I’ve been hanging around the trainee area for an hour now, when I should be working. I should just go back to my desk and wait for someone to tell me when she gets back, but I can’t; I want to be here when she arrives. By the time I was back from the gym, Ronnie had already left to go to the hospital, and no-one here knows anything about what happened. I pace up and down, and toss my phone from one hand to the other, and the minutes creep by.

Errol and Adam try to engage me in conversation, and I give them polite answers; if they think it’s weird that the head of the team is down here waiting for one of the trainees to turn up, they don’t say anything.

I’m about to give up, and go back to my desk to try and take my mind off things, when she arrives, eyes puffy and bags all in one hand as she fights the door. She sees my face, and looks away.

“Ronnie.”

“It’s okay, Tom, honestly it is.” She drops her bags on her desk. “He’s going to be okay, it’s just…a shock.”

I look around. “Ronnie, come on. Let’s go somewhere we can talk.” Down the hall, there’s an unused office; I take her by the hand, and we go in and shut the door. As soon as it clicks shut, I put my arms around her. She’s quiet for a while, then takes a deep breath.

“He’s really sick, Tom. There isn’t anything anyone can do about it. He gets better, or he gets worse, but every time something like this happens, I wonder if this is going to be it. And, one day, I’m going to be right.”

I would like to say I understand, but that seems pointless. “I see what you mean.” She separates from me, and looks at me, wiping her eyes.

“Look, Tom…whatever happens here, you need to know it’s not going to affect my work. I’ll deal with my family situation on my own time.”

“Ronnie, don’t be ridiculous. If you need to be away from work, take time to do what you need to. You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to be. Whatever happens, I’ll deal with it. Nobody is going to think less of you because you want to be with your family.”

She shakes her head. “I’m grateful for that, but I need to be a professional, okay? I know how important the work we’re doing is for the firm, and I’m not going to be the one who lets us down, especially not since you and I…” She tails off.

I slam my hand down on the desk, harder than I intended to, and she jumps. “Ronnie, you don’t understand! I’m saying this because you’re part of my team, and in my team we look after each other, okay? I’m not saying it because we were…together.”

“How will it look to the rest of the team?” She looks at me disbelieving, and I try to contain my frustration.

“For Heaven’s sake, it will look like I’m a caring guy who treats his employees compassionately, that’s all. You’re not getting special treatment, okay.” I take her hand. “Just do what you need to do, and learn to accept people taking care of you once in a while.”

She sniffs defiantly. “I don’t want you going easy on me just because of this.”

“Ronnie, this isn’t some situation where people are going to think you’re getting an easy ride. I need you happy and content to do your best work, and that’s the end of it. Now come on; take the time you need to, and as a team we’ll do all we can to support you, just like we would anyone else.”

“Okay.” She looks at the floor. “I…thanks.”

I put my arms around her again, and quickly, lightly, kiss her forehead. “Ronnie, remember; you are more lucky than words can say to have a family. I don’t have a family like you do; so this team is my family. That’s why I care about them so much, and now, that includes you. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

“Good. What happened last night was…” I pause. She looks at me, tear-streaked, and it’s a sudden shock. This morning she was so forthright, so confident, and I realize she’s unsure about what I’m going to say. “Wonderful. It was wonderful, and it’s what I want.”

“Really?” There’s a hint of that wonderful smile.

I want to tell her that everything is going to be alright, that I’m going to make things okay, no matter what.

But I don’t, because I can’t promise that. I take her by the shoulders, and stare into her eyes. “Listen to me. I never expected that—us—to happen. But now it has happened, I feel like I’ve woken up after being asleep for a long time. Believe one thing, Ronnie Haas, you are what I want.”

She looks around. “How are we going to handle,” an arm gesture, “this?”

I shake my head. “In truth, I’m not sure. But we’ll find a way. Just trust me, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“Good. Now, are you able to go back to your desk?”

She bristles. “Of course. I’m not an idiot, Tom.”

“Okay, okay. I have to go and present the new deal to the board for acceptance. I don’t know how they’re going to like the idea of reducing their profit, just so a bunch of small investors don’t get wiped out, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I’ll talk to you later.” As we leave, I squeeze her hand, and after a brief pause, she squeezes mine back.