“Never stopped you before,” she said with bitterness. Sophie thought they were still together when Henry moved to the states. He had moved on and had some fun before he met Elaina, but he never officially told her that they were done. Sophie still held on to hope that they would be together again. She would do anything to get him back, but she couldn’t bear to hear him in agony.
“Sophie, don’t. I’m dying here. Help me.”
“Have you apologized?”
“Not really. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“In her mind, you have.”
“But…”
“Don’t try to figure it out. It’s not worth the brain cramp. Send her flowers. But actually go pick them out, and have them attach a handwritten note telling her how you feel.”
“Do you think that will work?” He had a flicker of hope.
“I don’t know, but it’s a start.” He was quiet for a minute, trying to hide that he was still crying. “Henry…listen to me. You are an amazing man. If she doesn’t take you back then she’s stupid.”
“God, I hope she does. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s tearing me up.”
“How’s everything else going?”
Henry sat up straight. “It’s not.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice was overly cautious.
“I can’t do it. I can’t.”
“Henry…”
“I can’t. It’s wrong on so many levels.”
“But he will hunt you down. You know that.”
“I don’t fucking care. He could skin me alive for all I care. All I want is to be with Elaina and protect her from everything. I can’t do it.”
“He’s been ranting over you not reporting back to him. He and Kellan were debating on what to do. I overheard them while he was making me wait for him outside his office door.”
“Fuck them.”
“Henry…” She was scared for his life. Someone knocked on his office door.
“I’ve got to run, Sophie.” He hung up the phone and took a deep breath. They knocked again.
“Coming.” He got up, opened the door, and Jennifer was standing there with a caring look on her face.
“You look like hell. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“No, I’m not actually.” He looked past her so he didn’t have to look into her eyes.
“You want to talk about it?” She was genuinely concerned about his welfare.
“No, not really. It’s personal.” He looked down at his shoes.
“Alright. Well, Sandy is heading out to get coffee. You want anything?”
“Yeah, I could go for a cup. Black.”
“I will get it to you as soon as she comes back.” She started to walk away, but turned around. “For what it’s worth, you are amazing. She would be foolish if she walked away. Flowers do wonders.” His eyes flooded with tears again. She smiled sympathetically at him.
“Thanks,” he croaked out, and closed the door. Henry wondered how she figured out that he was having woman troubles.
***
Jennifer rushed back out to the reception desk. Steve and Sandy were standing there, waiting for her to come back with some information.
“Wow…” Jennifer shook her head.
“Well, what’s going on?” Steve leaned against the desk.
“Well…it’s definitely woman troubles. After I asked him about coffee, I told him to send her flowers and the poor guy… He started crying.” Steve’s jaw dropped.
“That’s not like him at all,” Sandy murmured.
“I know. He usually keeps his emotions under control. He must really be in love with her. Anyway, don’t say anything to him. I’m sure he is embarrassed about it, or else he wouldn’t be hiding in his office.” She looked at Sandy. “Oh, and he wants a black coffee.” Sandy nodded and headed out the front entrance.
***
Henry sat down at his desk and pulled out a notepad and pen. His sigh was riddled with sadness. He had no idea what to write. He had never written an ‘I love you, I’m so sorry, I’m an asshole’ note before. He grabbed his bottle of Walkers and took another long pull from it. His eyes flickered to his Sig again.
After several attempts, and a few interruptions from his staff, he finally accomplished writing his first love apology note. He tucked it in an envelope and sealed it, writing ‘My Elaina’ on the front.
He walked out to the front of the building and stopped at Jennifer’s desk. “I’ve got to run an errand. I should be back in about an hour or so.”
“Alright, bossman. You want me to forward your calls?”