The Hellman

Chapter 4

Elaine let out a sigh of relief as she filed away the last of the documents she had drafted that day. She had stayed behind after work to complete her task but it had taken her much longer than she had imagined. She looked over at the clock and realized she was over an hour late for the meetup she had planned with Charlie. She took up her phone and realized there were no missed calls so she sent a message to her friend canceling the meetup. She thought maybe Charlie had been stuck at work just as she was. She began packing her things when a soft knock came on the door connecting hers to Alexanders. Moments later, the door opened and he stepped in. He had shed his jacket and tie and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows revealing muscly arms.

“Hey,” he said, “aren't you leaving?”

“I was just about to.” She said, “is there something you want?”

“I was just going over some documents.” He said.

She watched as she ran his hand through his hair in a swift motion and her hands itched to do the same. “I wanted you to get a look at it too.”

“Sure,” she said, “I'll be there in a moment.”

After packing her bag, she grabbed her suit jacket and walked into the other room. She knew she wouldn’t be back in her office for the rest of the night so when she left she would just head home. When she walked into Alexander’s office she was surprised to see his desk filled with papers and a few were scattered on the floor.

“What's this?” she asked throwing her bag into one of the chairs by his desk.

“I started the prep for the operation I’m running with Theodore so I started going over the notes from my informant.” He said with a perplexed look on his face that told her this was the cause of his concern.

“What’s the issue?” she asked picking up a sheet of paper from the desk.

“I have no idea,” he said once again pulling his hand through his hair. “I just found the notes a bit inconsistent with the official reports. Something somewhere isn’t adding up.”

“Show me,” she said walking over to where he stood.

He picked up two papers and handed them to her.

“Do you see here?” he asked

She read through the notes and then the official report and she realized instantly what was wrong.

“I think the person who wrote the report knows who the Americans are.” She said,

“What do you mean?” he asked looking at her with surprise.

“I mean, when you talk about someone you know, you have a specific tone, when you’re trying to avoid revealing that you know them, it comes out in how you describe other things.”

“I know that.” He said, “but how can you tell.”

“The same way you could.” She said pointing out to him the inconsistencies with the wording on both documents.

“It’s intentionally vague because there is extra effort to conceal that they know something.” She said plainly after reviewing the documents another time.

“Wow,” he said flashing her a beaming smile, “how did you know all this?”

“Ugh well, when I started working here I decided to read some books. I know I’m an assistant but a lot of the work I do here requires that I know some of these things.” She said trying to not seem suspicious.

The truth was that she had picked these things up years ago. It wasn’t a skill she needed to use often but she had been taught to spot a liar early in life.

“You’re right.” He said, “why didn’t I think of that.”

“It’s alright.” She said, “you’re thinking of all this, I figure some things out on my own.”

There was a moment of silence before he cleared his throat and began packing up the papers.

“I’ll help you with those.” She said stooping down and picking up a stack of papers.

She didn’t notice that he had crossed the room and when she stood and turned to walk over to his desk she slammed right into him. The force nearly knocked her off her feet and for a scary moment she thought she was going to fall. The fear that gripped her at that moment was so intense she felt herself blacking out, but she felt a large powerful arm wrapped around her. She looked up and realized that her body was pressed against Alexander’s and he was staring down into her eyes as if he wanted to kiss her. For a moment the thought terrified her, and she held her breath but then he slowly steadied her and stepped away. The loss of his touch was strangely disappointing and she realized that he body wanted nothing more than to be cradled in his arms.

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I should have warned you I was right there.”

“It’s alright” she replied closing her eyes and trying to wash the embarrassment out of her mind.

“Thanks for your help.” He said, “let me walk you out.”

“No, that’s all right.” She said.

“I insist.’ He replied.

“Sure” she replied wondering how she would recover when he was so close.

The walk from his office to the elevator was the longest she had ever taken in that building. He punched the button for the elevator and it opened instantly. They walked in and she stepped in tentatively trying to shrink away from him. She was beginning to understand why women in the office were so attracted to her boss. He somehow seemed to make the elevator, a space she used every day, seem a hundred times smaller.

“So, any plans for the evening?” he asked.

“No.” she replied thinking of the canceled plans she had made with Charlie.

“Oh.” He said.

It seemed like the longest elevator ride she had ever taken and the ding of the elevator bell only agitated her further.

She looked over at where he stood and admired his chiseled jawline as he looked away from her. He turned to look at her suddenly and heat pooled inside her stomach making it hard to breathe. It felt just like the moment he had saved her from falling. In a moment he was across the room and standing before her. He ran a hand down her face and for a moment she thought she was going to faint from anticipation.

“I want to try something.” He said before lowering his head and kissing her

It was soft and gentle as he coaxed her lips apart. She gasped at the immense feeling of pleasure when he wrapped one hand around her and pulled her into him, so their bodies were pressed against together.

She had never even kissed a man before and somehow she knew that this would be the best kiss she ever had.

He pulled away and the look on his face told her he was just as surprised as she was.

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I didn’t mean to do that.”

She wanted to laugh at his ridiculous statement. If he had felt a fraction of what she had in that little kiss she saw no reason for him to apologize.

“I don’t think you ever do something that you don’t mean.” She said.

He was silent for a while.

“What I meant is that I don’t usually go around kissing my assistants. Or any woman that I work with for that matter.”

“That’s reassuring.” She said, “I guess I can let that one slide.”

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I don’t know what I was thinking. Nothing can happen between us.”

She couldn’t help the sinking feeling she felt in her get when he said that. He was the most handsome man she had met, and his kiss had ignited something within her that she had never felt before. She clutched her bag to her chest and steeled herself against the unwanted feelings that were stirring within her.

“That’s all right.” She said, “I won’t let it happen again.”

His sigh of relief told her that it was exactly what he wanted to hear. The elevator door opened, and she stepped out eager to get away from Alexander.

“Thanks for our help.” He said with a wry smile.

“No problem,” he said shrugging on her jacket, “can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” He said.

“Your brother Jamie asked me to dinner. You know him better than I do, do you think it’s a good idea.”

She couldn’t read the look that crossed his face but in no time it was gone and he shrugged.

“That’s a choice you have t make.” He said, “I see nothing wrong with it.”

Without another word he turned towards the staircase and walked away from her.

She stared at him curiously and shook her head men were far more complicated than she had originally thought, and Alexander was the most complex of them all. She had no idea whether he liked her or not and with no experience she couldn’t tell.

Her lunch with his sister had been just as strange. The woman had practically made herself her best friend and somehow she thought something as happening between her and Alexander which she had assured her wasn’t the case. Even so, she had insisted that she wanted to get closer to her and in the space of an hour she had made another friend and organized several lunches and dinners.

After the strange lunch, she had come back to the office to figure out what happened when Jamie walked in and promptly asked her out. She had promised to think about it but the sudden attention from all around was beginning to make her nervous and extremely uncomfortable. All she wanted to do was hide her head in the sand and do her work but the more time she spent in the company the more complicated things became. She was very sure she had a crush on her boss, his sister had all but made her an honorary member of the family and his brother had asked her out. She would have to do a better job of staying out of the spotlight for the sake of her secret.