“And thus, your mortal coil is made of clear tape. Speaking of spirits, however.”Athena grabbed a nearby notebook to flip through the pages.“I nearly forgot. I did more research for you regarding Stuart Marsh. He was the child of Alvin and Pauline Marsh. Pauline worked in the factories, as did many of the women during the war. Alvin was a police officer. Quite well regarded, in fact. There were newspaper articles about him that detailed his bravery and commitment to helping people during the threat of war.”
“Oh. Well, that’s really nice. Maybe I’ll tell–” Vivian. Hanna sniffled, then continued. “Maybe I’ll send clippings to Vivian when I officially tender my resignation.”
“You know, you could–”
A knock at the door interrupted whatever Athena intended to say. “Give me a second, will you? There’s someone at my door.”
“Of course.”
Hanna tugged her clothes back into line as she crossed the room.I should have a shower. Change into something comfortable. Maybe room service has a gallon of chocolate ice cream and a spoon. Maybe Martin ordered me something when he checked me in? I can’t think of who else would be at the door.
Room service hadn’t brought her a treat to drown her sorrows in. Instead, when Hanna opened the door, she found Julia Dawson staring back at her.
* * *
The office door opened,allowing light from the hallway to spill into the shadowy lair Gregory had created for himself. One small desk lamp provided enough light for him to stare at the papers on his desk, the preparation he had done for tonight’s dinner meeting that he hadn’t needed in the end. Numbers and figures hadn’t mattered. They surely couldn’t have saved him from himself.
Martin walked into the now-open door with an air of heavy, determined purpose. He did take the time to close the door behind him before dropping into his customary seat near the desk. From there, Martin watched Gregory with a sharp stare but did not break the silence.
Gregory did when it grew too uncomfortable. “Is she all right?”
“What do you think?” Martin asked, folding his hands in his lap.
Gregory held up a hand. “Physically.”
“She’s safe. I’ve put her up in a hotel. The charges will come to the company card, and I suggest you do not argue about that.”
“No. No argument.”Not about that, anyway.Gregory could feel the other argument in the room, a giant pachyderm of contention that awaited acknowledgement. “You’re mad about this.”
“I am bloody well pissed, yes. However, I am aware you have every right to make a complete hash of your life in the manner you find most appealing. If letting the best thing that has ever happened to you go is your chosen means of bollocksing your existence, then far be it from me to either stop you or to say a ruddy word about it.” Martin’s smile had more edges than the chef’s cutlery drawer.
“What was I supposed to do, Marty?” Gregory hadn’t intended to rise to the bait. He also hadn’t intended to let Hanna go, and now, he had failed on both counts. “This blindsided me. I needed information, and by the time I had it, Hanna had stepped in.”
“What were you supposed to do? Throw his lying arse out.”
“I was about to. I didn’t act fast enough. I just… I thought maybe I could work with it. I’ve made million-dollar deals with bigger assholes than him. Hear him out, use what he said for ammunition, then nail him to the wall with his own words. Get what I wanted, then buy him out later.”
“How’d that work out for you?”
Gregory rubbed one side of his face. “Dawson left with the look on his face that says he’s going to enjoy playing the hell out of both sides for his own benefit. I’m probably going to lose my grandfather’s company, just when I thought I knew what I wanted to do with it. And Hanna is gone.”
“Because you let her go.”
“Yes. Because I let her go. It seems stupid now that I thought she might have been playing along to get me what I wanted. Stupid, selfish, and blind.” Gregory’s hand slapped against the top of the desk as he let it fall. “The more I go over what happened, the more I see shades of my grandfather. Let the man run his mouth. Watch a person throw themselves on the fire so you can find out if the flames extinguish. See if you can shoot the middle, have your cake and eat it too.”
“That is vintage Henry Russell, yes. A move I would expect from the man who never married his pregnant lover because she demanded he stand up for the love she thought they had.” Martin skewered Gregory with a pointed look.
Gregory got the message. “Here I thought I had only inherited the business. I’m not sure I could feel like a bigger asshole about this.”
“I could help with that, if you like.”
“Thank you.” Gregory massaged the bridge of his nose. “If I had known she had problems with him, I never would have invited him here. God, why didn’t shetellme?”
“About Dawson and when he forced a kiss on her?”
“Yes. She never mentioned who she’d worked for last. She said he was a creep, but she never said any more than that. Why didn’t she tell me what had happened?”
“Why would she? It wasn’t your business.” Martin unfolded his hands so he could stab a finger in Gregory’s direction. “Maybe she thought no one would believe her, since clearly, no one has thus far. Maybe it wasn’t even notable, because that sort of rubbish happens to womenall the time.Or maybe, just maybe, she was humiliated and didn’t damn well want to talk about it yet.”