“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.”
“So, may I ask the name of this savior of yours?” Amy drummed her pencil on the desk while she waited for a response.
Shaking her head, Hannah said sadly, “No can do. It was part of the pledge I made. He has appearances to keep up. I can’t reveal his name.”
Amy sat up, somewhat alarmed. “So, will I get to see you?”
“Of course. I’ll be free on the weekends and we can meet,” Hannah responded vaguely.
“But I’ll never see you there, at his place?” A note of concern was evident in her voice.
“I don’t think so,” Hannah admitted.
“I don’t know,” she worried. “Maybe you should hold off, wait for someone else. It’s only been a few days…”
“But I only have a few weeks until I’m homeless,” Hannah protested. “I have to do this. He’s the one,” she finished resolutely.
“Are you sure about this?” Aaron Maddox, head of the company’s legal department, asked when he was handed the task of creating the contract.
“I just need an employment contract drafted,” Gavin said irritably. He hated having to explain himself. “That is what I pay you to do, isn’t it?”
Clearing his throat, Aaron continued, “I thought I was also supposed to offer my expert opinion and legal advice.” He had worked for the company his entire career, first as an intern, then hired on full-time once he passed the bar. And through the years, this was the first time he had ever had cause to question the judgment of the CEO.
“I know what I’m doing,” Gavin snapped. Then he paused, took a calming breath, and said, “Please have the contract ready for my perusal by ten in the morning in case it needs revising before lunch.” And without even saying goodbye, he hung up. He was flustered. And he knew what it was. Aaron had hit a nerve. For the first time since he caught his wife in bed with his sister, he felt as though he was off course, about to once again disrupt the balance of his carefully ordered universe.
He didn’t have room for them. It wasn’t that he didn’t have room for Hannah and the children in his house. No, there was ample space for them, more than enough bedrooms and baths to accommodate, but he didn’t have room for them in his life. He didn’t like change. And having her around would most certainly change things. The kids were probably loud and unruly and messy. It was, however, the price he was willing to pay to make her pay.
At
12:50, Hannah left her desk, and headed for the elevator. She didn’t want to keep Gavin waiting. Should she be calling him Gavin, or would he prefer to be called Mr. Meyers? This was just one of the many questions that plagued her as she walked the short distance to
Rock Bottom.
She sighed as she glanced at the large sign. He couldn’t have picked a place more aptly named. She did feel as though she had been skidding along her own rock bottom for some time.
With a smile and a nod the hostess indicated that her new employer was already there. Hannah followed the perky petite blonde up the steps to the back of the top level where Gavin was reading the contract. Maybe she was being presumptuous. It could just be
a
contract, not necessarily
the
contract. As gracefully as she could muster with her knees practically knocking, she tucked her skirt and sat across from him in their secluded booth.
From the tight smile on her lips and the slight tremble in her hand as she reached for her water glass, Gavin knew that Hannah was nervous. Part of him wanted to soothe her fears, murmur words of comfort and assurance. That was the gentleman in him, the side he blamed for his problems with women through the ages, and the side he was currently tamping down with all the strength he could muster. At the same time, he recognized that the contract wasn’t signed yet, she wasn’t yet tied to him, and hiding his satisfaction at her unease, the businessman in him took over.
“So, you have decided to go through with it, huh?” He as asked as jovially as he could muster.
A half smile brightened her face, “As if I have so many other more tempting offers,” she managed.
She was honest and direct. He liked that about her. Here was a woman who didn’t
seem
to play games. “And I thought it was my considerable charm that won you over,” he joked.
Hannah cocked her head to one side, wondering what she saw there in his eyes. He could barely look at her. “What about you?” She asked quietly. “Are you having any second thoughts?”
He paused and studied her. She was really quite attractive. Dressed horribly, but he thought she might be more…presentable…if she had the means. He would ensure she had the means. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Gavin said, “No, why should I?” He set down his water glass and pushed a copy of the contract to her. “As you can see, everything we discussed is in there.” He flipped to the second page. “The contract can be terminated at any time with thirty days written notice by either party.” She nodded and glanced at him before emitting a hollow laugh.
“Something funny, Hannah?” He stared at her with his piercing blue eyes.
She smirked. “No, I was just musing that thirty days is more warning than I received from my husband.” She shrugged. “That’s all. Thirty days is more than fair.”
Folding his hands on the table, he frowned. Hannah had a really refreshing way of looking at things. For her, thirty days was more than enough security. How different they were. India had been telling him their entire relationship and he had refused to hear or acknowledge. True, it wasn’t submitted in writing exactly. India was a far more…expressive creature. She painted, she sculpted, and she ran away.
Reaching for the pen, Hannah found the lines she needed to sign with the assistance of brightly colored sticky tabs. She smiled. It was all so surreal. She was about to move in with a man that she didn’t even know. And worse, she was subjecting her kids to him. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. But he was offering her more money to do so than she could ever have made in her current position. On top of that, she had no other monthly expenses. He was covering her room and board, offering her a lease on a great SUV. She couldn’t turn this down. She couldn’t walk away. Inhaling deeply, she quickly scribbled her signature and initialed where it indicated. Emitting a sigh, she passed the contract across the table. “Now you.”
With a smile, a flourish, and without a moment’s hesitation, Gavin quickly signed his life away. “So, you’ll be moved in by April 1
st
, right?” He reminded her, surprised by his own impatience for the game to begin.
“Of course,” Hannah responded smoothly, in an effort to cover her own bout of nerves.
“And you gave notice at work?” He inquired. “I need you to be at my complete beck and call.”
Suddenly, she felt like Julia Roberts in
Pretty Woman
.
Great,
she thought,
I’ve turned myself into a beck and call girl.
Hannah blushed. “I’ll be turning it in this afternoon. I wanted to make sure this didn’t fall through first. You understand, right?”
He cocked his head to the side. Clearly this woman would not trust easily. She had been hurt before, a realization that tugged at him. He was about to be just like some man before him, gaining her trust and crushing it. That thought gave him very little pleasure, and a small scowl clouded his face. “Certainly,” he murmured as he took a sip of his coffee. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to get away. He glanced at his watch. “I’m sorry I have to cut this short, but I really need to get back to the office.” He offered her one of his winning smiles, but it didn’t quite mask the conflicted emotions he was dealing with. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other,” he said smoothly.
And suddenly he was unsure of himself. Should he give her a peck on the cheek? They were about to live together. Of course, it wasn’t a romantic situation, so maybe just a handshake? In the end, he clasped her hand in both of his. “I’m looking forward to this. I hope you are as well.” Gavin gently squeezed her hands and walked away after throwing some money on the table.
“I don’t know what to make of him yet,” she confided in Amy. “We had lunch to finalize everything today. And he was…nice.” She struggled to put words to the feelings she had coursing through her. Gavin wasn’t what she expected. She was looking forward to the job, with even the modicum of security it would provide. And, then there was getting to know
him.
“What’s he like?” Amy pestered. “Come on. You can at least tell me that much without nullifying the contract, right?”
“Well,” Hannah began hesitantly, “I guess. There just isn’t much to tell right now. I barely know him.” She sighed. “He’s attractive, and refined, a little too uptight for me, very proper. At the same time, as successful as he is, I don’t think he’s happy. I think that’s my real job. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Oh, gawd,” her friend sighed. “You are not going to turn him into one of your lost causes are you?”
“Whatever do you mean?” She giggled innocently before growing very serious. “I have to give something back, Amy. My very nature insists. He has given me more than you can imagine already. A huge weight has been lifted. I’m hopeful again. I have to do something for him in return.”