I thought about it the whole time as I walked back to the office. Hannah’s gorgeous face kept swirling around in my mind, making me feel fluttery and happy.
When I got back, I noticed she wasn’t at her desk. Frowning, I left her sandwich there and went to sit down. It wasn’t like her to disappear in the middle of day. I wondered if she had a meeting with my father.
It was funny, I was starting to feel like Hannah knew him better than I ever could.
When two hours passed and she hadn’t come back, I got up and walked over to his office. Dad was sitting behind his desk, frowning into his computer, and typing furiously.
“Hey,” I said, falling into the chair across from his desk. “Do you know where Hannah is?”
Dad looked up and narrowed his eyes as if seeing me for the first time. “Why?”
I chuckled. “Well, in case you don’t remember,” I said lightly. “She’s my boss. And she’s been gone for over two hours, I don’t have anything to work on.”
Dad threw me a fat folder brimming with paperwork. “You can file these,” he said.
“Yeah, okay, but where’s Hannah?”
My father glared at me. “She’s been terminated,” he said. “I had her escorted from the premises.”
“What?” I leapt out of the jaw, my jaw hanging wide open. “Why the fuck would you do that?”
My father sighed. “Justin, I’m not a fool,” he said slowly. “I know what was happening. She was developing an attachment to you, and as your superior, that put the company in a terrible position. You’ve been showing a lot of promise over the past few weeks, and I didn’t want that to change because of a girl.”
I gaped at him. “You seriously have no idea what you’re saying,” I said, managing to stay as calm as possible. “You have it all wrong.”
Dad raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Then explain it to me,” he said sarcastically.
“For one thing, we’re in a relationship. I’ve been the one telling Hannah to stay cool at work, because I didn’t want to piss you off!” I yelled, throwing my hands in the air. “She’s changed my life, and it’s all because of her that I’ve been doing well! She’s been teaching me the things I need to know in order to be successful at my job!”
“Justin, I—“
“I know,” I said bitterly. “You have your reasons. And I have my fucking trust fund, but Hannah doesn’t have any savings. You want to fire someone? Fire me,” I said hotly. “She doesn’t deserve this.”
Before my father could reply, I turned on my heel and stalked out of his office.
Hannah
When the buzzer rang from downstairs, I couldn’t even pick myself up off the couch and out of my nest of blankets. I’d been curled up crying ever since I got home – wondering what the hell I was going to do now that I’d been fired from one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world. Creovation Inc. had sounded like a good idea, but now I was fiercely regretting the day I’d ever stepped into that sleek office and applied for a job.
I heard loud footsteps in the hall, and then a pounding on the door.
“Hey, lady, there’s someone downstairs for you!” My neighbor, Shirley, yelled through the door. “They keep buzzing my apartment and telling me to get you!”
“I don’t care,” I yelled back. “Leave me alone!”
“Either you come deal with your guest or I call the cops,” Shirley shouted back loudly. “And I ain’t kiddin’ around!”
With a sigh, I hauled myself off the couch. Wrapping a blanket around my shoulders, I went downstairs. I tried to soak in the grimy apartment stairwell as I went, knowing full well that soon, I’d probably have to give my apartment up and move back to Pennsylvania.
To my shock, Justin was standing outside. Before I could say anything, he pulled me into a tight hug.
“Hannah, I love you,” Justin said fiercely in my ear. “And I’m so sorry about what happened. I didn’t know until I got back.” He pulled away from me and sighed. I could tell that he was angry. “I let my dad have it,” he said, raking a hand through his dark hair.
My lip trembled and hot tears spilled over my cheeks.
“I love you, too,” I said softly. “What’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know.” Justin’s voice was grim. “But I promise that no matter what, I’ll be there for you, baby. I’ll help you until you get back on your feet. I’m completely in love with you, and I want you to be mine.”