Henry Stein x Reader {Completed}

Chapter 1: The Day We Parted

Y/n's POV:

"Henry?"

My fiancé looked up at me from his desk in the crammed corner where he had been working all day. Once his tired eyes met mine, I smiled.

    "Yes, darling?"

 "What are you still doing here? Work ended over half an hour ago. I've been waiting for you."

"I, uh... Joey just asked me to stay a little longer so that I could finish up some more stuff for him."

"Seriously? Again?" I complained. "This is the fourth time this week he's made you do that!"

"Yeah, I know. It's a lot," he agreed. "But don't worry, he said this'll be my last time working overtime for this week!"

"For this week?" I repeated. "Henry, it's Friday. It's our last day of work for this week."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Henry, look at you," I stopped him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You're so tired. Your eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep. You get, what, four or five hours of sleep every night? This isn't good for you."

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Trust me."

"You're not fine," I protested, bringing my hand up to his cheek. "I'm worried about you."

He forced a smile. "I'll be okay. But Joey's our boss. He's in charge of me."

"You don't always have to do what he says, you know," I argued.

Henry sighed. "You know that's not true. I have to listen to him. I don't have a choice. If I don't do what he says, he'll fire me."

"Then maybe you should quit."

"What?"

"Think about it," I went on. "Maybe it'd be better if you leave the studio. This isn't right. Joey shouldn't be doing this to you."

"I can't do that," Henry refused. "Joey's my friend, and he needs my help to keep the place running. Not to mention, we started this company."

"Well, so did I!" I exclaimed. "And when I helped with founding this company, I didn't think it would be a good idea to make you work relentlessly, all day, every day!"

"Exactly. We founded this company. So I can't just abandon it. And besides, you know we need as much income as we can get. Money is tight these days, and if we want to get married, we both need to be working."

"But you—"

"Aha! Well, if it isn't my two favorite people!" I heard a voice call out. Before I knew it, a pair of long arms snaked around me and Henry's shoulders. He both turned to see Joey, who then looked over at Henry. "How are things going, Henry?"

"They're... great," Henry lied. "I'm almost done."

"That's wonderful!" Joey exclaimed, taking a step back and clapping his hands together. "You know, Henry, I hope you don't mind me asking, but could you come in again tomorrow? You know how things are. You need to start getting more done, and—"

"Seriously, Joey?" I interrupted, causing them both to look at me. "He's your hardest working employee. And no, he's not going to come in tomorrow. He deserves a break."

With a smile, Henry put his hand on mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's alright, y/n. I really don't mind. I can come in tomorrow."

"Thank you, Henry," Joey said, refusing to look back at me. "I'll see you tomorrow." I clenched my fists while I waited for Joey to be out of sight before I turned back to Henry.