Chapter Five
Sarah
Henry had always worked hard, but he was something else the last couple of days, spending way more time chained to his desk, looking more stressed than ever. He didn’t even eat lunch, but his coffee consumption was at an all-time high.
When I asked if everything was okay, he insisted that it was. But now that I knew about the company’s financial troubles, I wondered if his behavior was related to that.
I was coming back to the office from lunch when it happened.
When I walked into the building, I heard the low rumble of men’s voices coming from Henry’s office, where the door wasn’t completely closed.
“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses, Moss,” one of the men said. I couldn’t see them from where I was lurking in the hallway, but he sounded cold as ice. “What I want is the fucking money.”
The money? He couldn’t mean the money that Henry borrowed to help the business, could he? I assumed it came from a bank. But they wouldn’t send people to harass those who took out loans. I moved closer to hear a little better.
“I told you, I’ll have it for you soon. I just need a little more time.” Henry’s voice sounded weaker than I’d ever heard. He was scared, and that drove home the seriousness of this situation. Something wasn’t right here.
I thought about calling the police, but I wasn’t sure if I was overreacting to this, and I didn’t want to make an unnecessary call. That could embarrass myself and the company.
Of course, that was only an issue if I was wrong about my boss being in a dangerous situation.
“You owe us, Moss,” a different cold voice said, and then there was a dull thud, followed by a grunt of pain that had to come from Henry. Horror seeped into my bones, and I suddenly knew that I needed to get away from this door. I didn’t want the men to know that I was eavesdropping. Who knew what they’d do to me.
I didn’t have to be a genius to realize that these guys must be criminals. Loan sharks, and maybe more than that. Getting on their radar would be a mistake.
“The Gorsky family doesn’t let people get away with not paying their debts,” a voice spat at Henry.
“I told you. Iwill.” Henry sounded desperate now.
“I hope you plan to do that soon,” the man said, “because the boss has plans to come deal with you personally.”
I couldn’t stand around any longer, not if I wanted to avoid being seen. Hurrying to my tiny office, I closed the door behind me, my chest heaving with my heavy breathing.
I listened carefully to the sound of several men walking past my office, sagging against the door when it seemed like they were gone. Still, I went to my window and peeked out through a crack in the blinds. There were three men getting into a black sedan with tinted windows. They were all in dark clothes, with grim faces and a general aura of menace. I shuddered as I stepped away, glad they didn’t see me.
When I finally opened my office door, the hallway was empty. Henry’s door was wide open now. I stood in the doorway, looking into his office for a moment while he shuffled papers around on his desk. He looked flustered.
“Henry?”
His head snapped in my direction, eyes widening when he saw me standing there. I could almost see him putting the pieces together, realizing that I obviously didn’t just come in and that I must’ve overheard his conversation with those men.
“It was nothing, Sarah,” he said before I could even ask. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it? Those men threatened you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it with you.”
“Then go talk about it with the police. They need to know what just happened.”
Henry’s face went pale so fast I thought he might pass out. I hurried forward, but he raised his hands to stop me.
“I want you to take a couple of days off,” Henry said. “Get some rest, okay? We can talk later.”
Somehow, I very much doubted that the conversation I wanted to have would ever happen, but what could I do? He was shutting me out. So, I agreed and left for the day, figuring I’d try to talk about this again when I came back to work in a couple of days.