Right Through Me

T H I R T Y T W O

"Whoa, sorry doc, the boss isn't in right now," Steer said, approaching Lina as she entered the clubhouse. "But you can go wait on his desk for him."

"I'm not here for Donovan," Lina said sharply, ignoring his blatant disrespect. "I'm here for an Aaron Hansen."

"Old man Haron?" he scoffed, crossing his arms over his bulky chest. "What? Did you suddenly decide you like older men?"

"Enough of your fucking bullshit, Steer. We call this behavior, 'not getting enough pussy'. Now tell me where I can find Aaron Hansen," Lina snapped, standing her ground and in no mood for his foolish behavior.

Angrily, Steer huffed in defeat. "Head down the hall, second door on your right. Knock before you enter."

With that said, he turned away and moved over to the bar, drowning his sadness in a beer. Lina headed down the hall, stopping in front of the second door to the right. A surge of fear and anxiety rushed through her and, for a second, she just stood before the door, unable to move. After a few moments, she slowly lifted her arm and gave the door two solid knocks and awaited a response.

"Come in," a deep voice called from the otherside.

Slowly, her hand reached down and grabbed the door handle but she just held it, unable to move it. 

"I don't have all day, dammit," the voice snapped and Lina suddenly twisted the knob and swung the door open, staring at the man behind the desk, shocked and confused.

There sat an older man, buff and thick with muscles, his eyes and cheeks decorated with wrinkles, blonde hair streaked with white hairs and his beard was almost fully white with a few hints of blonde. He had black reading glasses down the bridge of his nose and he was staring down at some documents, not noticing her presence yet. She could now she where she got her strange blond hair from while her mother had a dark auburn hair color. 

After standing there for a moment, the man behind the desk finally snapped his head up ready to yell at whoever was taking forever to enter but once he saw her he looked confused.

"Who might you be?" he asked, looking her over and setting the documents down.

"Uh...I-I'm...Angelina," she said weakly, slowly entering. "Angelina...Maria Hansen."

She had never seen an old man move so fast. He darted straight out of his chair and froze, staring wide-eyed at Lina. His mouth opened and closed over and over, his hand pointed from himself to her and back again.

"You..?" He began, completely befuddled. "You're Angelina?"

Unable to form coherent words, she nodded, overcome with a rush of emotions.

"My God," he said, ripping his glassed off, moving quickly around his desk and engulfing her in a bear hug, hugging her so tightly. "You're here. Finally, you're here. My God. I've waited for this day. I have waited."

Lina, finally finding the time to let go, all the emotions from earlier came rushing out and she began to cry and sob uncontrollably, hugging the man back.

* * * * *

"How...? When...when did you get the letter? How did you get it?" he asked, seated behind his desk with Lina seated before his desk, the door to his office closed. 

"I received it this morning, my mom gave it to a family friend. He died just recently and in his will he gave the letter he was holding on to," she explained. "I had to come here and find out for myself."

"You are so beautiful, you have your mothers charm afterall," he said happily. "How is Maria?"

Lina's smile fell and she looked at him confused. "You...You don't know?" she asked and he seemed to mirror the same expression as her. "She...she passed away a while back. She was shot, she actually died on my operating table at my clinic."

"Oh," he said weakly, looking off to the side, trying to fully grasp the words she spoke. "I-I had no idea. I received a letter from you, telling me one day I'd get to meet you and then I...never saw her."

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," she said, feeling a bit sad that he had no idea. 

"It's alright. How about you? How have you held up?" he asked, looking at her with genuine worry in his eyes. 

"I've been well. I'm a doctor, I own the clinic around the block from here," she told him, watching his face light up with pride and astonishment. "I also know your boss, Donovan Ander. I was his personal medical team for his fights. I've been here a few times, I'm surprised I've never seen you."

"You're always here with Donovan, then?" he asked and she nodded. "I am his Vice. I look after the club when he isn't here. When he's here, I go out for runs and do some business with the club."

* * * * *

For hours they talked. For hours they learned about each other and caught up with each other and enjoyed a drink together as father and daughter. 

"My mother, for some reason, led me to believe my father was Vincent Olsen," she said, watching his face twist in a grimace. "I think she wanted me to think that so I could do something about him. Which, if that was the case, that was one twisted game."

They both laughed, happily, wholeheartedly, and enjoyed the conversation. 

"I honestly never thought the day would come," he admitted. "I've waited for a long time, almost a decade. I was beginning to believe you'd never get that letter. And I never knew what you looked like so I couldn't go out and find you."

"It's getting pretty late," Lina said, standing up and watching as he stood up too. "I should probably go."

"Let me walk you out," he said, going over and opening the door for her. 

Lina grabbed her purse and headed out of the room and down the hall, waiting for him to catch up. 

"We should meet up for lunch, get to know each other better. I want to know everything I've missed over the years," he said, smiling happily.

Lina nodded her head, laughing at his cheerfulness. "Of course," she said.

Her laugh soon faded when she noticed Aaron stop, his eyes focused straight ahead. Following his gaze, she looked down the hall and saw Donovan, standing there. For a moment it was as if everything around her disappeared and it was only her and Donovan in the entire world. 

She felt a sudden rush of emotion within her and she tried to swallow it back but some of it spilled out as she let out a strangled breath, staring at his blue eyes. It had been weeks, months even, since the last time they saw each other and now it was like the first time.

However, not all of her fantasies could come true. For Donovan stared at her for a moment, an emotion flashing over his features, and then he turned and entered his office as if he had never seen her. 

She felt a harsh pang in her heart. She should've been glad, she wanted to end things and move on from him but even during these months she didn't go a day without thinking of him. Just as she suspected though, he felt nothing for her.

Just move on.