CHAPTER 12

      Annalise stepped off the elevator and walked by Tara, who held her hand up to get Annalise’s attention.

“Not now, Tara,” she said as she headed for Elaine’s office.

          When she got to the door, Annalise was nearly run over as David came out. He sidestepped her and kept on walking, his forehead wrinkled as if he were lost in thought. She wasn’t even sure he’d seen her.

          She stuck her head in Elaine’s door and breathed a sigh of relief when she found her alone. Her boss glanced up and motioned her in.

“What’s with him?” she asked, jerking her head over her shoulder in David’s direction. “He’s been weird lately.”

          Elaine gave her a puzzled look like she didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Annalise rolled her eyes. David had been walking around in a fog, which wasn’t typical. He was usually on top of everything and everyone.

“Have a seat, kiddo,” Elaine said.

          But Annalise shook her head.

“No, Elaine, I’m okay,” she replied and took a few steps closer to Elaine’s desk. “I have to go out of town Thursday afternoon.”

          Her boss stared back at her for a moment, then she frowned and dropped the pen she’d been fiddling with.

“Is this some kind of emergency? You’re supposed to meet with Lance Hamilton on Friday.”

          Her tone suggested someone better be dying. Elaine opened her mouth to say more but Annalise held up her hand.

“I just had lunch with Lance. There’s been a change in plans. He has to be at some family wedding this weekend in Cape Cod so he couldn’t make it on Friday. He said he wants to move on this campaign and he doesn’t have a lot of time to spend in the selection process.”

          Elaine shook her head, then picked the pen back up and flung it across her desk.

“Dammit! Is he even going to listen to your pitch?”

          Annalise sucked in a breath.

“He wants me to go to Cape Cod with him. We’d leave Thursday afternoon. It’s the only time he can spare me and he’s promised to listen to all my ideas while we’re there.”

          Elaine studied her intently.

“I see…”

          Forgetting about all she needed to do and that she didn’t want to be stuck here in Elaine’s office forever, Annalise sank into one of the chairs and stared glumly at her boss.

“Listen, I told him I’d go. I didn’t see that I had a choice. While he didn’t come out and say it, Lance implied that if I didn’t, he was prepared to go with another agency.”

“I agree you should go. Does that make me a selfish bitch?”

          Annalise laughed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.

“No, it doesn’t make you a selfish bitch. Listen, I worry about the fallout. I know I shouldn’t care… and I never would have before, but I know what will be said if it gets out and how things will be twisted…”

“You have my support and trust, Anna, and you have the support of the entire agency. Don’t you ever doubt that!”

          She rose and smiled gratefully at Elaine.

“Thanks, boss,” she said and took a deep breath.

“Anna, just get me that damn account. That’s all the thanks I need.”

          Annalise stopped on her way out, put her hand on the door frame, and looked back.

“I’ll need someone to cover for me on Friday. I have two client appointments, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.”

“Howard will cover for you. I’ll call him right away and send him to your office. And you… Well, you just worry about knocking Hamilton’s socks off!”

“I will, Elaine,” Annalise murmured. “You bet I will!”

          As she walked into her office, Annalise’s cell phone rang and she dug into the pocket of her briefcase for it. Seeing John’s number, she smiled and replied right away.

“Tell me what I crave to hear!” she exclaimed instead of saying hello.

          John chuckled.

“‘Hello, you witch! So, I read through the info you sent. I also had my agent do some checking. I might add that my agent is orgasmic that I’m considering this endorsement deal.’”

“Tell him I expect a nice Christmas gift as a thank you,” Annalise replied.

“‘Oh, please. He doesn’t even give his mother gifts.’”

          Usually, she wouldn’t mind chatting mindlessly, but she had a hundred things to do before Thursday, including figuring out how she was going to survive a weekend in the presence of the sexiest man alive.

“So does this mean you’ll consider it?”

          There was a pause, and Annalise found herself holding her breath.

“‘Yes. Hamilton checks out every box. He seems as solid as you said he was. I’ll talk to him if nothing else.’”

          She did a double-fist pump and dropped her bag on the floor by her desk.

“‘Have his people call my people,’” John said airily.  

“I am ‘his’ people,” Annalise said laughing. “Or at least I will be.”

“‘Good, baby,’” John added. “‘I’ll see you on Saturday?’”

          Annalise winced.

“I’m afraid not. Something came up…”

          John made a disapproving sound.

“‘Don’t you ever take a day off? It’s always work with you, Anna.’”

“How do you know it’s work?” she defended. “Maybe I have a hot date.”

          He snorted.

“‘Yeah, right! When was the last time you went on a hot date?’”

          Knowing they were about to get into lecture territory again, Annalise cut him off before he got carried away.

“Hey, I have to run, John. I have a meeting in five minutes. I’ll call you later, okay?”

          Before he could call her a liar, Annalise hung up and plopped into her chair. She blew out a long sigh of relief and closed her eyes. It was all coming together. Not without a few potholes, but it was within reach. All she had to do was hold it together and get through the weekend and the account would be hers.

“Anna.”

          Annalise opened her eyes to see Howard standing in her doorway.

“Elaine told me I needed to cover for you on Friday, so I stopped by so you could get me up to speed on what I need to know.”

“Good! Come in and have a seat. Give me just a minute. I’ve been running all morning. I’ll dig out my notes.”

          Howard eased into a chair, his long legs eating up most of the space between it and her desk. Annalise picked up her briefcase and opened it on her desk.

“So, how’s life treating you lately?”

          She hated idle conversation, but the silence was more awkward and she hadn’t planned on having to turn over the two meetings to anyone, so her notes were haphazard at best.

“Extremely well. I’m about to receive some great, important news, so… fingers crossed.”

“Wonderful! Good luck with everything!”

“Thank you. Although luck has nothing to do with it,” he replied in a slightly arrogant voice. “I need to make one last move and my life will change forever.”

          Even if his speech was a bit strange, Annalise didn’t look up at him. She was way too busy thinking about her own things.  

“Ah, here we go,” Annalise said and pulled out a folder. “Let’s begin…”

          Thirty minutes later, Howard knew all he had to know.

“You already have the password of my work account… So, if you need something while I’m away…”

          He straightened the papers before closing the folder and nodded.  

“Don’t worry, Anna. I’ll take care of it. Elaine said you were going to be out of town. I hope everything is all right…”

          There was a subtle question there, and she knew he hoped to hear the reasons for her absence on Friday.

“Everything’s fine. Thank you again for stepping in on such short notice. I owe you one,” Annalise added smiling, then turned her attention to her laptop.

                                                           *****

          The car that Lance had sent to pick up Annalise pulled up to the plane parked on the paved landing area that led to the single runway. It stopped just a few feet from the jet. Annalise looked out the window to see Lance standing a short distance away.

          He was waiting for her…

          Seeing him there made Annalise feel all fuzzy and warm inside.

          She was going away with Lance…

          The driver opened the door for her, and Annalise stepped into the afternoon sun. She blinked a few times then pulled her shades from her head over her eyes. This way she would also hide the fact that she was checking Lance out with hungry eyes.

          Lance was dressed casually. A pair of light blue jeans, a white shirt, and some very classy white sneakers branded ‘HL’. This outfit, like every other outfit, was making Lance look so damn sexy. Annalise had only seen him in suits, and she hadn’t imagined that he could look so cool, so gorgeous in ‘street clothes’.

          Oh, she was so, so wrong. Lance was looking amazing… Everything was so on point. But her eyes stopped on the jeans… cupping him in all the right places. They clung to his thighs, rounding his butt, and molding to his groin.

          The jeans were faded and worn out, just like a good pair of jeans should be and this showed Annalise that Lance wasn’t just a ‘suit man’, that he also knew how to loosen up.

“Anna,” Lance said with a nod as she approached.

          His deep, manly voice made her blood boil but she kept her composure.  

“If you’re ready, we can be on our way.”

 “I just need to get my luggage and…”

          She turned to see the driver handing her luggage to a man dressed in a uniform.

“Or not… Okay, at this point, I’m ready,” she said cheerfully.

          Lance smiled and asked her to precede him onto the plane. Annalise mounted the steps and ducked inside. Her eyes widened at the luxurious interior. It was simple and understated, but she recognized it for what it was.

          Very expensive comfort.

          Annalise shoved her shades up so she could get a better look around. There was nothing ostentatious about any of the furnishings. It looked very masculine. It even smelled masculine.

          Leather and suede.

          Earth tones.

          Beyond the three rows of seats, there was a small sitting area with a couch and one chair with a coffee table and a television. To her left, between the seats and the cockpit, was a small galley area complete with a steward, looking extremely professional.

          The man smiled at her and welcomed her on board. As Annalise and Lance took their seats, the steward introduced himself as Peter and asked her if she wanted something to drink.

          She glanced at Lance who was talking on the phone and seemed quite busy and then back at Peter. Yes, she really needed something to calm her nerves and help her put up with Lance’s sexiness.

“I would like a glass of wine… if this isn’t an impossible request.”

“Miss Walsh, nothing is impossible on Mr. Hamilton’s private jet,” Peter replied smiling. “Do you prefer white or red?”

“I would like some red wine, thank you,” she whispered blushing.

“Very well,” Peter added and disappeared in another part of the jet, closing the doors behind him.

         A few moments later, Peter returned with two glasses of wine.

“Excuse me, Mr. Hamilton. The pilot wished me to tell you he’s ready for takeoff at your convenience.”

          Lance ended his phone call, took the glasses, and offered one to Annalise.

“Thank you, Peter. Tell him we are ready.”

“Very well, sir. I will close the doors and we will take off shortly,” Peter added and vanished again.

“Are you comfortable?” Lance asked Annalise.

          Annalise settled back into her seat and sipped at her wine. She looked at Lance and smiled happily.

“Mm-hmm, very. I’m ready to enjoy this one-time experience to its fullest.”

“So am I,” he added grinning.