4. Mia
4
MIA
I came into work the next day, wishing it was like any other ordinary day.
But it was not. It couldn’t be. Not when my stomach was full of nervous knots and my mind felt jumbled with panic. My heart raced and my thoughts were scattered. At the core of my predicament remained the shock from spotting Henry and Owen among the many guests at Danger.
Never before had my “worlds” collided like that. In one neat, tidy compartment was my life at the Dunn Enterprises office and in another, separate compartment was the role I had at Danger. Those two things weren’t supposed to mix. They weren’t intended to mesh.
“Hey, Mia,” Jen said cheerily as she passed me in the hallway.
“Oh!” I jumped, unusually startled by her breezing through so quickly. Normally, I was more aware of my surroundings. I came here and had a finger on the pulse of this place. “Hi!”
She laughed lightly, amused. “Yikes. How come you’re so jumpy this morning?”
“Uh, nothing. I’m not jumpy.” I laughed a little more, forcing myself to go along with her laughter. “Maybe just too much coffee.”
“You and your late nights of reading,” she teased, shaking her head as she walked on.
Reading. Yeah, right. My late nights were full of dancing at Danger, but no one was supposed to know that here.
“Yep.” I laughed once more. “That’s me…”
Jumpy was an understatement. I felt like I was creeping down the hallway, intimidated by the prospect of facing Henry. He was my boss. Of course, I’d face him again. But doing so today, after making eye contact with him last night at the club, had me super uneasy.
Did he recognize me? Will he realize it was me when he sees me today?
I had a hunch my mask hid me well. It had to have because when I came backstage, Gina had approached. She was all smiles and full of giddy energy to tease me about the two “suits” who’d come to get behind the stage for the sole purpose of talking to me.
“One gave the bouncers his card.”
I accepted the small stock paper, feeling my stomach tense at the glossy print of Dunn Enterprises inked on it. It was Owen’s card, but it was evidence that my eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on me, that it really had been Henry and Owen seated out there and watching me dance.
If they would go so far as to give Gina their card for setting up a conversation, that had to mean they hadn’t identified me. If they had, they’d just speak with me here.
And the why of it all. I spent half of my restless nights wondering why they’d want to come backstage and talk to me. Then I spent the other half staying up worrying why they were even there.
Henry had never come to Danger before. Neither had Owen. The only person from this “life,” my life in the Dunn office, who knew I was a dancer was the sitter Henry hired to watch Jason. Laura had been Jason’s babysitter for years, and she only knew that I moonlighted as a dancer because she’d come there to help celebrate a niece for her bachelorette party. That was years ago, and all this time, she’s kept it a secret. She swore never to tell Henry or Eddie, and I believed her.
But now…
I heard Henry’s voice as he greeted another worker down the hall.
Plastering myself to the hallway wall for a second, I cringed. Why? Why did you have to come to Danger on a night I was dancing? Why?
It wasn’t that shameful, being a dancer. Yet it seemed like a big, dark secret that would forever change my identity here. A deep embarrassment threatened to rise up and take me over whenever I thought about how my coworkers would perceive me if they knew I was a dancer at night. I wasn’t a stripper, but I revealed a lot of skin. I wasn’t a hooker, but the dance and routine could be overly seductive.
Covering my face in my hands, I drew a quick breath and prayed I’d hang on to my secret.
“Mia?”
Shit. Henry never called out for me, which meant he had already stopped by my office and hadn’t found me there. And if he was actively seeking me out, I couldn’t be standing in the hallway for a paltry hiding spot.
I resisted the instinct to whine or run away, unnerved with this foreign anxiety. This was Henry. He was my friend before he was a boss, or so I thought. But how to reconcile what felt like two identities was a mystery I had no time to solve.
I shouldn’t even be embarrassed. It’s a job that pays better than this one. I’m not… selling myself, but…
Shaking my head, I pushed off the wall. My side gig was just a job. I needed the money, and it was easy for me to do. I’d always had a natural knack for dancing and an instinctive talent for finding a rhythm and moving to it. Wearing a mask for some of the routines made me feel more protected, but as I walked down the hall to find Henry, I cringed at why I felt like I had to be secure at all.
So what if Henry knew? So what if Jen realized I stayed up dancing instead of reading? Who cares?
I bit the inside of my cheek. I cared, and today simply wasn’t the day that I’d grow up that much more and get over this secret shame.
“Mi—Oh!” Henry crashed into me, going too fast around a corner that I was also hustling along. At this rate, I wasn’t sure whether I’d made my mind up, whether I wanted to hide from him or confront him with a greeting to get it over with.
He’d solved that dilemma for me by bumping into me. He was moving so fast that he nearly plowed me over, but he caught me. The firm touch of his fingers on my upper arms both chilled and seared me, and I worried he’d be able to read me well enough to spot how nervous I was.
“Hey.” He softened his smile, gazing at me like he often did. Like he could be calmer, knowing I was around. At first, I thought it was because he valued my hard-working spirit around here. I’d come to learn that he simply liked my company. It was mutual—except for now.
“When did you get in?” he asked at the same time I blurted, “I didn’t know you would be in now.”
Good grief. I laughed, for real this time, because this was how we were. If we weren’t finishing each other’s sentences, we were accidentally talking over each other.
“I just got here. I had a couple of things to do with Jason.” His smile rose more at the mention of his adorable son. They were like two peas in a pod, both with charming smiles and quick wit. That boy would certainly grow up to be a hell of a heartbreaker.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, always quick to worry where that boy was concerned. He’d wormed a quick route to my heart within the first week of meeting him, and he’d never lose that spot.
“Oh, yeah. Just fine.” He tilted his head to the side a bit. “And hey, it’s arcade night. He’s really excited.”
“Me too.” With every second that passed and things flowed so normally between us, my hopes grew higher that my big secret was still safe. That he would remain clueless and not realize I was the woman dancing on that stage last night, that I was the performer he couldn’t tear his gaze from.
Just like that, I was taken back to the memory. The flashback wasn’t welcome now, but being under his direct focus, I couldn’t help but recall how exciting and thrilling—yet terrifying—it was to have him admiring my moves and getting sucked into watching me like I was the rarest treasure in the world. I felt more alive when I danced. I was looser, freer, and able to just let go of stress when I moved to music.
Unlike now, when I stood here so stiff and tense that he could mention seeing me last night.
“I love our arcade night.”
“Maybe tonight will be the night I finally beat you at skee ball.”
I scoffed. “Keep dreaming.”
He leaned closer, narrowing his eyes playfully. “You still don’t think I can top your record score?”
I was trapped by desire, lured to slant toward him too. Whether it was bickering or mildly arguing, we both gave as good as we got. “It took you a year to beat it last time.”
“Then I’d say I’m due to top your score again. Any day now.”
I lapsed, looking at his lips, but I caught myself from staring at them. With us standing so close like this, almost flush, anyone could walk by and get the wrong impression. That I was flirting. That he was coming on to me. That we were?—
“There you are!” Eddie’s loud, booming voice cut through the magical moment of feeling like it was just me and Henry, alone in the world with each other.
Henry sucked in a quick breath and stepped back. I did the same, immediately smiling at the older man who’d given me a break and given me a job after I was released from serving time. I’d never forgive myself for even having a record. Short though it was, it was time served, and the reminder of it would always ruin my mood.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, Mr. Dunn.”
“Morning, Mia, and for the last time. Just call me Eddie.” My former boss winked at me before facing his son.
When I didn’t leave, too stuck on wishing Henry and I could talk more, Eddie frowned. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Oh! No. Nothing, um…” I put my hand on the back of my neck. “I was?—”
“No, but I do need to talk to Mia,” Henry said as he gestured for both of us to follow him to the CEO suite.
Crap! This seemed ominous, but then again, he wasn’t acting like anything was different between us.
I was going to drive myself insane wondering and worrying if my secret was out.
“Those forms you dropped off yesterday. I think you gave me the wrong ones,” Henry added, glancing at me over his shoulder as I walked to his left.
“Oh!” I exhaled a huge breath of relief. “Yes. The ones that HR emailed and said—” I shook my head, smiling that it was a simple little thing. Waving at him, I dismissed the concern. “I know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve got them organized in the right piles on my desk.” Now he twisted to look at his dad on his right. “But what brings you by, Dad? You were just here yesterday, after all.”
“Getting sick of me hanging around?” Eddie joked.
“No. Never. But Mia and I need to go over those other documents that the records sent over and such.”
“Right. I know.” Eddie nodded. “You two are always so busy. But I’ve got something exciting to tell you.”
Henry pushed open the door to his office and smiled at his father. “Yeah? What’s that?”
Eddie stood straighter and proudly announced, “I found you a woman.”
I froze, not daring to breathe. Henry had a similar reaction, stiffening and pausing mid-step in reaching his desk to set his briefcase on it.
“Do you remember the Vances?” Eddie asked.
Henry glanced at me, as if I would know. I shook my head and shrugged.
“Should I?” Henry replied.
It would make sense if it was a work connection, but it seemed Eddie was thinking of someone else.
A woman? An even worse feeling twisted my gut. Jealousy was never a lovely trait, but imagining Henry with someone had me fighting a grimace.
“Mia?” Henry frowned, holding up a hand for his dad to wait before speaking again. “Are you all right?”
Dammit. He could read me so well to know the precise moment I was unhappy.
“Yep. Sure. I’m great. Hey, you know what, if you guys need to chat”—I hooked my thumb over my shoulder and backed up a step toward the door—“I can come back.”
“No, no. Wait.” Henry took my hand and held it, keeping me there.
The sensation of his fingers on mine soothed me at the same time it excited me. Resisting the urge to curl my hand all the way around his was a challenge.
Eddie was losing patience, especially with Owen stepping in. The man smiled at us all, but I noticed his double-take of Henry holding my hand.
Is he even aware that he’s still holding it?
I released my hand, getting the point that I had to stay. I’d rather not. I’d prefer to spare myself the torture of hearing Eddie set up Henry with another woman. It’d put a heck of a damper on my crush.
“The Vances? I used to do business with John Vance?” When Henry shook his head and indicated that the name didn’t ring a bell, Eddie sighed. “Well, his niece, Ann, is moving to the city. I’m going to introduce you to her, and you can show her around.”
“I don’t even know her.”
Eddie grinned. “But you can!”
Henry furrowed his brow. “I can look at my calendar and see if I can squeeze in a favor for a family friend of yours, but…”
“No. Tonight.”
I lowered my gaze to the floor.
“It’s arcade night with Jason,” Henry argued.
“Well, he can skip a week, can’t he?” Eddie said, sounding more annoyed.
This wasn’t the first time Eddie had brought an ‘eligible, lovely lady’ for Henry to meet since he never wanted to go on dates of his own.
“You never go out on a date or?—”
Henry huffed. “I don’t need to date.”
Eddie crossed his arms, looking nonplussed. “What about when you need a plus-one to an event, then?”
Slapping his arm around my shoulders, Henry tugged me toward him. “I’ve got Mia. She can always be my plus-one.”
When he smiled at me, I had to reply in kind, wishing that was true. He said it playfully, but a girl could dream.
Eddie shook his head. “No, no. Mia’s just an employee. She’s not… uh, a partner to grow old with.”
Ouch. I steadied my breath through the pain of his words. Owwww, does that hurt. I never asked to be put in my place, but he’d done it anyway.
Henry released me and didn’t reply to his father. All he did was round his desk and sit, seeming ready to focus on work. Since he didn’t argue against what Eddie claimed, I felt obligated to assume that he ultimately thought that too. I wasn’t a plus-one. Or even a friend. Just an employee. That was how I was supposed to consider myself around here.
Oh, come on. Snap out of it. Of course, I was just an employee. I certainly wasn’t an eligible, lovely lady like the wealthy, prestigious women Eddie would bring by. Yet, it warmed a tiny morsel of my heart when Henry seemed so reluctant about the idea.
“Fine.” He frowned, not making eye contact with his father as he agreed. Shuffling papers and letting out an aggrieved sigh, he gave in. “I guess I’ll show her around, then.”
I expected nothing else. Henry always wanted to please his father. He previously confided in me that it was often easier to do as he said to get him off his back. According to Henry, it was far more convenient to play along with what Eddie wanted because they never lasted long. The ideas or the women. Every single “eligible, lovely lady” Eddie presented stayed for exactly one date.
But one day , I worried, some lucky ‘proper lady’ will stick.
I eyed him sitting there, listening to Eddie yammer on about the details of picking up Ann.
He was handsome, so sexy and charming with that classic nice-guy appeal. His serious nature only made him hotter, and his workaholic tendencies endeared him to me even more. He was a catch, gorgeous, ripped, wealthy, confident, and so damn successful. Any woman would be lucky to get him, but it was with a heavy heart that I knew it would never be me.
The secretary with the big, bad secret about what she did at night.