“We need to talk.”

Hannah hadn’t bothered making an appointment or even knocking as she waltzed into Nina’s office. Once she’d made it home, after reassuring Curtis that she wouldn’t make any rash decisions without talking to him, she’d taken a long shower. She needed the time to figure out how to approach Nina. By the time she felt like a prune, she’d decided the direct approach was best.

The annoyance on Nina’s face as she spun in her chair cut through Hannah. It wasn’t even nine yet, so Hannah hadn’t considered she’d be on the phone. It was more likely that she had the chair spun around because she was using the shelf behind the desk to prop her feet on as she painted her nails.

Nina gave Hannah a full perusal before her look softened a little. That basically meant she didn’t squint as much.

“I’m going to have to call you back, Stewie. Make sure to pick up my dress from the dry cleaner and buy me something sparkly for dinner tonight.”

Stewie was Nina’s present boy toy. She went through them like toilet paper. There was a new roll every few days. Two of Hannah’s brothers had got caught up in Nina’s web, so Hannah had the joy of hearing both sides of a couple of her break ups – if they could even be called that. None of them were serious, and Hannah didn’t know whether any of them had ever been considered exclusive.

“He’s probably not going to last the night. We’re to that needy stage that drives me crazy.”

“Good for you. I went to see Curtis on Sunday.”

It was just like pulling off a bandage. Hannah had to get it out there and deal with the aftermath. It’d been two days, so not only would Nina be pissed she went and talked to him without her permission, she’d waited to tell her about it.

“You did what? Are you insane?”

Her voice was calm, which usually meant the person she was speaking to was about to be obliterated. For people who didn’t know her, they felt a false sense of security just before she attacked. Hannah was smart enough to know what was coming, so she’d braced herself long before she showed up at Nina’s door.

“No, I promised him I’d give him a chance to explain things after your blow up at the reunion.”

Nina laughed and leaned back in her chair. Hannah could already tell by the light in her eyes that she was planning her next move.

“I’m sure he had all sorts of fun things to say about me. You can’t trust him, Hannah. You know how men like him are. I don’t have to remind you about Paul, do I?”

Hannah had figured out that Nina had only used Paul’s name as far as the lie about the bet because Hannah hated thinking about Paul. If Curtis was really buddy-buddy with the guy, Hannah wouldn’t have anything to do with him.

“Curtis is nothing like Paul. And, in case you were wondering, he wasn’t at prom, so your little lie about the bet doesn’t pan out.”

“Really? You determined that he’s nothing like Paul from having a little chat with him on Sunday?”

“No, I determined he’s nothing like Paul because he waited for my coherent consent. He told me about the picture, Nina, and about how you blackmailed him in high school.”

Nina laughed again, shaking her head as she did. Hannah knew what every expression usually meant, but she had a feeling Nina was trying to throw her off. Her face was almost neutral, at least as neutral as Hannah remembered seeing it. A smile seemed to want to come out, but Nina appeared to be blocking it.

“He waited for consent. Why, little Hannah, I believe you just proved my point. You’ve had sex with him, you little slut. I can’t blame you, but I am a little pissed you threw the system out the window. You’re already proving Curtis is someone you can’t handle.”

A sly smile easily spread across her lips as she spoke. Her words were mixed with jokes and admonishment. Hannah felt like she was having her knuckles rapped by a ruler for being naughty.

She had been naughty, but it wasn’t the kind that warranted that kind of punishment, at least not from Nina. Nina had lost her ability to make decisions as far as Hannah’s love life when she blackmailed the hottest guy Hannah had ever known to make sure he didn’t ask her out.

“I’m an adult now. I can handle having a boyfriend without having to use the points system.”

Hannah realized she was airing her personal business with the door to Nina’s office open. The eighth floor was mainly Nina’s office, but her two assistants sat at small desks outside the door. Both of the women were gossips, so it was only a matter of time before everyone knew about Hannah’s sex life.

Taking a breath to try to clear her head, Hannah reached behind her and fumbled for the door so she could close it. Nina only raised one of her perfectly tweezed eyebrows at the move. The other woman had probably spent an hour getting ready, judging by the soft bouncy curls of her hair and the makeup meant to highlight her eyes and lips.

Rather than spend hours pampering for work, Hannah had taken her long shower and settled for combing her hair. She didn’t have time to mess around with styling and makeup on a normal day. Getting dressed up to persuade Nina to give Curtis a chance wouldn’t have increased her luck, so she stuck to her usual routine.

“I’ve celebrated your birthday with you for two decades now, so I’m well aware of your physical age. It has nothing to do with your sexual aptitude. I assume you made sure protection was involved. You can be half-blinded by his good looks, but please tell me you were smart.”

Hannah didn’t back down or show any signs of being ashamed of what happen. She also decided Nina didn’t need many details.

“You know I’ve been getting the shot forever, and that’s all you need to know.”

Nina sat forward in her chair and leaned her elbows on her giant oak desk. Hannah opted to never get too close to it because she’d heard stories of sex happening on that desk too many times for comfort.

“You’re joking.” Nina added an almost crazed laugh to her words. “You really are a little slut. You went out and had unprotected sex with a man you know nothing about. It serves you right if you have to live with the consequences of that for the rest of your life. You should’ve kept to the sex rankings.”

Hannah was confused. Nina made the task easy, but Hannah tried to figure out what she was getting at. She’d known Nina wouldn’t approve, but she acted like Curtis had an STD or something. So far, when it came to choosing one of them to believe in, Curtis won every time, so Hannah was leaning towards believing that he was disease free.

“Curtis didn’t give me anything.”

It probably didn’t help convey her point with the present company, but Hannah put her hands on her hips as she spoke and scowled. She was trying to mimic how Nina looked when she forced her will on people. There wasn’t much question about how poor the imitation was, but Hannah had committed to it.

“Are you sure? Your shot lapsed two months ago.”

Not bothering to really ponder the words, Hannah was quick to reply. “No, it didn’t. I have an appointment next month for the next one.”

It wasn’t like Hannah was usually sexually active enough to worry about it, but each time she left the doctor’s office she made a new appointment for the next time. She had the date marked on her calendar, so she didn’t forget and could schedule the time off work.

“You do have an appointment, but it’s not the original one.”

Hannah was fairly certain Nina had gone off the deep end. Curtis had warned she’d try to come up with a new game to mess with them, but she was taking things to a completely different level. Hannah got her shots every three months, so she would’ve known if she was months behind.

Even if she had spaced it off, her doctor would’ve called and reminded her of the appointment. The office always called a couple days before.

“It’s not going to work, Nina. I know you love your schemes, but it’s not going to work.”

Nina nodded. “I do love my schemes, but this one I didn’t plan. You remember how awful my breakup with Trevor was, don’t you?”

No, Hannah did not remember the man in question or the breakup. That was how things went when your best friend used guys like toilet paper. There were way too many of them to ever keep track.

“Which one was he?”

“Oh come on. You’ve got to remember Trevor. He was the one. I took the breakup so badly that I had to declare a Nina day.”

Hannah stared blankly at her friend. She still didn’t remember the specific guy, but she did remember the last Nina day. Those were holidays Nina declared when something upset her. They’d slacked off work and hit all of Nina’s favorite stores, with a guy Nina had hired following them around with wine all day.

Some people would have loved the holiday, but Hannah got tired of hearing about how horrible Nina thought her life was. It wasn’t like the guy dumped her, guys never did. If she remembered right, that certain breakup happened because the guy called Nina’s knew favorite IPA battery acid.

“I sort of remember the day and the reasons for it, but your boy toys stopped registering around junior year of college.”

Nina waved her hand in the air. Hannah hoped she didn’t try to push the whole memory thing. She really didn’t have time for it. She’d made an appearance down at her desk and mentioned to May that she needed to talk to Nina. Her boss really couldn’t question or deny the request, although it wasn’t a request. That being said, Hannah didn’t have plans of sitting around and chatting with Nina all day.

“Whatever. All that’s important here is that a couple weeks before that wonderful Nina day, I knew things were over with Trevor, but he was so good at going down on me that I kept him around for a little while. I was already planning our adventure, so when I looked at your calendar and saw your appointment was in the way, I called up the doctor’s office and moved it to a more convenient time. Then I just updated the event on your calendar.”

“No,” Hannah whispered as she looked down at her phone. She’d brought it so she could call Curtis on the way back to her desk and fill him in.

She quickly unlocked it and went to her calendar, thumbing back through the months looking for her last appointment. When she made it to June without seeing one, her heart sank. By the time she found the day in April that marked the last appointment, she thought she’d hyperventilate.

“Someone might be pregnant.” Nina’s sing-songy voice barely registered. “I couldn’t plan a better revenge for your friend Curtis. You know he’s the do-goody type, right? He’ll want to get married and the rest of his life will be tethered to you and your kid. This is perfect.”

Hannah tuned in more as Nina went on. It felt like her world was crashing around her and all her best friend could do was jump for joy. The woman was so twisted that she didn’t care who got hurt as long as she was happy.

“I quit,” Hannah said simply. After a second, she decided she should probably clarify. “I quit working for you. I quit being your friend. I quit everything that involves you. Don’t call me. Don’t bother knocking on my door. I am done with you.”

She used Nina’s own calm and scary delivery for the words. Hannah had known changes were going to happen after being with Curtis, but she hadn’t expected how they’d really flip her life on an axis. She opened the door behind her and left the room without saying another word.

Nina was sure to have plenty to say, but Hannah didn’t want to hear it. Her friend had always been close to crossing the line over the years, always inching closer. She’d never done it though. It was bad enough to hear the way she’d threatened Curtis and all the lies she had about him. Having proof that she was capable of just toying with someone’s life without a care, Hannah’s own life in this case, Hannah couldn’t deal with it.

As she made it to the elevator, she reached down and caressed her stomach. It’d only been a couple days, but her and Curtis’ child could be developing inside of her. She couldn’t settle on a single emotion that resonated with that idea. Scared, excited, mortified, joy, they all played out for very different reasons.

Hannah hadn’t done a lot of research on the subject, but she was pretty sure there wasn’t a test that could tell you if you’re pregnant two or three days after conception. She’d need to check for sure, but she figured she had a week or so before she’d get a definitive answer.

On the elevator ride, she went back and forth whether she should bother Curtis with the news. It wasn’t officially any kind of news. It was more just the fact that she may have been mistaken when she assured him birth control was in place. By the time the elevator doors opened, she’d decided she had the whole car ride to his place to decide. She didn’t bother collecting anything other than her purse from her desk. She grabbed her purse and walked out of the building without looking back.