Otherwise the black would pretty much be nonexistent.”
Hannah nodded once like she’d made her point.
“How do you even know this stuff?” Noah asked her, staring at the chart.
“Alarm system. Duh.”
“Okay, so I’ve been here a bit more than usual, but I’m running my own business. Some late nights are inevitable.”
“You’re killing yourself, is what you’re doing.” Hannah sighed. “I’m worried about you. All you do is work. You’re here before everybody else, and you leave long after everyone else is gone. It’s not healthy. I don’t want to walk into your office one day, only to find you dead behind your desk. Firstly, dead bodies creep me out, and secondly, you’re the best boss I’ve ever had, so I’d like you to, you know, be alive and keep bossing me.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever let me boss you around.”
“To be fair, on my first week I was a bit more reserved.”
“I distinctly remember you flipping me off when I tried to help you with that poodle.”
Hannah winced. “Yeah, I really thought you were trying to go for the me-big-competent-male-you-weak-female routine.”
Noah rolled his eyes at her, and they chuckled, both remembering that day two years ago. The gray poodle—Sweetie Pie—had a tendency to bite without warning, so Noah had tried to give Hannah a heads-up, but she hadn’t taken kindly to his new boss doubting her abilities to do her job. In the end, Sweetie Pie had pressed his teeth into Hannah’s forearm, and Hannah and Noah had bonded over the resulting ER visit.
Noah leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face. He glanced at the clock on his laptop screen and groaned. Half past eleven. Technically he was about to start his vacation. The first one he’d taken in years. Not that he’d volunteered to take this one, more like he was forced by his mother and Hannah and, well, every single employee in the clinic. Still, it wasn’t like he was going to stay away for a week. Maybe he’d just make his workdays a bit shorter in the spirit of vacation. As for him spending this evening in the clinic, he was obviously just getting a head start on things.
So, yeah… he might have a problem, but in his defense, running a business came with a shit ton of paperwork, so he had a legitimate reason to be there that late in the night. Unlike some other people…
Noah squinted his eyes as he cocked his head to the side and regarded his vet tech. “Why are you here so late?”
“Sean got called into work. People of Seattle just can’t seem to stop murdering each other.” Hannah’s boyfriend was a detective, and he had the same workaholic tendencies Noah displayed. Sean regularly joked that Hannah put up with Sean’s schedule because Noah had helped condition her so well.
“That doesn’t explain how you ended up here.”
Hannah scrunched her nose. “I might have driven past the clinic to check that you’ve gone home,” she said. “Which was a good thing because obviously you haven’t, so now I’m here to make sure you get out of here. Jeez, boss, you’re officially on leave, so get out of here. Sleep. Binge-watch a shitty crime show. Get wasted. Just do something other than work for a change. It’s Friday, you should be out having fun.”
Noah jumped up from his seat. He knew where Hannah was going with this, and he was not in the mood to discuss his nonexistent dating life. Hannah would never understand the restrictions Noah had set on his life, so it was better to nip that conversation in the bud.
“Okay, you win. I’m ready to call it a day,” Noah said as he started stuffing papers in his bag. The laptop followed, and in under a minute he had his things packed, ready to go.
“Hold it!” Hannah said in a no-nonsense voice. “Put the bag down and your hands where I can see them.”
Noah slowly placed the laptop and papers on the ground by his feet and lifted his hands up. Hannah stepped closer and started patting him down.
“I think you’re confusing me with Sean,” Noah said. “I’m really not into role-playing naughty cop and sexy criminal with you. Plus, your boyfriend carries a gun, and this whole situation might give him the wrong impression.”
He yelped as Hannah pushed her hand into the front pocket of his jeans and started rummaging around.
“So we’re doing this now. Awesome,” Noah muttered as he tried to squirm away from