Settled into some semblance of a normal life, Henley Linden tries to catch up to everyone else her age. Between dating millionaire Bennett Calloway, working as his assistant, finishing her degree, and trying to figure out what she wants to do with h...
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Henley
"How did you get in here?" I asked with my heart still in my throat.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. The door was unlocked," Eli said, looking slightly guilty. Then a flash of alarm crossed his features and he stood up from my desk, getting red in the face. "Oh, I only sat down because I was looking at the photos you have on your desk. Maybe I crossed a line."
I put my hand on my chest, trying to calm down. He thought sitting at my work desk crossed a line? But not entering a locked office? I was already starting to see the similarities he shared with Bennett. "Was my door really not locked?" I asked.
Eli shook his head. "No, it was open when I got here. I thought you were in here, that's why I came in. And then I saw the photos." He picked up one of Lee, Bennett, and myself, smiling softly. "Bennett seems happy with you."
I didn't respond for a moment, glancing back at my door. I knew for sure that I locked it. I'd checked it four times. Someone unlocked it. I tried to surreptitiously inspect the room, expecting to see a new vase of flowers, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary... besides Bennett and Lee's father, who stood smiling and blinking, oblivious to my unease.
"Bennett isn't here," I finally said awkwardly.
"I didn't come to see Bennett. I came to see you."
"Why?" I asked, my body tensing. What did he want? The cynical side of me warned of more relationship sabotage. But what reason would Bennett's father have for wanting us to break up?
It didn't really matter. It wouldn't happen. And his father looked ten times less intimidating than his mother. He could do his best.
I must have had a daunting expression on my face because when Eli noticed, his eyebrows shot up and he raised his hands defensively. "It's not what you're thinking. I'm not here to tear you two apart."
I didn't let up. "Does Bennett know you're here?"
"No."
My hand reached for my phone. "I don't feel comfortable talking to you without him knowing."
Eli grimaced a bit. "I understand. But Bennett told me everything that happened between you two and Dolores."
I froze. "He did?" Why would Bennett tell him that? How much did Bennett tell him? I could feel heat begin to creep up my spine, shame spreading. Eli knew that Bennett's mother didn't want me to be with Bennett because of my background.
I didn't know why that was making me feel so embarrassed. Because I wasn't embarrassed about the way I grew up or how my life ended up. If anyone else made those types of comments, they would have never got to me.
But for some reason when it came to Bennett's parents...
The anxiety of being told I wasn't good enough for Bennett by Ms. Calloway would never leave me. No matter how much I tried to forget it.
