"Mr. Hartfield, I have worked with you long enough to know that you have fallen in love with this girl. It doesn't matter that she left without talking to you and you don't understand what you did. You just need to decide if you want to fix whatever broke. Does Emily mean that much to you after just two days of knowing her?"
I look at Bianca, then at my window. I have put her painting on the wall, and I look at that too. Surely, the fact that she painted that picture of a businessman at a window overlooking the city means something. Did she know that we were going to click like we did? Or was it just fate that intervened?
"Bianca, I want to know what I might have done. I never wanted to hurt her, and I don't know what I did that hurt her. But I need to fix it because I can't go on like this not knowing where she is and that she is safe. If I can find her, talk to her, and convince her that I didn't mean whatever I did wrong, then I want everything with her. She's the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. She's the woman I want a family with. She is my everything."
I look up at Bianca and see tears in her eyes. "Why are you crying?"
"That was so beautiful. Now tell me what happened and when things started to go wrong."
"I won't bore you with the details of what happened sexually; it was more than I could ever have expected." I drift away as I think about what happened against that window.
"Okay, so what happened when you both got dressed? Because I am assuming by that look on your face you were both naked for some time."
I laugh. I haven't done that since Emily left. "Yes, we were. We got dressed, and then I remembered I had to pay for the painting she had done. So, I gave her a check for the painting."
"Was the check for more than agreed?"
"No, it wasn't."
"Mmm, okay, so you paid her the money and then what happened?"
"I realized that she had been working on the roof and in my office with her camera, so I didn't want her to be out of pocket, and I gave her cash for the work she had done that night."
"Did you say that to her?"
I search through my mind trying to find the words that I used that night. "I told her there was some cash for that night."
"For that night? Did you explain it was so she wasn't out of pocket and not paid for the work she had done?"
"No, Bianca, I didn't. Surely I didn't need to say that to her."
"Mr. Hartfield. You are a fool." I stare at Bianca; it's the first time she has sworn at me in all the time I've known her. "You paidher and told her that it was that night? You treated her like a prostitute. She thought you were giving her cash for having had sex with you. You are stupid, Mr. Hartfield."
"A prostitute? What? That is not what happened." I think about the conversation we had, and I feel chills rush over me. "Do you think that's why she ran? She thought I was giving her money because she had sex with me? We had had intimate moments before that. We said things that were long term. Why would she think I was paying her for sex?"
"She doesn't know you, Mr. Hartfield. She has no idea how you behave, how you work. All she knows is that you had sex with her and then gave her cash for that night. She's younger than you, she needs reassurance that you didn't mean that. She needs to know how you feel for real."
"Do you think I don't know that? I can't find her. I've had people all over this city looking for her. And no one knows where she is."
"Did you try the other lady artist, Flora? They seemed like they were being pally."
"Yes, I tried her. I went to her apartment, and there was no one there either. Where could she be?"
"Well, if it was me and I thought someone had done that to me, then I would go home to my mom. She would give me the love and devotion that I would crave after that."
"Bianca, you are a star. I didn't think of that. You need a raise, don't let me forget that." I stand.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm off to bring my girl home."
Bianca laughs. "Do you know where her mom lives?"
I sit back down. "No, but I can find someone who does."
"Remember that raise; I think I need two." Bianca leans across and hands me a piece of paper with an address on it. "I think you need this."
Standing, I walk around the desk and kiss her on the cheek. "I don't know what I would do without you, Bianca. But two raises are coming your way."
