Page 90

He’d seen me at one of my lowest moments, and instead of making a run for it, he had actually asked me out.
If that didn’t make me feel nervous about the night I had coming up with him, then I didn’t know what would.
Henry continued speaking. “Hey, do you want to watch a movie in the evening? Something to take our minds off this mess?”
I stared at him. I was desperate to finally get an evening with Sean. But I also knew I was asking for a lot to leave Henry when he was feeling low like this.
I steeled myself and looked at Henry. “I might not be able to join you for the movie tonight,” I said carefully. “I’m going out.”
He frowned. “Is this another task for your boss?”
I debated telling him the truth, which was futile when no part of me wanted to talk about the gray line that Sean and I were toeing. Henry wouldn’t approve of me having a casual fling with my boss. He was far too logical. Why did I have to come clean to Henry when this was just a fling?
Sean and I would end this soon, and Henry would never need to know.
“Yes,” I said. “Just another work thing.”
Henry nodded, like he wasn’t surprised.
“I’ll be back soon though; don’t worry,” I said.
Henry’s phone rang at that instant, and we both jumped before he answered it.
“Yes, it’s me,” he said into the phone. “Yes,” he said, humming in agreement.
I could see his expression change, and in a minute, a look of bewilderment took over. Pressing his head down to keep the phone plastered between his shoulder and his ear, he continued to listen intently.
“Yes, I see. Okay, that’s good to know. Bye.”
He hung up and turned around. “The City Observerjust called me to apologize for that article,” he said, sounding taken aback. “They’ve pulled it down, and they’re making a new one, which includes an apology as well as correcting the details of their reporting.” He stared at me. “Just how well connected is your boss?”
My jaw dropped when I realized what had happened. Sean had used his contacts to make a freaking newspaper issue an apology.
“Very well connected, I guess,” I said, feeling breathless.
Just how influential was Sean in this world? Who the heck was this man I was dating?
The care that this man was putting into making my life easier—heck, making Henry’s life easier—was astounding. My emotions spiraled out of control, threatening to choke me with their intensity as they took over. Sean had made me feel like I wasn’t alone in caring about Henry. He had Henry’s back too. I blinked rapidly, trying to stem the tears that had already made my eyes misty.
How nice of Sean to think of this. How had I ever thought he was coldhearted?
I stared when I saw Henry wheeling himself away from the dining table and taking his half-eaten bowl of cereal and dumping the rest of it in the sink.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’d better not be late for class,” he said, rolling out of the kitchen and back to his bedroom. “And I’ve got a meeting in the evening with the Public Safety Department. Sorry, sis, there won’t be any lasagna tonight.”
Henry was back to normal, thanks to Sean.
I grinned. “Well, there had better be some tomorrow.”
43
CHLOE
On my way to the subway station, I got a call from Tess.
“I saw the news. What happened?” she asked, sounding worried.