The next day, Hanna came in and looked for Ethan first thing in the morning. She needed to talk to him before he left with his meeting with Acamas International, she needed to try and he talk him out of falling into that trap one more time. She stopped by his desk, to find he wasn't there, so she wandered around the sales office until she found him in the other break room.16Please respect copyright.PENANAT3K5czx8Ja
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He looks even more tired and worn out, Hanna thought to herself as she entered. Why is he even at work? He's in heat, shouldn't he take some time off for that? Idiot. She did observe the lack of tremors in his hands, currently holding a mug of something steaming hot that didn't smell like coffee.16Please respect copyright.PENANAsP9NmmKCJF
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"Good morning Hanna, found something new in those files?" Ethan asked immediately.16Please respect copyright.PENANAvBxGdfKhly
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Straight to the point as always, Hanna thought. "You shouldn't go to that meeting with Acamas today," she stated bluntly.16Please respect copyright.PENANA9q6eRDSgne
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"Why not?" Ethan replied, almost automatically.16Please respect copyright.PENANAUUF1oLSk1R
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Hanna leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms. "I already told them, it's not going to work out but they won't listen to me. Sale won't go through," she replied vaguely, as if that explained everything.16Please respect copyright.PENANAXBUf2MYwVe
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Ethan gave her a confused in return. "And... why do you think that?"16Please respect copyright.PENANAZqDUDdrFGH
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"They have no reason to. They're only giving the appearance of shopping around to get a better deal," Hanna lied more confidently.16Please respect copyright.PENANANeDLv28rtx
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"People don't always make rational decisions," Ethan countered.16Please respect copyright.PENANAmS80DvxFIL
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Don't I know that, Hanna thought in growing frustration. "And you're clearly not feeling well. You should let someone else go then you can take it over once you're back to normal," she argued.16Please respect copyright.PENANAxu6jV1Bnhr
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It clicked for him, this had all been about him the whole time. Her behaviour had nothing to do with the client at all. He relaxed slightly, it was nice to know that his coworkers cared about him even if it was in a strange, cryptic manner. "It's nice of you to worry but I can handle myself." Ethan flashed her a reassuring smile.16Please respect copyright.PENANAoIk65CzuaQ
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It's like you want to get caught! Hanna thought angrily. "My point is it's all unnecessary. There's no point in pushing yourself for this," she pressed insistently.16Please respect copyright.PENANALrgJMAIZKd
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Ethan raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "Look, this is how sales works. This is our chance to change their minds. I'm feeling fine, thanks for the concern."16Please respect copyright.PENANAecXRRjNjxT
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Hanna felt her frustrated peaking. "I'm warning you, let someone else do it," she said before walking off briskly, ignoring the bewildered look on his face.16Please respect copyright.PENANAr2aJSH7CAD
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Hanna went back to her desk and plopped down in her chair, her anger quickly giving away to regret as she realized she had just stormed away from the most important conversation of her life . She groaned quietly and rested her head on her desk. That could not have gone worse, she thought depressingly . There was maybe a half hour left before he exited the building and there wasn't anything else she could do without potentially giving herself away.16Please respect copyright.PENANA5qKj44bEdb
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Kayla would tell her that her own cover came first, that she couldn't afford to take that risk. Not for someone she barely knew. Not for someone who wasn't family.16Please respect copyright.PENANAvyq8CiTt0H
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Kayla would also tell her father immediately so one of their clients could get to Ethan first for their own benefit. Scratch that. Kayla would tease her about her crush mercilessly, then speak to her father. Or the reverse order. Or both at the same time, that would be very Kayla.16Please respect copyright.PENANAlz1knLWfR5
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Hanna knew she wasn't going to do that, t here was no way she'd ever turn Ethan in to her family. Maybe she couldn't help him, but she refused to make his life harder on purpose. She wasn't naive enough to believe they'd ever help her with this.16Please respect copyright.PENANAkv9zkGSbjj
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It looked like Ethan was going to have to deal with this on his own. Maybe she'd been underestimating him. The Charax that had been on Earth for a while knew how to hide themselves. They learned quickly or left or died. Ethan likely knew how to take care of himself, he wouldn't be alive otherwise.16Please respect copyright.PENANAIzOUSJL0ru
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Maybe he'd find his own way out. Maybe she was wrong about the trap. Maybe she'd become too paranoid and misread the whole situation. Maybe the Crimson Keys had nothing to do with this. Maybe he'll be fine, she kept repeating that, as if thinking it over and over again would make it true.16Please respect copyright.PENANACGml7J1pP5