An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Hannah opened her eyes after feeling the presence of another person sitting on the ground beside her. Izzy took her hand. "Are you okay?"
She was not okay. "If he would've managed to pull me free from the fence I would've started punching and kicking."
"Good for you," Aaron said. He was in the process of calling the police.
Izzy whispered. "No, not good. He might've punched you back." She stroked the side of Hannah's face telegraphing her meaning. James could've done terrible damage to her appearance.
When Izzy dropped her hand, she asked, "Was that your ex?"
Hannah nodded.
Izzy grinned. "You sure know how to pick 'em."
Hannah knew she was just trying to lighten the mood, but she didn't appreciate the joke.
Izzy seemed to read her thoughts. "Oh, too soon?"
Hannah nodded again.
"Sorry."
"Dispatch is sending a patrol car," Aaron said. "When Izzy and I saw what was happening, I didn't have time to call earlier, although that's what I told that guy to get him to leave."
Hannah tried standing. Izzy helped her up. "Thank you, both of you." She covered her face. "Oh, God, this is so embarrassing."
"He was hoping you'd feel that way and not make a scene. A tactic to get you to go with him willingly," Aaron said.
Now that the immediate danger had passed, Hannah considered the bigger picture. "This is going to reflect badly on me and maybe cause a PR crisis when word gets out. Damn it, I'll probably lose my job."
"What?" Izzy asked. "Do you work here now?"
She took a few minutes filling them in on the happenings over the past few weeks.
"I know Mr. Cento well," Izzy said. "When Mom and Dad weren't looking, he used to slip me Popsicles when I was a little girl. He's a kind and fair man."
Hannah picked her phone from the pavement. By some miracle the screen hadn't cracked, and it still worked. "I hope you're right. I better call him."
During the next hour, Hannah told her story to the police and to Mr. Cento. Izzy and Aaron corroborated, forwarded the video footage to the officer's phone, and stayed with her, a kindness Hannah appreciated.
The officer told her he would start the process of issuing an arrest warrant and would let her know when James was picked up. Both Hannah and Mr. Cento asked if the police could keep the incident from the media. The officer told them he would try but made no promises.
When he left, Mr. Cento pulled her aside. "For now, don't park way out here in the employee lot. I want you to pull up to the valet like a club member."
"I'm so sorry to cause you and the club this trouble."
"Not your fault. I'm going to have a serious talk with security to find out how a non-member was allowed to pass through the gate."
"Thank you for not firing me." It lifted an enormous weight from her.
When Mr. Cento left, only Izzy and Aaron remained.
"We're going to follow you home to make sure you get there safely," Aaron said.
Izzy's eyes were slits, displaying anger. "James had better pray the cops get to him before my brother does."
When Hannah considered the meaning behind Izzy's words, she felt a new wave of panic. "No! You can't tell Cliff."
"He has feelings for you, more than you know," Izzy said. "If I don't tell him what happened and he finds out about it later, he'll be upset with me. My brother and I don't keep secrets from each other."
Hannah laid a hand on Izzy's shoulder, hoping it would add weight to her words. "If you tell Cliff, we both know how he'll react. If he goes after James, he will be the one who gets into trouble. He could be arrested for assault or worse if he takes things too far. It could ruin him. I couldn't live with myself if that happened. Please, let the police handle things."
"She's right," Aaron added. He addressed Izzy. "If anyone threatened you, I'd want to tear them apart."
Izzy continued to stare at Hannah. "You still care for Cliff, don't you?"
"Of course, I do," Hannah admitted. "Despite our breakup, he's a decent man."
With hands on her hips, Izzy spoke in a scolding tone. "You and my brother are both so damn stubborn, too unwilling to act on your feelings. This new job of yours is the perfect excuse to get in touch. Call him. Call him now!"
Hannah knew she should. She pulled her phone but hesitated.
"What are you waiting for?" Izzy asked.
If she called, it would start things up again between them. His mother would still be an obstacle. Things would end up the same. She regarded Izzy. "I can't. Not yet. I'm still too shaky over what happened."
"Then I'll have no choice but to tell him everything," Izzy said.
Aaron butted in. "You need to back off, Izzy. This poor woman has been traumatized."
His words were true. Hannah's nerves were shot. She thought she might vomit. "Please don't say anything. I'm begging you." Then she pondered a possible solution. "I'll make a deal with you. You can go ahead and tell him I work here. Tell him I'll get in touch, just not this week because of the upcoming social I'm crazy busy. We'll talk next week. I'll be calmer. I'll let him know what happened. I'm sure the police will have picked up James by then."
She had another thought. "Will he be coming? To the social?"
Aaron and Izzy exchanged a glance.
Izzy sighed. "I wish you would've answered his text. When you didn't, I talked him into taking my friend, the senator's daughter."
"Kayla?" Of course. Hannah knew he would ask her.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
