Chapter Eleven
Hannah panicked as she sat in her office a day later. There were rumors circulating that Fortex’s CEO embezzled funds. No one knew the source, but the financial papers picked up on it. Her phone had been ringing for hours.
No matter how many times she and her colleagues spoke to the CFO, he swore up, down, and sideways there was nothing going on with their finances. It might be true, but the papers were going to have a field day with this. Only a week ago, she’d begged the media for coverage, now she’d give anything for them to ignore this. She tried to create other stories for the media to pursue, none of which resulted in any bites. Everyone was yelling at her. If she didn’t figure out the source of these stories, she would lose her client, or worse, her job.
Jim stuck his head in her office. “How are you doing with developing case histories for some of Fortex’s medical success stories? Your marketing plan will take too long to develop. We need something positive now.”
Hannah swung her chair around and pointed to a stack of folders on her desk. “Fortex is a huge pharmaceutical company. I’ve got calls out to everyone on their case study list and I’m waiting to hear from them. In the meantime, I’ve drafted the bare bones, so all I have to do is plug in the specific information.”
“Good. When you’re done with it, put together a media list for which publications we plan to target. We’ve got to get them some positive publicity or we’ll lose them.” He turned to go, but paused and fixed her with his penetrating stare.
She shivered. That stare made him a star with the clients. It freaked out his staff, though. Hannah had never been the recipient of it. She didn’t like it.
“We need to figure out where the rumors originated.”
She gulped. “I know.”
Looking at his retreating back, she shook her head. How in the world was she supposed to figure out who started the rumors?
The next day, Jim was waiting for her when she arrived at work. “Hannah, can I see you in my office?”
His tone brooked no argument. “I’ll be right there.” Her stomach plummeted and her head began to ache. She straightened her posture, smoothed her hair, and walked to her boss’s office. His back was to her when she reached it, so she knocked.
He swiveled, motioning her inside. “Sit down. The other day your friend visited you. Dan Rothberg?”
Hannah caught her breath. “Yes, he’s my boyfriend. Why?”
He leaned on his desk and steepled his fingers, resting his mouth on their tips. “The same Dan Rothberg who works for Lorpman LLP?”
“Yes, that’s the name of his firm. Why?”
“We have a huge problem.”
Her stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“Lorpman is the firm investigating Fortex, and Dan Rothberg is the lead investigator.”
“Wait, what?” She leaned forward.
“Your boyfriend is investigating their financials. If Fortex finds out you’re dating him, they’ll think you’ve given him information and access.”
“I don’t understand. Dan is the one investigating Fortex?” She sank onto the nearest chair and gripped the armrest. This couldn’t be possible.
Jim pulled up a photo from the internet. It was a professional headshot from Dan’s office’s website. Same salt and pepper hair, same to-die-for blue eyes, same smile-crinkles around the eyes, same lips she couldn’t get enough of.
“They have no idea how he found and accessed this information.”
“Neither do I. He’s good at his job. I didn’t know he was investigating them.”
“Still, we’ve got to figure out what to do here. We can’t put our business with them at risk.”
All the oxygen siphoned out of the room. “You know me, Jim. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I know it’s all in the perception, Hannah. Even if you didn’t say anything on purpose, it’s easy to slip. To say something you think is harmless but isn’t. There’s no telling what you gave away by accident. And if the client finds out, it’s not just your job that’s on the line.”
Her head pounded harder as her pulse rushed in her ears. She couldn’t afford to lose her job. If this got out, her reputation and her ability to be hired anywhere, would be impacted.
“They should be more concerned with the illegality of what they’ve done than who I date.”
“They’re a company, Hannah, and they’re fighting for their livelihood. That’s what they’re focusing on now, and what we have to do as well. I have to do damage control.”
There was nothing left to say. She rose and returned to her office, where she shut the door and dropped into her chair. She would have to take herself off the account. It was either remove herself, or further harm her company and ruin any remaining chance she had of a promotion. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but it was, because she was counting on success with Fortex to get her a promotion. Grabbing her phone, she punched a number onto the keypad.
Dan’s deep, familiar voice answered. “Hey, Hannah.”
“What did you do?”
Dan pushed back in his chair, sending it rolling across the chair mat. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re the one behind the Fortex investigation?”
He frowned. How did she know whom he was investigating? “Yes.”
“They’re my client.”
Oh shit. “They can’t be.” He mentally reviewed all the things she’d said about her job, fitting them together like the pieces of a puzzle. They clicked into place and he shook his head. How had he never noticed the similarities before?
“Well, they were. I have to take myself off the account.”
“You mean your boss found out I’m investigating them and realized I’m your boyfriend?”
She nodded. “He thinks I shared information with you. If I don’t remove myself, I may lose my job. I’ll definitely lose my reputation.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’ll contact him and straighten it out.”
“No, you can’t. You’ll make things worse.”
“You’re right. If you’d told me the problem, you can’t say you’ve never spoken to me about it. Shit. Hannah, I’m sorry.” Dan waited for her to acknowledge his apology, but she remained silent. “Hannah?”
“I have to go.”
Her voice sounded thick, and it hit him after she hung up she’d been crying. He’d made her cry. Lunch sat like a weight in his stomach. For some reason, making her cry bothered him more than losing her the account. Not that it didn’t bother him as well. It did. But there was a professional distance he could put into place, a knowledge that once all of the evidence was presented, her losing the account before things crashed around her might not be all that bad.
But making her cry?
He’d seen her cry when she talked about her brother. The thought of her crying over something he’d done slayed him. His chest tightened. There had to be something he could do. Anything.
He was halfway out his office door when her request penetrated his brain. She didn’t want him talking to her boss. But there were others to whom he could.
Dan was sitting at her dining room table munching on one of her grandmother’s muffins and chatting about her grandmother’s mah jongg group when Hannah arrived home early from work.
She came to a dead stop in the hallway. What the hell? Why was he in her apartment?
Her grandmother was feeding him, the Jewish grandmother equivalent of promising him her hand in marriage. He was listening to and participating in a conversation about the new versus the old mah jongg card and seemed to be enjoying himself. Anger, shock, and embarrassment threatened to overwhelm her.
The aroma of her grandmother’s raisin muffins made her stomach growl.
“Hannahla, don’t stand there, come in. Dan and I were talking.”
She marched to the table and perched on the edge of the chair.
“Are you hungry?”
She was angry, not hungry. But good luck telling her grandmother. Jewish grandmas solved all problems with food. Bubbe held out the plate of muffins. After waiting a moment, Hannah took one and nibbled on the edge. She’d never be able to swallow more than a morsel or two. Already, the tiny bit she’d bitten off turned to sawdust in her mouth.
Placing a glass of milk in front of her, her grandmother headed toward the door. “I’ll let you two talk.”
Hannah tracked her grandmother as she left the room, and she raised her hand to cover her cheek where her grandmother had kissed it before she left. The silence in the room was heavy. Needing something to do, Hannah stood and skirted the perimeter.
“Awfully chummy with my grandmother.”
She focused her gaze somewhere between his chin and his chest, which gave a great view of his neck, but enabled her to avoid getting lost in his beautiful, traitorous eyes.
“She’s great. Sit down?” He pointed to the chair next to him and she stared at it and its proximity to him.
It was too close.
She sat in her grandmother’s seat across from him. The table served as a welcome barrier. She sat, hands on her lap, resisting the urge to clench them—or whack him. Her blue manicure was chipped, and in this light the color looked decidedly Smurf-like, which was never the intent. She made a mental note to get her nails redone—in a non-cartoon character color this time—and focused on marshaling her thoughts.
“Hannah?”
She raised her head to meet his gaze.
“What are you thinking?”
“I need a new manicure.”
He raised an eyebrow. With a sigh, she pushed away from the table.
“I’m angry. I’m angry with Jim for not defending me. This was my shot at a promotion, and he’s destroyed it by jumping to the wrong conclusion and doubting my integrity. And I’m angry at you for not telling me you were investigating Fortex in the first place.”
“Whoa, you didn’t tell me you represented them, either.”
Hannah swallowed, acknowledging he had a point. But it didn’t make things any better.
Dan reached for her hand and squeezed, but she pulled away. “What can I do?”
“Nothing.”
“What will you do?”
“Take myself off the account, I guess. I don’t have much of a choice. Even if Jim believes me, the client is always right and he has to placate them. I’ll have to hope they put me on an account I like and don’t refuse me a promotion because of it.”
“You don’t want to do something more proactive?”
“Like what?”
“Stand up for yourself, or work with me to find the leak. I’m as upset as you are about this.”
“I doubt it!”
“Why?”
She spun away from the table and ran a hand through her hair. He had no idea what he was talking about. “Because your job isn’t on the line. Mine is.”
“Hannah, the leak came from one of two places—either your office or mine. I can’t have leaks in my office. If you help me find the leak, you can show Jim your loyalty.”
“I appreciate that you’re trying to help me, but you’re not in my office. You don’t know the dynamics there and you don’t know me.”
Dan pushed back in his chair, rose, and leaned over the table. His chair fell over from the force of his movements and Hannah’s gaze shifted, but Dan stared her down. “What? I don’t know you? How can you say that?”
Closing her eyes against the threatening tears, she tried to wish away the day, but her fairy-conjuring powers were lacking. She needed to protect her job in order for her to support her grandmother. She didn’t have options, and she didn’t have the luxury of letting personal relationships get in the way of professional ones. Letting out a deep breath, she turned to him. “I need a break. From this conversation, from you, from everything.”
His mouth opened and closed, and something shuttered behind his eyes. “Then I’ll give it to you.” He walked past her, his typical straight posture slumped, and the door slammed as he left the apartment.
Her grandmother walked in while she righted the chair. “What can I do for you, Hannahla?”
Hannah gripped the back of the chair. “Nothing, Bubbe, nothing.”
Her grandma cupped her chin. “Okay, but remember what I said about second chances. If you need me, or want to talk, I’m here. Okay?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the tears that threatened to overflow. “Okay,” she whispered.