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"He's a machine. Full automaton. But stop changing the subject. What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," She laughed. "Maybe I just make great coffee."
"Maybe he just likes your great ass," Tad quipped.
"Hey!"
"Oh come on now. He's a man. He has noticed. Hell, even I noticed and I have no interest in your ass."
"He has no interest in it either," Hannah insisted, setting her alarm clock and praying seven hours of sleep would be enough to refresh her.
"Oh please. Keep telling yourself that," he said, sounding serious. "Don't fall for it, okay? I know you swear you don't even think he is the yummy piece of prime rib that he is, but I don't believe that for a second. You know he's gorgeous. But I have seen four of his assistants get infatuated and fall into bed with him. They usually quit a few days later when they realized he has no actual interest in them. And I didn't care about them, they were vapid little gold diggers who saw him as an easy catch. But I like you. And I want you to hang around. Don't let him rope you in."
"Dude," Hannah said, wishing he would let this subject go, "he doesn't even talk to me. Seriously. Not even a hello. Or thank you."
"He doesn't need to talk to you to think about you naked."
"Oh, gross," Hannah grimaced. "He's not interested. And even if he was, I'm not. I need the money more than anything right now. So, go to bed and rest easy. Nothing is going to happen with me and EM."
"Glad to hear it. Get some beauty rest."
"You too," Hannah said, turning off the light and pulling the covers up to her neck.
"Have you seen me? I don't need beauty rest," Tad laughed and wished her goodnight.
Hannah wanted nothing more than to finally get some sleep, but her conversation with Tad played over and over in her head. Had EM noticed her? Somehow she really doubted it, but Tad seemed pretty certain. Could he really be thinking about her in a sexual way? It seemed unlikely. How could he think about her naked when he had hardly even glanced in her direction in eleven hours? She couldn't even imagine how a sexual relationship could form between EM and one of his assistants. Had they just thrown themselves at him? She couldn't see how it would work any other way. She couldn't fathom, even, how he had gotten a reputation as such a ladies man. There seemed to be nothing charming about his character. If anything he seemed intensely uninteresting. He was always surly and condescending. How did he even have time for dating? He was at the office until nine most nights and then back there by eight the next morning.
If she was honest, she would have admitted to Tad that over the course of the day she had noticed how attractive he is. He had an intriguing, mysterious air to him. And his eyes, when they were put in your direction, seemed to piece you to your soul. She had never seen eyes that blue before. And he had thick dark lashes around them which made them pop all the more. Then there was the sharpness of his cheekbones, hidden a little by that somehow attractive stubble.
But he had a firm set to his jaw that seemed aggressive. And his mouth was prone to seriousness, not humor.
And, in her opinion, that was not in any way her type. She preferred men who didn't take themselves so seriously. Someone with an easy smile and eyes that hinted at humor and compassion.
But all that was inconsequential. He was her boss. He signed the paychecks she so desperately needed. Even if relationships or sex were a focus of hers, he would be the last man she would turn to.
The very last.
CHAPTER FOUR
If possible, her second day felt even more overwhelming than her first. Which was probably due to a night spent tossing and turning, followed by a string of curses hauled at her alarm clock when it went off after she had a scarce three hours of sleep.
She felt frazzled, as if the entire world was a step ahead of her and she was scrambling to catch up. Maybe it was because her first day was such a shock, such a strange, alien experience of being an outsider that did not fully understand all the responsibilities she would have to handle every single day of her workweek while the rest of the staff seemed to function effortlessly in the breakneck pace.
By lunchtime, her desk resembled that of a scatter-brained middle school teacher with far too many students and too many assignments to grade and not enough organizational skills. She had invoices and faxes, spreadsheets and travel guides. Mail and mail and more mail. The sheer volume of mail that was addressed to E. Michaels was jaw dropping. If his mail were just put on hold for a week, you could probably save a thousand rain forests from destruction. And this was only his personal mail. Imagine how much was addressed to the company at large. She got a twitch just thinking about it.
Hannah tapped her foot impatiently in the mini kitchen, watching the clock and waiting for the coffee pot to finish brewing. She was running late. Mr. Michaels had an appointment in less than five minutes and she still had to make the coffee and get it back to the office. He could give her one of those looks of his if she was late. That kind of look that said "you are completely incompetent'. Apparently it was a look everyone in the company was intimate with.
"What's with the crack leg?" Tad asked, motioning to her rapidly tapping leg while he reached into the refrigerator for his daily yogurt.
"I am running behind."
"Oh, yes," Tad smiled. It was an odd smile, as if he knew something she didn't and wasn't about to fill her in about it. It was the kind of smile high school cheerleaders had when sitting at their table in the cafeteria and gossiping. "And this is a very important meeting. Very important people and all. Better get while the getting is good, Hannah-Banana," he said and sauntered back to his desk.
Hannah filled the three cups and hauled it back to the office, trying her best to not scald herself with the hot mugs or spill any of the contents, silently thanking her time as a server for the inhuman ability to withstand the heat through the ceramic. She opened the door with her wrist, and pushed it open with her shoulder while looking down at the cups.
Then ran right into something solid.
She yelped as the contents of three steaming hot coffee cups spilled down her chest and arms. She tried as hard as she could to hold onto the cups but the fell to the ground with a sharp cracking noise followed by whooshing sounds as the pieces scattered around the floor.
