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Hannah felt sick, her stomach rolling and the bile rising. She reached for her phone, snapping a picture to send to Xander.
Xander Rhodes: 6:03 PM: Yeah. I saw that when I broke in earlier. Took me under a minute. No wonder that psycho got in.
Hannah grabbed for her bag, too upset to even be put-off that her hired private investigator had broken into her apartment. She grabbed her bag, walking out the door and down to the car in a daze. Her mind raced as anger and fear mingled to a toxic cocktail as she drove.
Elliott was waiting in his office, a drink in his hand. He stood as she walked in, his hands reaching into his pocket and pulling a box out.
Hannah felt her nerves sharp and frazzled as he walked up to her, smiling and held the box out to her. She looked down at it dumbly for a minute. "Open it," Elliott said, his voice sounding far away.
Her fingers searched for the seam and pulled it open. Nestled inside was gorgeous necklace. A shiny chain with a large simple, impossibly shiny round diamond. Hannah saw it as though through a telescope, far away. A few seconds passed and Elliott reached for the box. "Turn around," he instructed and she did.
His fingers carefully brushed her hair over one shoulder and then put the chain around her, clasping it with ease. He bent and kissed the back of her neck before brushing her hair back. At her long silence, Elliott spoke, a bit more surly than he planned. "Well, do you like it?" As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't sounded so nasty. He had wanted to do something nice, to give her something that would make his intentions more clear. And she was looking at him like he had three heads.
"You don't have to buy me things. I'm not after you for your money. I'm not... Dan," she said and immediately wished she could suck the words back in. A quick flash of hurt crossed his face and she wanted to kiss it away. She hadn't meant it. She hadn't even actually felt present enough to notice how nice of a gesture it was. How it was the first piece of jewelry a man had ever given her. That it probably meant something coming from Elliott.
Elliott's face quickly went guarded. "Right. So you're just after me for the sex then," he said and she felt the words like a slap in the face.
Slut. Whore.
"I'm glad we cleared that up," he said, turning away from her, walking back to his desk, pouring a fresh drink and drinking it in one swig.
Hannah stood dumbly for a second, every ounce of her wishing she could go after him. But every inch of him was erect, on edge. She couldn't even think of the right words to say. Confrontation was never something she was comfortable with. She silently went out the door, to her car, and drove to a hotel.
She locked the door, dropped her bag and fell into the bed, sobbing like a child. Uncontrollable, uninhibited. Gasping, ugly sobbing.
Her phone chimed announcing a text message a long while later and she grabbed for it desperately, praying to see Elliott's name pop up.
Xander Rhodes: 8:11 PM: Try not to stress too much. I'll find the bitch.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hannah woke up early in the morning, her eyes swollen, her cheeks burned red from tears. She skipped a shower and dressed methodically. She had only one thought in her mind as she checked out of the hotel and drove to work. She was going to fix it. She had no choice. She had to find a way to apologize. Offer some kind of excuse for her behavior. Make things right.
He had been trying.
And she had shoved it in his face.
Tad followed her into her office when she didn't respond to his greeting. "Whoa crying hangover, much?"
Hannah shrugged, "Bad night."
Tad's brow quirked up. "You got a diamond out of it. It couldn't have been that bad."
Hannah's hand went to the diamond automatically, cool to her touch. "The psycho broke into my house again. Drew a picture of me dead on my living room wall. I was in a mood and I said something awful to him and now he's pissed."
Tad sighed, reaching for her hand and rubbing it between his.
"Hannah," Sally's voice called from the lobby, making her jump. "There is someone here to see you."
Hannah felt an irrational fear rise up her throat as if this person could be her stalker. She shook her head and opened the door to find Xander standing there. Dark and looming, looking completely out of place.
"Well,hello," Tad said seductively and Xander laughed. "I know I know. You're straight but... hello."
"Tad this is Xander Rhodes. My private investigator."
"Right," Tad said, all seriousness. "I'll leave you to it then."
"You look like hell," Xander commented, his words matter-of-fact.
