CHAPTER 2

	A week later it wasn’t such a good day, however.  Hannah breathed a sigh of
relief after having made it all the way across the lobby without any sign of a McKinley
anywhere.  She lifted her coffee to take a sip, just as the elevator doors began to close.
Her luck turned, however, as the door was suddenly stopped.
	“Hold the elevator,” said a masculine voice, as two men slipped into the elevator
and stood beside her.  Hannah glanced their way to give them a polite greeting and
froze when she saw their faces.  There she was, confined to the small elevator, with not
one, but both Cole and Ty McKinley! 
	They continued the conversation they had already started before entering the
elevator, seeming not to notice her at first. Cole seemed to be frustrated with something,
and Ty was brushing him off as if it wasn’t important to him.  After a while, Ty glanced at
Hannah, as if he were trying to find a diversion from his brother.  
	“Good morning,” he said, smiling brightly.  Then clearly ignoring his brother, he
tried to strike up a conversation with her.  “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
	Hannah swallowed hard. “I doubt it,” she said shakily.
	Ty squinted at her, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  “I don’t know, you look awfully
familiar. Are you sure we haven’t ...”
	Hannah shook her head and stared up at the numbers as they moved along the
lighted circles above door, hoping the tenth floor would come soon. Instead, the elevator
stopped at the third floor and a man got in and pushed the button for the fifth floor. 
Hannah grumbled to herself, wondering why the man couldn’t have walked up the two
flights of stairs. 
	“I’ve got it!” Ty grinned at her triumphantly.  “I saw you at the Christmas party last
year. Yeah, that’s it, you’re the girl Ol’ Cole here rescued from some overzealous drunk
looking for a good time.”  Ty crossed his arms and looked at her as if he were proud of
himself for having finally placed her in his memory.  Then his gaze fell to her belly and
Hannah blushed. 
	“But you didn’t look like that back then.  It’s obvious I don’t come around here
very often, I could swear you were much thinner back then.” He winked at her and she
wished the elevator would move faster. Instead, it ground to a halt on the fifth floor and
the other man slowly exited. 
	“Obviously,” Hannah said, trying to smile politely, noticing that Cole was paying
little, if any, attention to them.  Ty McKinley had a reputation as a ladies man, so Hannah
thought Cole was probably used to his younger brother chatting up all the girls and had
got used to ignoring the exchanges. She was secretly glad of that, as she watched the
light for the sixth floor blink off. The elevator ride up the ten floors had never before been
so long, she thought.
	“You do remember her, don’t you?” Ty elbowed his brother teasingly in the arm
and Cole finally gave her a closer look.   
	“Please excuse my brother, Miss,” Cole apologised blandly.  “He has a tendency
to act like an idiot.” Then he turned to Ty and scowled. “Of course I remember her, Ty,
she works in the building.  I have seen her in the lobby on many occasions, along with
everyone else who works in this building.”
	Hannah closed her eyes and hoped that was the only thing he remembered
about her.  Unfortunately, Ty’s voice broke into her thoughts again.
	“I’m talking about the Christmas party, big brother. Or don’t you remember? You
were taking the whole Veronica thing a little hard back then, so maybe your memory is a
little clouded. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as drunk as you were that night, either 
before or since.”
	Shut up! Hannah wished. Just shut up, shut up, shut up!
	Cole sighed and turned to look at Hannah to please his brother, giving her a long
close scrutiny for the first time.  As he did this, she glanced nervously at the elevator
numbers.  Nine had just blinked off, ten would be next.  Her head was beginning to spin
and she couldn’t wait to get out of the company of these two brothers. 
	“Last I saw the two of you that night, I think you were going to take her home.” Ty
was grinning from ear to ear, seeming pleased as punch with himself for the teasing
remark he was about to make towards his brother.  “By the looks of her now, it makes
me wonder if you actually did that.”  The younger McKinley gave Hannah a broad grin
and a wink.  It was clear he was just trying to tease his brother, but under the
circumstances Hannah didn’t find anything about the comment particularly funny.
	She sputtered and glanced quickly up at the numbers above the door. Ten lit up
brightly and the elevator bounced to a stop with the bell announcing their arrival at her
stop ringing loud in her ears. She took a step quickly toward the doors, and as soon as
they slid open she made a dash for her freedom.  In her haste, she nearly tripped over
the slight unevenness between the floor and the elevator, and some of her coffee spilt
out over the rim of her cup.  She wasn’t about to stop, however, and made a quick
retreat around the corner as she listened to the doors close behind her.  
	Hannah leaned against the wall to catch her breath.  She knew the younger
McKinley had just been having some fun at his brother’s expense, but he was just far
too close to the truth!  There was no way she wanted Cole McKinley remembering
anything about her, or that night.  The picture of herself waking up naked in bed with him
flashed through her head.  He had been sound asleep, and had still been that way when
she had left.  So far, he had shown no signs of remembering her at all.  Why on earth,
after all these months, had she had the misfortune of running into the other McKinley? 
He never showed up at the office building!  Obviously Ty could hold his liquor better than
his brother and still remember things afterwards, she thought with a frown. 
	Damn!
	Hannah looked down at her coffee cup, the brown liquid running over her hand.
That had been hot! She had been so intent on getting out of the elevator and away from
the brothers, that she hadn’t even noticed how hot the coffee had been until now. She
moved her cup to her other hand and tried to shake off the coffee.  Then, looking around
to make sure no one — no McKinley, that is — was around, she headed for her office.
	
	That was Wednesday.   On Thursday, Cole was waiting for her outside the
building when she arrived for work. 
	“Listen — Hannah, is it? We have to get a few things straight,” he said, as he fell
into step beside her.
	“No we don’t,” she insisted, not looking at him, and not slowing down. “It’s
obvious your brother can be a little annoying at times. You must know that well enough.
He was just trying to embarrass you, think nothing of it.”
	“I’m not talking about Ty.  I’m talking about us,”  Cole persisted, as Hannah
approached the coffee kiosk, set down her money and took the cup of coffee Thomas
handed her.  Thomas raised an eyebrow at the words he overheard, and Hannah rolled
her eyes and gave the boy a look that she hoped told him not to pay attention to
anything McKinley said, then she headed towards the elevator. 
	“There is no us to talk about, Mr. McKinley,” she said.
	“Hannah, I want to know the truth.”  Cole kept up stride beside her, glancing at
her coffee, then back at the kiosk, somewhat confused. “Umm — did you just get a
coffee without ordering?” 
	Hannah looked at the cup in her hand. “That would appear to be the case,” she
said, nodding.
	“But — “  he looked back at Thomas again.  “How did you do that?”
	Hannah looked at him for the first time since he had taken up residence beside
her, but her expression was one of exasperation.  “I buy a coffee every morning on my
way in to work,” she stated flatly. “The boy has an amazing memory.  You should be glad
you hired him.”  She pushed the button for the elevator and took a tentative sip of her
coffee and unconsciously sighed. 
	Cole grunted.  How had they managed to get talking about coffee, he wondered. 
“Hannah, about your baby — “
	“My baby is none of your business,” she stated flatly, although deep inside she 
was shaking like a leaf. 
	“I need to know — “
	“McKinley, am I ever glad I caught you. Can you spare me a moment?”  An older
gentleman in a three piece suit interrupted their conversation and Cole glanced from her
to the man just as the elevator door opened. 
	“Well, actually Mr. Jorstad, I’m in the middle of — “
	“Nothing,”  Hannah smiled sweetly at the older man and spoke in a sugary voice.
“Nothing important at all. Please, don’t let me keep you.”   The man gave her a bright
smile in return and turned his attention to Cole, who was forced to stand there and listen
to him as Hannah made a fast escape into the elevator just before the doors closed.
	She leaned against the back wall and closed her eyes, unconsciously resting a
hand on her belly.  For seven months she had managed to keep everything in control,
and in the matter of a few minutes Ty McKinley had turned it all upside down, making his
brother suspicious.  There was no way she was going to be able to weather another
confrontation with the elder McKinley and stay composed!
	Friday, Hannah made a point of arriving at work a few minutes early, in hopes of
avoiding Cole McKinley altogether.  Thomas was his normal chatty self when she picked
up her coffee, though he made no mention at all of the episode the day before.  Hannah
smiled nervously, glancing at her watch.
	“Hey, I got tickets for the basketball game! My girl loves basketball.”  He  grinned
as he handed her her coffee.
	 “Good for you, Thomas. I hope you enjoy the game.” She smiled at him.
	“Ever been to a game?” he asked her, and she shook her head.
	“No, I haven’t. I’m sure if your girl loves basketball, she will be thrilled that you’re
taking her.”  She raised her cup in a salute, and started towards the elevator, waving to
the boy at the kiosk. “Don’t want to miss the elevator today,”  she called back to him, and
Thomas gave her a cheery wave.  She reached the elevator and slipped inside,  just
before the doors started to close.  Stepping on board she turned to watch the lobby
disappear behind the sliding doors, and caught a glimpse of Cole McKinley weaving
through the crowd just as the doors closed.  As the heavy doors came to a full close,
she felt her entire body relax.  She had managed to avoid him, and  with any luck he
hadn’t seen her!
	Thinking she had made a safe getaway, Hannah breathed a sigh of relief and
stepped out of the elevator on the tenth floor.  Rounding the corner, she spotted Clarice
just unlocking the office door and smiled at her.
	“What are you doing coming in so early?” Clarice asked, as she opened the door
and held it for Hannah to step through. 
	“Just starting a new routine,” Hannah said, setting her coffee cup on her desk .
	“Well, I told you, I don’t mind if you’re a few minutes late,” Clarice insisted, then
tipped her head towards the door as Jeremy walked in, with another junior designer,
Mark, following behind.  Both looked like they had just crawled out of bed and come to
work without combing their hair. “It’s not like any of them concern themselves with
getting here on time, or with their appearance either, for that matter.
	“Aw, c’mon Clarice,” Jeremy crooned.  “You know you love us just the way we
are.”  He gave his boss an exaggerated hug and Clarice responded with a playful bat on
his arm.
	“Oh, get to work you two!” she said, and everyone laughed. 
	Clarice headed toward her office, and Jeremy chose a nearby desk to lounge
against as he casually sipped on his coffee.
	“Sure thing, Boss,”  he said, raising his cup in salute.  “Glad I don’t
work for McKinley, that’s for sure,” Jeremy chuckled, glancing at Mark.  “Did you see the
way he was casing out the lobby when we came in? Hanging around the doors like a
vulture, I say.”  
	“Yeah, I bet any of his staff who came in late today would be sorry they did,” 
Mark said, stretching his neck to look towards Clarice’s office. “You would never do that
would you Clarice?” he called, a teasing tone in his voice.
	“You better not be too sure,” Clarice’s voice filtered out of her office. “With a
bunch of freeloaders like you working for me, you never know what I might resort to.”
	Everyone laughed once again, and Jeremy looked at Hannah and lifted his
coffee cup in a mock toast. “I liked it better the other day when you were late, though,
Hannah.  Today you made us look bad!”
	Hannah grinned at the pair. “I don’t have to help you with that, you do a fine job
on your own,” she said just as Paula walked in the door. 
	“Do a fine job of what?”  Paula asked, taking Jeremy’s cup out of his hand and
taking a sip as she walked past.
	“Hey! That’s my coffee!” Jeremy exclaimed as he followed after Paula. “You
could have got your own downstairs.”
	Paula shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been half as much fun though.”  She winked at
him, then laughed. “Hey, was McKinley hanging around in the lobby when you guys
came in? What’s up with that guy today?  I felt so guilty being late that I didn’t stop at the
kiosk, and I don’t even work for him!”
	Mark, who had actually found his own desk and was starting to organize his
papers for the day, looked up and smiled. “We figure he must be running a sting
operation to catch staff from his office who are coming in late for work.  If we all worked
for him, we’d be in big trouble I bet.  Except for Hannah, of course.”  He rolled his hand
in front of himself and bent in an exaggerated theatrical bow, and chuckled.  “You’d be
safe working for him, Hannah, you were here on time.”
	“Thank goodness I don’t work for him,” Hannah grumbled under her breath.
	“She was here early, as a matter of fact,” Clarice said, as she walked out through
the front office. “Got here as I was unlocking the door.  You all could learn a lesson from
her.”  Although her statement was made in a teasing voice, everyone knew it was
Clarice’s way of telling them that time for play was over and it was now time for work. 
	Hannah smiled. She  enjoyed working for Clarice because not only was she a
good boss, but the atmosphere in the office was friendly.  They all joked around with
each other, but they all got their work done.  As Clarice headed toward the door,
everyone was settling in for the day's work.
	“I have a meeting at Worthington’s this morning, Hannah. I should be back
around eleven.  Do I have any appointments I need to know about after that?”
	Hannah flipped open the appointment book and scanned the day’s page.  “You
have Seabreeze in here at ten-thirty.”
	“Hmm.” Clarice frowned. “Better call them and see if you can push it back a bit.  If
there is absolutely no way, then call me on my cell phone.”
	Hannah nodded. “Will do,” she said, as Clarice turned to leave.
	Minutes later the door opened again, as Hannah was on the phone rescheduling
the Seabreeze appointment.  She glanced up, prepared to motion to whoever it was that
she would just be a few minutes, and found herself face to face with Cole McKinley. 
Stumbling awkwardly in mid sentence, she turned a pleading expression towards the
three junior designers behind her and jerked her thumb towards him.  All three of them
looked dumbfounded, and Jeremy swallowed hard, as if he thought McKinley had
overheard them talking about him earlier. 
	“Hello, Mr. McKinley,” Paula said with a bright smile, as she moved towards the
front of the office.  “Miss Bradshaw is out of the office and Mr. Rosen is away on
business, is there anything we can help you with?”
	Cole looked at the girl without really seeing her, then glanced at Hannah. “No
thank you, I’m here to see — umm —  Hannah.  I’ll wait.” Hannah swallowed hard and
felt herself blush as he leaned against the wall, obviously not planning on going
anywhere. 
	“Oh?”  Paula raised her brow and gave Hannah a questioning look. Then with a
shrug, she turned and headed back to the back of the office, although instead of
returning to her desk, she lounged against Jeremy’s desk and kept her eyes on the
reception area as Hannah struggled to complete her conversation. 
	“Mr. McKinley,”  Hannah said, her voice professional and artificially controlled as
she carefully rested the receiver in its cradle.  Then she lowered her voice and spoke
again. “What are you doing here?”
	Cole took a step towards her rested both hands on her desk  and leaned
forward.  “We got interrupted the other day. We need to talk,” he stated flatly.
	“No, we do not,”  Hannah insisted, glancing nervously behind her.  
	“Yes, we do,” Cole persisted.	
	“We have nothing to talk about,” Hannah continued.
	“We have a baby to talk about.” Cole’s voice was curt and once again Hannah
glanced over her shoulder. It was obvious his words had been overheard, for Paula and
Jeremy were looking at her with wide-eyed interest and Mark was brushing coffee off the
papers on his desk that he had sputtered everywhere a few seconds before. 
	“Mr. McKinley, I — “ Hannah started, though she had no idea what she was
going to say to get herself out of the discussion.
	“Miss — Banks,” he said, the pause only barely audible as he glanced at the
nameplate that decorated her desk, and which Hannah secretly wished had become lost
before he had arrived.  “I’m not giving up until I get some answers about this baby.”
	She took a deep breath and started again.  “Mr. McKinley, I have work to do.”
	He stared her down. “I don’t,” he stated flatly, straightening up and crossing his
arms as if he were in for the duration.  ‘I can stay right here until you decide it is in your
best interest to talk to me.”  Hannah glanced over her shoulder once more, and found
her co-workers leaning on their elbows at their desks waiting to hear the rest of the
conversation.  She gave Cole a pleading look and tipped her head in their direction.  He
shrugged and did not budge.  With a sigh of exasperation, she stood up and walked
around her desk, not looking at him, and stepped out into the hall. 
	“Mr. McKinley!” she shot at him, as he stepped out behind her, then with a
frustrated sigh, she pulled the door closed behind him.  
	“Call me Cole,” he said.
	Hannah’s eyes narrowed, but she stood her ground. “Mr. McKinley,” she
repeated.  “I do not appreciate you barging in at my place of work and causing a stir like
this.  My personal life does not need to be broadcast in front of my co-workers.“
	“You have been avoiding me, it’s the only way I could pin you down. Thank
goodness Thomas knows who you work for, it made finding you today a lot easier.  I’m
giving the boy a raise, by the way.  He has amazing marketing skills.”
	“Mr. McKinley — “ Hannah moaned in frustration. 
	“Call me Cole, or I’ll take this conversation back inside the office,” he said, his
eyes daring her to call his bluff.  When her shoulders sagged just slightly, she was sure
she saw a hint of a grin playing on his lips. 
	“Fine then, Cole.  Why don’t you just leave me alone?”
	“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said, ignoring her question. 
	“Tell you what?” she asked, and when his eyes fell to her belly, she closed her
eyes and turned away.  He caught her by the arm before she managed to turn her back
completely to him.
	“Ty was just being a nuisance in the elevator the other day.  I know that, but what
he said made me think.  It wasn’t exactly the best night for me at that Christmas party. I
was not, shall we say, completely in control of myself. It would not be entirely improbable
for this to be my baby, would it?”  He studied her profile closely as he spoke, and did not
miss her wince at his final words. “And, by your reaction, I would say the prospect is
becoming less and less improbable.”
	Hannah swallowed hard, and tried to hold back her tears.  She had done
everything she could to push that night to the back of her mind.  The humiliation of
having woken up beside him with no clear recollection of what had happened had been
bad enough without finding out she was pregnant.  To have everyone know it was Cole
McKinley’s baby would have been even more humiliating.  She would have been
labelled as an easy tramp, which could not be further from the truth.
	“Hannah.”  Cole’s voice penetrated her thoughts.  This time, however, instead of
demanding, his voice was soft and gentle, and she turned a shaky gaze to look at him. 
“Hannah, I just need to know.  Is this my baby?”
	Hannah’s throat ached.  There was no way she would ever find her voice, so
instead, she simply looked away and nodded.  She heard him cuss under his breath,
and his hand dropped from her arm, and the tears that had been stinging the back of her
eyes began to flow.  She crossed her arms and hugged herself tightly, wishing she could
disappear. 
	“Absolutely positive?” he probed.
	“Yes,” she nodded.  God yes, she said to herself. There had never been anyone
else!
	“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked again, much more softly this time. 
	She glanced up at him.  “Tell you?”  Suddenly she felt defensive, despite the
tears that flowed freely down her face.  “And just how was I supposed to bring the
subject up? I don’t even know you, and I wasn’t even sure you remembered anything
about that night.  If you didn’t, I certainly wasn’t particularly interested in making a fool
out of myself. As time passed it became obvious that you didn’t remember me, and it
just seemed to make the whole thing a little easier to bear.”
	He rubbed a hand across his brow, pacing back and forth across the hallway.
“You still should have told me.”  Hannah groaned and he looked at her at last and
sighed. “I’m sorry.  What else can I say? What can I do to make it up to you?”
	Hannah glared at him wide-eyed. “Make it up to me?  McKinley, you don’t have
to do anything. I have been managing quite fine on my own.”
	“I will not turn my back on my own child, or, for that matter, the mother of my
child.  There will be things you will need,” he announced.
	“I said I’m managing fine,” she insisted.
	“I don’t care what you said. You’re being stubborn.”
	“I don’t need a handout.”
	“I’m not talking about a handout. I’m talking about assuming my responsibility
toward my child.”
	“I don’t need — “  Hannah stopped talking, suddenly noticing Jeremy and Paula’s
shadows at the frosted window beside the office door.  She moved further down the hall,
clenching her teeth and lowering her voice.  “I do not need your money, Mr. McKinley.”
	“Cole.”
	“Cole,”  she repeated to satisfy him.
	“You may not want it, but I do not shirk my responsibilities.”
	“I am not your responsibility, Cole!” Hannah spat at him, becoming more and
more frustrated. 
	“That baby is,” he stated, allowing his eyes to rest on her belly for an extended
period of time. The first time, actually, that he had looked there for more than a few
seconds since he had begun this discussion.  As he looked at her, he struggled within
himself to remember just exactly what had happened. The last real memory he had of
the Christmas party was rescuing her from a drunken opportunity seeker.  He winced at
the thought.  Had he been no better himself?
	Somewhere in the strained silence Hannah heard bells ringing. It took her
several seconds to realize it was the phone inside her office, and she patted the tears
from her face cautiously. 
	“Look, Mr. McK —  Cole, I have to get back to work. Please don’t trouble yourself
over me any further.”
	“I don’t give up that easily,” he stated, and as Hannah looked back over her
shoulder, she was inclined to believe he was right about that at least.