Page 98 of Penny & Royce

Shelly had already stood. Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she wanted to reach for the phone.

Royce lifted one hand, palm out in a plea.

“Shelly,” he said through the glass, his voice rough. “Please. Five minutes.”

She glanced from him to the security guard, then toward Penny’s closed office door.

“She’s not speaking to me,” Royce said. “I’m not asking you to take my side. I just need to know one thing, and then I’ll go.”

The woman didn’t move, all except for her eyes, which darted from the security guard to Penny’s closed office door.

“Does she seem happy?”

Shelly’s face softened despite herself.

Royce already knew the answer.

“She’s miserable,” she whispered.

He nodded, hating that this fact brought both relief and fresh pain. “Then please. Five minutes with her.”

“You know I can’t just?—”

The security guard reached for his radio.

Shelly winced, then held up a hand. “Wait.”

The guard looked at her.

Shelly’s gaze shifted to Royce. “Five minutes. And if she tells you to leave, you leave.”

Royce swallowed hard. “I will.”

The guard didn’t look thrilled, but he stepped aside when Shelly unlocked the glass door.

Royce slowly moved past him, restraining himself. No bursting in like he had a right to every inch of Penny’s life just because they were married.

He paused outside her office door with the flowers hanging from one hand.

“Is there anyone in there with her?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Shelly said. “But Royce…”

He looked back.

Her expression tightened. “Don’t make this worse.”

“I’ll try not to.”

Then he knocked. No answer. He knocked again, softer this time. “Penny?”

Inside the office, something shifted.

“Shelly, I said I didn’t want?—”

“It’s me,” Royce said.

Silence.