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seeing his one true father figure destroyed financially and in reputation was painful for Hayden.  And I knew that I’d do anything to take Hayden’s pain away.
    S o I was going to do what Hayden couldn’t.
     

Chapter 05
    “I can understand what Hayden sees in you.   He’s made a lot of stupid, immature choices in his life just to spite me but you’re not one of them.  Finally, it seems, he got something right.” 
    Once again I was in Henrik Slate’s office , only this time I’d accepted the drink he’d offered me.  I’d reasoned that drinking with him would encourage him to indulge more.  That’s what I was counting on, anyway, because I hoped that once his inhibitions came down I could put my plan into motion.
    It seemed Henrik’s inhibitions certainly were coming down.  I was surprised to find that Drunk Henrik was complimentary, not in a creepy way but in a manner that simply made his high opinion of me known.  He regarded me thoughtfully from across his desk as he absentmindedly stirred a martini.  His words were slightly slurred but the sentiment came across loud and clear. 
    Blushing, I looked away, unsure of how to respond. 
    I’d never imagined I’d c ome to enjoy having drinks with Hayden’s father, but I found myself looking forward to that time.  It offered me a glimpse into the childhood and psyche of the man I loved.  Considering my tendency to overanalyze everything, it was invaluable to me.
    One thing I didn’t care to analyze at all was why I hadn’t told Hayden about the drinks with his father.  It wasn’t that I was deliberately keeping them a secret – I just didn’t want to give Hayden anything else to get upset about.  And besides, Henrik was an interesting guy no matter what Hayden thought. 
    “Are you close to your family?” Henrik asked.  The first couple of times we’d met for drinks he hadn’t asked me much about myself, presumably because he didn’t care.  Instead, he’d seemed to want to confide in me.  I sensed that he was lonely there in his big mansion and perhaps he needed someone to lend an ear.  But lately it seemed I’d piqued his curiosity.
    “Not really.   I see them a couple times of year during the holidays, usually, but that’s about it.”
    “Why is that?”
    I shrugged.  “My parents have always favored my sister.”  To say she and I had sibling rivalry was an understatement.  But rivalries are no fun when you know your opponent will come out on top every single time, at least as far as one’s parents are concerned.  It was a sore spot, but I tried to downplay it.
    “That’s absurd,” Henrik scoffed in a way that made the corners of my mouth turn upward ever so slightly.  “They mustn’t realize how lucky they are to have a lovely girl like you for a daughter, the damn fools!  I would have loved to have a daughter like you.”   It was affirming to know that he was so vehemently on my side.
    Early on, I’d warned myself not to let my guard down around Henrik.  But there was something so endearing about what he was saying that I couldn’t help but feel a little affection for him.  He was most certainly rough around the edges and sometimes his personality could be downright abrasive.  But every so often I caught a glimmer of the man Hayden must have spent his entire childhood wishing his father could be. 
    He was in there.  He was just buried deep.
    It was a shame Hayden had never been able to see that.  Maybe if he had, their entire relationship could have been different.  It still probably wouldn’t have been all sunshine and rainbows – I doubted Henrik was a sunshine and rainbows kind of man.  But maybe they could have come to a mutual understanding.  Maybe their relationship didn’t need to be filled with such contempt for one another.
    I felt a twinge of guilt over having an agenda, but I rationalized it by telling myself Henrik had left me no other choice.  Hayden was right about one thing:  his