She meant it. About everything.
Richard reached out his injured hand and shakily drew it down her cheek, wiping away her tears, until he reached her mouth. His thumb lingered at her lips, touching them so lightly she could barely feel it. Knowing he was close to the edge, she stood very still, unable to move for fear of what he could do.
“I’m going to go now, and I’m going to try and forget every word you said to me.” Richard leaned toward her, and brushed his lips against her wet cheek. It took every ounce of strength Hanna had not to turn into the kiss and press her mouth against his. “Please don’t follow me, or try to talk to me, I don’t think I’d be able to restrain myself.”
“Okay.” Hanna’s voice was still a whisper, and she stood still as a statue among the debris of glass scattered over the floor.
Richard backed away from her, never once averting his gaze until he reached the door. After pulling it open, he turned to look at her one last time.
“I’ve never seen you looking as beautiful as you do right now.”
Seventeen
February 19th 2009
Richard scanned his eyes down the list of new rentals, barely listening as the head of the real estate division took the board through the quarterly business review. Since the subprime disaster the previous year, the division had been hemorrhaging dollars, and he had to keep a much closer eye on what used to be regular transactions.
New rules had been created, including more severe credit checks, increased deposits and a deep dive into their renters’ accounts, ensuring they were renting to companies that had a future.
“What’s this one?” Seth Brown pointed to a small transaction at the bottom of the first page. “Buzz Media sounds like a bit of a risky choice.”
“They’re an internet media company based in London.” Nick Martin, the head of real estate, pushed his lanky dark hair out of his eyes. “They’ve passed all our checks, and our realtor has met with their representative, and has given me a full rundown.”
“How long have they been in business?” Richard asked, turning the pages in front of him until he found the more detailed transaction.
“Nearly three years, they’re not a start-up. One of the partners has flown out to set up their New York office; she’s the one our realtor has been dealing with.”
Maxwell Enterprises owned real estate across the country, and rarely dealt directly with their renters. Instead they employed a third-party to manage the rentals for them, and only recently had Richard even had to play a role in making sure the leases were signed with companies that weren’t about to fold.
It was a sign of the times.
As he reached the bottom of the page, he saw her name, and did a double take. The last person he ever expected to see renting a property in Manhattan was Hanna Vincent.
“Are you sure they’re in it for the long term?” He stared at her name again. His mouth felt dry as he tried to take in the news.
“Absolutely, they’re in the process of recruiting a director to be based over here. Their representative from London assures me it is a long-term deal.”
Richard leaned back and steepled his fingers, allowing the rest of the board to continue asking questions as he pondered the fact she was back in New York. After all she’d said about this town, and all the times she’d refused to move here when they were together. Now she was living here, and he hadn’t even known it.
He chuckled quietly, berating himself for even thinking about her. The last time he’d seen her—at Nathan’s wedding—he’d made it clear he didn’t want her to contact him again. So why would he expect her to tell him, after he had been so adamant that night? But the knowledge she was living only a few miles away from him came like a bolt from the blue.
The bigger question was why his father hadn’t let him know, and Richard was pretty sure he knew the answer to that. Steven had seen the state he had been in after she’d left him, and had even noticed their meeting at Nathan’s wedding. He’d left Richard in no doubt how he felt about him following her into the bathroom.
The door of the conference room opened, and Lisa poked her head around the door, pointing to the phone she held in her hand. Richard got the message and pushed himself up to standing, wandering over to the door and whispering to his assistant.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Meredith, she says it’s urgent. She has your mother with her.”
Richard pulled the door closed behind him and walked into the corridor, lifting the handset to his ear.
“Meredith?” He didn’t mean to sound quite so severe, but they’d already discussed the frequency of her calls, and what was urgent to her didn’t always mean he should be disturbed during a meeting.
“Richard, we’re at the Westchester Country Club.” In the background, Richard could hear his mother’s voice as she whispered something to Meredith. “It looks amazing, their wedding services are fabulous. And they’ve recommended the most fantastic planner. She’s not cheap, but she’s the best and we really need to give her a call.”
“Couldn’t this wait until tonight?”
“But I’m going away tomorrow, and I want to call and make us an appointment. If we don’t get in soon, they’re going to be fully booked. They’re already full until summer 2011.” Her voice was breathless with excitement, and Richard closed his eyes momentarily, wondering why he had to get involved with the organizing at all.