Page 81 of One Night Only
Will’s words from before echo in my mind as I reach reception. Is that what Matthias did? Is Harvey now trying to squeeze me out? Maybe that’s why I’m so rattled. Because no matter how hard I work my fate was sealed the moment he got the promotion and I just refuse to admit it.
I come to a stop at the end of the hallway, subtly adjusting my bra before I start bleeding through my blouse. There are three people in reception. A pretty, straight-backed woman in her late thirties stands nearest me, typing into her phone. Margot sits at her computer, giggling loudly as she peers up at the man leaning over the desk. The man who…
I stare at the back of his head, sure I’m seeing the things. But this time there’s no mistake. He turns his face to the side and I catch a familiar glimpse as he plucks a company card from the stack by the phones, slipping it into his pocket.
Declan.
As if in slow motion, Margot’s eyes slide to me, but I’m already gone, diving back around the corner to the kitchenette.
Oh God. I stand just out of sight, reading furiously through the initial email asking for a meeting but his name isn’t anywhere. Only the woman. Mika Morris. She mentions briefly that she works for a tour company but I thought Disney World. I thought cruises. I thought…
“What’s wrong?” Will stands by the fridge, holding a packet of string cheese. “Are you ill?”
I grab his arm and tug him sharply down the hallway.
“Ow,” he says as I push him into the ladies’ room.
“Sorry, Sandra,” I say as I spy one of our technical designers at the sink. “Could you…?”
She gives us a startled nod and hurries past, shaking her hands dry.
“I need your help,” I say when she’s gone.
Will’s face drops. “You’re pregnant.”
“No!”
“You invested all your money in cryptocurrency.”
“No. Will! Shut up.” I take a breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “One of the people I’m meeting today has turned out to be someone I’ve slept with.”
He looks confused. “So?”
“What do you mean, so?”
“Just pretend you don’t recognize him. What’s the big deal?”
“It’s complicated. We—”
“I don’t care,” he says quickly. “Really. But enjoy your unnecessary drama.”
“Please Will. As your work wife—”
“Hannah’s my work wife,” he interrupts. “You’re more like the family hamster.” But he looks torn. “What do you want me to do? Pull the fire alarm?”
“I can’t go in there by myself, Will, I can’t. I’ll do something wrong.”
“You’re not going to do something wrong. You need to stop with this imposter syndrome phase. And what do you think I can do about it?” he continues when I go to argue. “Sit menacingly in the corner? You’re looking for an excuse.”
“I’m not! I’m just…” I falter, trying to think of a way to solve this. The last time I saw Declan I lost track of myself completely, which I can’t afford to happen right now. He drives me crazy. And not in the fun teen-bop way. In the “I don’t know what to do with myself, so I’ll probably just snap at you and everyone around me” way.
“I can’t go in there by myself,” I repeat. “You have to come in with me. You could act as my assistant.”
“No.”
“No, it could work,” I say, growing excited the more I think of it. “Important people have assistants. And you wouldn’t have to do anything you could just sit there and take notes.”
Will frowns thoughtfully. “Well, I guess if you put it like that… Oh, wait a minute, I’ve already decided. No.”
