Page 24 (1/2)
CHAPTER ONE
IF THE bit of black satin and lace spilling froown Hannah had ever seen, it was certainly a close contender It looked as if it o up in flanoir
‘Well?’ Sally shifted impatiently from one foot to the other ‘What do you think?’
Hannah poked a finger at the sheer bodice ‘It’s—uh—it’s very nice’
‘Nice?’ Sally ot to be better than “nice”, Hannah “Nice” is what your irls you ith give you as a wedding gift!’
Hannah nodded ‘Right That’s what I meant, that it’s the perfect present for a bridal shower’ She pushed her oversized glasses up on the bridge of her nose ‘Really’
‘Yeah?’ Sally drew the goards her, regarded it critically, then let it slip back so it lay draped across the gold box ‘Gosh, I hope so I’ve never been the one to choose the gift before I just hope Betty likes it’
‘I’m sure she will’
‘OK, then, I’ive it to her—or you can bring it with you when you come to the lunch room, OK?’
‘Me? Oh, I can’t! I’ve tooshut Sally was gone, leaving only a drift of perfume behind
Hannah stared at the gown, made a face, and sank down in her chair Today see with the two extreht Her forehead creased as she leaned towards her coly details of Gibbs vs Gibbs What had once been a happy e had been reduced to a case file of accusations and rebuttals
Well, she thought as she began typing, at least there hadn’t been any children involved Her fingers slowed on the keys That hat people had said about her too, eight long years ago when the pain of her own divorce had been fresh and questions about the future had seemed insurmountable
‘It’s a good thing you didn’t have kids,’ they’d said, and Hannah had agreed It had been scary enough being responsible for herself, let alone for a baby
But she’d turned out to be perfectly capable of ood one, for herself All it lacked, if it lacked anything, was someone to share it with Not a hter or a son, a s face to come home to at the end of the day…
Hannah gave herself a little shake ‘Oh, coers danced over the co tiht have been It was now thatsense of the Byzantine complications of the case her boss had dumped on to her shoulders just before he’d marched out of the door
‘Do so several thick files on her desk on his way out
‘Do what?’ Hannah had asked, bewildered She had been Grant MacLean’s assistant for five months now, but she’d only helped him with his speciality, international law
‘Make sorey eyes cool ‘You do have so, don’t you?’
And you’re the one who gets paid a fortune to practise law, Hannah had wanted to say But she hadn’t She liked her job too much to toss it all away Besides, she’d learned to bite her tongue and let her boss’s sharper comments slip by
Mean MacLean, Sally had dubbed him, and, if it was a cruel nickname, it was close to accurate
‘What a waste,’ she’d groaned, ‘all that thick black hair, white teeth, rippling eous eyes—and a heart so tiny you’d have to perforery to find it!’
Hannah sighed as she highlighted a section of text That wasn’t precisely true Grant MacLean had a heartrather a busy heart, if hisIt was just that no one orked for him ever saw it
It was ‘do this,’ and ‘do that,’ with a ‘please’ added solacial arrogance in the tone
Still, there were things that made the job more than palatable The pay was excellent and, in all truth, MacLean drove himself even harder than he drove her He was, evidently, a believer in working as hard as he played And working for him was quite a plum, especially for someone like Hannah who’d been a secretary with a brand new paralegal certificate in her hand only fivestar, a laith a rapidly developing national and international reputation Hannah had a sneaking suspicion she hadn’t been his first choice for the job, but his last paralegal had quit in a huff one day and, rather than go through the laborious process of interviewing applicants, he’d asked her to work for him
No Not asked, exactly Mr Longworth had recommended her, and Grant MacLean had scowled at her froive her a try…
A sudden whoop of laughter echoed down the corridor, dying as a wave of lanced at her watch Five o’clock, on the nose Quitting tiwor
th, Hart, Holtz and MacLean, and Betty’s party had started Well, she wasn’t going to get there for quite a while, if at all Gibbs vs Gibbs was driving her crazy Fro rat, but his pathetic wife didn’t want to believe it
Why omen so damned stupid? Why were men such bastards? Why… ?
The door banged open ‘Tiet a move on,’ Sally called
Hannah shook her head without looking up ‘I’m nowhere near finished’
‘Oh, come on It’s after five’
‘Exactly Mr MacLean will be back soon And he’ll expect anised’
Sally made a face ‘Boy, I’d love to tell him what he can do with his expectations!’
Hannah laughed ‘Wish Betty the best for me, will you?’
‘You can do that for yourself I’ll be back in half an hour to pick up this little nuold foil box ‘And when I do, I’ you with me!’
Hannah didn’t bother protesting as the door sla at the screen For a while, there was no sound in the office except for the soft click of her keyboard and the occasional scratch of her pencil against her notepad After a long while, she sat back, shoved her glasses atop her head, and rose from her chair
‘Time for a break,’ she murmured She walked the width of her small office, poured herself a cup of coffee, then strolled back again The black lace nightgown caught her eye; she stopped and caught it up lightly in her hand, shaking her head as she exaossamer straps and sheer bodice
Maybe Betty would be one of the lucky ones and whatever she was drea today would last Maybe her husband would be a ly married, who’d been so intent on his own desires that he’d slept with another wo ho them there, a frill of black lace very like this one on the carpet
The door swung open and banged against the wall Sally, Hannah thought, and she swung around blindly and held out the daown
‘Take this, will you please?’ she de up my…’
The burst of angry words caught in her throat She gave a start as she looked into the grey eyes of her employer
‘For own froh his hands like a snake ‘Charled across his mouth ‘But not quite my size’
Colour raced into Hannah’s cheeks ‘I—I didn’t knoas you, Mr MacLean’
‘No I can see that’ MacLean’s gaze drifted impersonally over her, from her neatly clasped chestnut hair to the hazel eyes behind the oversized glasses, then down her grey worsted blazer to the he to her face He held out the gown as that tight sift from an admirer, perhaps?’
This time, she felt her face blaze crimson ‘No! Of course not How could you think… ?’ She fell silent He was having fun at her expense, daown fro married Sunday, and——’
MacLean’s smile vanished ‘Spare me the details,’ he said as he shouldered his way past her ‘Just get your notes on the Gibbs case and come into my office—if you can spare the time, of course’