Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
"I see," he smiled, "this is not the first time a woman has been struck silent by my magnificent good looks. Don't be embarrassed. It is only natural. I am, well," he laughed, making his speech much more humorous than arrogant, "I am just... beautiful."
Hannah laughed. "And very humble it seems," she quipped, making him chuckle.
"Alas, humility has never been a strong suit of mine." He looked at her for a long second. "I imagine you never figured when you were getting dressed for work today that you would be starring in your very own wet t-shirt contest."
"Oh, for God's sake," she blurted out, remembering her choice of a thin white work shirt for the day.
"Oh, no no no. No, don't worry darling. I have a plan," he said, stripping off his jacket and loosening his tie, making her truly worry for a second if he thought she was about to have a quicky with him in the office kitchen. If, perhaps, he was the rake everyone accused him of being. But he stepped closer, encouraging her to put her arms in the sleeves and he buttoned her up. Then he took his gray tie and wrapped it around her waist, pulling it tight so the lapels wouldn't accidentally pull open.
"Don't you know Elliott likes his women with flesh on their bones?"
Hannah snorted, "Luckily, I couldn't care less what type of women he prefers."
James shrugged off the topic, "Well," he said, stepping back and eyeing her up, "it certainly isn't high fashion but it is better than seeing your bra."
"Always a plus," Hannah agreed, turning back to the cabinet and grabbing three new mugs.
"You haven't even asked me my name," he informed her, reaching for the coffee pot and pouring three fresh cups.
"That's because your name precedes you, James," she told him with a smile.
"Ah, yes, my reputation tends to make me a topic of discussion around these parts."
"Or perhaps it is your absence that makes people talk," Hannah suggested.
"Easy girl," James laughed, "I don't know if my brother can handle an assistant who has a mind of her own."
"He will learn to adapt," she said, defiantly.
"Elliott? Adapt? Oh, gorgeous, you have some learning to do it seems," he said, taking one of the coffee cups from her.
"Oh, wait. I need to grab a dustpan and broom."
James chuckled. "It's already cleaned up," he told her.
"How do you know that?" she asked, following him back to the lobby.
"Because... it's my brother."
–
He wasn't ashamed to admit that it was irritating to see how easily James interacted with his new assistant. The way he joked with her to overcome her embarrassment, the way he took charge and got her out of the room to take care of herself, the way he obviously prevented her from crying, the way he put his own jacket on her so she would not have to walk around the entire day with coffee stains and a see-through shirt.
Next to all of that, he felt clumsy and inadequate.
They came back into the office with a hushed sort of amusement. There was a light in both of their eyes and James winked at her comradery when she handed out the coffee and then excused herself.
When the door closed at her back, Elliott spared his brother a quick glance and said simply, "No."
James lips quirked up on one side. "We'll see," James said looking at the closed door. "You never know."
–
Hannah leaned back against the door and breathed deeply a few times. Tad walked past her, reading the top sheet in the pile he was holding and said without ever looking up, "That's a look," and kept about his business.
She knew she would never let herself live that entire episode down. It might have been the single most humiliating thing she had ever had happen in her adult life. It was the thing she would have rolling around in her mind at night when she was trying to sleep. She made a mental note to dry clean James' jacket and tie, and went back to work to try to put the whole incident behind her.
About an hour later when she got back to her office, she found something sitting on top of her desk. It was a plain white shirt, folded neatly on top of all the paperwork she would have to eventually file away. It was almost identical to the one she had been wearing earlier which was likely ruined. But this one was of a finer material and a designer label. It was even in her size. She would have to make sure she sent a "Thank you" note to James along with his dry cleaning.
–
He hope it fit. He was usually a decent judge of those kind of things and she was somewhat on the thin side to him so she was likely to fit in anything he picked out. But, for some reason, he wanted it to fit her the way she would have it fit if she picked it out herself. He made sure there was no note, hoping, perhaps, she would assume it was from Tad or one of the other office women... or even his own brother.