21. Henry
21
HENRY
O ne week. Seven days had passed since Mia quit. On me. On working at Dunn Enterprises. All of it.
She had taken off, her head held high, and sucked all the brightness and joy out of my existence.
I couldn’t live with myself like this. The self-loathing and regret consumed me, accumulating each day until I felt like I would go insane missing her.
I royally fucked up with her. No one could ever screw up with the love of their life like I had with her. No one.
“Henry.” My dad walked into Mia’s office, and I sighed. It was late. Well after the rest of the staff had gone home. How he knew to find me here, I didn’t care to figure out.
This was my only solace, looking at the decorations and knick-knacks that once defined the lively woman who worked in here.
I cradled the framed picture between my hands, wondering when I would lose the memory of her placing it face down, like a firm closure on me and her ever being together.
Never. I’ll never forget how she did that.
“Is Laura with Jason?” I asked him. He’d been over watching him when I was in the office. While he was a devoted and involved grandpa, my son was super needy and clingy lately.
“Yes. She took him out for ice cream and promised him a movie night.” He sighed, sitting in the other chair. Looking around the room, he seemed to search for what to say. “We arranged it so you could…” He shrugged. “Go for another run? I don’t know. Whatever you need to do to get your head on straight again.”
“The only thing that could get my head on straight again is having Mia back.” I didn’t stutter or hesitate. I looked him straight in the eye as I told him the truth.
“Well, I’m not sure how you can try to do that.” He folded his hands on his lap. “I’ve been checking at her apartment, and it seems like she’s not there.”
I arched a brow. “Dad. Do you hear me? I won’t be the same without her.”
He nodded.
“Not because she was my secretary.”
Again, he bobbed his head.
“Because I love her.”
He grunted a laugh. “You sure about that?” He crossed his arms. “If you loved her, you wouldn’t have been so quick to judge.”
“I didn’t judge, Dad. I was surprised and defensive of her. Ann was irritating me, showing up and bothering me. I suspected she was making up shit and slandering Mia because even she realized that my heart belonged to her.”
“I’m extremely disappointed in her. Her and her father.” He slashed a hand through the air. “I’m never speaking with him again. Raising a spoiled girl like that?” He grimaced. “Thank God you didn’t care for Ann.”
I gave him a stern look. “Because I wasn’t looking for anyone. I had Mia right here all along.”
He furrowed his brow. “Then why the hell didn’t you ever say something?” With a look to the side, he sighed heavily. “Jason adores her. She puts up with your nonsense. And… Why, Henry? Why?”
I tilted my head to the side. “Gee, I don’t know. Because the last time I actually got involved with a woman, she burned me and left me with a newborn she wanted nothing to do with. And she threatened so many lawsuits and bullshit that we put no-fraternization policies into effect.”
He winced. “I can see how that’d be an obstacle…” He rubbed his chin. “But this is Mia we’re talking about. You could’ve just told me, said something.”
“I couldn’t when I wasn’t sure how she felt about me. If she felt anything for me. Past friendship or a working relationship. She’s always been slightly guarded to get too close.”
“I can’t blame her.”
“Dad.” I sat forward, keeping the framed photo on my lap. “What did she do? You had to have done a background check on her. You have to know, and still, you hired her.”
“Of course, I did. Regardless of any record she could’ve had, I knew from the moment I met her that she had a good heart and a sweet soul.”
“Then what?—”
It was his turn to hold up a hand and stop me from speaking. “You have to ask her. When I hired her, we agreed that it would always be up to her to share the details of her past. I won’t betray her trust in that now, even when she’s not here.”
But how can I get her back here? I needed her in my life. Every second that passed that we were apart felt like hell.
“While I respect that you were rash to defend her, you should’ve minded your temper, Son. I heard how you lashed out and reacted. You could’ve toned it down, could have given her more of a chance to explain rather than act so angry.”
How many times would I have to repeat this? “I was angry at Ann. Not Mia. I was surprised, yes, but fuck. I hate that she could even think that I’d want to hurt her.”
“Then if and when she comes by, I truly hope you can convey a sincere apology to her.” He stood, looking around the colorful room again. “Did you know that I tried to talk her out of taking this office when she started?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He smirked. “No windows. It feels so confined and small.”
“She loves this office.” I mentally groaned, catching myself on that tense slip. She didn’t work here anymore. “She loved this office.”
“She told me that she liked it, having privacy and feeling secure here. Like she belonged here and nothing could trespass on her happiness here.”
I exhaled a long breath, hating myself more for taking that away from her. I hadn’t fired her, but I took blame for her quitting.
“And if you do find her…” He walked back and leaned over to place a small ring box on the desk. “Don’t waste another minute.”
I smiled at the container housing his mother’s ring, a family heirloom. My mother wore it until she passed. And now, it was back in the family to be used again.
His implication was clear, and I accepted the offering without a word. After looking at the antique piece of jewelry, I snapped the lid shut and put the box in my pocket.
If I could have a second chance with her, I wouldn’t waste a single second to make her mine forever.
“Thanks.”
He left, but I didn’t linger for long in this office. Her absence felt too acute in here. Instead, since Laura was with Jason, I took the opportunity to return to Danger.
It was where I’d first kissed Mia.
It was where she’d shown an artistic critique of dancers.
It was where I’d asked her why we couldn’t consider being together.
Hell, maybe that dancer will be here tonight. I doubted I’d be enticed, not after losing Mia. Without her, it felt like a crime to enjoy anything. Like life was in grayscale and drab.
After I paid my entrance fee, I walked inside and raised my brows at the huge crowd. I was late. The show was more than halfway over, and I gave up on the notion that I’d find a seat.
It hardly mattered. I’d only come to pass time that moved so slowly in the aftermath of messing things up with Mia. Seeing that talented dancer might tempt me to stop obsessing about my loss for a moment.
Scanning the dark crowds, I sought a spot to sit or stand. The only area that wasn’t packed was near the side. I settled in, waving off a waiter who walked past the tables, offering to take orders for drinks.
Then I looked up.
And I saw her.
The dancer. She was mid-step in a complicated, fast turn of footwork. But it was her. I remembered the slender length of her legs. The delicate and shiny beadwork of her costume. Even the long hair.
But it was also her .
“Mia?”
I stepped forward, mesmerized with the similarities. A half mask covered her face, but the more I stared, the more I was convinced that the mystery dancer who’d snared my attention was my Mia. They were the same.
I watched her smiling, painted lips part wider in a cocky smile, playing along with the theatrics of this dance routine. I’d kissed those lips until they were swollen. I gazed at her high cheekbones, recalling how smooth her silky skin was when I cupped her face.
Lower yet, I dragged my gaze over her breasts, punched with a hit of lust at the memory of sucking on them and teasing her hard nipples. Further down, her tight, flat dancer’s stomach. No fat and all strength. She’d tensed there when I went down on her.
Her hips. They rocked to the music now, but on my bed, I’d held on to them as I pounded into her tight heat.
Those legs. She’d wrapped them around me, cinching me close as we chased our orgasms together.
I narrowed my eyes at the small oval birthmark high on her thigh.
It was her.
My mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. My eyes weren’t deceiving me. That birthmark proved it beyond a shadow of doubt.
The dancer I wanted to hire, the entertainment I was desperate to contact.
It was her .
Staring at her legs, I witnessed the slight stumble. She misstepped, and as I looked up, I felt the full intensity of her gaze on me.
We locked eyes, making eye contact as if it was just the two of us in here. No one else mattered. All these other dancers, musicians, waiters, and guests were insignificant.
In this critical moment of seeing her again after she ran out of my life, it was just me and her.
Surprise showed in her glittering green eyes, so wide open with alarm. Her minor mistake had to have been because of me, shocking her that I was here.
I knew she realized what this meant. She had to feel this change, this awareness between us.
She knew.
She knows that I know.
Nothing else could’ve caused that look of panic in her eyes, that oh, shit expression she so carefully tried to hide.
A mask wouldn’t hide her from me.
A flashy costume wouldn’t keep her concealed.
I’d made her. Her “cover” was blown.
With the music dwindling down and the applause roaring louder, I knew this was my chance.
She watched me hurry to the side, desperate to reach the backstage area. Any second now, she’d go to the rear rooms, and I damn well would find her. I had to. Pushing and shoving my way toward where the two tall bouncers blocked the way, I tucked my head low and wove through the crowd as they stood and gave a standing ovation.
I didn’t care that they scowled as I passed by. I disregarded the complaints about my forceful run to the side.
I had to reach her.
Looking up at the stage, I tracked how far she moved. Where she was. She was following her colleagues, but when she glanced down as she spotted me heading for the backstage access, she cringed and pushed to hurry faster.
“Mia!” I shouted up at her on the stage. She couldn’t hear me. Not over the music. Not with the crowd’s applause. Catcalls, shouts, claps, and whistles drowned out everything else.
“Mia!” I called out to her one last time before I turned, facing the bouncers as I neared them.
“Hey, man.”
They both held up their hands. “No access.”
“I have to?—”
“No.”
A drunk stumbled closer, seeming to be in the mood to pick a fight with them. “Hey, be nice, yo.”
“Get back,” one of the security guards said.
I couldn’t. I was determined to see her. “I just?—”
The drunk slurred something and took a swing at the other guard.
While they were preoccupied, I slipped past them, running to search for Mia.
“Mia!” I shouted after her, spotting her up ahead in a narrow hallway.
Behind me, other guards rushed up to capture me, all yelling that I couldn’t be back here.
“ Mia! ”
Strong hands wrapped around my arms, and I was dragged away just as Mia slipped through a door in the back.