Page 43 of The Perfect Secret

“Well, one of my interns knows a junior reporter atThe Journaland leaked the information to her.”

Dan swore to himself. The leak came from his office. “Why the hell would he”—he looked at Lisa for confirmation and continued—“do something like that?”

“He wanted to impress her and thought this was the way to do it.”

“Idiot. Are you sure it was him?”

“Positive. I made phone calls this weekend after you and I talked.”

“Can I assume you’ve already taken care of him?”

“I fired him and warned the rest of the staff what would happen if they ever did something like this.”

“The only thing that saves us is we’re far enough along in the process to move on what we have. This can’t ever happen again, though.”

When she left, he opened the report and began his review, accelerating the timeline. He’d have to let Hannah know. Clenching his teeth, he drafted her an email.

The leak came from my office. An intern with a reporter friend. We took care of it. You can tell Jim you had nothing to do with it.

He stared at the words on the screen. Before he could do anything he’d regret—like beg her to take him back—he hit Send. An hour and a half later, his office phone buzzed. “Yes?”

“Daddy?”

“Tess?” His stomach tightened at her unexpected voice and his throat went dry. She never called his office phone. “Why are you calling my office line?”

“Because I’ve tried your cell and it goes straight to voicemail.”

With a start, he looked at his briefcase and pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d turned it off to avoid Hannah.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I turned it off by mistake. What’s up? Why aren’t you in class?”

“It’s lunchtime and I got an A on my math test.”

Background noise of teen chatter reminded him of the ridiculously early times of high school lunch. “That’s great! Want me to bring home something to celebrate?”

“Something chocolate?”

Dan rubbed the nape of his neck. He’d spent so much of their lives limiting his enjoyment of things, and it didn’t just affect him. It affected her, too. It was time to change. “Great idea.”

“Really? Yay! Love you, Daddy!”

“Love you too, Tess. See you later. And I’m sorry about my cell phone.” He hung up and glanced out the window. The sun shined over the buildings and gave Dan a strong urge to go outside for fresh air. Grabbing his phone—this time, he turned it on—and stuffing it into his back pocket, he picked up his cane and left the office. Outside, the brisk air rejuvenated him, helping to cool some of his anger. He slowed his steps and took deep breaths as he tried to relax.

He wandered down the sidewalk, staring into shop windows without seeing anything, avoiding other pedestrians out of sheer luck. A few blocks down the street, the hot dog vendor set up in his usual spot on the corner. Dan’s stomach tightened as he thought of Hannah.

It had been four days and his heart felt as if a piece of it was missing. He wasn’t hungry, but passing the hot dog vendor, smelling the salty scent, and remembering his lunch with Hannah made him salivate. His anger fizzled. Yeah, he was hurt and wow, he missed her. How much longer did her break need to last?

That night, Hannah dialed Dan’s apartment. By Sunday, she’d cooled down enough to think about him and his suggestions, and she itched to talk to him. She hadn’t been fair. He’d triedto help and she’d pushed him away. She’d let her anger over her boss infect their relationship. But he didn’t answer and he didn’t return her messages. Her need to hear his voice drove her crazy. When he didn’t answer, she realized she didn’t just need to talk to him. She needed to see him.

Grabbing her purse, she raced out the door. When she got to his building, she followed someone else in, raced to the elevator and rode to the third floor. Knocking on his door, she listened for noise inside. The door cracked and Tess peeked through.

“Hannah?” She closed the door, undid the chain, and pulled it open wide. “I didn’t know you were coming over.” She didn’t look pleased to see her. Was it too late?

“Hey, Tess. I’m sorry to barge in like this. I didn’t know I was either but I need to talk to your dad.” At Tess’s look of uncertainty, she continued. “I hurt his feelings and I need to apologize.”

Tess’s face cleared. “That explains his mood. Yeah, you can come in.” She turned to call him, but Hannah stopped her.

“No, I’ll just pop in. Where is he?”