“So? We’re both up. It’ll be fun.”
“I thought it was illegal to go and hang out at the sign.”
“It’s only illegal if you get caught.” I laughed as I threw a sweater on and pulled my jeans on. “Come on, it will be an adventure.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Talk.”
“Does talk mean sex?”
“Talk means talk, but if you want it to mean sex, it can.” I responded quickly.
“Fine, I’ll come.”
“Yes.” I grinned. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll go and get ready.”
“Don’t hang up.” I said softly.
“What? Why not?”
“I want to talk to you while I drive over.”
“Oh okay.” She sounded as surprised as I felt. I wasn’t sure why I enjoyed hearing her voice so much. “If that’s what you want, that’s fine.”
“Actually, it’s probably safer for me to drive without being on the phone. I’ll call you when I get there.” I hung up quickly and walked into the bathroom and splashed my face with water. “Stop acting like a girl.” I told myself off. What the f**k was I thinking wanting to talk to her while I drove over to her house? This wasn’t some romantic gesture. This was me going to get laid. Even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t true. I wasn’t going over so we could have sex. I was going over so that I could spend more time with her. I didn’t even care if we had sex. I just wanted to be with her. I groaned as I realized that I was already straying from the plan. Friends with benefits didn’t meet up to hang out and talk. They didn’t flirt. They just had hot sex and moved on. Maybe this hadn’t been my smartest idea. The last thing I needed was a romantic entanglement. With my assistant. I already knew that work on Monday was going to be crazy. My dad had left me three voicemails sounding pissed and asking me to call him. I had nothing to say to him. I wasn’t going to run myself or the company in a way that made me feel guilty or like I was selling my soul to the devil. Nothing was worth that. There was no amount of money worth losing my soul over. I got into my car with mixed emotions. I was excited to see Hannah. I wanted to see her smile. I wanted to hear the snark in her voice. I wanted to hang out. On the other hand, my excitement scared me. I didn’t want this to be anything more than what it was. I was scared that I was going to f**k this up. I was scared that I was starting to like her more than I should.
***
“This is so cool.” Hannah’s excitement was evident in her voice as we sat next to each other on the hill at the top of the Hollywood sign and stared out at the Los Angeles landscape. “Dangerous, but cool.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” I held her hand and we just stared out at the night sky.
“So what were you doing before you called me?”“Not much.” I admitted. “I was bored.”
“Oh so that’s why you emailed me?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I wanted to see you.” I admitted slowly.
“Oh, yeah you were feeling horny.”
“Yeah.” I kept my head away. I didn’t want to tell her that I wanted to see her for more than sex. I didn’t even want to admit that to myself.
“So, I hope you’re not expecting us to do it here. It’s cold out.”
“No, I’m not.” I turned towards her and smiled at her. “Tell me more about you, Hannah. What’s your story?”
“Asides from being the girl that had her promotion stolen by the big bosses son?” She laughed. “Asides from the fact that I’m now sleeping with the boss that stole my job?”
“Yeah.” I ran my hands through my hair and tried to ignore my guilty feeling. “Asides from that, I’m just a regular girl. I grew up in Nebraska and Iowa. My parents live with my grandparents in a small town called Ames. My dad used to work at the university there.”
“Oh what university?” I asked curiously. “I didn’t know your dad was a professor.”
“He wasn’t a professor.” She smiled. “Iowa State, he was a manager in the maintenance department.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, I’m very blue collar.” She smiled. “He didn’t make much money and my mom was a housewife, though she loved it. They’re getting older now and my brother is about to start college. The promotion was going to help me to send more money back home.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” I sighed. “That’s a hard position to be in. I guess I understand your hatred of me now.”
“It’s not your fault.” She shrugged. “It would have been nice. I mean, they’re not on the street and Matt can just get loans. Matt’s my brother, by the way.”
“Yeah, I gathered that.” I put my arm around her shoulder. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “And hopefully, I can find a job with more money soon.”
“What do you mean?” I frowned. What was she talking about? Was she going to leave Maxwell Corp?
“Oops.” She made a face. “I didn’t mean to say anything, not that there is really much to say, but I’ve been thinking about looking for a management position outside of the company.”
“You’re going to leave?” My heart felt cold inside.