The incident with Terrence Cunningham had made Henrik Hanssen realize how close he had allowed himself to grow to a woman he would under normal circumstances try to keep as far away from as possible. For the first time, he had experienced an uncontrollable jealousy. The sight of Cunningham being so close to this woman that he had become intimate with had filled him with rage. The thought of her allowing him to touch her, made him feel physically sick. He had wanted nothing more than to take Cunningham down. It was another moment in history where Serena Campbell had caused him to act in a way that he would normally never do.
He tried to ignore these thoughts as Professor Elliott Hope continued with his presentation in the boardroom. The man seemed to have lost some weight and was incredibly enthusiastic about his next open heart surgery. Hanssen tried to pay attention to him, but found his eyes drawn to the woman seated to his left. She was listening intently to Professor Hope, obviously concentrating on what he was saying. He couldn't even begin to explain to himself what he felt each time he stole a glance in her direction; it was almost impossible. In a way, he knew he couldn't trust her. He knew she was bad news. He knew that she would possibly never be able to commit to him. But then, could he commit to her? He had never been good with commitment. But she was emotional and temperamental; all the things he was not. All the things that he had tried desperately to close off from everyone else. He tried to remain clinical and objective, never emotionally involved. This woman had changed all that. In the last few days, he had shown traits he never even knew he had. He had become jealous, angry, aggressive and risky, but he had also felt passionate, aroused and most of all, alive. He had never felt as alive as he had the last few days. She made him feel alive and it meant everything to him.
"Mr Hanssen?" Professor Hope's voice drew his attention back to the present. Everyone sat staring back at him.
"I do apologize, Professor Hope," Hanssen quickly answered, almost flustered. "I missed that question."
Elliot stared back at him for a split second, before repeating his earlier question. "Is it a go?"
"Assuming you feel the risks have been carefully considered and all other options explored," Hanssen said. "Then of course, you're free to proceed."
Elliot looked like he was ready to jump for joy, smiling broadly as he packed up his slide show presentation.
Serena Campbell glanced back at Hanssen. He tried to avoid her eyes, but she continued to look at him until he was forced to look at her. She smirked, realizing how hard he was trying to maintain his usual authoritative demeanour, but he was struggling. She slowly moved forward in her seat as Jac Naylor started getting her presentation ready on the laptop. Discreetly sliding her hand onto her CEO's knee, she felt his whole body tense up. He brushed her hand away, giving her a disapproving look. She smiled to herself, knowing that she had attracted his attention. She moved her leg over to his until it was gently leaning against his shin. He didn't seem to mind this. She could tell he was becoming fidgety. She was becoming bored with the presentations herself and the smell of his aftershave was sending her mind on a memory trip that was not appropriate for the boardroom. He drummed his fingers against the table as they waited for Jac to finish setting up and Serena couldn't help but remember how good Hanssen was with his hands. The thought made her blush and she had to sip her coffee to distract her mind from the place it was heading to.
It had not gone amiss by Hanssen who suppressed a smirk. The fact that he had that kind of affect on her filled him with not only a sense of pride, but also the feeling of wanting to make her blush even more. He tried to concentrate on Jac, but his mind was racing back to her scent, her warmth, her laugh and the way she would run her nails down his back.
This time it was her turn to smirk as Hanssen sipped his coffee.
"That's mine," Serena whispered, just loud enough to get Michael Spence's attention.
"I do apologize, Ms Campbell," Hanssen said, placing her cup back down on the table.
"That's okay," she picked it up and sipped it, that same sparkle in her eye that made him want to grab her and lay her down on the table.
Michael watched in horror. "Gross," he stared at the coffee cup.
Serena glared at him playfully, before glancing back at Hanssen. They still needed to ensure no one knew. And they needed to find out ho Cunningham ha found out about them. The thought made Serena feel slightly sick. No one had such a great relationship with Cunningham that they would be able to ring him up and tell him that the CEO and his employee were engaging in out of work relations.
She was pulled out of her thought by the sensation of a warm hand touching her thigh, almost making her jump. Glancing at Hanssen, she noticed the hint of amusement in his eyes. She had obviously not been anticipating him playing her at her own game. His hand lingered for a few seconds before one of the consultants got up to make a fresh cup of coffee.
They listened as Jac spoke about her patient with an abnormal heart for another five minutes before Hanssen had tried his utmost to get rid of everyone. "Well, if you and Professor Hope can discuss a point of action, then I'm more than willing to take it into account. In the mean time, let's all get back to work."
"I thought we'd already discussed a point of action," Jac replied, looking annoyed.
Hanssen looked up at Elliot who immediately realized he needed help. "Talk me through it again," e said to Jac, motioning for her to follow him out.
"Ms Campbell, can I have a word?" Hanssen watched Serena pause as he called her name.
"What are all these chats about? The hospital?" Michael asked from the doorway, looking suspicious.
"What else do we ever talk about, Michael?" Serena said nonchalantly, watching him shrug and slam the door behind him. Serena moved to the corner of the room, away from any watchful eyes, before turning back to the dark haired man. "Well, Mr Hanssen, I can honestly say I never expected to be groped in the boardroom," she purred, watching him expectantly as he arose from his seat and casually moved towards her.
"I could say the same thing, Ms Campbell," he said as he pushed her against the cupboard with more force than he had intended.
She looked a bit surprised before the sparkle came to her eyes. "My, my," she bit her lip. "Have I been teasing a little too much today?"
Hanssen smiled as he moved in for a kiss, pulling her into him. She was wearing the same perfume that drove him crazy and he breathed it in, savouring every second. He felt her run her hands up his back, under his jacket and had to fight the urge to rip his jacket off and pull her down onto the tiled floor. Her kisses had become more urgent and he knew it was heading for more than just a quick make out session. He had to pull away from her, trying desperately to regain control of his actions. He could sense her watching him, wanting him to come back to her, but it was far too risky.
"Right, I think we best get to work," he said, gathering his things from the desk.
"Or, alternatively," she smiled. "We could take a quick stroll down to the basement to check on that pesky leak."
"Pesky leak?" He turned to her.
"I hear it's pretty bad," she said, smiling mischievously. "And I think only we can fix it."
"Is that so?" He suppressed a smile, feeling that familiar urge to feel her body against his. The thought of getting her alone, in the dark was enticing to say the least.
"What's the harm in five minutes?"
"Five minutes?" Hanssen smirked.
"Or ten or twenty," she purred.
Hanssen was about to answer her when he felt his phone vibrate in his jacket pocket. "I think in the interest of health and safety, we should fix that leak," he said as he checked the text message.
Serena was about to suggest they leave separately when she noticed the look on Hanssen's face. He had become serious. "What is it?" She moved over to him, leaning in to see what he was looking at. "Oh my god," she said, looking at the photo message. It was a photo of her and Hanssen in his office, engaging in a lustful kiss. "I don't . . . how could anyone have taken this?"
"I don't know," he answered flatly. "It doesn't bode very well for Holby's CEO and DOS, does it?"
Serena felt her blood run cold as she looked up at him; his eyes filled with distrust. "You think I had something to do with this?"
"What better way to get the competition out of the way?" He watched as her expression changed from hurt to anger in a heart beat.
"I wouldn't have to resort to that," she spat, grabbing her folders and storming out of the room, leaving an earth shattering emptiness behind.
