Page 9 of SEAL's Harmony
“Ms. Taylor, is everything okay in here? Do you want me to escort these gentlemen out?” The security guard asked from the doorway.
“No, Richard, I’m fine. I’ve got everything under control here. It was just a slight misunderstanding. Right, Harry? And my friend here is a little over-protective,” Harmony answered as she raised an eyebrow at Ry.
The guard didn’t look too sure he should leave, but after a moment he went back to his post at the front of the bank.
“Ry, can you give me a few more minutes? I need to finish up with Mr. Ericson.”
“No need, we’re done here. I trusted you. You said you could help us, but you only fucked me out of my home. What are we supposed to do now? Barb is in the hospital, and they are saying she needs to leave. Where will we go? You took away our home.” Tears ran down Ericson’s cheeks even as he waved his fist at Harmony.
Ry didn’t care about the man’s reason. If he moved one step closer to Harmony, Ry was going to escort him out of the bank even if she didn’t approve.
“Harry, I’m so very sorry. My manager even called the underwriters. We tried everything possible to stop the foreclosure. I would never have suggested you take out the mortgage if I thought you could lose your home.” Harmony held out her hands in supplication. Tears pooled in her eyes.
“Don’t even try, you’re a lying bitch. This was probably your plan from the beginning—to take away our home. I should have known better. Banks only care about making money. But you’ll be sorry. All of you.”
Ry reached for Ericson, but he pulled away and stormed out of Harmony’s office muttering the entire time that they’d all be sorry.
As Harmony dropped into her chair, it rolled away from the desk and tipped backward. As she squeaked in surprise, Ry pulled her up out of the chair and into his arms just before she fell ass over teacup and landed on the floor.
“Oh my God. Thank you. That’s all that I’d need today, to fall on my butt in front of everyone.” Tears filled Harmony’s eyes as he gazed at her.
“I’m glad to be of service. Do you often have run-ins with customers like that?”
“No, not usually. Mr. Ericson is a special case…” Her voice trailed off as she stepped out of his embrace. “His wife is dying of cancer and he couldn’t afford the bills. They don’t have healthcare coverage, and they didn’t know what to do. Our bank has handled their accounts for years.”
“And the bank is foreclosing on them?”
“Yes, it’s a mess, but I can’t discuss this with you. I shouldn’t have said what I have already.” Harmony pulled the chair closer to the desk and gingerly lowered herself into it. Then she collected the documents spread across her desk and shuffled them into a file folder.
“I didn’t mean to charge in here, but from where I was sitting it looked like he was about to attack you.”
“He wouldn’t have. Harry and his wife have been sweethearts even though their life was falling apart. I think today was his last straw. I’m really worried about them.”
“But you said it was out of your control. It’s the truth, right?” Ry wasn’t sure if she’d answer him since technically it was none of his business and probably against a billion and one banking rules.
“It’s the truth. I don’t lie, ever. Especially to customers. It doesn’t fix anything though.” Harmony leaned forward with her elbows on the desk and dropped her face into her hands.
Ry sat across from her in the chair Harry Ericson had vacated and searched for something to say. Anything to say to help the situation. But he was at a loss for words. And he wasn’t sure how she’d feel about him touching her again. His teammates would get a kick out of it if they found out—he was the team’s Don Juan—and now he didn’t know what to do.
“Sometimes life just sucks, Harmony. You can’t fix everything no matter how much you’d like to.”
She tilted her face up and met his gaze with her tear-filled violet eyes. “I realize that. Life taught me that lesson a long time ago, but it doesn’t mean I’m not frustrated and upset.”
“I didn’t mean that. I figured if you did all you could, then you know you tried. Sometimes that has to be enough.” He should know. He’d learned that lesson the hard way.
Harmony straightened her spine and look over at him. This time, determination filled her gaze. That and something he couldn’t figure out.
“I am surprised to see you, Ry. Honestly, after you didn’t text or call after the second week, I figured that was it.”
“I’m sorry. I planned to text you the next day. But we left on a mission the next morning. We just got back home a couple of hours ago. I changed and came straight here.” Ry hoped she believed him, but he didn’t know her well enough to gauge her expression.
“Is that why you look like you were auditioning for the caveman role in the next GEICO commercial?” Harmony giggled.
She giggled? Did that mean she wasn’t mad at him? That she believed his excuse, even though it was right up there with the dog ate my homework. But in his life, it was what happened more than not.
“Maybe? Do you like this look?” Ry waggled his eyebrows and grinned.
“Umm. No, not really. Sorry, but I like being able to see the face hidden behind all of that hair. Did you really come straight from the base?”
