.  Growling he launched himself back to his office.  Of course she would.  That woman was going to be the death of him.

Removing the last of the items from the cabinet, Hannah closed the doors and gave a tentative shove.  It barely budged.  She threw all of her weight into it, all one hundred thirty pounds of it.  The cabinet gradually inched along.  Pleased with her progress, she failed to notice the hitch in the carpet that the edge of the cabinet was about to get snagged on.  Her steady progress halted.  She shoved harder and the cabinet, unable to go over the obstruction, began to topple to the side.  Gasping, Hannah rushed to the side to prevent it from falling over completely.  She managed to catch it, but at what price?  Her back screamed.  Worse, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold it.  She bit her lip.  Well
, this was some pickle she had gotten herself into.

“I’ve got it,” he said quietly as he rushed to her side to lift the heavy wooden object.  He righted it once more before turning to look at her.  She was exasperating.  What if she had been hurt?  He turned ready to demand why she expected she could move what took two big burly movers to relocate originally when he saw the look on her face.

Huge tears had welled in Hannah’s eyes, threatening to spill over, and her hands were on her back.  She was biting back the pain as best she could.  “Thank you,” she murmured.  “I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

At the sight of her, and completely without thinking, he rushed to enfold her in his arms.  “Oh, God, Hannah,” he mumbled into her hair.  “What were you thinking?”

“I wanted to surprise you,” she answered weakly.

“Well done,” he said wryly, “I’m shocked.”  Suddenly, he was aware of dozens of eyes on them and scowled.  He released her long enough to shut the blinds and the door.  Thoughts flooded his head.  He had just ruined it.  She couldn’t work in the office any more.  Everyone would think there was something going on between them.  They might even find out they were living together.  He sighed.

“I’m sorry.” 

She sounded so sad it nearly broke his heart.  “Don’t be.” He said more gruffly than he intended.

“I really am self-sufficient,” she insisted.  “I don’t want you thinking I’m helpless.”

“I don’t,” he responded before arching his brow wickedly, “although I am questioning the wisdom of many of your decisions.”

A smile softened her face.  She chuckled for a moment, but had to stop due to the sharp shooting pains.  Gingerly she eased herself into the hardest chair in the room.

Gavin rubbed his hands together.  If he didn’t, he would be over there, rubbing on her.  He knew precisely the pressure he needed to apply, the way to manipulate the muscle to ease the tension and soreness of her back.  Once again, despite his plan to bring her pain, he was more focused on removing it.  “We need to get you to the doctor,” he said.

Her chin jutted out proudly.  “I can do it.”

“Yeah, darling, I’d love to see you try.”  He leaned toward her from behind his desk. 

She blushed, knowing he was right.  “Fine,” she acquiesced.  “When?”

Studying the clock, he admitted, “We’ll wait until the office clears for lunch.  Can you last another half an hour?”

“Certainly,” she said proudly, although deep down, she wasn’t so sure.

“Good,” he said calmly.  He glanced at a pile of papers he didn’t recognize on his desk.  “What are these?”

“Some people dropped them off after you left,” she said, shrugging involuntarily and bringing on a fresh wave of pain.

Gavin smirked.  He knew what he would find.  As he opened file after file, he was met with pages and pages of blank white paper.  He should fire the whole lot of office supply wasting gossips.  And those were just the men.  A frown affixed itself to his face.  He held his head in his hands and tried to figure out what to do.

At last he spoke.  “This was a mistake,” he said simply.  Then he remained silent until he felt the office was quiet enough for him to take her to the doctor.

And in that time of silence, Hannah brooded.  He had called this a mistake.  She could only assume he meant the part about hiring her, moving her into his home, and bringing her to the office.  Clearly she wasn’t fit for public consumption.  Well, he had to give her thirty days notice.  Until she had that, she would sit and wait and contemplate her next move.  At least it was a pleasant alternative to the physical pain.  Hannah was a planner.