Closer (Completed) Dark Romance

Chapter 7

The next two days of work were hard to get through. Hard was definitely an understatement. During those two long days, regret began seeping through the cracks of my decision.

I thought deleting his contact information would rid me of him for good — it did the opposite. Henry constantly resurfaced on my mind, haunting me with his smile, his confession, followed by his mournful gaze. It was nothing, but a cycle of images I couldn't shake off.

It also didn't help that Henry was such a popular subject. Everything was suddenly related to him. I couldn't be anywhere without someone asking me his whereabouts or how he was doing. Eve and Rick, whenever I went over for dinner. Nancy while at work. In addition to my friends, Adam and Lily, whenever I was home.

A week soon passed by without a phone call or a single text from Henry. I kept peeking at my phone every time I had a spare minute, just in case it was on silent or something. Then I'd remind myself it didn't even matter because I deleted his contact already. Why did I even bother?

By day seventeen, still no contact. I was now one hundred percent sure he wasn't ever going to talk to me again. Either he was too embarrassed or his pride must have been too bruised by my rejection.

I hoped it was the secret third option — because Henry was busy. Maybe he had flown to another country for a business trip. He did mention he traveled a lot for work.

Friday finally came and there were only fours standing between me and the weekend. It was my turn to have the weekend off. As I came back from my lunch with Lily and Adam, Nancy informed me to send an order, her eyes twinkling with a cryptic smile.

When I checked the order receipt, it was addressed to the Pearce Hotel with no specific name, oddly. My heart suddenly quickened as I thought back to that place.

"Nancy?" She turned around from behind the front counter. "Can Sally go in my place?"

"Why?"

"Because ... Well—"

"Don't tell me it's about that boy." She frowned in worriment. Nancy knew me all too well. "Ally, dear, don't mix your personal life with your professional life. That'll only get you in serious trouble."

"But I—"

"No buts, dear. I already have Sally on another project. Hurry along now."

And with that, Nancy handed me the order and ushered me out the door. A deep sigh fell from my lips as I caved in.

The drive to Pearce Hotel felt shorter than expected. I felt my insides shaking at the mere thought of running into Henry. I wasn't ready to face him yet — at least not in person. Safe to say, I was embarrassed too.

But it was a Friday. Maybe he wasn't in the office today. Maybe he was on that business trip I mentioned to Finland or Yemen or somewhere. Anywhere, but here.

I walked inside the grand lobby, trying to look confident as I approached the reception desk. Though my gaze was straight, it was secretly on the lookout for him.

"Hello," I greeted the same receptionist from last time.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you, ma'am?"

"I have a prepaid order here. We weren't given a specific name, but they asked to have it dropped off here."

"Thank you very much. We'll make sure it gets to the right person."

"Great!" I smiled and handed her the order. "Could you please sign here?"

After receiving the signature and turning around to leave, my eyes immediately caught the slightest hint of him. He strolled effortlessly out of the gold elevators, his arms slowly swaying at his sides as he walked. The dark blue suit matched him well. His gaze was straight ahead but suddenly shifted to someone else. My heart sank as I realized that ...