Page 8 of Keeping Eveline

There it was. The psychoanalysis that Ox didn’t want. “That’s true, and maybe one day I’ll tell you about it, but today is not that day.”

Angel nodded and scraped a hand down his dark, closely cropped beard. “I take it you didn’t look at the thumb drive when Eveline was here?”

An irrational spurt of jealousy shot through Ox at the sound of Eveline’s name coming from Angel’s mouth.

So irrational he couldn’t believe he’d experienced it.

Fuck, he really needed to get his shit together. Fall back into the mental state of mind he’d had when he’d been a Delta. Let the outside noise drop away and concentrate on the task at hand—and that task was to review the contents of the thumb drive.

Without acknowledging what Angel had said, Ox plugged in the drive and waited for the information to load up. Listed on the screen were about a dozen client folders. “Looks like a client database.” He twisted his laptop so Angel could see.

Why would Eveline give him confidential information about the clients of Triple Z?

Angel whistled low and long. “Why did she give this to us?”

“Just what I was thinking. Nothing makes sense.” Ox pointed to the papers. “This lists all the extra services the clients wanted. Clients whose files are on this thumb drive.”

He was missing something. Something important, and he couldn’t put his finger on it. Eveline had said it was plain as day on the papers she’d given him, but he couldn’t see it.

Why the fuck couldn’t he see it?

Eveline tossed her purse on the couch as she strode into her studio apartment. What she really wanted to do was scream out her frustration, but the walls of her home were thin and she didn’t want to freak out her sweet old neighbor. If Mrs. Castle heard her hollering, she’d call 9-1-1 before the echoes of her screams had faded.

If she belonged to a gym, she could go down and punch out her annoyance at the way Kyle Matthews had dismissed her without a second thought. Because she’d been so blinded by her anger she’d left everything sitting in the middle of his desk.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Off your hands so no proof you took it.

Eveline couldn’t deny the truth of those words, there was some comfort in knowing if Gerald found that some information was missing, she could honestly say she didn’t have it. Although her digital footprint would be all over it, but she could say it was part of her job to compile the data and match it to client files. That was how she’d found what she had.

She plopped on the couch and wished she could turn the clock back a few months and follow through on the restlessness she’d had in her job and had been considering looking elsewhere for something new.

Only she hadn’t because the whole process of finding a new job could be daunting. No, that was a weak excuse. If she wanted to find a job, she could. She’d just been lazy. The restlessness in her job had seeped into her personal life as well. The thought of getting dressed up and going out to be social seemed like too much work.

“Ugh, it’s all Kyle Matthews’ fault,” she grumbled out loud, finally acknowledging the truth for what it was.

Ever since their one night together.

A night she relived over and over in her mind. The desire to talk to another man was severely lacking.

How was it possible that one night with Kyle had appeared to have ruined all other men for her?

The one time she’d gone out with friends, she’d caught a glimpse of him sitting at table with another guy. Immediately she’d turned her back and laughed her head off at something a friend had said. Any fun she’d thought she’d might have all but disappeared with one look.

“Why the heck am I giving him so much control over my life?”

If Eveline didn’t do something, she was going to go out of her mind hanging around at home. Maybe she could go out to lunch. Or really, she should go to the grocery store.

The previous evening she’d seen that a cooking show she was fond of had returned. Astrid Conway was one of her favorite celebrity chefs, and ironically, the night she’d seen Kyle, Astrid had also been at the bar, but she hadn’t approached her.

That was what she’d do; Eveline would go to the grocery store and pick up the ingredients for the recipe Astrid had highlighted on her show the previous evening. The trip out would be sure to do her some good, get herself out of her head and help her forget Kyle Matthews and how delicious he’d looked.

She shook her head, determined not to let him take up any more of her head space. It was clear he didn’t want anything to do with her and that he really, truly did regret their one night together.

Forty minutes later, she was wandering the aisle of her supermarket collecting everything she needed. The fact a couple half gallon tubs of her favorite ice cream also rested next to the other produce was neither here nor there.

The tiny hairs on the back of her neck tingled. The sensation of being watched washed over her.

As casually as she could, Eveline turned her cart so it was facing in the opposite direction, but all she could see down the aisle were an older couple and a young mom who looked a little harried as her toddler attempted to climb out of the cart.

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