Cake Love: All Things Payne(50)

"Winston no longer works for me. I had to let him go a few weeks ago."

My breath hitches and I feel a large lump in my throat. I rapidly blink back the tears forming in my eyes, but it is of no use. I bring my hands to my face and a small sob escapes. Almost instantly, I feel Henrik's warm hands on my shoulders turning me so he can wrap me in his arms.

"Morgana what is wrong? I don't understand why you’re crying. I gave Winston a good recommendation, and I know that a nice couple who lives in my old building was considering hiring him. I am quite sure he will be fine." He strokes my head as my tears dampen his shirt.

"But will I Henrik? I never got...I never got to..." I can't get the words out as my voice wobbles.

Henrik pulls away slightly and crouches so we are eye level. “Never what, Morgana?”

I take a shuttering breath as I finally explain, "I never got to have him serve me cake! Like in the middle of the night or just after an epic shower. Oh God, the shower! I just remembered the shower. Please tell me you still own your old place?"

"It's for sale. I won't own it for long. I've had an offer this past week and agreed to it. I can't afford to keep it or Winston. I hope you understand Morgana."

I nod as tears still leak from my face and my gaze settles to the floor while Henrik wraps me in his arms again.

"I know. You have to do what you have to do. It was nice to indulge. I should have put a ring on it when I had the chance. I guess I just have to marry cake now. Monogamy is better. Cake can't be jealous that way." I try to reassure myself as I feel Henrik's chest start to vibrate. When I look up, I notice his eyes twinkle as creases form in his face from laughter.

"Oh I missed you Morgana. Come with me and let me show you what I have been working on."

He missed me? Then why did he ignore me and end things? As much as I can’t help but be drawn to him, find out how he is; I still want answers.

Henrik grabs my hand and leads me down a small hall with plain white walls. I notice a few pieces of framed artwork lining the wall from his old condo. We walk into the first room on the right, which appears to be a small office. He has a very large glass topped desk that fills almost half the room and I realize it is probably from his old place. The desk most likely took up very little space there, but in here it is a monster.

Letting go of my hand he walks over and rifles through the paperwork scattered over the desk. After a few moments, he pulls out a manila folder and opens it, waving me over.

"This is what I have been doing the past month. With the help of Zooey, of course."

“Yes Zooey. She seems to really like you Henrik.” I can’t help the bitterness in my tone.

Henrik glances at me from the side and shakes his head. “It’s really not like that Morgana. I’m not interested in her. Besides, I’ve been too preoccupied with what I really desire.”

My head turns to him as he drops his gaze to his desk. He obviously means his work. For a moment, I foolishly thought he might be talking about me. Shaking my head as the phone conversation from last night plays in my head, and I realize he can’t possibly be talking about me.

I glance down and see graphs. One paper is a spreadsheet of various countries. As I spend time glancing over the papers, I see information about infrastructure supplies and geological surveys of different countries.

"What is this Henrik?"

My head rises to see his face alit with joy. I have never seen him this happy before. Just being near his giddiness makes me smile too.

"It's an idea I had many years ago, but never followed through on it because I was too busy at Mimir. I eventually wanted to bring it to the Mimir brothers and see if they would want to incorporate it into the company. I thought we could make it a cause driven venture, but I kept getting sidetracked with work to invest my time to make it happen. Well, now I have the time."

I nod but still don't know what he is talking about.

"Yes, but you still haven't explained what it is."

Henrik palms his forehead and shakes his head. "Of course. Sorry. I just get so excited I forget not everyone knows what it is. I plan to build a company to help third world countries with their engineering and infrastructure. I help them get the supplies they need at a much lower cost, and gather investors to invest in technical schools to train their people to work on the buildings, roads, and bridges. I understand that in many of these countries the people have a very basic reading level, so I am trying to work with education professionals to figure out a lesson plan that will work. Anyway, it's in the very beginning stages. Zooey and I are trying to write up a business plan. I am thinking later on, when the company is successful, we can have our own planes and warehouses to help distribute the materials. Actually, your idea about the local distributors in Europe gave me that idea."

I’m in shock. This is something I never imagined Henrik would ever do. He has always been a stickler for detail and based on what I am looking at, I see that is coming in handy now.

"I also decided to take flying lessons. I had wanted to do that since college, but when my family died, learning to fly was the last thing on my mind. Over the years, I only wanted to think of work and not about anything that reminded me of my time before the car crash. But you have made me want to have fun again. Take risks."

"I have to say Henrik, I am impressed. You never told me any of this, except you did mention wanting to get your pilot license once but that's it. I had no idea you would be interested in engineering or anything like it."