by James, Avery
“Is there something off with Harry?” Maggie whispered to Abby.
“Yeah,” Abby whispered, “you. Now come outside with me.”
“Now?” Maggie asked.
“Yes. He’s fixated on you. And the two of you are sending serious signals. You’ve been giving Katrina the stink eye all morning,” she said in a half whisper that Maggie worried everyone else would hear. “You, coffee, now,” Abby whispered in her ear.
“We’re in the middle of the interview,” Maggie said.
“It’s going to be an hour and a half, and we have full editorial. Come with me now,” Abby said. “They won’t miss us at all. This isn’t hard-hitting news. This is a puff piece. If we don’t like what we have from it, we’ll scrap the whole thing and give the story to someone else.” Abby said that last part loud enough for the reporter to overhear. Maggie watched the reporter’s posture straighten up a bit. “See?” Abby whispered. “She’ll be on her best behavior. Come on, there’s a coffee place in the building.”
“You’re lucky you know my weakness,” Maggie whispered.
“You mean roguish billionaire heirs?” Abby whispered back.
Maggie tried to hide her laugh. “The other weakness, the one I allow myself to indulge in.”
“Ah, you mean our dark master, caffeine?” Abby joked as she headed to the door. “I heard that Amy and Callie have been considering administering it to us on an IV drip. Until then, there’s a coffee place downstairs.”
Maggie followed. They found the café and got in line. It was busy for midmorning, and the line snaked halfway to the door. Maggie reminded herself that coffee was just a pretext for Abby to give her a lecture about being hung up on Harry.
“You need to get over you-know-who,” Abby said.
“Voldemort?” Maggie asked. “He always did have that vaguely vampiric thing going on.”
“Your you-know-who,” Abby said. “I saw the way you were looking at him. I also saw the way he was looking at you when he thought no one was paying attention.”
“He what?” Maggie asked. She felt annoyed, first at Harry and then at herself. Why did he have to make everything so difficult? Why couldn’t he just like her or not like her and be done with it? Or, why couldn’t he just accept that he’d ended things and now he was going to marry Katrina freaking Nussbaum and inherit the world? More importantly, why couldn’t she decide what she wanted from him?
“You’re doing it again,” Abby said.
“Doing what?” Maggie asked.
“Staring off, brooding, pining,” Abby said. “I’m afraid you’re going to start wearing all black and listening to the Cure. I’ve tried to be supportive and understanding, but it’s time to rip the Band-Aid off.”
“And how am I supposed to do that when you’re telling me that he’s stealing glances, and I’m contractually obligated to be around him until he gets married?”
“Pick a guy,” Abby said.
“Any guy?” Maggie asked.
“In this room, right now, pick someone. You’re hung up on a billionaire heartthrob. So pick someone else to get hung up on.”
“I’m not going to do that,” Maggie said.
“Then the two of you need to get a room and get over each other,” Abby said.
“I am over him,” Maggie said. “I can’t stand him. Every look, every smile—it’s more than I can take.”
“Exactly,” Abby replied. “For some reason you think that being unable to stand a guy and wanting to jump his bones are somehow mutually exclusive. They’re not. Sometimes it just adds to that desire to have him hot and hard.”
“Do you really believe that?” Maggie asked.
“Have you met any of the men I date?” Abby asked. “Remember Marco?”
“Marco was an ass,” Maggie said.
“My point exactly,” Abby said. “But he was really good in bed. Sometimes you just need a little hate sex.”
Maggie brushed the comment aside. “Just help me get through the engagement. Once Harry and I aren’t around each other every day, this won’t be a problem. Hell, maybe by then he’ll realize that Katrina really is throwing herself at him. They’re perfect for each other anyways.”
“How so?”
“Obviously he’s handsome and charming, and she’s beautiful and smart, but she’s ambitious, and he could use a little ambition in his life.”
“You could just as easily be describing yourself,” Abby said.
“In what world do I compete with Katrina Nussbaum?” Maggie asked.
“Um, this one, and from what I can tell, you’re winning,” Abby said.
“This is crazy,” Maggie said. “I should be as far away from Harry as possible.”
“Or as close as possible,” Abby said. “I’m telling you, the two of you need to work. It. Out.” Maggie was thankful that Abby left out the part about working it out involving a hotel room and a do-not-disturb sign. “Or,” Abby offered, “if he needs someone to fixate on, he could always fixate on me.” She ran a finger through her hair and batted her lashes, laughing.
“He is not fixated on me,” Maggie said.
“Right, and you’re not head over heels for him,” Abby said.
“It doesn’t matter how I feel,” Maggie said.
“So you’re admitting that there’s still a flame,” Abby said. “There’s not really any point in denying it. I’m your friend. I know you, and I know this is the most chemistry I’ve ever seen you have with a guy.”
“Well, I think the word for this kind of chemistry is volatile.”
“If I remember correctly, the word is exothermic, because you two are throwing off heat,” Abby teased.
“You know, you really missed your calling,” Maggie said. “You’d make such a great high school gossip.”
“I don’t know, grown-up gossip is just so much juicier,” Abby said.
“For the last time. Nothing is going to happen between Harry and me,” Maggie said.
“Then pick someone else. Come on, what did our feminist foremothers fight for if not the right to choose a random guy in a coffee shop and use him for our own shallow purposes?”
“I won’t even try to unpack everything wrong with that statement,” Maggie said.
“Pick someone. How about the barista? Baristo? Either way, he’s kind of cute in a hipster bike messenger kind of way.”
“You think I should date a barista?” Maggie asked. “That’s like telling an alcoholic to date Anheuser-Busch.”
“You know that was two guys, not one, right?” Abby said.
“Even more reason not to date them,” Maggie said. “I’m not going to pick someone based off of a glance across a crowded room.”
“Okay. How did you and Harry meet?” Abby asked.
“Well, first you withheld his file from me, and then he walked into the hotel lobby, and I didn’t know who he was, and our eyes met.”
“And he came over? Or did you? Either way, there was an instant connection, right?”
“We didn’t say a word at that point, but, yeah, there was something about him. We met later.”
“How?” Abby asked.
“It involves an old man in Speedos,” Maggie said.
“Maybe we’ll stick with the first part. You saw Harry across a crowded room and you knew he was someone you might want to know better. Or just pick the next guy who walks through the door.”
“Yeah,” Maggie said. “That’s sure to work.”
“Base it entirely off of that first reaction,” Abby said.
Maggie saw the door open. A man, average height, wearing jeans and a hoodie walked in. “Too short,” she said.
“What about the guy behind him?” Abby asked. There was a tall, thin man in a suit.
“Too tall,” Maggie said.
“He’s almost the same height as Harry,” Abby said. “Next guy who walks through the door. You have to go up to him and talk to him.”
“Fine,” Maggie said. “If only to prove to you tha
t this is a terrible idea.” She looked Abby in the eye. “Also, I’m over him. Really, it’s just a pain having to see him every day and remember the dumb decisions I made.” That last part was partly true. It hurt to be around him, but she wasn’t sure it was because she regretted her decisions. It was more that when she was around him, she could remember the intense and immediate connection they had formed. “I’m over him,” she repeated, hoping to make it true.
In her peripheral vision, she saw the door swing open and a man in a suit step in. The inner critic that had led her to find an instant fault with every other guy didn’t sound any alarms. “Him,” Maggie said.
“Him?” Abby asked. “Are you serious?”
“Your rules,” Maggie said.
“You’re kidding, right?” Abby replied.
“Why?” Maggie asked. As soon as she turned and looked toward the door for a better look, she realized why Abby was in disbelief. Of course, out of all the men in D.C. she could have picked, it was Harry. The quickening of her pulse as she recognized him told her everything she needed to know. No, I’m not over him, not by a long shot.
***
A little air. That’s what Harry had said he needed when he got up and cut the interview short. A little air, a few minutes and he’d be right back. It had been a lie, or at least it hadn’t been the whole truth. What he needed was time. He needed to think things through. He needed Maggie. He’d gotten halfway through one of his canned responses about how much Katrina meant to him when he’d noticed Maggie and Abby heading out for some reason or another, and it dawned on him that this was his last chance. Either he could take a stand and do everything within his power to win Maggie back or, soon enough, she’d walk out of his life forever.
After making that realization, he knew he was done with the interview. He’d figured a cup of coffee and a quick walk around the block would help him clear his head and form a plan. Instead, it led him straight to Maggie. There was nothing like the feeling of seeing her unexpectedly. When he had watched her walk into Haven Communications, he’d felt the same rush, but upon seeing her in the crowded coffee shop, he knew he couldn’t ignore the impulse to tell her how he felt.
He cut through the crowd straight to Maggie.
“What are you doing here?” Abby said as she pushed herself between them. “You’re supposed to be hand in hand with Ms. Perfect upstairs.”
“We took a break,” Harry said. “I decided to come down here. Maggie, can I talk with you for a second?” This wasn’t the right place to tell her how he felt. He knew that. Abby wasn’t going to give them space, either. He needed to figure out something else. He wanted to ask Maggie what she would do. How would the fixer fix this mess?
“Whatever she can help you with, I can help you with,” Abby said. Pushing herself between them as well as she could. “Remember, church and state.” She slowly chopped her arm up and down between them to make her point.
“Abby, I appreciate the support, but I can handle this,” Maggie said.
“Fine, I’ll get your coffee,” Abby told Harry. “What kind is it?”
“Anything with caffeine,” he said as Abby turned toward the counter.
“You know she’s going to listen to every word we say, right?” Maggie asked.
“I figured as much,” Harry said. “Should we test that theory?” Maybe this was a chance to have a little fun with Abby. There was one way to tell if she was eavesdropping or not. “Have you told her about our baby?” Harry asked Maggie. He watched Abby spin around faster than he’d thought possible. He smiled at her as she realized he’d been trying to provoke a reaction.
“We still don’t know who the daddy is,” Maggie said. For some reason, she chose to use a bad Southern accent. This time, they both got to laugh at Abby as she turned around.
“Children, we’re in public,” Abby said.
Harry turned his full attention back to Maggie. “Seriously, though, can we talk?” he asked. “There’s something we need to discuss, and it’s time sensitive.”
“What’s so important that it can’t wait?” Abby asked.
How about I’ve realized that I’m in love with Maggie, and that I’ve always been in love with Maggie, and I want to convey that information before I’m married to someone else. But that’s my big picture problem. The immediate one is that you won’t give us a minute alone because you know what I’m going to say, Harry thought. That wasn’t any good. He had to think of a better way to do this. The best way to solve this. Maybe he could redirect her. “Abby, what are you doing tomorrow morning?” he asked.
“I’m helping Katrina with a few meet-and-greets and getting everything ready for your dinner date tomorrow night. Why?”
“I guess you can’t help me with my problem, then,” he said. “I need someone to help me pick out a ring.”
“A ring?” Maggie asked.
“You know, for my fiancée. The one I’m madly in love with,” he said.
“Right,” Abby said. “I’ll leave you two to figure that out.”
“Are you free?” Harry asked Maggie.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’ll have someone from the hotel send over the information on the jewelry store once everything is set. Also, I wanted to say thank you,” he said. “I know I put you in a tough situation, and I’m sorry about that, but you have no idea how much having you here means to me.”
“Of course,” Maggie said.
He looked into her eyes, wanting to say more, wanting to spill everything all at once, but he knew he couldn’t. “I guess I’ll see you back upstairs,” he said. “At least it’s almost over.”
“This is just part one of three,” Abby said. “Next time there will be a camera crew.”
“I should have known better than to think it was almost over. I’ll try not to do anything that will get you guys fired,” Harry said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Abby said, “we have final say on the interview. You could sacrifice a goat in the middle of the room, and they wouldn’t be able to say a word about it without our go-ahead.”
“I guess that’s good to know,” Harry said. “You have the final say?”
“Amy does,” Maggie said. “And your father.”
“Of course,” he said. “I should have guessed. Maybe they could save some time and just attach strings to my arms and legs so they can control my every motion.”
“Cause enough trouble and they might take you up on that offer,” Abby said.
Harry shrugged and turned back toward the lobby of the hotel. Now he had to find a jeweler. He noted to himself that when trying to find a way to tell a woman you care about her, asking her to help you buy another woman a ring is probably counterproductive. But if it meant a chance to be alone with Maggie, it was worth it.
Of course, he still had to figure out what else to do. He knew Maggie would never let him choose her and walk away from the company. She’d made a point about it being his chance to do good in the world.
He knew he had to tell Katrina something, but he wasn’t sure how much. He still needed to protect Maggie. Katrina wasn’t malicious, but she didn’t like when people stood between her and a goal. He had to come up with a plan, and he was going to need help. He spent the elevator ride thinking it over. When he got back to the room, he knew what he had to do.
“Katrina,” he said, “can we talk alone for a moment? There’s something I need to tell you.”
Chapter 24
Maggie looked at herself in the mirror. If she didn’t want to draw Harry’s attention, why was she so concerned about picking the right outfit? She had half an hour until she had to meet Harry at the jewelry store, which gave her another fifteen minutes to get ready. She had whittled her decision down to a form-fitting dress, and a blouse-and-skirt combo that was equally form-fitting but a little more businesslike. She wondered if footwear would help her determine which outfit to wear.
Usually, Maggie dressed in as utili
tarian a fashion as possible. Her outfits matched their purpose. Blend in at a press conference? Pantsuit. Shadow a client at cocktail hour? Little black dress. What was she supposed to wear for engagement ring shopping with her… with Harry? Did she want to see how interested he really was? Did she want to dress like a schoolmarm and remind him that she was working? She slipped into a pair of heels and looked at herself in the mirror. She liked the way they lengthened her legs, and changed even a relatively conservative outfit like her skirt and blouse into something eye-catching. Sexy heels, Abby liked to call them.
Most people didn’t think of high heels as utilitarian, but they were the perfect tool for drawing attention. She smiled as she imagined what Abby would say. Probably she’d give a catcall and ask if she could borrow them sometime. Maggie looked to the closet for something a little more conservative, but struggled to find the flats she was looking for.
That’s when she heard the knock at the door. Three loud, clear raps.
The knock at her front door was unexpected, but as soon as she heard it, she knew it was Harry. How the hell did he get my address? she wondered. If Abby had something to do with this, Maggie would make her pay. She wondered who else could have told him. It didn’t make much of a difference, though. Either way, Harry was waiting for her at the door.
For a moment, she considered letting him stand there, but there was a chance someone walking by might notice him. He and Katrina had been generating more and more buzz over the past week as photographers “caught” them around town in Maggie’s carefully orchestrated set of dates. Anyone hoping to get a few photos of him with Katrina could have followed him. Maggie wondered how they’d explain her letting him into the house. Either way, she needed to get him away from her door as quickly as possible.
The instant she opened the door, Harry turned away. “Leaving already?” she asked. She scanned the street for any sign of photographers and let herself relax when she saw there was no one around.
“Just grabbing something.” He held out a cup of coffee. “Couldn’t hold them and knock at the same time,” he said, nodding towards the door. “Nice place. Are you going to invite me in?”