Page 52 of Honor

“If you give me another chance, Mr. Hunt, I promise it won’t happen again.”

The pleading note in her tone isn’t lost on me. If circumstances were different, I might consider firing her out of pure pettiness, but her involvement in Randall’s upcoming nuptials changes everything.

I have no doubt Charlotte would be pissed if I sent her maid of honor out into the street without a job. That, in turn, would turn Randall against me and I’d have to kiss my chance to own Azelius and Emmel’s goodbye.

“I’m not firing you tonight,” I say, giving her the reprieve she desperately wants.

Her beautiful face lights up with a smile. “Really, sir?”

I nod, knowing that I need her to drop the formality of calling me Mr. Hunt and sir if I’m going to get what I want from the almost newlyweds.

“Start calling me Reid,” I suggest.

“Reid,” she tests it on her tongue with a slow drawl. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Her shoulders drop as if the weight of the world is falling from them. “You’re allowing that because we’re both in Lottie’s wedding, right?”

I ignore that because she knows the answer to the question. It’s obvious since before tonight, I fully expected her to call me Mr. Hunt.

“How long have you known Charlotte Emmel?”

I’ve been surprised since I realized the two women are friends. If I had known my assistant was a friend of the Emmel fortune heir, I would have requested an introduction months ago. I would have asked the same of Randall if I had any idea he was involved with Charlotte.

“It’s Rushing,” she corrects me. “Her surname is Rushing. Her mom’s dad was the founder of Emmel’s but he passed away not that long ago. That’s been hard for Lottie.”

Rushing. Emmel. Regardless of her last name, Charlotte is the current owner of Emmel’s.

“Back to your question.” Evangeline rubs her left eye, leaving a smudge of mascara beneath it. “I’ve only known Lottie for a few weeks. I met her the day I was picking up your watch fromthe jeweler. She was there for her engagement ring since it was getting resized.”

I’m surprised they met that recently, but I don’t show it.

“We hit it off since we were both waiting.” She lets out a small yawn. “We met for dinner that week, and that’s when she asked me to be her maid of honor.”

“I see.”

She leans back into the couch. “We went to Paris for the weekend and then did a bunch of fun wedding stuff here in NewYork. I thought I was doing her a favor since she said she doesn’t have any friends.”

Leave it to my assistant to want to help a stranger out. “Charlotte is the person you went away with?”

She nods. “We stayed at her flat in Paris. I always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, and the view from her place was breathtaking. I’ll never forget it.”

My brow knits. “That was your first time in France?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “I’ve been to Australia and Paris now, too. I haven’t traveled much. The Australia trip was with my mom. It was a graduation gift.”

I have questions about all of that, including what Randall shared about Evangeline’s ambitions in the world of ballet and the bike accident that changed that.

My phone starts ringing in my jacket pocket, startling both of us. I dig it out because my grandfather once told me to always answer a ringing phone. I’ve followed that advice for years, and it has served me well.

My sister’s name pops up on the screen, so I glide to my feet to take the call in the privacy of my bedroom. “I need to answer this. Don’t move a muscle.”

“I won’t.” Evangeline smiles softly. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Evie

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