Chapter 11
Hannah
The storage room was quieter, the music and chatter muffled by thick walls. I crossed my arms, planting my feet. “Make it quick.”
Sebastian sighed like I was exhausting. “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove with this whole… charade.” He gestured vaguely, like all of this—my job, my life—was just some childish rebellion.
“No.” I held up a hand. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to show up here like I owe you an explanation for my life.”
"You can’t honestly be happy here.” Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “You could come back to New York. It would look better with the auditors if you hadn’t left.”
So that’s what this was about. His carefully composed mask slipped just enough to confirm what I’d already known—this wasn’t about me. It was about the way my choices made him look, about the inconvenience of a girlfriend who hadn’t fallen in line.
“You couldn’t drag me back to New York in a body bag,” I snapped.
“Hannah?” A voice echoed from down the hallway.
“I’m back here,” I yelled.
Connor turned the corner, his sharp brown eyes sweeping over me like a mechanic checking for damage. He leaned in to brush his lips over my cheek, just a graze that asked a silent question: Do you need help?
I didn’t. I could have handled Sebastian myself.
But god, I really wanted a witness.
And maybe an accomplice.
“Hey baby,” I said. When I leaned into Connor, he reached for my waist, pulling me against him with effortless familiarity.
Sebastian's jaw ticked. “Just catching up with an old friend. This is Sebastian Callihan, Senior Accountant at Callihan & Murphy.” I felt Connor’s hand tighten on my waist at the name, but his calm demeanor didn’t give away his recognition.
“Actually, I just made Partner.” Sebastian’s practiced smile gleamed. “Guess the firm appreciated how I stepped up when things got… complicated.”
His deliberate glance at me lingered, and my stomach twisted.
“Congratulations,” Connor said, pleasant but empty. “You’re a long way from New York for a Saturday night.”
“Alex and I go way back. Princeton.”
“That’s funny, I worked with Alex every day for six years, he even personally asked me to move here from San Francisco to start his firm…” Connor tilted his head like he was racking his brain, “and he’s never once mentioned your name.”
I turned to face Connor and saw the mischief dancing in his eyes. He was enjoying this.
I hadn’t known Connor long, but I thought I’d figured him out—I’d seen his precise lists, his thoughtful caretaking of his boss, the strategic way his mind put together the pieces of my life. I’d liked that sweet, kind Connor.
Yet seeing this vindictive Connor, who knew how to make Sebastian feel small, and who could tell exactly how much I was enjoying him tearing apart my ex’s ego?
That version of Connor was really fucking hot.
Sebastian interrupted my thoughts. “And you are?”
Connor offered a handshake with just enough steel. “Connor McNamara, COO at The Sinclair Group.”
Sebastian’s brows shot up at Connor’s title. I bit my lip to hide my surprise at a fact I would know if I were really dating him. Or, you know, had met him more than once.
“The Sinclair Group,” Sebastian repeated slowly, recalculating. His gaze flicked between us. “And what, you’re living in New York and seeing her?”
The disbelief in his voice made something hot flare in my chest. Defensiveness and rage, sure, but also self-recrimination that I’d wasted so much time on such an asshole.
Connor tugged me closer, possessive energy radiating off him. “It’s called long distance. I knew the moment I met her I couldn’t just toss her aside.”
God, how did he know that was exactly what I needed to hear?
I didn’t think, barely breathed. Just turned, curled my fingers into his suit jacket, and kissed him.
And without hesitation, his hands settled on my waist, his mouth meeting mine like we’d kissed a hundred times, like he was all in. Showy, cocky, but warm. Solid.
When we pulled apart, his voice dropped, softer. “Just wanted to make sure you’re still coming over tonight?”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“I’ll wait for you,” Connor said, looking at me but clearly directing the warning towards Sebastian that he couldn’t ambush me again.
Sebastian smoothed his tie. “Well, good luck with long distance, you two.” And then his smile turned smug. “I guess I’ll see you at Alex's wedding.”
The wedding. The wedding of the engaged couple, the whole reason for this party. The wedding where Sebastian would be invited as a guest.
I’d just claimed Connor McNamara as my boyfriend. Now, when he showed up without me, Sebastian would know I lied. I'd spent the past year trying to clean up the mess he'd made of my reputation, telling everybody that I'd made up the fraud, that I'd overreacted.
Now he'd have more ammunition, telling everyone who would listen that I’d invented a boyfriend, that I was unstable, desperate, and pathetic. He’d reframe everything—my whistleblowing as delusion, my career change as breakdown, my entire life as one long failure.
Sebastian brushed past us to leave the storage room, his shoulder nudging Connor’s in some stupid display of masculinity, reminding me that Sebastian wouldn’t just destroy what was left of my reputation. He’d poison the well against Connor too.
Connor exhaled. “Well that was—”
“I need to get back to work,” I said quickly, already turning away before he could see my panic rising.
Back at the bar, I grabbed a martini glass and started rimming it. Chocolate sauce. Crushed candy cane. Maybe if I kept my hands busy, I could stop them from shaking.