Page 23 of The Perfect Secret
“Late night?”
He’d been awake past two worrying and planning and figuring. “Not really. Just didn’t get as much sleep as I’d like.”
“Did you have a chance to look further into those numbers I gave you?”
“Yeah, I did. There’s no way Fortex is on the up and up. I mean, I know they develop important pharmaceuticals, but million-dollar donations to charity? And while I’m still waiting for confirmation from the charities, from the conversation I had with them, I don’t think the numbers are accurate. I think we’ve got what we need to open an investigation.” He rose and walked over to his desk. Putting aside his own prejudices against a pharma company, her work was solid. He rummaged through the papers on top until he found her report and handed it to her. “Good job.”
She nodded. “Thanks. I’ll get started filing the preliminary paperwork.” As she headed out the door, she paused and turned to look at him. “Yes, you should ask her out.”
He whipped around. “What?”
“No man gets that look on his face unless he’s thinking about a woman. And you didn’t sleep last night, so you must have been worrying. Go for it.” With a wave, she left and he listened to her heels clack along the hall.
Was he that obvious? Oh hell. He grabbed his phone and punched in her number. Hannah answered and before he could chicken out—again, he blurted, “Brooklyn flea market. Saturday. I’ll bring Tess so you can get to know her better.” Whoa, that’s not what he’d planned to suggest. Or how he’d planned to ask her.
“Well, hello to you too.”
Damn. “Sorry…hello.”
“Was that an invitation or a command?”
He ran his hand along the nape of his neck. “It was supposed to be an invitation.”
“Hmm, you might want to work on your technique a bit.”
He chuckled. “Among other things.”
“I can’t.”
He sat up in his seat. Of all the possibilities he’d considered, her refusal wasn’t one of them. Fool. “Oh, ah, all right. Maybe some other time…”
Her laugh confused him. “I can’t, because I want you to come to my apartment.”
Breath whooshed out of him. “You do?”
“Yes, I thought it would be fun to hang out together and get to know each other in a more relaxed situation. My grandmother will be away. Although you’ll have to make do with my cooking, which isn’t fabulous. So, how about we compromise? We can do the flea market first and the two of you can come to my apartment for dinner.”
“That’s a great idea, but in all seriousness, come to my place. Tess will be with us and…”
“You mean you haven’t broken her of the habit of climbing on other people’s furniture and writing on the walls yet?”
He loved the way this woman made his problems seem trivial. “I don’t want to impose on you.”
“You won’t, Dan. Neither will Tess. I’m serious, let’s do both. Besides, it might be better for Tess to get to know me somewhere other than her own home.”
She had a point there. “All right, if you’re sure. Tess and I will pick you up at eleven.”
He hung up the phone and unclenched his fist. It was a good compromise.
The sun cooperated on Saturday morning and shined brightly, warmed the air and made Hannah feel as if it were summer again. With a last tip of her head toward the sky, she left the balcony, and waited for Dan and Tess outside the building. When their car pulled up, she opened the door and slid into the seat.
“Hi guys.” Leaning toward Dan, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and waved to Tess.
Dan’s face was red, which matched his red Henley. Hannah thought it was cute. He cleared his throat. “Tess, you remember Hannah.”
“Uh, yeah Dad, it was only a couple of weeks ago.”
She gave Hannah a small smile. Dressed in black leggings and a baggy grey sweater, her greeting was as colorless as her outfit.