by A C Warneke
Grabbing the sides of her face, he kissed her as if he’d never kiss her again, as if the world was ending and she was all that was left. Desperation fueled his movements, making him uncoordinated as he tried to absorb her into his body, as he tried to condense a million kisses into this one last kiss. Everything that he was or ever would be was in the kiss and he didn’t want to stop until he ceased to exist.
Tearing his lips away from hers, panting heavily, he rested his forehead against hers as he rasped, “How am I supposed to let you go?”
“Don’t,” she returned, her green eyes shimmering with tears. Wrapping her fingers around his wrists, she held on as she whispered, “Hold me in your heart, Harrison. I’ll never be far away.”
At her words, he squeezed his eyes shut and slowly released his hold on her head. Holding her eyes, he took a step away from her. She looked as destroyed as he felt and he wondered why she couldn’t just accept her mom’s offer to pay off the damn scholarship. “Ana.”
“Harrison,” she whispered without sound. She still held his wrists and as he continued to move away from her, his hands slid into hers, through hers, until only their fingers touched. And then he couldn’t feel her at all. Her lower lip trembled and he wanted to gather her back into his arms but he knew if he did that, she wouldn’t arrive at her internship on time.
“Go, Ana,” he rasped, clutching the material around his waist. “Go before I won’t be able to let you go.”
God, she was killing him. With one last longing look, she spun on her heel and ran out of the hotel, out of his life. His shoulders slumped forward as he turned around and went back to the room to get his stuff. He paused as he realized she had been wearing his dress shirt from the night before. Despite his heart bleeding on the ground, he had to smile. She had stolen yet another one of his shirts.
Chapter 16
CALIFORNIA
Ana looked at the tall building in front of her, still not quite believing she was in L.A. and had survived four days without Harrison. The drive had been torture because her heart was back in Minnesota and she had to fight the urge to turn around and go back home. Once she had reached Denver, she almost did go back and she had spent nearly two hours at a rest stop arguing with herself over what to do. She had even called Harrison. If he had told her to come home, she would have. But, no, he had to be the voice of reason, telling her that it was only a year and he promised he would do everything in his power to come out in a few weeks for a visit.
That promise was the only thing that kept her driving westward.
The first thing she had done upon arriving was take a picture of herself standing on the balcony and send it to Harrison, texting I wish you were here. The view was magnificent and must have cost a small fortune and she had no idea why she was living there, with or without a roommate. The keys had been waiting for her at the front desk, as her contact at Madd told her they would be. But while the keys had been there, her roommate had not. The only reason she could come up with to explain the lush living arrangements was the fact that someone at the agency discovered who she was… or rather who her father was. It was depressing to realize she hadn’t truly earned the internship on her own and she was half tempted to accept her mom’s offer and leave.
But she made a promise and the least she could do was go into the office and find out what was expected of her.
As she stood in front of the office building, she figured she’d give it at least a week to see if it was worth the agony of being without Harrison. The building itself was all chrome and glass and intimidating as all hell. The Madd office was on the fourteenth floor so she pushed the butterflies down, smoothed her hands over the charcoal pencil skirt, and made her way to the elevator bay. Pushing the 14th floor button, she wondered what she was going to be doing, hoping like crazy that it would be enough to keep her thoughts from straying to Harrison. She had a job to do and she couldn’t afford to daydream about her future with the man she loved.
The smile that slipped out was a given; the little squeak that drew the attention of her fellow elevator riders was not. Blushing, she concentrated on the numbers as they went up, trying not to draw any more attention to herself. Taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, she focused on her job, whatever it may be.
Finally, the doors opened and she stepped out into another chrome and glass area, only Madd was written in huge letters behind the front desk. A woman with hot pink hair, several piercings, colorful tattoos, and dark rimmed glasses was sitting behind the desk. Glancing around, Ana was made aware of the eclectic dress code, though the most prevalent seemed to be black and/or leather. She was seriously uncool and perhaps she would have to reconsider her wardrobe since she didn’t own a single leather item and the only black she had was one of Harrison’s shirts. Well, it was only a year. She wasn’t going to waste any of her funds on clothes that she wasn’t going to wear back in Minnesota.
“Hi,” she said, putting on a bright smile. The woman blinked her eyes and Ana realized that the glasses didn’t even have a prescription. Ignoring the questions bubbling up inside of her, she said, “I’m Ana Smithfield and I think this is where I belong?”
The woman’s brows pulled together as she looked down at the desk. Sifting through a pile of papers that was sitting there, she apparently found the right one. Pulling it out, she scanned the pages before she looked up. “Hmm, this is interesting.”
“What?” Ana asked, standing on her toes, trying to peer over the edge to see what was written. Unfortunately, the angle was wrong and she couldn’t see anything.
“Usually the interns start out in the mailroom,” the receptionist said, turning the page and scanning the second piece of paper. Glancing up, she explained, “The boss wants everyone to learn the business from the ground up to build a better understanding of this place.”
“That makes sense,” Ana said in agreement. Almost afraid to ask, hoping she wasn’t going to be placed in filing, she asked, “Where did they put me?”
“Apparently you were requested by Ms. Moore to be her personal assistant,” the woman said, still reading the papers. “Since she’s out of the country, she wants you to house sit for her as well.”
Ah, that explained the amazing apartment and lack of roommate. “I’m assuming that’s only part of my duties?”
“What?” the woman shook her head and looked up at Ana. It took her a moment to focus before she said, “Yes, of course. You’ll be working in her office – there’s a desk set up for you – and you will be dealing with the day-to-day things, her correspondence, her errands, her appointments, whatever comes up. Occasionally, you may be asked to do other things but your primary responsibilities will be taking care of Ms. Moore’s business needs and her social media accounts.”
That didn’t sound too bad, though she had no idea what she was going to actually be doing.
The receptionist snorted as she handed Ana the papers she had just been reading, “Must be nice being the sister of one of the Veeps.”
Ana tilted her head to the side as a ball of excitement and nerves wove together in her stomach. Ms. Moore was her mysterious sister? Why hadn’t her mother told her that her sister was a vice president at Madd? God, how old was her sister? If she was already vice president of a major company, she had to be close to forty, right? But Maddox Cooper was only forty-five or fifty, so that couldn’t be right. “Where is Ms. Moore?”
The woman’s lip curled as she glared up at Ana, “Ms. Moore manages several of our more popular bands. She’s touring Europe with Isadore Lies.”
Though Ana was grateful for the answer, she knew nothing about managing a band and wondered how she was going to be Ms. Moore’s assistant. Glancing over the papers, she realized that the information had been for her and her alone. Frowning at the receptionist, she asked, “Are you always so snoopy?”
The woman’s eyes widened, her eyebrows flying over the top of her glasses, as she jerked backwards. “I beg your pardon?”
“I should think so,” Ana growled, glancing back down at the note her sister – her sister! – had written to her. “This wasn’t meant for you.”
Dearest Anavrin –
As you have by now realized, I am not there to greet you personally and for that I do apologize. It’s not every day I get to meet my only sister. One of my bands is touring Europe until the end of March and I have to be here with them. You have no idea how much trouble a bunch of young men and women can get into when they aren’t properly supervised. Anyway, I hope you’re settling in okay and the apartment is comfortable. Janice will give you a list of your responsibilities. I look forward to meeting you! When I get home, we will finally have a chance to sit down and talk, get to know one another as adults.
Your older sister,
Abby Moore
Ana smiled to herself as she glanced up and asked, “Are you Janice?”
“No,” the woman glowered. “That’s Ms. Moore’s secretary.” Pointing down the hall, she said, “Last door on the right. I’m sure you’ll be well taken care of here.”
With a tight smile, Ana made her way down the hall, her steps slowing when she realized her sister had a different last name than their father. What did Abby look like? Did the two of them look anything alike? Did the other employees know that Abby was Maddox Cooper’s daughter? Did they know that Ana was? Did Ana get the job because of her familial connections? Had they known who she was? It was a valid question since she had searched the internet for any mention of her or her mother and had found nothing. She had so many questions and yet she had to wait three whole months before she’d get any answers.
And on top of everything, she missed Harrison with every beat of her heart, every breath that she took. The mystery of her sister was the only thing that kept her from returning to Harrison.
*****
For nearly three months, Ana was kept inordinately busy, which was good because it kept her from missing Harrison every second of every day. The only time she didn’t miss him was the time they spent on the phone and this past weekend when he had visited. She almost felt bad because she had promised to explore the city with him and instead they had spent the entire weekend at the apartment exploring each other. There had been a moment of panic when the condom broke but she hadn’t been too worried considering all of the times they had tempted fate with no repercussions. All in all, it had been a good weekend that was over way, way too soon and it wasn’t likely to happen again.
Sitting at her desk, she was about to take a bite of her sandwich when her phone rang. “Hello?”
“Anavrin?” There was a hint of a cultured accent to the beautiful female voice but Ana had no idea who the caller could be.
“Yes?” she answered, setting the sandwich down, oddly nervous and excited all of a sudden.
“I need you to make reservations at Harry’s,” the stranger said. “For two o’clock.”
Hearing his name made her heart skip a beat. Squeaking, she asked, “Harry’s?”
“Is that a problem?” the mystery woman asked.
“What? No,” Ana answered quickly. It was just the name of the man she loved, the man she missed more than life itself. But she only had nine months left. Nine long, long months. How was she ever going to survive. “So, two o’clock at Harry’s?”
“Yes.”
“How many guests will there be?” Ana asked, hoping she sounded somewhat professional despite the nervous excitement. Hearing Harrison’s name had snapped her even further out of the work zone she had been in and she wasn’t able to return. Something momentous was about to happen, she could feel it in her bones.
“Just you and me, Anavrin,” the woman said, amusement in her voice. “I’m finally back and I thought it was time we met.”
“Miss Moore?” Ana asked, dumbfounded.
“Abby, Anavrin,” the woman said, outright laughter replacing the amusement. “We’re sisters. The least you can do is call me by my name.”
“Then, please, please, call me Ana,” Ana said. “Only my mother calls me Anavrin. Well, she’s the only one who gets away with it.”
Abby chuckled, “I’ll see you at two then, Ana. We have much to discuss.”
With that, Abby hung up without giving Ana a chance to say goodbye. With a shaky hand, she looked up the number for Harry’s on her computer and then called it. A female answered on the sixth ring with a brisk, “Harry’s.”
“Hello, um, I’d like to make reservations….”
“I’m sorry but we don’t offer reservations,” the woman said, interrupting. “It’s first come, first served and you have to wait in line like everyone else.”
“Crap,” Ana muttered under her breath, wondering what would be her best option. But if Abby wanted reservations at Harry’s, then Ana would make reservations. Somehow. “Could you maybe make an exception just this once?”
The woman laughed, “Sweetheart, if I made an exception for everyone who asked, we’d turn into one of those frilly restaurants that think too highly of themselves.”
“But I’m meeting my sister for the first time in my life… in fact, I didn’t even know I had a sister until a few months ago and now I’m her personal assistant but she’s been away for the past couple of months and she just called and wanted me to make reservations at Harry’s,” Ana said in one breath, without any pauses. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was almost 12:30. If she couldn’t get reservations, she could race over to the restaurant and stand in line for an hour if necessary. “Harry is the name of my fiancé… well, Harrison is his name but his family calls him Harry even though I prefer Harrison, and….”
“You remind me of my sister,” the woman said, chuckling. “I’ll pencil you in for one thirty.”
“Could you maybe make it two?” Ana asked hopefully, knowing she had already pressed her luck about as far as it could go but needing to push it a little bit further.
“Two it is,” the woman said. “Under what name?”
Crap, Ana wasn’t sure. There might be another Ana that could potentially steal her reservation so she would use her given name. Besides, it wasn’t so bad now that she knew the story behind it. “Um, Anavrin Smithfield.”
“Done,” the woman said. “We’ll see you at two. If you’re even a second late, you lose your table.”
“Thank you!” Ana gushed, hanging up and glancing back at her computer. The restaurant was on the other side of the city and if she didn’t leave now, she might miss her two o’clock reservation. In a rush, she grabbed her purse and flew out of the office, down the elevator, and out the building. That was one thing, one of many things, she hated about the city: traffic was a bitch and a half and it often took forty-five minutes to travel ten miles. At least she wouldn’t have to stand in line, as long as she wasn’t late.
While the restaurant was off the main roads, she found it with relatively no problem. It was the parking that was a pain in the ass. She ended up parking nearly three blocks away, which meant she had to walk three blocks back. She could only hope she remembered where she parked. Pushing the sunglasses onto the top of her head, she studied the restaurant and wondered what was so special about it. While it smelled utterly divine, it wasn’t at all fancy, just as the hostess said. Yet there was a line that wrapped around the block and if she wasn’t mistaken there were several up and coming actors and actresses that she recognized.
Trying to keep her mouth closed and her guilt to a minimum, she weaved through the crowd and made it to the front just before two. Smiling at the hostess who was far prettier and younger than Ana expected, she said, “Hi, I’m Anavrin.”
“Excuse me,” an annoyed man growled from behind her. Turning around, she found herself staring into Nolan Mars slate gray eyes. Instead of saying anything to her, he pushed past her and said to the hostess, “I was next in line and I’d like a table for one, something out of the way preferably.”
“Excuse me,” Ana said, sliding in front of him and staring up at the face that was plast
ered all over the internet. It was hard to stop herself from blushing because it wasn’t just his face that was shown. There were just as many images of his naked butt as well. “I’m standing right here.”
He looked down at her and gave her his most charming grin. He wavered slightly and it was only slightly apparent that he was drunk, until she smelled him. The stench of alcohol coming off of him was enough to make her eyes water. Jeeze, it was only two in the afternoon. “So you are.”
Turning back to the hostess, he arched a single eyebrow and murmured, “Well? My table?”
“You’ll have to wait a few more minutes, Mr. Mars,” the woman said. She looked a lot like the actress that was in the allergy commercial and a movie that was about to come out but Ana wasn’t going to ask since there were a lot of people waiting in line, including the gorgeous but irritated Nolan Mars. A smile lit the woman’s face as she turned to Ana. “Anavrin, I was just about to give your seat away.”
“I still have five minutes,” Ana protested but she did it with an easy smile, recognizing a kindred spirit in the hostess. Glancing at the crowd, many of whom were staring daggers at her, and trying to ignore Nolan Mars, she leaned closer, “Thank you so much, by the way.”
“No problem,” the woman said, grabbing a couple of menus. Leading Ana through the crowded restaurant, she said over her shoulder, “Anyone who is engaged to a man named Harry is all right in my book.”
“Are you engaged to a Harry?” Ana asked as they stopped at a table.
The woman’s face lit up and her eyes darted to the side as she said, “Not yet but I hope to be soon.”
Ana turned her head to see what had snagged the waitress’s attention and saw the largest, most intimidating man she had ever seen in her life. He was huge, his skin roped with muscles and covered in tattoos, his hair a vibrant mishmash of colors, his ears and heavy brows studded with earrings. But his smile was filled with love as he met the woman’s eyes. In a low voice, Ana said, “So that’s your Harry?”
