by James, Avery
“It is when it’s my door,” she said. She looked across the street, but didn’t see anyone watching. “Get inside.”
It was the first time since Harry’s return from Cuba that she’d seen him dressed down. It was also the first time she’d seen a shadow of stubble on his face. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Don’t you have a photoshoot or an interview to do with Glamour magazine or US Weekly?”
“Ah yes, the all-important engagement photos for a fake engagement that hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “You know full well that those are later today. I was thinking on skipping out on them.”
“Maybe I’ll do them instead,” Maggie offered. “I can see it now. They’ll call it ‘Married to the Job.’ Maggie holds back the press while wearing knockoff Prada heels. Maggie buries a story by trading favors with an unethical reporter. Maggie eats takeout alone at her desk for the third night in a row. On second thought, maybe Glamour isn’t the right fit.”
“You strike me as more of a Maxim kind of girl,” Harry joked.
“Choose your next words carefully,” Maggie said.
“The New Yorker?” Harry said. “Maybe we can get you in the Vows section of the NYT. Of course, they’d have to call it Vow.”
Maggie couldn’t hide her smile at that one. “I have a love-hate relationship with the Vows section. Those people are just so—”
Harry cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “Careful, I’ll probably be in there soon,” he said.
“And I will mock you ruthlessly,” Maggie said.
“Deal,” Harry said. “As long as you do it to my face.”
“Will Katrina allow that?” Maggie asked. Was it wrong that she was finding Harry more and more attractive by the second? “What are you doing here, Harry?” she asked again.
“‘Married to the Job,’” Harry said, seemingly ignoring her question. “Do you mind if I steal that one?”
“It’s all yours,” Maggie said.
“I came to hear what you’ve found so far,” Harry said. His eyes ran over her. She wondered if he was thinking back to their shared shower, the feeling of their bodies against each other, the taste of his skin, the feeling of anticipation that had taken over as he’d kissed her all over. Maggie was starting to get turned on just thinking about it. Almost-naked-and-increasingly-turned-on fixer plus almost-engaged-and-scandalously-interested client plus any amount of privacy equaled potential trouble. Hot, completely forbidden trouble.
“And you had to come here to find out?” Maggie asked. She found herself wondering if she could be with him one last time, if that would break the spell he had on her. “Harry, what are we doing?”
“In truth, since you answered the door, all I’ve been able to think about was how you looked the last time I saw you with your hair like that. If I remember correctly we were just leaving the shower. I keep thinking about what would have happened if we had stayed on that beach a while longer. How about you?”
“I don’t think I should answer that question,” Maggie said.
“You just did,” Harry said. “I think you’ve been thinking about that night too.”
“We can’t change the past,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “Otherwise, we’d be doing something other than talking right now,” he said. “Something hard and slow.” He bit his lower lip as Maggie waited for him to say something more.
“Hard and slow? You mean like digging through mountains of paperwork on your board members?”
“Not exactly what I had in mind,” Harry said, “but sure. Do you want to take another walk and tell me what you’ve found?”
“It’s not complete,” Maggie said.
“That’s just another reason for me to keep coming back here.”
“Where did you want to walk?” Maggie asked.
Harry’s gaze darted up the stairs, and he tried to hide a smile. “Anywhere you’d like.”
“Stay here,” she said. “And don’t touch anything.”
“Maggie, I don’t want to cross the line any more than you do,” Harry said. “I mean, I do, but I understand reality.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’ll have to forgive me for fantasizing until your return.”
“I thought my company was a dream come true for you,” she replied.
“We keep this up long enough, and people will wonder what we’re doing,” Harry replied.
“I’ll need some more time.”
“I have that effect,” he said. “Now go get undressed.”
“You mean dressed,” Maggie said.
“Why skip the fun part?” he asked. “I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
Maggie made her way back upstairs and wondered if Harry had been serious when he’d said he understood that they couldn’t be together. She wondered if he’d make his way up the stairs and knock on her bedroom door. She thought back to the night on the beach, the sound of the rain, the warmth of their bodies, the breathlessness. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and smiled. Harry had gotten her thinking about that night all over again. She pulled on some clothes and turned for the door. She knew he wouldn’t care what she was wearing.
“I’ve only got one name today,” she called to Harry.
“I hope it’s still Maggie,” Harry called back.
“I mean the board,” she said as she reached the stairs.
“Then I guess that will have to do,” he said. “I’ll come back for the rest tomorrow. Who do you have info on?”
“Your uncle,” she said. “As luck would have it, he’s in town, and he’s been busy.”
“Is that right?” Harry asked. “I think I know everything I need to know about him,” Harry said.
“He’s been making appointments all over town,” Maggie said.
“How do you know that?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yeah,” Harry said.
Maggie smiled. “I’m really good at my job.”
“And here I was thinking you were just adequate. This explains a few things,” Harry said. “Coffee? I think there’s a place around the corner.”
“There is,” Maggie said.
“If I buy you a coffee, will you give me another name?”
“I’ll have information on another board member by tomorrow.”
“What’s the holdup?” Harry asked. “I really need to make sure I have everything as soon as possible.”
“Are you always this impatient?”
“When it comes to things I care about, yes.”
“Ah yes, I remember our long late-night talks about brand image and scandal prevention, right before you tried to bribe a foreign official,” Maggie said.
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Harry said. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“The coffee shop’s up here,” Maggie said. She pointed to a small café on a corner. Tell him you need to head into work. Give him every last piece of information you have and tell him you need space, she thought. “I should probably head back,” she said. “I’m going to be late for a meeting.” It wasn’t what she meant to tell him, but it was better than dragging their conversation out long enough for her to do something dumb.
Harry looked down at his watch. “Tomorrow, you won’t get off so easily,” he said.
“I’ll see you tonight for your date?” Maggie said.
“I was hoping to string this one out for a little while longer,” he said. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He caught Maggie by surprise, and she closed her eyes and pursed her lips as she felt the warmth of his lips against her skin.
As soon as she composed herself, she pulled back. “What was that?” she asked. She wasn’t mad at him, but he’d caught her off guard.
“What was what?” Harry asked.
“The kiss on my cheek,” Maggie said.
“I was saying goodbye.”
“I’ve never once seen you kiss someone’s cheek.”
“For
ce of habit. It’s how I say goodbye to all my former flings/current hang-ups and handlers,” Harry said.
“Have many of those?” Maggie asked.
“Turns out, I only need the one.”
Maggie decided to change the subject. “When are you proposing?” she asked.
“How can you ask a question like that at a time like this?” Harry said. “When the time is right, you’ll know,” he added. “See you soon.” He stood there as Maggie turned back for home.
Even with the knowledge that Harry would be proposing to Katrina at some point soon, Maggie couldn’t help but smile for the rest of the morning. She spent the afternoon chasing down board members, digging deeper into their files. She even staked out a board member’s brownstone for two hours waiting for him to leave. Normally, the tedium would have annoyed her, but whether she had two hours or two weeks, Harry had given her enough to think about.
For the rest of the day, she could still feel Harry’s kiss on her cheek, and she was starting to expect that that feeling wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the look that was in his eyes when he’d said I only need the one. Translation: I only need you. She was lost in thought when an unexpected visitor arrived on the steps of the board member’s home. Harry’s uncle was knocking on the door.
Maybe it was just coincidence that he was meeting with another board member, but Maggie wasn’t paid to believe in coincidence. She took note and hung around for another hour until he headed back out. Then she made her way back to the office to meet up with Abby and prepare for Harry and Katrina’s next date.
Soon, Maggie settled into a routine. Each morning, Harry arrived at her door, and each morning she fed him another name and file. There was the oilman from out West, the Japanese venture capitalist, the two industry veterans, and the D.C. insider. Maggie dug into their files. Then she dug deeper, tracking them down and getting every last shred of information about them. This was what she was good at. She had identified a goal and was doing everything within her power to achieve it.
The further along she went in the week, the more she began to wonder what Harry’s goals really were. Was he really trying to prevent future scandals? Was he just looking for an excuse to spend a few last hours alone with her? Or was he up to something else? Maggie wasn’t even sure of her own motivations. She found herself taking any excuse to stretch her time with Harry, even when she had no professional justification for doing so.
But even when they were just talking shop and going over the details of Maggie’s background checks, she was having the time of her life. One morning, it hit her. While Harry went on staged dates every night with Katrina, his morning walks with Maggie were the real dates. Maybe they weren’t going to the opera or charity galas together, but fast talk and coffee had always suited her better than ball gowns and photo-ops. And yet, she had the feeling that even those things would have been wonderful with Harry at her side.
When the week was almost over, Maggie found herself struggling to find some way of expressing her feelings to Harry. How could she explain that she knew he was the perfect man for her while at the same time telling him they couldn’t be together? She had been holding on to their walks until the very end. With only one name left, she knew she’d either have to tell Harry how she felt or give him up.
She was torn. As they made their way along their usual route, she decided to give him the last bit of information she had. “Garrison Coombs,” Maggie said. “He’s tied in with Katrina’s uncle. You won’t have any problems with him. Everything I could dig up on him you’d already know from a cursory Internet search. He likes to gamble. He owns large swaths of land out West, and he has an interest in Avalon expanding in that direction instead of into the Caribbean. He serves on two other boards with your uncle,” she said. “And guess who I saw him with yesterday.”
“My uncle,” Harry said.
“That’s right. He’s planning something,” Maggie said.
“Whatever it is, I doubt he’s the one planning it,” Harry replied. “I know I can count on him. Who else do you have for me?”
“That’s the last one,” Maggie said. “You know that.”
“I was hoping I’d forgotten someone. I wanted an excuse to come back here tomorrow morning and maybe the morning after that, too.”
“In two days, either you’ll be head of Avalon or we’ll both be out of work,” Maggie said. She shook her head and laughed lightly. “All things considered, I’m going to miss our morning walks.”
“I won’t,” Harry said.
“Ouch,” Maggie said. “Well, thank you for your honesty.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I meant I don’t think we’re done,” he said.
She both did and didn’t want to know what Harry meant about them not being done. Did he mean professionally or intimately? Maybe it was time to change the topic and bring everything back to reality. “When are you going to propose?” she asked.
“It can’t be soon enough,” Harry said. “I just want all of this done with and over.”
“Good,” Maggie said. Something about the way he said he couldn’t wait to propose stung. All along, he’d been telling Maggie he only wanted her and that he couldn’t get engaged to someone he didn’t love, and suddenly it couldn’t be soon enough.
Either way, it didn’t matter much. There was only one more day left before the board meeting, and unless Harry had some way of convincing his father to change their deal, his appointment as head of the company was contingent upon him being engaged to Katrina Nussbaum.
“I’ll see you tonight?” she said. Either that night or the next, he’d have to propose, and the press would go wild. He and Katrina could ride the PR wave all the way to retirement if they wanted.
But the night came and went. The date, a night of classical music and a charity gala, went off with only one hitch: Harry didn’t propose. His inaction gave Maggie hope that maybe he really was planning something. Maybe he and his uncle were working together to do something that would allow Maggie and Harry to get what they really wanted: each other.
True to form, Harry arrived at her door far too early the next morning. “Good morning,” Harry said.
“You know I don’t have any names left.”
“I haven’t needed them for days,” Harry said. “Would you be mad if I told you I mostly wanted an excuse to be alone with you every morning?”
“I’d have to be mad at myself then, too,” Maggie said.
“So tonight’s the night,” Maggie said. “It looks like we’ve run out of runway.”
“We still have today,” Harry said. “Will you walk with me?”
“We both know how this goes,” Maggie said. “I protest. You insist. I feign indifference. Let me get a coat, and I’ll be right out.”
The morning was bright and clear. Despite the chill in the air, the sun warmed Maggie’s face as she walked beside Harry. They walked for blocks without talking, content to be alone together. Or maybe they were afraid of what they’d say if they did talk. Harry hadn’t addressed the fact that he was about to get engaged, about to take over his father’s company, and about to leave her life forever.
As they waited for a walk signal to cross a busy street, Harry broke the silence. “I’m so close to having what I want, Maggie, and the thing is, a month ago I didn’t even know I wanted it.”
“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t realized you wanted to run the company,” Maggie said. “I wonder what would have happened to us.”
“The company?” Harry said. “Right.”
“Have you ever seen Casablanca?” Harry said.
She knew where he was going, the whole noble sacrifice thing, but she wondered which one of them was making the sacrifice. Maybe it was both of them.
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorites, why?” Maggie asked.
“I’m beginning to think this is the start of a beautiful friendship,” he said. He took her hand as
they crossed the street. “We could fight the good fight together,” he added.
“Well, I’m shocked—shocked!—to hear the Gavin Harris Howard hint at being honorable,” Maggie said. She let him keep his hand wrapped around hers.
Maggie mused on the difference between doing good and doing well as she and Harry walked. She wondered what would have happened if Harry hadn’t undergone some personal metamorphosis since meeting her. Would they have run off together? Would she be on a beach, living her happily ever after? Or would she be there realizing she’d made the biggest mistake of her life? Was he doing her a favor?
“No matter what happens, I’m proud of you, Harry,” she said. She felt tears welling up as she spoke. She hadn’t expected this to be so hard. “I think about the guy I met in Key West, and I think about the guy I’m standing with now, and I’m proud of you. You’re going to do great things. Here’s looking at you, kid,” she said. She tried to hold back the tears. “I should go. I’ll see you tonight,” she said. As she turned, she felt a warm tear roll down her cheek.
Maggie knew she was going to be late for work, but she was too worked up to simply go in. Plus she didn’t have anything she needed. She decided to head home and take the time to collect herself. Instead of walking straight back, Maggie wandered for a bit as she tried to re-center. She had to prepare for the sight of Harry proposing to Katrina. No matter how many times she played it over in her mind, it still hurt just as much. She wondered if he was really going to go through with it. She knew he had to, but she wished there was some other way.
By the time she got home and got her stuff together, it was midmorning. She was as prepared as she’d ever be for what lay ahead. What she wasn’t prepared for was another knock on her door. Maggie swung the door open, expecting Harry. She found herself face to face with Stanton Howard instead. His cold stare sent a chill down her spine.
“Ms. Walsh, I was hoping we could talk privately,” he said.
“Of course, Mr. Howard,” Maggie said. “Would you mind walking with me? I was just on my way out.” She found it best to play sweet and innocent in situations like this. It helped keep everything under wraps and played into the arrogance of clients.
