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“‘Night, Harper.” With that, he hangs up and I lie in bed grinning like an idiot.
As I walk into the gym, I smirk as Henry tries to explain a leg press to a woman that is clearly more into checking him out than listening to what he’s saying. I head into my office, turn on my computer and pull out my proposal for Henry, and read it over once more. I know Henry is family and more likely than not he will say yes, but I want to go in there prepared. One day this whole place will be mine and I want him to know that I take it seriously and that I do not want any handouts.
Just as I sit down, loading my emails, I notice a figure standing in my doorway, and from the floral scent that suddenly overtakes my office, I know without looking up who has graced me with her presence.
“Angela, what can I do for you?” I ask, still looking at my screen, hoping she gets the hint and leaves me alone before I throw a stapler in her direction.
“He’s going to get bored with you. Trust me,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and giving me that bitch look that all girls know how to pull out at the right moment.
Well, it looks like the news that Josh and I are official sure has traveled fast to the wrong people. I give her a glance and wonder when I stepped back into a middle school fight over a boy.
“Oh really?” I lean back in my chair as my eyes meet hers, crossing my own arms and smiling. “He hasn’t seemed bored these last few weeks.”
The voice in the back of my mind is telling me to shut it and act like an adult, ignore her and she’ll go away, but for once in my life, I want to flaunt something in her perfectly annoyed face.
“Really? You think a couple of weeks is going to make him fall in love with you? You’re delusional.” My whole body tenses at the four-letter word she just uttered, and I have to remind myself that Josh never said it.
“What Josh and I do outside of this place is none of your business. But just to be frank, he seems to be very happy with what I have to offer.” I get out of my chair and make my way over to where she stands, watching her back straighten the closer I get. “I get that you have a crush on him, and by all means, continue to dream about what it would be like to be his girlfriend.”
She rolls her eyes as I grab my phone and proposal off my desk and step past her through the door.
“Because that’s all they’re ever going to be. Dreams.” And with that, I walk away and head into Henry’s office feeling, if only for a moment, a sense of triumph.
“What’s up, Buttercup?” Henry asks as I stand in his doorway, watching as Angela makes her way toward the back of the building. I take a step into his office and sit in the one chair that sits opposite his desk. His office looks pretty much the same as mine, except all of his walls are covered in memorabilia he’s collected over the years and mine are filled with art.
I take a deep breath and place the printouts in front of me. “I wanted to talk to you about something. I don’t know how you’ll react to this, so please try to keep an open mind.” I pray he can do that for me, at least long enough for me to convince him that this is a good idea.
“I already know what you’re here to talk about, Harper.” He gives me that look that tells me to sit tight and let him explain. “This is about what happened to Mel, right?”
“You know about that?” I ask, trying to figure out how he found out. I know Mel wouldn’t have said anything, and I know I didn’t either.
“Um…” Henry looks around the room, picking up anything and everything to avoid making eye contact and at that moment I know exactly who spilled the beans.
“You talked to Josh, didn’t you?” I don’t need to see the nod of his head because I know it’s true. But when he does, I deflate and sink back into my chair. I’m going to kill that man when he gets back home. “That man, I swear to god, I ask him to stay out of it and he does the opposite.” I glance over and witness the happiness in Henry’s eyes.
“To be fair, he did warm me up to the idea because he knew I wouldn’t be keen on change. He really cares about you, you know.” His eyes sparkle and I know that look, the one that tells me he knows more than he’s letting on.
“I know. I like him too. I just wanted to talk to you about this alone. I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me,” I admit, feeling my annoyance grow with every passing breath.
“I know, sweetie, but I will still hear you out. To be honest, I’m still on the fence, so go ahead and see if you can persuade me to change my mind.” I know he’s humoring me, but I go along with it since I worked my ass off and I don’t want all that work to go to waste.
“Okay, that’s fair,” I mutter, sitting up straight. “What do you already know?”
He explains what Josh told him as I sit and wait for him to finish.
“I know you probably think it’s too much change and to be honest, it will be. It will be a lot of work but I promise it will not affect the day-to-day life around here.” The skepticism is there but I continue. “I know you’re worried but I think I’ve come up with a plan that will make sure that the least amount of disruption happens.”
He leans forward on his desk, his elbows resting on the wood. I know I’ve hooked him.
“I’m listening.”
“The upstairs has its own entrance out front, which made it perfect for an apartment, but is actually perfect for Mel’s dance studio because it will allow the kids to come and go through that door and not through the main gym. I will also make sure that Mel has the only key for the door down here that leads upstairs so we don’t have to worry about stragglers.”
He doesn’t respond, so I keep going.
“I also think having it upstairs would be great business for us.”
“How so?” his head tilts and I know he’s intrigued.
