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The guy sitting next to him, who often came into work with cartoon characters on his shirt, actually had an MBA.
In the end, they had secured the deal and James had shot him a look that screamed 'I told you so' as they shook hands with their unfortunate new business associate.
–
Hannah slipped into her new shirt, staring paranoid at the two doors of her office despite the fact that no one ever came in. It felt soft on her skin- much softer than the one she had worn. Thankfully, her bra had dried, though it still smelled strongly of coffee, reminding her of when she worked full time at a coffeehouse and would swear she could still smell coffee in her hair even after shampoo and conditioner.
Her arms and chest stung whenever anything brushed against them and had settled permanently to a bright, angry red color. Her skin had even blistered a little in spots, a fact she was choosing to ignore.
It was just after lunch and she still needed to go grocery shopping for him, interview three housekeepers, file, fax, figure out who "Dan" was and call him to tell him they would have to reschedule.
"Ding dong," Tad said, peeking his head in the door and raising an eyebrow at her. "Nice shirt."
"It was a gift."
"I'm sure it was," Tad said, throwing himself onto the sofa and closing his eyes. "Sally is in a mood. I need refuge."
Hannah giggled. "Stay as long as you need."
"He's every bit as delicious as I told you, isn't he?" Tad opened one eye and looked at her. "Oh, don't pretend you don't know who I am talking about."
Hannah conceded, "Alright. Yes, he's very charming."
"And gorgeous," Tad added.
"And gorgeous," she agreed. "Oh, now that I have you here.. Who is Dan?"
"Dan," Tad repeated, turning his face fully toward her.
"Yeah, I'm supposed to call Dan and reschedule. He didn't say what."
"Probably their court date," Tad said with a frown. "Dan is his wife."
Hannah felt like she'd gotten the wind knocked out of her. He was married? How? Why? She shook her head. Why did it matter?
"Yeah," Tad said, looking at her intently. "It was weird. They dated casually for a while. She's some kind of heiress, gorgeous and cold and she somehow got him to tie the knot. God only knows how she managed that," he grimaced. "It lasted like three months. They are going to court to settle the terms of the divorce. Good riddance. She was a real piece of work."
"Piece of work," James' voice came from the doorway. "Is someone talking about me?"
"Oh, always James, always," Tad replied.
"Tad," James nodded in his direction. "Working hard."
"Oh you know me," Tad practically purred.
James walked into the room, perching himself on Hannah's desk and fiddling around with its contents. "Is it just me or is Sally a total bitch today?" he asked and Tad and Hannah burst out laughing.
They stayed there like that for fifteen minutes, swapping witty banter and releasing stress before James stood up and announced, "Well, I have to get going. If I actually stay here a full day, my brother might have a heart attack. Or, worse yet, start to expect that of me." He turned to Hannah, grabbed her hand, and actually kissed it. "It was an honor sharing the shirt off my back with you, Hannah Clary. Maybe we can do it again sometime." He looked at her long enough to notice her blush and smiled at it. He started for the door, "And Tad, always a pleasure."
"Oh, you know it," Tad responded with a wink.
Once Tad begrudgingly got back to work, Hannah sat, fastidiously typing responses to letters and getting the schedule in order. At her back, unbeknownst to her, it had turned dark outside. The office seemed to run on a different time than the rest of the world and it simply flew by with all the tasks that needed to be completed in a day.
She had made the call to Dan and was greeted by an icy voice who was overly irritated at her for Elliott's change of plans. Then she had spent two hours conducting interviews, then calling and canceling the ones she had lined up for the next day because she had found the perfect candidate.
Her shoulders hurt from being stuck at her computer for so long. And then something went wrong. She was in the middle of a two-paged letter when suddenly the screen went dark and she couldn't get it to come back on. It was the straw that broke the camel's back and she could feel herself getting teary-eyed with frustration.
"No no no no no," she yelled at the screen, trying the few overrides she knew.
