Page 48 of Naughty Heart

“Unless you want me to leave and are prepared to fire me, Malcolm, I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me get back to doing my job.”

I didn’t want to walk out.

I wanted to stay here and fix this.

But I knew she wasn’t going to allow it.

She wasn’t going to believe me.

So, I stood, looked down at her, and said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you believe you aren’t important to me.”

Before she had the chance to respond, I turned and walked out, allowing the ache in my chest to consume me. And when I made it across the hall to my office, I closed the door behind me.

13

EVELYN

This was a disaster.

It was Friday morning, and it was safe to say I’d had a rough couple of days.

If only my outburst on Wednesday had been the extent of it, I might have been able to recover, but things didn’t stop there. Of course, it was because of said outburst that the downward spiral continued.

I sighed for what felt like the millionth time in a matter of days.

Why? Why did Malcolm have to keep pushing me that day? If he hadn’t, I could have dealt with the way I felt over his deception all on my own. But he pushed, and I lost my control.

And the moment I did, things got worse.

Because while I seemed to have no trouble finding words to say what I needed to, Malcolm wasn’t the same.

I’d grown accustomed to the confident and charismatic man he was. I was used to seeing him so sure of himself.

But once I shared the truth with him, Malcolm’s confidence seemed to waver. If I hadn’t been so hurt by the betrayal and disappointment, that change in him might have had me stopping to reconsider what I was doing. It might have left me wondering if I was overreacting.

Unfortunately, my emotions got the best of me, and Malcolm was on the receiving end of my wrath.

I hadn’t even given him a chance to explain himself. What would he have said anyway? Was there really anything he could say to make me feel better about all of this?

I didn’t think so, but then his apology before he walked out of my office would play over and over in my head.

I’m sorry that you believe you aren’t important to me.

Why would he take the time to say those words if I’d already agreed to doing what he needed me to do for him?

I hated this. I hated that I didn’t know what to trust was real, and what had all been part of his plan to trick his parents. Most of all, I hated that I desperately wanted some parts of it to be real.

Now, I had no choice but to allow this tension to continue building between us, because I needed this job, and he needed me, so he would be able to take over the company.

Gone was the excitement I used to feel about coming to work. I had loved the work I’d been doing, and now it all felt wrong. Obviously, I continued to do what was required of me, but it wasn’t the same. I thought that would be the worst of it, but I’d been mistaken.

Yesterday was awful, and everything that made it that way had to do with my interactions with Malcolm.

I came into work not knowing what to expect, even if I knew it wasn’t going to be great. Malcolm and I hardly spoke and barely looked at one another.

That had been particularly difficult, because for two weeks I’d grown accustomed to looking up from my work when I was at my desk and seeing him there at his. I liked the way his body and head would slowly rock from side to side when he was deep in thought, or the way his brows would often furrow when he was on a call.

Most of all, I loved the way he’d seemed to be genuinely interested in learning about me and never made me feel like I was less than simply because I was his employee.