Page 41 of The Valentine Agenda

"James, got a minute?" Marcus cut in smoothly, already steering him away. "That proposal you sent over—I had some thoughts."

James hesitated, looking back at Hannah. "I should really—"

"It'll just take a moment," Marcus insisted. "You want to hear this, trust me."

James squeezed Hannah's shoulder. "Just one quick meeting," he promised. "I'll be right back."

Hannah smiled—that careful, understanding smile that made something twist in his chest. "Of course. Go ahead."

As Marcus led him away, James glanced back. Hannah sat perfectly straight in her chair, hands folded in her lap, looking beautiful against the opulent backdrop of the event.

Just two minutes, he told himself. Then he'd make it up to her.

------------------

"The expansion possibilities are impressive," Marcus was saying. James found his attention drifting to Hannah. She was still at their table, watching the crowd with that quiet observation he'd come to recognize—the way she really saw people.

"James?" Marcus's voice sharpened. "Are you with me?"

"Of course." James forced his focus back to business. This deal could mean everything for his company's growth. Just a few more minutes, then he'd return to Hannah. "About the European markets—"

"Park!" Another voice cut through the crowd. Richard, head of First National's investment division. "Tell me you're not monopolizing Marcus. Some of us want to discuss that merger proposal."

James felt the familiar pull of networking, of deals and connections.

He glanced her way again. She'd moved to the bar, standing slightly apart from the crowd. Someone bumped past her without acknowledging her presence, and James saw her shoulders tense slightly.

"The merger's actually perfect timing," Marcus was saying. "With the market positioning—"

"One moment," James started to step away, but Richard's hand landed on his shoulder.

"I'd like to get you and Trevor Martinez working together on this."

He was barely listening. He looked toward Hannah again, remembering another night, another room, another time he'd left her waiting.

But this was different. He was different.

"The projections for Q3," Marcus prompted, pulling James back into the conversation. Away from Hannah. Away from the growing unease in his chest.

Just five more minutes, he promised himself.

------------------

The minutes slipped by like water through his fingers. Each time James looked for Hannah, she seemed smaller, more distant. He kept catching glimpses between conversations:

Hannah sipping her champagne.

Hannah adjusting her dress—a nervous tell he'd learned to recognize.

Hannah watching him work the room, her expression growing more remote.

"The board would need assurance," someone was saying. James nodded, making appropriate responses, but his attention kept fragmenting.

Five minutes had become ten. Ten had become half an hour.

She was still there, though. Still waiting. The knowledge sat like lead in his stomach.

"Park, what's your take on the regulatory concerns?"

---