Second Chances (5 page)

After uttering a barely audible sigh, the detective responded, “Certainly, sir.”

Smugly, Gavin didn’t even respond before he pressed the button to disconnect.  He reclined in his chair contentedly.  It was good to be king.  And he most definitely ruled his corner of the world.

The next morning at 9:55, Gavin sat glaring out his window overlooking center city, scowling.  Ron was cutting it awfully close and he hated being toyed with.  How difficult could it be to get the information he sought?  He turned, stared at the fax machine across the room on the horizontal filing cabinets and began to drum his fingers angrily on the desk.  He swore that if Ron didn’t come through for him this time, he would fire him.  Forget about all those years of faithful service.  The one time he truly needed him, he was being let down.  And then the fax finally sprang to life and began to spit out page after page of information.

Without caring who might be looking into his office, he vaulted from his chair and began to snatch the pages before they could even come to rest on the tray.  Hannah Matthews.  The name had a nice ring to it.  He rolled it around his tongue once more.  Hannah Matthews.  Suddenly he was flooded with warmth.  He studied her credit report.  Ah, so that’s why she didn’t just find a cheaper place.  Chances were every community in town had turned her down.  He glanced at the page with the inquiries. 
Yup.  Her family lived in Wilmington.  It’s amazing she even got out of that town.  It was one of those sleepy little places where no one had the ambition to even go to college, let alone move across the state.  Good lord, he wasn’t going to admire her.  He frowned.  Maybe she truly had no one here.  No options.  His brow furrowed.  He couldn’t develop a conscience now.  He needed this to change his life.  Grasping the last of the papers, he moved back to his desk to finalize his plan.

A mere two hours later, he reviewed what he had constructed.  It could work.  It had to work.  He smiled.

It had to work.  Hannah once again examined all of her options.  There really weren’t any others.  She swallowed.  Her only other option was to sell the rest of the furniture and move the kids into an extended stay hotel.  They could pay by the week.  Of course they’d all be living in essentially one room.  And she’d spend more on food, but nothing on utilities or local phone calls.  She calculated and scowled.  She’d have to rent a space for all of her goods that she sold at the flea market.  She wouldn’t have a garage anymore.  No matter how she crunched, tallied, and coerced the numbers, she couldn’t make them add up.  Hannah sighed in disgust and threw her pen down on the desk.

She leaned forward and rubbed her temples while her elbows balanced on the desk.  She heard footsteps approaching, but since everyone had been walking on eggshells around her at the office ever since Brett left, she figured that in her state she would most definitely be left to her own devices.  Instead the feet stopped before her desk, but she refused to acknowledge them.

“Hannah Matthews?”  A deep voice asked determinedly.

Leaning back and looking up warily she nodded.  “Can I help you?”

The sunlight streaming through the window behind him created a luminous quality to his image.  For the briefest moment, Hannah’s gut clenched and she actually thought he might be the man she’d been waiting for.  Almost immediately, she dismissed the ridiculous idea.  He was far too perfect, wholly masculine with his angular jaw, straight nose, and spectacularly black hair.  The blazer struggled to contain his broad shoulders and healthy biceps. Tall, dark, and handsome, this man was everything that Brett wasn‘t. 

“Actually, I rather think that I can help you,” he responded, smiling widely as he stared down at her.  Seeing she was even more attractive in the light of day and up close, he knew that he was in over his head and knots formed in his stomach.  Hannah Matthews was a vision in chocolate, from her cropped chestnut locks, to her deep brown eyes, to the varying shades of taupe cloaking her figure.  It was obvious that she was trying to downplay her features and strike a professional look, but for him, it only created an even more sensual appeal.  Here was a woman who was oblivious to her charms.  It nearly sucked the breath right out of him.

Arching an eyebrow, she crossed her arms over her chest.  “And you are?”  She asked seriously, desperate to create an air of detachment and disinterest.

“I’m the man you’ve been looking for,” he responded cockily.

To which she nearly choked.  Instead she let out a hollow chuckle.  “Really?  What makes you think so?”  And before he could respond she added, “And when I said ‘and you are?,’ I was hoping for something more concrete, an introduction of sorts.  Start with your name.”

Gavin’s eyebrows arched involuntarily.  Every step of the way he was discovering this woman was not who he expected her to be.  “My name is Gavin Meyers.”  He studied her for a moment; waiting to see if the weight his name usually carried meant anything to her.  Clearly it didn’t, even more clearly he could tell that she knew it was supposed to, and at that moment seemed to be racking her brain for a connection.  He smirked.  “I can tell you are unimpressed,” he commented dryly.  “Have you found what you’re looking for, yet, Ms. Matthews?”  Her eyebrows knit together.  “What I mean to say is…have you found yourself a sugar daddy?”

At that, Hannah glanced nervously about the room.  “This isn’t really the time or the place,” she began; ready to boot him out the door.  She sat ramrod straight at her desk and moved to stand and escort him out.

Understanding her intention, he paused and lowered his voice.  “Answer the question, please.”

It was a definite command, cloaked as a request in that he had the sense to soften it with a ‘please.’  Still, it didn’t appease Hannah.  She was humiliated.  This could prove to be the final blow to her ego.  Several of the women in nearby cubicles were glancing around anxiously, trying to catch the eyes of the other gossipy co-workers, prepared to reveal the latest dirt the moment the coast was clear.

Sighing, she grabbed her coat off the back of her chair, observed that it was very nearly lunch time and she needed the air anyway, and nudging him in front of her, moved to leave the office.  Hannah paused for a brief moment at the door and made a general announcement.  “I’ll make it easier on you,” she began loudly; “I’ll leave so you can talk about me.”  And shaking her head, she pulled the door closed behind her and headed to the elevator.

“I hate those women,” she muttered, trying to ignore his presence as she pushed the button that would drop them to the ground floor.  She didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she needed a moment to escape.  While she waited, she struggled to pull her jacket on, but as flustered as she was it seemed to tangle up around her shoulders.

“Here,” Gavin said in a low soothing voice, turning her to face him as he reached around her to right the twisted garment and pull it into its proper position.  He followed the line of the jacket to the collar and grabbed the lapels to draw them around her neck.  Realizing what an intimate gesture his simple act had become, he cleared his throat, dropped his hands, and said lightly, “There.”

Studying him, Hannah worked to try to figure him out. Her marriage had created in her an extreme distrust of all men.  And this one had the short hairs on her neck standing at attention.  But what did it mean?  Was it a warning?  Was it a sign of a romantic spark?  Or was it merely the chill in the air?   She shook her head as though to clear away any confusion and immediately folded her arms across her chest.

One side of his face lifted into a smile.  “I see I have caused you to raise your guard,” Gavin began, almost apologetically.  Almost.  He had to win her over, just long enough to trap her into a commitment.

“Only since you first arrived uninvited,” Hannah said grimly.  A thought suddenly occurred to her and her eyes narrowed.  “How did you find me, Mr. Meyers? How did you know where I worked, my name…anything about me at all?”

He straightened.  She was tough.  She was bright.  She was a more than worthy adversary.  Taking a breath, he shrugged.  “I have a really great detective that I keep on retainer for unforeseen circumstances.”

“And I am such a scenario?”  She questioned.  “How is it you even came across my ad?  You don’t strike me as the kind of man to even read the personals, let alone respond to them.” 

She was challenging him and he loved it.  “Well, Ms. Matthews, I find myself newly divorced…”

“And in need of some companionship?”  Hannah asked in disbelief.  “Come on now.”  She shook her head and scowled.

“My mother is in town, desperate to see me happily married, and when I returned home the other night, she had left the personals on my desk in the study with a plea.”  That much was true at least.  “And I thought that if I could just show her I was willing to try again then she might be content and leave me alone, fly back to Florida.”  That part was a little flimsy.

Her head cocked to the side as she listened to his explanation.  Enough of it rang true to appease her.  He really did want his mother to go back to Florida.  And maybe he really didn’t want anything from her.  Uh, oh.  “Then why respond to my particular ad?  Wouldn’t your mother be suspicious of some woman you move into your home, a woman who comes with children?  Wouldn’t the red flags go up?  Wouldn’t she be screaming ‘gold digger‘?”

Sighing, Gavin continued, “My mother is desperate for grandchildren.  I think even step ones would appease her for the time.  She has a daughter, but she has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment of late.”  He was uncomfortable with the fact that he had revealed more than a grain of truth to this stranger, a stranger that he planned to use and abuse to his liking.

They had been walking aimlessly down the street through the entire discussion and suddenly found themselves in front of Fuel Pizza.  He nodded toward the entrance.  “I’m starving.  What if we finish this discussion over a slice?”  She hesitated.  “Come on.”  He placed a hand on her lower back that just wrapped around her side as he directed her through the entrance.  It was disconcerting how natural that felt, touching her.  And he could just imagine how silky smooth her skin was under those layers of clothing.  Gavin frowned.  It would have to remain a mystery, since romance did not figure into his plan at all.  Love and sex were complications he couldn’t afford at this juncture of his life.  He squared his shoulders and followed her through the door.

Pacing excitedly, Hannah waited for Amy to return her call.  It had been nearly three hours.  She knew that it was just now nearing her friend’s dinnertime.  Amy worked long hours, the typical driven single career woman.  When Hannah had commented once that her friend never dated, Amy had merely remarked that it shouldn’t be surprising after all she’s seen.

At last her phone sounded and Hannah dove on it.  “I need a contract drawn up,” she said excitedly. 

“That really isn’t my field,” her best friend said with a laugh, then paused.  “Have you found him?  Is that why you need a contract?”

Squealing happily, Hannah replied, “I think so.  And I’m being very smart about it.  We’re going to make everything very legal, lay out all the expectations and requirements on both sides.  I want something…ironclad.”

“Of course you do,” Amy said rolling her eyes.  “Well, I suppose I could recommend someone.  Let me think on it and I’ll get back to you.  Of course anyone I select will be very discreet.  Nature of the business, you know.” 

Hannah tried to be serious, but she was so overwhelmed with relief that she wanted to scream and shout and jump around.  When she thought about how close she had come to complete and utter ruin.  She sighed.  Now they would have a roof over their heads.  A very nice roof, she imagined.  And it seemed like so little was being asked of her in return.  She collapsed into her chair.  “It’s all going to work out,” she said in wonder.  “Finally.  I feel like I can almost relax for the first time in months.”