The Closer (18+) ✓

| 14.2 | closing the deal

❝And I'll take some time
Just to be thankful
That I had days full of you, you.❞

Chapter Fourteen:
Closing the Deal
(cont'd)

There's nothing like the sight of a man waiting for you to make his company, especially one that looks as positively delicious as Hans does. Not that his looks meant everything to me but Hans was proof of a post-puberty miracle. He stood at the entrance of the Italian resto-bar we'd agreed to meet at, sporting Ray-Bans and looking like a modern day James Bond in a white henley and dark blue chinos. The sun glared off his waves of inky black hair which had grown recklessly long. That, together with the stubble, gave off the raw sexual magnetism that I could see several women practically drooling over as they walked by. His attention, however, was faithfully focused on the car as it pulled up to a stop near him.

Ever the gentleman, Hans opened the door for me and leaned down, flashing a thousand mega-watt smile.

"You ordered an escort, miss?"

I smacked him on the side with my clutch, but despite myself, I was unable to stop from grinning at his joke as I stepped out. Hans' arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a quick, but thorough kiss good enough to leave me drunk before lunch. I was still in a trance as he broke away and exchanged niceties with Peter who drove off after a minute or two.

"You ready, pumpkin?"

That snapped me out of it.

Hans slipped his hand into mine as we walked toward the entrance, raising an eyebrow at the blank stare I shot him.

"What? Come on! Pumpkin's cute."

"Yeah. For pre-pubescent dorks in love." I scrunched my nose up at the idea of being labelled 'pumpkin', that too by Hans. "I think we should just stick to 'babe' for now."

"But that's so normal," Hans muttered and tugged on my hand like an infant.

"And pumpkin is spectacular now, is it?"

Hans took off his Ray-Bans as we stepped into the cool, air-conditioned reception, and just in time to shoot me a dangerously dark look of dissatisfaction. He folded and slipped his sunglasses into the unbuttoned opening of his henley, and although he let go of me to talk to the receptionist, I knew this little argument was far from over. We bickered in hushed voices all the way to our two-person table, earning more than a few curious looks from the receptionist who led us there. It wasn't until we got settled down and handed our menus did we both shut up and finally have a moment of peace.

As my eyes skimmed over the various, mouthwatering dishes offered by the fine-dining restaurant, I couldn't help but skirt my gaze over the top of the menu to Hans whose eyebrows were scrunched together in concentration. How had he managed to secure a last minute reservation at a place like this? The decor and interior ambiance said more about the place than the rich menu could. It was idyllic. Hans really did have the best taste.

We made our orders soon after that and settled into a conversation that I made sure wouldn't steer in the direction of Hans' new habit of assigning me fond nicknames that just didn't work. Now that we weren't arguing anymore, it was nice to see that he looked just as happy to be spending his afternoon with me as much as I was with him.

"I hope I'm not stealing you away from any important work you have," I confessed, giving him a small smile. "Tim insisted I get out of the office and, well, I really didn't want to bother you but-"

"I had nothing on my plate all day," Hans interrupted, shooting me a reassuring smile that took away whatever guilt had been pooling inside of me. "All my meetings lined up today got canceled for some reason or the other. I'm happy they did, though."