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She was sitting around like some middle school girl who had broken up with her boyfriend, but she wasn't twelve years old. She was a mature woman in her mid-twenties, she was a logical, sensible person, she didn't run and hide from things, she found a way to overcome them.

That was what she had to do.

This problem with Eli had to have a solution.

It had to.

Every problem had an answer.

As far as she could see there were two answers to her current issue.

Number one, she could accept that Eli would only continue to date her if she agreed to quit her job, in which case she couldn’t be with him.

If that was the answer, then she had to find a way to move on, the best way to do that was to meet someone else.

If nothing else, she would have at least learned from this brief relationship with Eli that she was ready to have a serious relationship.

That was something.

That was turning a negative into a positive.

Or answer number two was that she track Eli down and give him a piece of her mind and see if there was a compromise they could come to that allayed both their fears and allowed both of them to be happy.

What was she going to choose?

That wasn't even an option.

She wasn't a coward, and she didn't give up. She wasn't just going to sit here and mourn him, she was going to fight for what made her happy, and Eli made her happy.

Happiness hadn't been a huge part of her life. As a child, there had been nothing in her life to bring her any joy, but as an adult she’d started seeking out those moments. Eli had shown her what true happiness was like and there was no way she was walking away from that without a fight.

Throwing on jeans and a sweater, Florence grabbed her purse and ran out of her apartment.

She was going to find Eli, and she was going to make him listen to reason.

He’d said he was going to fight for them and while it hurt that he had given up, this relationship thing wasn't a one-way street. She had her fears and insecurities, and he had his too. If he couldn’t fight for them right now then she had to.

Give and take, strengthening and supporting one another, lifting each other up, and sometimes even carrying the other when they were paralyzed by fear.

It was the middle of the day, she doubted Eli would be at the hotel, and after the time they’d spent at his penthouse choosing furniture she didn't think he would go there, which meant he would be at his office.

The journey there felt like it took forever, but finally she was in the lift on her way to his office.

“Mr. Lennox asked not to be disturbed,” a pretty young woman informed her as she walked past.

Florence ignored her, she’d come all this way to see Eli, and she wasn't leaving until she’d seen him.

“Ma’am? Ma’am?” The woman got up from her desk and hurried after her as she threw open Eli’s office door.

He was sitting at his desk, and his head lifted as he heard her enter.

Just seeing him was like a balm to her aching soul and she felt better already. She loved this man, and there was no way she was letting him go, now all she had to do was convince him that he wasn't going to lose her.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lennox, I told her you didn't want to be disturbed, and she didn't listen,” the secretary apologized.

“It’s fine, Elaine,” Eli said, giving the woman a dismissive nod. “What are you doing here?” he asked once the secretary had closed the door behind her.

“Convincing you that you're being stubborn and unreasonable.”

Eli huffed a small chuckle at that before growing serious. “Are you going to quit your job?”

“You know I can't do that. I don’t want to lose you, Eli, you're the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’ve taught me so much, how to trust, how to love, and how to let my barriers down and let someone in.

But my job is a part of me, it’s who I am.

I can't not do it. It would be like me asking you to give up running the company your father created from the ground up, that he sacrificed for to create, that he dedicated decades to building. You couldn’t do that any more than I can give up being a cop. ”

“So, nothing has changed.”

“I understand that you're afraid of losing me, but you could lose me a million other ways. A car accident, an illness, a plane crash, anything could happen, you can't live your whole life being afraid. You taught me that.”

“It’s not living my life being afraid. Yes, I could lose you in a car accident, or you could get sick and die, but that’s not the same.

That’s out of your control. My mother spent years fighting to live, she went through chemo even though it made her so sick she couldn’t get out of bed, she tried every treatment option they offered.

She fought.” His dark eyes were full of anger, passion, lust, and love.

He still loved her he just felt like he was trapped in a dead end.

He couldn’t see a way out, and she knew all about that.

Half her life she’d felt trapped by circumstance, not sure where to go or what to do. But she’d never let that stop her. In life you had to keep moving forward, even if it looked like there was no way to keep going, you just looked until you found it because there was always a way.

Always .

“This isn’t about me,” she said calmly. “This is about you. This is about your fears. You know that it’s not really my job that’s the problem because Toby Lane wasn't connected to me through that. He would have come after me at some point regardless if I’d become a cop or a hooker.

You lost your brother, your mom, and your dad, I understand that you’re afraid of losing me too.

But you know what?” Florence planted both hands on his desk and leaned over so they were nose to nose.

“You’re going to have to find a way to deal with it.

You have to learn to compromise. I get that you're used to getting your own way, ordering people around, but that’s not how this works.

If we’re a couple, then you have to understand that it’s give and take.

I'm not one of your employees, you don’t get to just give me an ultimatum and expect that I’ll fall into line. ”

Eli stared at her for a long moment. “I don’t want to lose you either, Florence. But I don’t think you understand what it’s like to love someone and lose them because you’ve never loved anyone before.”

She winced at the words even though she knew he didn't mean them the way they sounded. Just because she’d never had anyone in her life to love besides her brother, didn't mean she was incapable of loving or understanding what it would be like to lose someone you loved.

“When I look at you I see the future that I want more than anything, I see everything that I've ever wanted. But when I look at you I also see it slipping through my fingers. I can't survive that.”

“So, you’d rather lose me anyway by just breaking things off?” What was the point of wanting to end things because he might lose her but lose her anyway by ending things?

“I'm sorry, Florence. You think this isn’t killing me? Because it is. I feel like I've been forced to rip off a part of myself to survive.”

She shook her head at him. She’d come here to fight for what she wanted, to fight for them because she knew Eli needed her to, but there was only so much she could do it he wasn't willing to budge. “So, you lied.”

“About what?”

“When you said that you would always be there for me, that I was special, that you cared about me. You’re just like everyone else.

You leave. You break promises. You don’t mean what you say.

I told you that once you got me into bed you’d lose interest and move on and surprise, surprise, that’s exactly what happened. ”

Disappointment filled her. She’d allowed herself to be lulled into what had obviously been a false sense of security. She’d believed Eli when he’d said those things to her, against all the odds, against all her conditioning, she had actually believed those words when they came from his lips.

That was her mistake.

In the end, she didn't have anyone to blame for this predicament but herself.

Well, lesson learned.

Part of fighting for what you wanted was accepting when one strategy no longer seemed viable and trying a different approach.

She’d come here to convince Eli that he was making a mistake, but he obviously wasn't interested in seeing things from her point of view.

It was time to accept the facts.

This was over.

11:37 A.M.

Florence’s words cut through him as effectively as any knife could.

“You know what the worst part is?” she asked, giving that disappointed look.

He’d rather see her angry, fire sparking from her eyes as she laid into him for ruining what they’d had than see her disappointed in him.

It was like when his mother used to give him that same look when he was a boy, and he’d done something they both knew he shouldn’t have.

She would never yell at him, she’d just give him that look and guilt would do the rest.

It worked just as well when Florence did it.

“The worst part is that you’re the first man I’ve ever trusted besides my brother.

I didn't want to, I tried not to, that’s why I kept turning you down when you asked me out.

I knew it would all end badly. I should have trusted my instincts.

I’ve made it this far in life on my own, I don’t need a man, I’ll be fine by myself. ”

That wasn't what he wanted.

Florence had faced her fears and hadn't given into them.

Why couldn’t he be that brave?

He wanted to, he didn't want to let Florence go. Elliot’s words kept echoing through his head.

He was going to regret this. He knew it, and yet he couldn’t seem to make his mouth say the words because his mind kept conjuring up images of Florence lying in a coffin, her hands folded across her stomach, and her blonde hair lying in soft waves around her still face.