The man followed.
“I’ll be right back,” I murmured, already moving.
Hannah
Thestorageroomwasquieter, the music and chatter muffled by thick walls. I crossed my arms, planting my feet. “Make it quick.”
Sebastian sighed like I was exhausting. “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove with this whole… charade.” He gestured vaguely, like all of this—my job, mylife—was just some childish rebellion.
“No.” I held up a hand. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to show up here like I owe you an explanation for my life.”
"You can’t honestly be happy here.” Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “You could come back to New York. It would look better with the auditors if you hadn’t left.”
So that’s what this was about. His carefully composed mask slipped just enough to confirm what I’d already known—this wasn’t about me. It was about the way my choices made him look, about the inconvenience of a girlfriend who hadn’t fallen in line.
“You couldn’t drag me back to New York in a body bag,” I snapped.
“Hannah?” A voice echoed from down the hallway.
“I’m back here,” I yelled.
Connor turned the corner, his sharp brown eyes sweeping over me like a mechanic checking for damage. He leaned in to brush his lips over my cheek, just a graze that asked a silent question:Do you need help?
I didn’t. I could have handled Sebastian myself.
But god, I really wanted a witness.
And maybe an accomplice.
“Hey baby,” I said. When I leaned into Connor, he reached for my waist, pulling me against him with effortless familiarity. Sebastian's jaw ticked. “Just catching up with an old friend. This is Sebastian Callihan, Senior Accountant at Callihan & Murphy.” I felt Connor’s hand tighten on my waist at the name, but his calm demeanor didn’t give away his recognition.
“Actually, I just made Partner.” Sebastian’s practiced smile gleamed. “Guess the firm appreciated how I stepped up when things got… complicated.”
His deliberate glance at me lingered, and my stomach twisted.
“Congratulations,” Connor said, pleasant but empty. “You’re a long way from New York for a Saturday night.”
“Alex and I go way back. Princeton.”
“That’s funny, I worked with Alex every day for six years, he even personally asked me to move here from San Francisco to start his firm…” Connor tilted his head like he was racking his brain, “and he’s never once mentioned your name.”
I turned to face Connor and saw the mischief dancing in his eyes. He wasenjoyingthis.
I hadn’t known Connor long, but I thought I’d figured him out—I’d seen his precise lists, his thoughtful caretaking of his boss, the strategic way his mind put together the pieces of my life. I’d liked that sweet, kind Connor.
Yet seeing this vindictive Connor, who knew how to make Sebastian feel small, and who could tell exactly how much I was enjoying him tearing apart my ex’s ego?
That version of Connor was really fucking hot.
Sebastian interrupted my thoughts. “And you are?”
Connor offered a handshake with just enough steel. “Connor McNamara, COO at The Sinclair Group.”
Sebastian’s brows shot up at Connor’s title. I bit my lip to hide my surprise at a fact I would know if I were really dating him. Or, you know, had met him more than once.
“The Sinclair Group,” Sebastian repeated slowly, recalculating. His gaze flicked between us. “And what, you’re living in New York and seeingher?”
The disbelief in his voice made something hot flare in my chest. Defensiveness and rage, sure, but also self-recrimination that I’d wasted so much time on such an asshole.
