Page 51 of Naughty Heart

If Malcolm had asked to take me out for lunch at any point in time before Wednesday afternoon, I would have jumped at the chance. I would have been thrilled. Because I liked him, and I enjoyed spending time with him.

But now?

I didn’t trust him.

Even if that was the case, though, he was technically still my boss. And he wasn’t wrong.

We needed to talk.

The feelings I’d attempted to suppress for the last few days were resurfacing. I never thought I’d be a woman who’d experienced body betrayal, but with the way Malcolm was looking at me, it was impossible not to remember the way he’d made me feel even just a few days ago.

Following a long pause, I eventually gave him a nod and said, “Okay.”

I couldn’t miss the way his shoulders relaxed or the sound of his audible sigh. Apparently, he hadn’t been expecting it to be so easy.

Deciding it was best not to waste a second, I stood and asked, “Are we leaving the building to do this?”

He nodded, reached for my coat, and held it up for me. “Yes, I’d like to, if that’s okay with you.”

Hesitantly, I moved toward him. The sweet gesture was heartwarming, even if it wasn’t in line with the way he seemed to feel. Perhaps he was just being a gentleman, but as I slipped my arms through the sleeves, I had to admit this was the least confident I’d ever seen Malcolm. It was safe to say it was throwing me for a loop.

Maybe he hadn’t been pissed off at me for the last couple of days. Maybe he’d been taking the time to think about what he’d done. While that was entirely possible, I had no intention of just accepting whatever he said. I’d heard the words he said to his father, so I knew he had it in him to do whatever was necessary to smooth things over between us. I wasn’t quite sure I could trust how genuine he was.

After I grabbed my purse, I moved toward the door. Malcolm took a step back and allowed me to join him in the hall. Then, he led us out of the building and toward his car.

The next fifteen minutes were filled with silence as Malcolm drove us to the restaurant. Once inside, we took some time to peruse the menus. I couldn’t speak for him, but I knew I was taking my time with it in an effort to delay what was ahead.

Our waiter arrived with our drinks, took down our meal selections, and strode off again.

We were alone, and there was nothing to distract us from the issue at hand.

“I need to apologize to you,” Malcolm started. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. I’m so sorry for keeping you in the dark about what was happening.”

And there was the apology I felt like I’d just been thinking he owed me. The remorse was written all over his face. He hated what he’d done as much as I hated learning about it. Seeing how much this impacted him, I could feel the defensive walls I’d built starting to crumble.

“I appreciate the apology, Malcolm. I guess I should offer one of my own,” I replied.

“For what?” His brow furrowed as his eyes searched mine.

I swallowed hard. “Even if I believe my reaction to what I’d learned was justified, I could have spoken to you with a bit more respect. So, I’m sorry for how I handled that.”

He jerked his chin down slightly. “That’s appreciated, but I deserved it. I deserved every ounce of your anger. I should have listened to my sister.”

“Mina?”

“Yeah. She told me this wasn’t going to work out well if I wasn’t honest with you. It’s safe to say she was right,” he noted.

Based on the conversation I’d heard Malcolm having with his father on Wednesday, it was obvious his parents didn’t have a clue about what he was doing. But his sister did, and I wasn’t exactly sure I liked how that made me feel. Then again, some of the words she’d said to me while we were out for lunch as well as what she’d said to him just inside my office the day I’d met her were starting to make sense. Maybe she’d been on my side from the start. Or, even if it wasn’t necessarily her being on my side, it was obvious she didn’t agree with the deception.

It wasn’t clear if Malcolm was prepared to offer an explanation, but I figured there was little to lose at this point. “So, I know you attempted to ask me on Wednesday how I learned about what was going on. The truth is, I had returned from running that errand at the post office, and I came back fully prepared to give you the truth about my transportation situation. But when I walked up to your office, I realized you were still in your meeting with your father. I didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but I heard him say something lovely about me, and it just made me so happy. I hadn’t walked away or knocked to come in before he went on to mention something about the morning he and your mom stopped in at your place to give you an ultimatum. But the worst part of it was learning that they believed you’d hired me to keep up some part of your old lifestyle.”

I refused to add on the part about being surrounded by beautiful women. While it was a nice thought to think Malcolm might have perceived me as beautiful, I didn’t want to imagine him with other women. Sure, I knew they had to have existed. I wasn’t that naïve.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Evelyn. When I first hired you, my motives weren’t the best or most noble. I can admit that. But I’m deadly serious when I say that you changed everything for me.”

Nodding, I returned, “I got that much out of what I did hear your father say. It’s good your plan worked.”

Malcolm shook his head and reached across the table to cover my hand with his. I tensed at his touch and had to struggle to focus on his words. “That’s not what I meant when I said you changed everything.”