Chapter Two

Hannah had been browsing a delivery app for quite some time now. After giving her an earful and managing to call out the attention of everyone in the same room, the dragon lady left her table. Yes, among those who watched her get grilled was Tony. The dragon lady even dared to demand her to order takeout for the managers' meeting.

"Can you order for us as well?" A woman behind her spoke. Hannah's eyes narrowed as she looked back at Marie.

"You're supposed to be helping me!" She hissed.

"Who told you to yell at the dragon lady anyway?" Marie laughed and shook her head. "That's like, you know, suicide."

"I don't know what these people want!" Hannah sighed and threw her phone to her desk.

"Buy pasta, sandwiches, and coffee," Chris said.

"So, Italian?" Hannah repeated as she took her phone back to her hand.

"What did you and Tony talk about earlier today? I heard some people talking about it," Chris said.

"I don't know," Hannah mumbled.

"It must have been about a report she didn't submit, or that she's suspended, or something," Marie said.

"She's not reporting to Tony, right?" Chris said.

"Hey, what's happening? Everyone's talking about you," Liezel appeared.

"Please, could you all shut up for a second and help me out here!" Hannah cried out.

-----

Hannah and her friends brought the trays of sandwiches, truffle pasta, and coffee to the meeting room where all the managers were. Mariza looked pleased with what was ordered and the time the food arrived.

"Great work, ladies," she even told them.

Hannah's eyes strayed to Tony's seat, and he stared back at her, which annoyed her. She gestured to her girls to leave the meeting room immediately after placing the trays in front of the managers.

Tony said tomorrow was the first "meeting." He hadn't elaborated on what it was all about so she couldn't say anything to her friends yet. She was hoping she wouldn't have to do anything violent or illegal. She had remained pure all her life for a meaningful reason. She wouldn't want to lose all that to disappoint herself.

-----

Marie and the others had been bugging her the entire time about what the meeting between her and Tony would be about. She was someone who never kept anything to her friends. She would want her friends to know if she felt she would be in trouble. It was safer that way. She would have witnesses if Tony would extort her or frame her.

"I don't think Tony is that sinister," Chris said. "He never had that kind of feel, and I've known him for a long time now."

"Of course, you would defend him. He's your husband's best friend!" Marie scowled.

"But I don't think that is the case," Chris insisted.

Hannah kept her radar on, trying her best to read through what Tony was planning or was trying to propose. He was proposing something she wouldn't like, she was sure.

Hannah, I know you want to apologize. I'm now giving you that chance.

"Can someone tell me what happened after the bar party last weekend?"

The girls just stared at her. "You are the one who is supposed to start talking," Marie said. "We were all in awe when you left the place with Tony!"

Why would Tony have her dad's number? Why can't she remember going home that night? She can't remember how and why her friends would think she got out of the party with Tony.

-----

Tony had a reputation for going out with women only to leave them after a couple of weeks or a couple of months.

The digital clock on her monitor shows 6:58 p.m. The floor had gone dimmer with the sun down and some of the lights on the floor turned off. The managers had already gone. She could tell the only remaining superior on the floor at the time would be Tony. There were a couple of staff at the other end of the floor and some staff in the pantry. None were looking in her direction, and Hannah was not close with any of them.

She could tell the perfect timing was here. Hannah got up from her seat and went straight to Tony's room.

"Come in," Tony's voice was soft but clear.

Hannah closed the door behind her as she walked in. She then stood firm about five steps before Tony's desk. Tony had a fist on his chin, and another was flipping a pen. His eyes were looking narrowed and dark. His eyes stared back at hers, looking like he was reading her mind.

"Go on and tell me what you want," Hannah said. The stern tone of her voice got to Tony. His eyes widened, and he tilted his head to looked at her better. With the change in his looks, Tony seemed sleepy a while ago, and now he was awake. He smirked in amusement.

"I have a proposition," he said.

"No, thank you," she said.

Tony looked at her. "I haven't even said anything."

"If you wish to blackmail me over something I don't remember, it doesn't matter," Hannah said.

"Just because you don't remember doesn't mean other people don't remember either," Tony said, leaning his back on the backrest of his seat.

"So far no one's suing me, so I suppose whatever I did wasn't anything illegal," she said.

"I could sue you," he said.

Hannah's eyes narrowed. She was sure she had not done anything illegal even if everybody would say she did it while drunk.

Tony sighed. "I never said anything about doing something illegal. Anyway, my proposition is completely harmless, I probably should note since you're looking aggressive since yesterday."

"Then if it's something embarrassing. I embarrassed myself well enough in my teenage years," Hannah said, tipping her chin. "I probably just have to tell my parents 'I'm sorry and please don't disown me.'"

"I already said my proposition is completely harmless!" Tony exclaimed. "Whatever you forgot about that night, I would just be reiterating now. However, I note that you already agreed and actually received a deposit, so you might as well just shut up and listen to me."

Hannah's eyes grew wide. What the hell did she already agreed to that she even took a deposit?

"I'm hiring you as a fake girlfriend," he said. "That's probably the simplest way I could think of explaining it. I truly, truly hope you're not so forgetful even while sober, and not so stupid even though you're sober."

"Fake girlfriend?" she repeated. "Why would you want a fake girlfriend?"

Tony sighed heavily. "This is such a painful, and I quote, painful way of proposing to a woman I don't even see as a woman." His eyes turned to her and hovered over her in a manner as if she was wearing an odd, humiliating costume.

Hannah folded her arms across her chest. "Why would you even propose such a thing to a woman who you don't even consider to be a woman then?"

"Let's go to my apartment. I don't want to spend the night here, and people would think we did anything," he said.

"I'm not going to your apartment!"

"Again!" He hissed as he turned to look at her and once again hovered his eyes over her as if she was now wearing a massive elephant costume. "There's nothing to worry about. In fact, you already spent a night in my apartment, and you slept like a baby. I had to carry you home."

That made Hannah blink her eyes more than she probably had ever done in a minute in her entire life.

"Don't worry." Tony turned again to face her. "You're still very virgin from your head to your toes."