Page 31 of Naughty Heart

“Let’s just say we’re grateful to be back home,” his dad replied. “We got in yesterday and talked with your sister this morning. We wanted to stop in this afternoon to talk with you about our discussion from last week.”

Something changed in Malcolm’s expression, and a look I hadn’t ever seen before washed over him. He looked uncertain, maybe even a little concerned.

Holding his hand out in my direction, he said, “Sure. But first, I’d like to introduce you to Evelyn.”

Malcolm’s parents turned to look at me, surprise washing over them. “Oh, goodness,” his mother said. “I hadn’t even realized anyone else was in here.”

I stood, moving toward them with a bright smile plastered on my face. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Westwood. I’m Evelyn Fisher, and I’m your son’s new personal assistant.”

“Personal assistant?” his father repeated.

“Yes, Dad. Evelyn is my personal assistant. She started on Monday. Evelyn, these are my parents, Larry and Wendy Westwood.”

I offered a nod in return. “It’s wonderful to meet you both.”

“Likewise,” Mrs. Westwood replied, her eyes shifting to the couch where I’d just been seated. “What’s all that?”

“Oh, well, I got to meet Mina earlier today, and she gave Malcolm a bit of a hard time about there not being any Christmas decorations up,” I explained.

That when Malcolm added, “I had Evelyn run out to grab a few things to help make the place look a bit more festive.”

Mrs. Westwood walked over toward the supplies spread out on the table, took in the wreath, and asked, “Are you making this?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing extravagant. And even though Malcolm gave me his card to get some things, I couldn’t bring myself to spend hundreds more on something that either didn’t look as nice or would only be displayed for such a short time. I figured it would be better to make one,” I returned. Then a thought popped into my head, and I was suddenly scrambling to cover my tracks. “I’m not trying to waste company time, though. I did already offer to make it at home and bring it in tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t thinking that at all, dear. But I’ll admit I am curious to know what other things my son has had you doing this week.”

I found it strange she was asking what Malcolm’s personal assistant was doing. Wouldn’t she already know what the job duties included?

Unsure why she’d asked but figuring it was best to give her the answers she was seeking, I shared, “Well, Malcolm has been sort of showing me the ropes here. I’ve taken over scheduling, fielded phone calls, and even attended a meeting with him.”

“That’s not all,” Malcolm chimed in. “Evelyn has been working on something with me ever since the meeting. She came up with a great idea, and I think it’s going to help improve the working environment here.”

“Is there something wrong in one of the departments? Was there a complaint?” Mr. Westwood questioned him, immediately on the alert. It was evident this company and its employees mattered to him.

“No.”

When confusion washed over both of Malcolm’s parents’ faces, I took the opportunity to point out, “I just want to say that I don’t think there was anything wrong here, and I certainly wasn’t trying to step on anyone’s toes. Malcolm and I had a discussion prior to and after the meeting, and I’d said something that stirred a couple of thoughts in his mind. I want to be very clear that I think Westwood’s is a great place to work, and your family, both the personal and work families, are lovely. For my part, I’m thrilled to be here to help in any capacity that I can.”

Both parents still seemed unsure, but whatever they were thinking, they didn’t share. Instead, I could see the moment Mr. Westwood shook off whatever was on his mind, because a smile formed on his face. “Well, we’re happy to have you on board, Evelyn. I look forward to hearing more about this idea you’ve given my son and seeing how implementing it works for the rest of the staff.”

I offered a smile and a nod in return, but then something happened that caught me off guard completely.

Before I even realized he’d moved, Malcolm came to stand right beside me. He wrapped his arm around my back, his hand settling on my opposite shoulder. As my pulse pounded in my chest at the proximity and the feel of his large hand on me with his solid body running along the side of mine, Malcolm gave my shoulder a squeeze and said, “I’m glad you’re happy about Evelyn being part of the Westwood team now. I think it’s great, because she’ll be at the Westwood Christmas party with me in two weeks.”

If I had attempted to come up with any possible explanation for why Malcolm had walked over and put his arm around me like he had, not once would I have had that thought. I mean, it wasn’t as though I was aware there even was a company Christmas party anyway. But that didn’t matter.

Things were becoming clear to me.

I hadn’t been mistaken earlier, just moments before Malcolm’s parents walked in. There was an attraction on his end, and it was safe to say I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

There was no way I could even dream of what to say in that scenario, so I kept my mouth shut and allowed my thoughts to run wild, my heart still hammering wildly in my chest.

Fortunately, Mrs. Westwood smiled and said, “You’ve never been to a Westwood’s Christmas party, so you don’t know what you’re missing, but I can promise you it’ll be a wonderful time.”

I had about a million questions for Malcolm, but since I couldn’t ask them now, I merely returned the smile and replied, “I’m looking forward to it.” Then, because I didn’t know how much longer I could possibly stand there with Malcolm holding me like he was, as the scent of him continued to assault my senses, I found a way to excuse myself. “But anyway, I know you said you had something you wanted to discuss with Malcolm, so I’m just going to grab these supplies, and I’ll head over to my office across the hall. This way, you all can talk privately.”

I pulled out of Malcolm’s hold, instantly regretting it, and began gathering up everything I’d laid out for the wreath assembly.