by Jessica Gray
“I did not kidnap her from the restaurant. You saw her, she willingly left with me,” Michael smirked.
Victor shook his head, “You my friend, are an idiot. Evelyn only left with you to avoid making a bigger scene and embarrassing not only herself, but Henry.”
“She had no business being out with Harry…”
Victor snorted in disgust, “Get his name right. It’s Henry. It’s the least you can do after tonight.”
Michael said nothing. He would not give the man the satisfaction of actually using his correct name. He didn’t owe him anything.
“So what happened after you left the restaurant?”
Michael huffed out a breath, defeat marring his features, “She waited until I was keying in the security code for the parking garage, and then just walked away from the car and got in a cab. I couldn’t even get out of the car. I had to pull through the parking lot and return to the exit side. By then she was gone. I drove out here, hoping that she had come home.”
Victor was laughing so hard he had to hold his sides. Evelyn had certainly won this round. What he wouldn’t have given to see the look on Michael’s face when Evelyn calmly walked away from the car; leaving him helpless to do anything about it.
Michael scowled at Victor, not liking being laughed at one bit. “Yeah, it was real funny. I felt like a fool.”
Victor sobered and pounced, “You are a fool. That woman next door has carried a torch for you for so many years and what do you do with it? Nothing but abuse it. She was so confused the day you left town. All of her life she was the one who bailed her dad out. You remember how it was when we were in school. Instead of using her trust money to buy clothes, or jewelry, or things, she paid the staff salaries, she paid the repair men, she paid the household bills…Taking care of her father’s responsibilities had become a habit with her.
“When her father told her she needed to marry Henry, it was more about her habit of taking care of her father’s problems, than marrying some man she hadn’t even met. Up to that point, she had never walked away from her familial responsibilities. You and I,” Victor gestured back and forth between he and Michael with his hand, “we don’t understand that. We had loving families that took care of us. How many times, growing up, did you have to worry about paying the electric bill, or the grocer?”
Michael was listening, and the longer Victor talked, the more memories assailed him. Memories of buying Evelyn’s lunch or just happening to have an extra ticket to the school dance. Or sliding an extra hundred dollars in her wallet when she wasn’t looking. He and Victor had never talked about it, and would never have discussed it with Evelyn. Not because of pride, but because they had known how tightly she was trying to hold things together, and neither of them wanted to pull the string and have to watch her world unravel. So they kept silent, and worked behind the scenes whenever possible. They protected her from their families figuring out her circumstances, and were the best friends they could be.
As thoughts of the teen years came back, more recent memories also came to mind. Memories of him belittling her, or talking coldly to her in the office. He was so ashamed at how he had been treating her. Why was everything so hard with her? Love was supposed to be easy, and fun, and the best thing that happened to you? Not filled with struggle, anger, and despair.
Michael seemed so lost in his thoughts; Victor finally just sat back and watched his friend put it all together. After fifteen minutes, Michael finally looked up to find Victor staring at him. “Figure anything out?” Victor asked him.
Michael shrugged his shoulders, “It wouldn’t matter if I did. After tonight, I don’t think Evelyn will ever speak to me again. To say I was an ass is putting it mildly.”
Victor nodded his head, “She’s forgiven you before. She’ll forgive you again.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I can’t. But I can tell you this, you need to get your head out of your ass and start letting your heart direct you. Your head isn’t doing such a good job.”
“What if she leaves me again?” Michael asked.
Victor shrugged, “Then at least you can say you tried. You won’t have the regret of not knowing. She didn’t really leave you three years ago – you left her. And by the way, it’s usually a requirement to actually have someone before you can consider them to have left you. Right now, from where I’m sitting, you don’t have Evelyn.”
“This is supposed to be easy. Why is it so hard?”
“What’s supposed to be easy?” Victor wasn’t sure what Michael was talking about.
“This thing between Evelyn and I. It’s supposed to be easy.”
“Exactly what is the thing between you and Evelyn?” Victor wanted Michael to finally put a name to it. He had been avoiding that for years. If he had any hope of getting Evelyn back, he needed to learn to voice his feelings and admit to them.
“You know…this thing going on between Evelyn and I.” Michael was getting a little annoyed that Victor was pushing him to put an actual name to he and Evelyn’s relationship.
“Oh, you mean the arrangement you have with her where she services you like a common street whore, but you never pay her. Is that what you were talking about?”
Michael surged to his feet in anger, “I have never treated Evelyn like a common whore. And the arrangement was by mutual consent. Just because we don’t sleep at each other’s house, doesn’t make it cheap.”
Victor was spitting mad as Michael tried to defend his treatment of Evelyn, “In my book it does. You don’t spend any time with her, even as a friend, outside of the bedroom. You’re destroying what little confidence that girl has. She actually asked me if I thought she was ‘girlfriend’ material the other day. She’s beginning to think that the reason you can’t admit to your feelings is somehow her fault, you asshole.”
Michael was taken aback. Evelyn was blaming herself because he wanted to protect his heart from further injury. “But I’ve never said anything to make her think that….”
Victor shook his head in disgust, “That’s right man, you’ve never said anything. Do you ever compliment her? Do you ever ask her how her day went, or do you just get right down to it?”
Michael couldn’t answer. What had he done? If another man had treated Evelyn the way he had, he would want to kill him.
Dropping his head into his hands, Michael felt the tears well up in his eyes. He didn’t even try to stop them. He had screwed up badly. Looking up at Victor he asked, “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”
Another Work Project
Three days later….
Mandy knocked on Evelyn’s door before pushing it open a crack, “Mr. Tomlinson is here with his team. Shall I show them into the conference room?”
Evelyn looked up and smiled at Mandy, nodding she added, “Yes. Ask them to help themselves to the refreshments and I’ll be right out.”
“Got it. Have you ever met him, Mr. Tomlinson?”
Shaking her head, Evelyn answered, “No. Why? Does it matter?”
Mandy’s smiled grew wide, “Not really. But he is some definite eye-candy. Tall, Nordic-looks, and his voice is so deep it made my toes curl. Should be a very interesting meeting.”
Evelyn chuckled, “Does Victor know you’re eyeing our clients?”
Mandy shook her head of riotous curls, “Nah. Besides, I’m not interested in blond hair or blue eyes. I like my men tall, dark, and sinfully handsome.”
Evelyn chuckled again, “Sounds like Victor. You guys have your date yet?” Gathering up the presentation packets, she walked to the door which Mandy held open.
Mandy smiled and said, “Number five coming up tonight.”
Evelyn stopped at looked at her, “Five? What happened to one thru four?” How had she missed that? She definitely needed to focus on something other than Michael. Maybe she would start this afternoon. Glancing through the blinds she caught sight of her soon-to-be clients, and nodded. She would definitely be starting this afternoon.
Mandy followed Evelyn’s gaze and grinned. Yeah, Evelyn liked the window dressings as well. Too bad Michael wasn’t involved in this deal. She happened to like fireworks. Remembering she hadn’t answered Evelyn’s question, she turned back to her and said, “One thru four happened last week.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, “Four dates in one week, huh? You two must have hit it off.”
Mandy nodded, “You could say that. Anyway, things are good so far. Victor is the nicest man I’ve ever dated. He treats me like a princess and likes to listen to my opinions. He’s also pretty good in bed.”
Evelyn headed for the conference room, “I don’t need or want those details thank you. Victor and I have been friends for a long time, but his love life is not a topic for discussion. I’m happy for you two. Hold me calls until I’m through in here, okay?”
“Got it. Good luck.”
“Don’t need it. This is one of the easiest deals I’ve one yet.” It wasn’t over –confidence on Evelyn’s part, but the design details for this new project were child’s play compared to other projects and Evelyn was looking forward to wowing the men sitting comfortably around the large table.
*****
“Ms. Davenport, I am thoroughly impressed. The design layout accomplishes everything we discussed on the phone, and then some. And the projected costs are almost 40% below our anticipated budget. You definitely have our business.”
Evelyn did a happy dance inside her head, but presented a professional, calm appearance on the outside. “Mr. Tomlinson, I happy to hear that. I’ll have our team pull together the contracts and have them couriered over to your office tomorrow. Once those are signed, we can get to work.”
“Jeremy. Please, since we’re going to be working together, I would prefer to use first names. Do you mind if I call you Evelyn?”
“Not at all, Jeremy. Excuse me while I have the secretary locate my business partner. We’ve made it a policy to always include each other on company projects. We find it helps provide our clients with plenty of expertise and assistance on our part.”
While Mandy went downstairs to find Victor, Jeremy said goodbye to his team, leaving him alone in the conference room with Evelyn. “I must say, I had heard some really good things about your work, but seeing it firsthand is amazing. You have an eye for detail, and the organization you were able to put into the individual spaces is pure genius.”
Evelyn felt a blush stain her cheeks at his praise. “Thank you. Your project was like going back to my roots. I can’t wait to see the finished product.”
“Neither can I. I noticed you’re not wearing a ring. No husband?”
“No,” Evelyn agreed. She dropped her glance to his hands and was relieved to see them devoid of rings as well.
Seeing where her gaze had landed, Jeremy held up his hand and wiggles his fingers, “None here either. So, what would you say to letting me take you to dinner this evening? I would love to get to know you a little better.”
Evelyn considered him for a moment, and then slowly nodded. She was going to start taking charge of her life. Her heart would heal with time, and she was going to help it out every chance she got, “I’d like that.”
Jeremy smiled, “Great. If you could provide me with your address, I’ll pick you up around 7 o’clock.”
Evelyn jotted down her address and handed it to him, just as Victor walked in. Glancing up, she smiled, “Victor Fernandez, meet Jeremy Tomlinson, our newest client.”
Victor and Jeremy shook hands and exchanged greetings. Catching site of the time, Jeremy abruptly started gathering his papers together, “I’m sorry, but I just noticed the time. I have a standing date with my grandfather to play chess with him. He’s in a nursing home, and every Thursday afternoon, I play chess with him. If I don’t leave right now, I’ll be late, and he doesn’t do well when that happens.
“Victor, it was a pleasure meeting with you. I look forward to learning more about your company as this project moves ahead. Evelyn, I’ll see you tonight.” Jeremy shook Victor’s hand, and gave Evelyn a brief kiss on the cheek as he walked out.
Victor watched him leave, and then turned to Evelyn, “Tonight?”
Evelyn busied herself with putting the conference room back together, “Jeremy asked me to dinner and I said ‘Yes’.”
Victor smiled, “Good for you. Have fun.” Turning, he noticed Michael standing at Mandy’s desk, his gaze directed at Evelyn. Wondering how much of their conversation he had overheard, he shrugged it off.
Since the night Michael had taken Evelyn from the restaurant, she had been brutally polite to him, but that was it. Michael had tried numerous times to apologize, had sent flowers, had asked her to lunch every day, and Evelyn had remained distant. He was getting a taste of his own medicine and not liking it one bit.
*****
Michael stopped by Mandy’s desk to grab his phone messages, and that’s when he noticed the tall blond in the conference room with Evelyn. They didn’t appear to be discussing business, and the immediate surge of jealousy caught Michael by surprise. He didn’t like her talking to strange men, especially when she was smiling. Was she blushing?
“Mandy, who’s that?” Michael tipped his head toward the conference room.
Mandy bit the inside of her cheek to hold back her grin. Someone was jealous. Glancing at the conference room, she told him, “That’s Jeremy Tomlinson, our newest client. He just finished a meeting with Evelyn.”
Michael scowled, “If their meeting is finished, what’s he still doing here then?”
Mandy shrugged, “It looks to me like he’s flirting with Evelyn while they wait for Victor to come back upstairs.”
Michael didn’t appreciate Mandy’s humor and directed his scowl in her direction, at which she promptly got back to work on her computer. Michael slowly looked through his messages, watching Evelyn from the corner of his eye to entire time. When Victor arrived, he relaxed a bit, until he overheard the blond man remind Evelyn that he would see her tonight. Did the man already ask her out on a date? They just met.
Knowing that Evelyn wouldn’t answer his questions, he decided to up his game. He sent her a text message asking her for a date this evening, hoping she would cancel whatever plans she had with the tall blond. When she didn’t immediately respond, he called her. This continued throughout the afternoon, and Evelyn was glad when 4:30 pm rolled around. She headed for home, relieved to have escaped the office without running into Michael.
She wasn’t sure what his new game was, but he had sent her 27 text messages and called at least a dozen times since her meeting with Jeremy had ended. He wanted her to go out with him tonight. Evelyn was excited to be going out with Jeremy and had ignored Michael’s calls and texts, hoping he would take a hint and stop bothering her.
Taking a leisurely bath at home, she ignored her phone, finally turning the ringer off to gain some peace and quiet. When her house phone rang, she thought of just ignoring it, but then answered it just in case it was someone other than Michael.
“Hello?”
“Hello, may I speak with Ms. Evelyn Davenport?” the voice on the other end queried.
“This is she,” Evelyn didn’t recognize the voice on the other end of the line.
“Ma’am, I’m calling from St. Matthew’s hospital about your father.”
Evelyn’s heart began to race as she listened. “You father was involved in a car accident and brought in for evaluation. He provided us with your name and number as a person to contact.”
Evelyn was stunned, “Yes, I’m his daughter. Is he okay?”
“Yes ma’am. Everything’s fine. He was complaining of a sore ankle at the scene, so they transported him here for an x-ray. Nothing’s broken, but he does have a slight sprain and some bruising around his chest from the force of the seatbelt. “
Evelyn sagged with relief. Since the Henry fiasco, her father and she had been on very limited speaking terms. She hadn’t seen him for almost six months. “Thank you
for calling. Was there something you needed from me?” Evelyn expected to hear the lady ask for a credit card to cover the hospital fees. She was pleasantly surprised to hear her ask, “Yes ma’am. Your father has someone coming to pick him up, but asked us to call and make you aware of his accident. They gave him something for the pain, and it’s made him pretty groggy. He just wanted you to know that he was fine, since the t.v. crews were onsite and the story will most likely make the new this evening. He didn’t want you to worry if you saw his vehicle on the footage.”
Evelyn was trying to wrap her head around the fact that her father had done something to protect her. It was such a foreign concept, she was speechless for a few seconds. “Ma’am, are you still there?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m still here. Thank you so much for calling for him. I’ll try to contact him tomorrow to speak with him personally.”