I cleared my throat. “Yeah?”
“We’ve arrived at your condo, sir.”
I grinned at Hannah. “Perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”
As soon as the intercom clicked off, Hannah and I collapsed into a puddle of laughter.
Hannah
The rest of the week passed in a dream. I couldn’t even believe how good it felt to be with someone like Justin. It was like he was a completely different man, like the changed version that I’d seen of him was the only real version that existed. I forgot all about how cold, rude, and cocky he had been the first day we met.
“I can’t believe this,” I told him one Sunday night as I was getting ready to leave his condo. “I went from literally being a virgin to being in love.”
Justin smirked, but he didn’t answer. My heart swooped up, hoping that he’d tell me he loved me. But even though he didn’t ans
wer, his smile was good enough for me. Looking at his face always sent my heart fluttering and butterflies racing through my chest. It was too good to be true – why would someone like him be interested in someone like me?
I’d thought that going back to work would be difficult. And it was, in a way. But it was also kind of fun to keep our relationship on the down low. It was hard for me to spend eight hours sitting so close to Justin, and yet father away than ever before. Even though we hadn’t really discussed our…relationship, I knew that it would be taboo for Justin to be involved with anyone working for his father’s company. At best, it was a case for human resources. And at worst…
Well, I didn’t like to think about that.
The weeks went on. I started spending two or three nights at Justin’s luxe, Manhattan condo a week. The view was incredible, the bed was amazing, but Justin was like the cherry on top of a perfect, wealthy sundae. I couldn’t believe that someone so young would have lived in absolute splendor for his whole life.
But then again, there were a lot of things about Justin that I had trouble believing. It was so impossible, so crazy that he’d picked me to confide in – to be goofy with, to have fun with. Whenever we were together, I forgot about the outside world. It was all too easy to believe that Justin and I would be perfect together forever.
And then I’d go back to work and the whole cycle of secrecy would envelop us once again.
It was hard to work in an office with so many beautiful women that were like vultures, waiting for Justin to stumble so they could snatch him up in their greedy little hands. But it filled me with pride, not to mention glee, whenever I overheard them gossiping about how sexy he was.
“He’s a total prude,” one woman told me in the bathroom after inquiring if I worked with Justin. “I mean, he doesn’t go out with anyone. I wonder if he’s gay.”
I bit the inside of my lip to keep from smiling. “Yeah,” I said slowly. “I don’t know, really. I mean, he works under me. We don’t really talk about personal things.”
And we didn’t – not at work. At work, Justin Long was an untouchable man. He was like plastic, like a shadow of the person he truly was inside. But every time we were alone together, that changed.
Sometimes, I wondered how long we could sustain this motion. I desperately wanted to come clean about our relationship. But I was doing really well at work – I’d actually been promoted after only being at Creovation for a month – and I couldn’t risk hurting my own career. Still, I knew there would come a day when I wouldn’t be willing to put Justin off for much longer.
A few weeks later, I was sitting at my desk when an unfamiliar woman in a grey suit walked up to me carrying a yellow manila envelope. When I smiled at her, she scowled in return.
“Are you Hannah Perkins?”
I frowned. “Yes,” I said slowly. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
Before I could react, security guards stepped out from the corner of the room and walked over to my desk.
“Hannah, you’ve been terminated effective immediately,” Grey Suit Lady said. She pulled out a pink slip of paper from the manila envelope and handed it over.
My heart leapt into my throat and I glanced around, wildly, wondering where Justin was. Then I remembered: Shit! He’s still at lunch!
“Why?” I asked, my voice trembling. Tears filled my eyes and I didn’t know what to say or do – what the hell was I going to do when I had to pay rent and I had no money left?
“I’m not at liberty to discuss,” the woman said. She smiled tightly at me and I had to resist the urge to slap her.
“Well, what’s the meaning of this?” I demanded. “What’s going on?”
“Hannah, keep your voice down,” the woman said. “These guards will watch as you clean out your desk and leave with your belongings. You will be subject to a search before leaving the building to ensure that you’re not taking any property that belongs to Creovation.”
“Why would I do that?” I yelled wildly, waving my hands through the air. “What’s going on?”