Miranda snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see who had called her. Hansel stood before her in a well-fitted suit, looking formal. He seemed a bit thinner, his cheeks slightly more hollow than before. As she studied him, Hansel was also greedily taking in the sight of her. She wore a beige knit sweater, black pencil pants, and a khaki trench coat. Her hair hung loosely, just past her shoulders, natural and undyed, falling simply as it always did. On her feet were a pair of white sneakers–simple and clean. “Hello,” Miranda greeted, seeing that he hadn’t spoken yet. Once intimate lovers, they now greeted each other with a formal “hello” as if they were strangers. At that moment, Hansel felt as if he had been struck by a hammer.
“Mimi… Do we really need to be this polite with each other?” Miranda smiled but didn’t respond. Hansel’s heart ached, yet he forced a smile to match hers. “Are you here for something?” “Yes,” she said and nodded seriously. Her expression was still calm. “Shall we talk inside?” “Alright.” Miranda walked toward the office.
Hansel followed closely, shutting the door behind them. It effectively cut off the curious glances of the secretaries and assistants outside. “Joe, who was that woman? I’ve never seen her before. Is she here to talk business with Mr. Johnson?” The question came from a new secretary, who had only been with the company for two months. The one who had booked the wrong flight before had already been fired. Joe frowned. “Have you finished your work? Learned everything you need to? If you have so many questions, maybe journalism is a better fit than secretarial work.” The secretary awkwardly smiled. “I’m sorry, I was just curious…” Joe looked around at the others. “And what about the rest of you?” Nobody spoke, but their silence was as good as agreement. Joe’s expression darkened even further. “Some of you have been here for years, and some of you are new. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here or how much experience you have. As long as you’re sitting at this desk, remember this: don’t ask questions you shouldn’t ask, don’t look where you shouldn’t, and stop being curious about things that don’t concern you!” Everyone nodded quickly with their heads down.
Joe turned away but didn’t return to his desk. Instead, he nervously knocked on Hansel’s office door. “What is it?” Hansel’s voice came through the door, sounding a bit raspy.
Joe bowed his head. “Mr. Johnson, the golf game with Mr. Levy this afternoon-” “Cancel it.” “Yes, sir.” Joe wasn’t surprised by his answer. After all, this was Miranda Sutton they were talking about. The Miranda that Hansel had been longing for, thinking about day and night. Now that she was here, there wasn’t room for anyone else. Inside the office, their conversation continued. “Please, have a seat,” Hansel said, pulling out a chair for her. He then asked eagerly, “Would you like something to drink?” “No, thank you. Let’s just get to business,” Miranda replied. “Alright.” He sat across from her. His gaze was focused and restrained, never leaving her face. “I’m here today because-” “Mimi, how have you been? I heard that the graduate program at Bedford College is tough. Are you managing alright?” He had heard it from Tina, who had complained at home about her busy schedule, saying it was so packed with classes that she barely had time to eat, let alone shop or meet friends. Miranda, realizing she needed his help, patiently answered, “I’m doing fine.” She said nothing more and tried to steer the conversation back on track. “I came to discuss the land transfer from when we broke up-” Hansel interrupted her again, “Have you eaten lunch yet? I haven’t, and I’m starving. There’s that Jovanian restaurant nearby you used to like. How about we talk over lunch?” Miranda hesitated for a couple of seconds before nodding in agreement. Hansel wasted no time. He grabbed his coat, and they left together. On the way out, he called Joe to cancel his evening appointments as well. During lunch, he did what he used to do–cutting her steak into bite-sized pieces before handing it over to her.