Page 92 of Square Deal

“Miss Hayes called while you were meeting with the board. She said she’s unable to meet you tonight for dinner, but will call when she is free.”

Well, that was fucking annoying.I had offered to fly her to New York for dinner while I was in the city, and apparently turned me down.

I resisted the urge to growl. My mood since making things official with Hannah Jane had taken a turn for the better. Even the usually quiet Alice told me how much happier I seemed.

“You have ten seconds to say what’s on your mind," I said to Spenser, who looked like he was about to bust.

“Oh my God! IloveHannah. I knew she wasn’t one of your hump and dumps.”

I looked at the windows surrounding my office to see if pigs were forecasted to fly through the clouds.

I raised an eyebrow. Spenser was privy to the inner workings of my personal life, and offered unsolicited snarky comments about my pattern of one-night stands. He was the committed, monogamous type.

I stood and grabbed my blazer from the coat rack. “Miss Hayes and I are seeing each other, if that’s what you were getting at.” I shot him a pointed look. “And our relationship is not public knowledge.”

He gave me a sloppy salute.

“Anything else?” I asked, shaking my arms through the sleeves and buttoning the jacket.

Spenser stuffed the papers he had brought into my hand. Sure, he emailed me digital copies, but I appreciated some things being done old school.

“Al is downstairs with the car. Have a nice trip and don’t forget to call Solomon.”

I slid the pages into my leather folio and tucked it under my arm. “Thanks, Spense.”

He mumbled something that sounded like, “Thank God he’s not clubbing.”

I shook my head and chuckled.

I gave Spenser hell, but he was the best damn assistant I’d ever had. My schedule was demanding, and I wasn’t always easy to get along with.

He took it all in stride, though. My grumpy mood never scared him off, even when I took a red eye flight and was running on fumes and coffee.

He was blissfully married and didn’t flirt with me like the dozens of assistants who filled the position before him. Plus, he never let me go into a meeting looking anything less than dashing. Wins all around.

He was probably the most overpaid executive assistant in the city, but keeping him on the payroll was worth every cent.

I slid into the backseat of the car. Alice shut the door behind me. I pinned the phone between my ear and shoulder so I could look over my trip itinerary during the drive.

“Hey, you,” Hannah said in that husky voice she always had when she was exhausted. “I, um, I’m sorry I can’t make it up for dinner. I tried to call you earlier, but I guess you were in a meeting or something. So, I called your office and talked to Spenser. I hope that was okay.”

She didn’t just sound tired. She sounded like she was hanging on by a thread.

I hated that I wasn’t there to see her in person to make sure she was okay.

Was she lying in bed, watching TV, and eating something she had meal-prepped and labeled? Was she sitting on top of her kitchen island, shoveling in sugary cereal at hummingbird speed? Was she still in her work clothes, or had she changed into something a little more comfortable?

I didn’t know what ‘comfortable’ meant in Hannah Jane’s world yet. For me, it meant sleeping in my own bed and walking around my apartment in my boxers.

Even going to bed, she looked put together enough to go out on the town. Her nightgowns were sexy as fuck. Her brown hair was always brushed smoothly, and her makeup only came off when the lights were out.

I knew very little about relationships, but I assumed you’d eventually be comfortable enough with each other to wear cozy pajamas and pee with the door open.

Hannah Jane didn’t strike me as the type.

I appreciated a well-dressed woman who took pride in her appearance. But for Hannah, it wasn’t merely pride. It was armor.

Was she protecting herself from others, or me?

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