Terms of Service (3 page)

Thirty minutes later, it was obvious he wasn’t coming.  She signaled for her check, carefully paid by cash, and exited the bar.  The tension was building.  She was afraid, not for herself, but for the girls.  Hugging her jacket around her, Hannah slowly made her way to her car.

***

Gavin had continued to watch her.  He hadn’t intended to stand her up.  He had sat there for over five hours.  The problem was…vulnerability.  On both sides.  Somehow he knew if he spoke to her, took the time to get to know her, he would like her.  He growled.  He didn’t want to like her.  He wanted to punish her.  This plan of hers to find some rich man to take care of her and her children was sickening.  
She’s just being practical,
his heart argued.  
How desperate must she be?

When she stood to leave, Gavin waited an appropriate time and exited the bar as well.  He wanted to see what she drove, what direction she was heading.  Who was he kidding?  He was going to follow her and he knew it.  Unable to fight it, he left a hundred dollar bill on the bar and walked purposefully out.

The woman was just getting into a late model white SUV.  She pulled on her seat belt and cautiously glanced about before backing out of her parking space.  She even signaled.  A smile softened Gavin’s face.  She was making this entirely too easy.  She turned left onto 51.  And after a few short miles, she made another turn into an apartment complex.  It was a nice enough place, not too old, the property was well maintained and with decent vehicles in the parking lot.  She pulled up in front of a garage, parked the vehicle, and pulled down the visor.  A lit vanity was opened and she swiped at her cheeks while she practiced smiling.  He cocked his head to the side as he studied her.

All too quickly, she leapt from the vehicle, locked it, and headed down the walkway to the last apartment on the left.  Once she was safely ensconced within, Gavin exited his own vehicle, grabbing a pen and napkin from the console.  Jotting down the building and apartment numbers, he headed back to the Lexus to make the long drive to Lake Norman.  He didn’t mind.  It would give him time to think.  Once he arrived, he would think some more.  Time was of the essence, after all.  He knew he had to take a chance, make a decision, or lose out on this opportunity forever.  He would treat it like business, weigh his options, and reach a logical conclusion.  His analytical skills had never failed him.

***

Hannah practiced looking cheerful and optimistic for a few moments before heading into the apartment.  
Everything will work out,
she kept telling herself.  Clinging to that thought, she walked determinedly into the apartment to face her inquisition.

“Let the questions begin,” Hannah announced as she dropped her purse on the floor in front of her chair, kicked off her shoes, and sat, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.

Smirking at her dramatic friend, Amy stretched and studied her for a moment.  “So, how’d it go?”  Her eyes twinkled expectantly as she awaited the response.

Hannah merely shook her head sadly.  “The first guy was a complete dud,” she began.  “Never.  Never will I be that desperate.”

Tipping her head, Amy shut the thick book before her to give Hannah her full attention.  “That bad, huh?”

“The worst.  He was…gross.”  It pained her to say that.  She didn’t really have a mean bone in her body.

“Gross?”  Amy questioned, and scrunched her face as though trying to picture him in her mind.

“Overweight and questionable hygiene,” Hannah swallowed, “and really sweaty.  It could have been nerves, I suppose.”  She shook her head.  “Then the second guy arrived.  He looked like a male model.”  

Amy frowned. “You never did like pretty boys.”

“Then, Tad ended up being a
tad
too pushy.  He wouldn’t leave, couldn’t take a hint,” Hannah complained.  “The third guy rescued me.”  She sighed and paused for a moment before continuing.  “The third guy, Rick, seemed really nice, but…”

“But what?  No sparks?  No potential?”  Amy leaned in to hear the response.

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I just don’t think that anything will come of it.”

“You never know,” Amy said.  “Since when are you the pessimist?”  She tilted her head.  “You have always been the most positive person I know.  Look at everything you’ve come through, and with a smile on your face.”  She reached over and rubbed Hannah’s knee.  “Well, tell me about the fourth guy.”

Hannah emitted a hollow laugh.  “There was no fourth guy.  He stood me up.”  She laid her head down on her knees for a second when a thought occurred to her.  “Hey, did anyone call while I was out?”  Amy bit her lip and shook her head sadly.  “Oh,” Hannah responded as she released her knees and slouched in the chair.  “Well.”  And she couldn’t think of another thing to say.

***

Drinking alone was dangerously close to becoming a habit for him, Gavin noted as he found himself once more swirling a glass of amber liquid while he gazed into the fire.  He needed a change.  He needed to move on.  He needed an outlet for his anger.  Though he now had cause for some mixed feelings, this woman would do.  She would serve as the target for his revenge quite nicely.  She and her brood of no doubt rambunctious children could move in.  He would be keeping her off the streets.  She would be grateful…and pliable.  He smiled as he sipped.  Once she had a taste of this life, she’d probably do anything to keep it.  He scowled.  Not that.  He wasn’t that much of a cad.  He’d simply work her as he’d never worked anyone before.  He’d find a way to humiliate her, break her down, and teach her entire gender a lesson.

Slowly he glanced at the mantle clock.  It wasn’t too late.  Plus, with what he paid the man, he could damn well call him whenever his fingers itched to dial.  Too lazy to cradle the phone against his ear, he simply placed the man on speakerphone.  The detective sounded groggy as he answered.  “Ron, you weren’t sleeping, were you?”  Without waiting for a response, he continued.  “Grab a pen and paper because I have a job for you.”

The sound of crinkling paper answered him.  “How can I help you?”  Ron asked.  He was old and crusty, past the age of retirement, and the years of smoking in a car had taken their toll on him.  He coughed for a moment before he cleared his throat and said, “Go ahead.”

“I need to know everything there is to know about this woman.  And I need it yesterday,” Gavin added after revealing her address.

“No name, huh?”  Ron commented.

“Speak to the leasing office.  How hard can it be to get a name?  Christ,” he cursed irritated.

The old man grumbled a moment.  “I’ll take care of it, Mr. Meyers.”

Gavin smiled icily.  He knew the man resented having to defer to him.  His father had first employed him some thirty years ago, and when the business was inherited, the employees were also.  “So, I’ll have everything I need by ten, I expect?”

After uttering a barely audible sigh, the detective responded, “Certainly, sir.”

Smugly, Gavin didn’t even respond before he pressed the button to disconnect.  He reclined in his chair contentedly.  It was good to be king.  He most definitely ruled his corner of the world.

***

The next morning at five minutes to ten, Gavin sat glaring out his window overlooking center city, scowling.  Ron was cutting it awfully close and he hated being toyed with.  How difficult could it be to get the information he sought?  He turned, stared at the fax machine across the room on the horizontal filing cabinets and began to drum his fingers angrily on the desk.  He swore if Ron didn’t come through for him this time, he would fire him.  Forget about all those years of faithful service.  The one time he truly needed him, he was being let down.  Then the fax finally sprang to life and began to spit out page after page of information.

Without caring who might be looking into his office, which was barely more than a giant glass cubicle, he vaulted from his chair and began to snatch the pages before they could even come to rest on the tray.  Hannah Matthews.  The name had a nice ring to it.  He rolled it around his tongue once more.  Hannah Matthews.  Suddenly he was flooded with warmth.  He studied her credit report.  Ah, so that’s why she didn’t just find a cheaper place.  Chances were every community in town had turned her down.  He glanced at the page with the inquiries.  Yup.  Her family lived in Wilmington.  It’s amazing she even escaped that town.  It was one of those sleepy little places where no one had the ambition to even go to college, let alone move across the state.  Good lord, he wasn’t going to admire her.  He frowned.  Maybe she truly had no one here.  No options.  His brow furrowed.  He couldn’t develop a conscience now.  He needed this to change his life.  Grasping the last of the papers, he moved back to his desk to finalize his plan.

A mere two hours later, he reviewed what he had constructed.  It could work.  It had to work.  He smiled.

Chapter Three

It had to work.  Hannah once again examined all of her options.  There really weren’t any others.  She swallowed.  Her only other possibility was to sell the rest of the furniture and move the kids into an extended stay hotel.  They could pay by the week.  Of course they’d all be living in essentially one room.  She’d spend more on food, but nothing on utilities or local phone calls.  She calculated and scowled.  She’d have to rent a space for all of her goods she sold at the flea market.  She wouldn’t have a garage anymore.  No matter how she crunched, tallied, and coerced the numbers, she couldn’t make them add up.  Hannah sighed in disgust and threw her pen down on the desk.

She leaned forward and rubbed her temples while her elbows balanced on the desk.  She heard footsteps approaching, but since everyone had been walking on eggshells around her at the office ever since Brett left, she figured in her state she would most definitely be left to her own devices.  Instead the feet stopped before her desk, but she refused to acknowledge them.

“Hannah Matthews?”  A deep voice asked determinedly.

Leaning back and looking up warily she nodded.  “Can I help you?”

The sunlight streaming through the window behind him created a luminous quality to his image.  For the briefest moment, Hannah’s gut clenched and she actually thought he might be the man she’d been waiting for.  Almost immediately, she dismissed the ridiculous idea.  He was far too perfect, wholly masculine with his angular jaw, straight nose, and spectacularly black hair.  The blazer struggled to contain his broad shoulders and healthy biceps. Tall, dark, and handsome, this man was everything Brett wasn‘t.

***

“Actually, I rather think that I can help you,” he responded, smiling widely as he stared down at her.  Seeing she was even more attractive in the light of day and up close, he knew he was in over his head and knots formed in his stomach.  Hannah Matthews was a vision in chocolate, from her cropped chestnut locks, to her deep brown eyes, to the varying shades of taupe cloaking her figure.  It was obvious she tried to downplay her features and strike a professional look, but for him, it only created an even more sensual appeal.  Here was a woman who was oblivious to her charms.  It nearly sucked the breath right out of him.

Arching an eyebrow, she crossed her arms over her chest.  “And you are?”  

“I’m the man you’ve been looking for,” he responded cockily.

She nearly choked.  Instead she let out a hollow chuckle.  “Really?  What makes you think so?”  And before he could respond she added, “And when I said ‘and you are?,’ I was hoping for something more concrete, an introduction of sorts.  Start with your name.”

Gavin’s eyebrows arched involuntarily.  Every step of the way he was discovering this woman wasn’t who he expected her to be.  “My name is Gavin Meyers.”  He studied her for a moment; waiting to see if the weight his name usually carried meant anything to her.  Clearly it didn’t, even more clearly he could tell that she knew it was supposed to, and at that moment seemed to be racking her brain for a connection.  He smirked.  “I can tell you are unimpressed,” he commented dryly.  “Have you found what you’re looking for, yet, Ms. Matthews?”  Her eyebrows knit together.  “What I mean to say is…have you found yourself a sugar daddy?”

At that, Hannah glanced nervously about the room.  “This isn’t really the time or the place,” she began.  She sat ramrod straight at her desk and moved to stand while gesturing to the door.

Understanding her intention, he paused and lowered his voice.  “Answer the question, please.”

It was a definite command, cloaked as a request in that he had the sense to soften it with a ‘please.’  Still, Hannah’s eyes blazed, her cheeks turned crimson.  She was humiliated.  Though her back was to them, Gavin could see several of the women in nearby cubicles were glancing around anxiously, trying to catch the eyes of the other gossipy co-workers, no doubt prepared to reveal the latest dirt the moment the coast was clear.

Sighing, she grabbed her coat off the back of her chair and nudging him in front of her, moved to leave the office.  Hannah paused for a brief moment at the door and made a general announcement.  “I’ll make it easier on you,” she began loudly; “I’ll leave so you can talk about me.”  Shaking her head, she pulled the door closed behind her and headed to the elevator.

“I hate those women,” she muttered, as she pushed the button.  While she waited, she struggled to pull her jacket on, but as flustered as she was it seemed to tangle up around her shoulders.

“Here,” Gavin said in a low soothing voice, turning her to face him as he reached around her to right the twisted garment and pull it into its proper position.  He followed the line of the jacket to the collar and grabbed the lapels to draw them around her neck.  Realizing what an intimate gesture his simple act had become, he cleared his throat, dropped his hands, and said lightly, “There.”

Studying him, Hannah’s eyebrows knit together as if she worked to try to figure him out. She shook her head as though to clear away any confusion and immediately folded her arms across her chest.

One side of his face lifted into a smile.  “I see I have caused you to raise your guard,” Gavin began, almost apologetically.  Almost.  He had to win her over, just long enough to trap her into a commitment.

“Only since you first arrived uninvited,” Hannah said grimly.   “How did you find me, Mr. Meyers? How did you know where I worked, my name…anything about me at all?”

He straightened.  She was tough.  She was bright.  She was a more than worthy adversary.  Taking a breath, he shrugged.  “I have a really great detective I keep on retainer for unforeseen circumstances.”

“And I am such a scenario?”  She questioned.  “How is it you even came across my ad?  You don’t strike me as the kind of man to even read the personals, let alone respond to them.”

She was challenging him and he loved it.  “Well, Ms. Matthews, I find myself newly divorced…”

“And in need of some companionship?”  Hannah asked in disbelief.  “Come on now.”  She shook her head and scowled.

“My mother is in town, desperate to see me happily married, and when I returned home the other night, she had left the personals on my desk in the study with a plea.”  That much was true at least.  “And I thought that if I could just show her I was willing to try again then she might be content and leave me alone, fly back to Florida.”  That part was a little flimsy.

Her head cocked to the side as she listened to his explanation.  “Then why respond to my particular ad?  Wouldn’t your mother be suspicious of some woman you move into your home, a woman who comes with children?  Wouldn’t the red flags go up?  Wouldn’t she be screaming ‘gold digger‘?”

Sighing, Gavin continued, “My mother is desperate for grandchildren.  I think even step ones would appease her for the time.  She has a daughter, but she has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment of late.”  He was uncomfortable how much truth he had revealed to this stranger, a stranger that he planned to use and abuse to his liking.

They had been walking aimlessly down the street through the entire discussion and suddenly found themselves in front of Fuel Pizza.  He nodded toward the entrance.  “I’m starving.  What if we finish this discussion over a slice?”  She hesitated.  “Come on.”  He placed a hand on her lower back that just wrapped around her side as he directed her through the entrance.  It was disconcerting how natural that felt, touching her.  He could almost imagine how silky smooth her skin was under those layers of clothing.  Gavin frowned.  It would have to remain a mystery, since romance did not figure into his plan at all.  Love and sex were complications he couldn’t afford at this juncture of his life.  He squared his shoulders and followed her through the door.

***

Pacing excitedly, Hannah waited for Amy to return her call.  It had been nearly three hours.  She knew it was just now nearing her friend’s dinnertime.  Amy worked long hours, the typical driven single career woman.  When Hannah had commented once her friend never dated, Amy had merely remarked it shouldn’t be surprising after all she’s seen.

At last her phone sounded and Hannah dove on it.  “I need a contract drawn up,” she said excitedly.  “Actually, it’s more a terms of service.”  She laughed at her joke.

“That really isn’t my field,” her best friend admitted, then paused.  “Have you found him?  Is that why you need a contract?”

Squealing happily, Hannah replied, “I think so.  And I’m being very smart about it.  We’re going to make everything very legal, lay out all the expectations and requirements on both sides.  I want something…ironclad.”

“Of course you do,” Amy said rolling her eyes.  “Well, I suppose I could recommend someone.  Let me think on it and I’ll get back to you.  Of course anyone I select will be very discreet.  Nature of the business, you know.”

Hannah tried to be serious, but she was so overwhelmed with relief she wanted to scream and shout and jump around.  When she thought about how close she had come to complete and utter ruin, she sighed.  Now they would have a roof over their heads.  A very nice roof, she imagined.  It seemed like so little was being asked of her in return.  She collapsed into her chair.  “It’s all going to work out,” she said in wonder.  “Finally.  I feel like I can almost relax for the first time in months.”

“So, may I ask the name of this savior of yours?”  Hannah could hear as Amy drummed her pencil on the desk while she waited for a response.

“No can do.  It was part of the pledge I made.  He has appearances to keep up.  I can’t reveal his name.”

Amy sat up, somewhat alarmed.  “So, will I get to see you?”

“Of course.  I’ll be free on the weekends and we can meet,” Hannah responded vaguely.

“But I’ll never see you there, at his place?”  A note of concern was evident in her voice.

“I don’t think so,” Hannah admitted.

“I don’t know,” she worried.  “Maybe you should hold off, wait for someone else.  It’s only been a few days…”

“But I only have a few weeks until I’m homeless,” Hannah protested.  “I have to do this.  He’s the one,” she finished resolutely.

***

“Are you sure about this?”  Aaron Maddox, head of the company’s legal department, asked when he was handed the task of creating the contract.

“I just need an employment contract drafted,” Gavin said irritably.  He hated having to explain himself.  “That’s what I pay you to do, isn’t it?”

Clearing his throat, Aaron continued, “I thought I was also supposed to offer my expert opinion and legal advice.”  He had worked for the company his entire career, first as an intern, then hired on full-time once he passed the bar.  Through the years, this was the first time he had ever had cause to question the judgment of the CEO.

“I know what I’m doing,” Gavin snapped.  Then he paused, took a calming breath, and said, “Please have the contract ready for my perusal by ten in the morning in case it needs revising before lunch.”  Without even saying goodbye, he hung up.  He was flustered and he knew why.  Aaron had hit a nerve.  For the first time since he caught his wife in bed with his sister, he felt as though he was off course, about to once again disrupt the balance of his carefully ordered universe.

He didn’t have room for them.  It wasn’t that he didn’t have room for Hannah and the children in his house.  No, there was ample space for them, more than enough bedrooms and baths to accommodate, but he didn’t have room for them in his life.  He didn’t like change.  Having her around would most certainly change things.  The kids were probably loud and unruly and messy.  It was, however, the price he was willing to pay to make her pay.

***

Ten minutes before one in the afternoon, Hannah left her desk, and headed for the elevator.  She didn’t want to keep Gavin waiting.  Should she be calling him Gavin, or would he prefer to be called Mr. Meyers?  This was just one of the many questions plaguing her as she walked the short distance to
Rock Bottom.
 She sighed as she glanced at the large sign.  He couldn’t have picked a place more aptly named.  She did feel as though she had been skidding along her own rock bottom for some time.

With a smile and a nod the hostess indicated that her new employer was already there.  Hannah followed the perky petite blonde up the steps to the back of the top level where Gavin was reading the contract.  Maybe she was being presumptuous.  It could just be
a
contract, not necessarily
the
contract.  As gracefully as she could muster with her knees practically knocking, she tucked her skirt and sat across from him in their secluded booth.

***

From the tight smile on her lips and the slight tremble in her hand as she reached for her water glass, Gavin knew that Hannah was nervous.  Part of him wanted to soothe her fears, murmur words of comfort and assurance.  That was the gentleman in him, the side he blamed for his problems with women through the ages, and the side he was currently tamping down with all the strength he could muster.  At the same time, he recognized the contract wasn’t signed yet, she wasn’t yet tied to him, and hiding his satisfaction at her unease, the businessman in him took over.