Page 107 of Theirs to Take

She had gotten involved with a man named Alastair McInroy and thought she had finally found the right man. She was almost twenty-five when she met him, and all of her friends, and even her younger sisters, were all paired off. But she waited until she felt ready to love someone. She attended university and when it was time for her to pick a profession, she was at a loss. All she really ever wanted was to settle down, get married, and have babies. Yeah, that made her sound pathetically old-fashioned,but she didn’t care. Carrie believed that Alastair was the man she wanted to be with forever until they moved in together and he started to show his true colors. He was a drug dealer and when she found that out, she went to her father. He told her to come home, but she still refused. She had found out two days prior that she was pregnant and hadn’t told anyone. She tried to make excuses to her father, even saying that she was probably wrong about Alastair, but he could see right through her. Her dad always could. When Carrie finally came clean with him and told her father that she was pregnant with Alastair’s baby, he insisted that she let him call Alex and Rod in America. He said that his brother’s boys would take her in, no questions asked, and that worked for her since she didn’t want to tell anyone that she was pregnant. Carrie made her father promise not to tell anyone about the baby—not Alex or Rod, and especially not Alastair. Her father agreed and called her cousins. They had booked her a flight before he got off the phone with them. Her father made her promise to call as soon as she landed, and she had. Getting settled in the little apartment that they had leased for her, wasn’t easy. It was bigger than any place she had ever lived. It had two bathrooms when she had grown up sharing one with her three sisters. It had two bedrooms, which would come in handy in about seven and a half months. Between now and then, she was going to have to find a way to tell her very generous, overbearing cousins what she was really doing there, and she was sure that they’d send her back to Scotland as quickly as possible.

Now, she was riding in an elevator with her new boss to HR, staring at the numbers as they went down, praying that he didn’t want to make small talk. “Are you excited about your first day?” he asked. So much for no small talk.

“Yes,” she breathed. “I’ve only been here for about a week now, and in that time, I’ve met my cousin’s families, and moved into an apartment that they rented for me, so, there have beena lot of changes in a short time, but I’m grateful.” She left out the part about running away from Scotland to get away from her drug-dealing boyfriend because she was pregnant with his baby. Yeah, she wasn’t ready to share any of that with her new boss.

“How about you?” she asked.

“I am,” he said. “When Alex and Rod asked me to buy into the company and become a partner, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I have to admit, it was a great idea. I’m really excited to be here.” She nodded and sighed when the elevator doors opened, stepping out into the hallway. Evan practically bumped into her when she stopped in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her steady.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed into her ear.

“Um, it’s fine,” she said, taking a step forward. “I believe that HR is right over here,” she said. He followed her into the office and was in awe of how she took over. She had them in and out of HR in no time flat, promising to return both of their paperwork to their department just as soon as they had finished with it. He had almost expected to be there for hours, not mere minutes.

“You are good,” he breathed. “You got us in and out of there fast.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” she said. “To make your life easier.”

“How about you let me take you to dinner tonight,” he asked. She had to admit, that Evan Kingston was a handsome man. He was someone that she could have fallen for just weeks ago—before she found out that she was pregnant, but now, she was going to have to consider her unborn child. He or she had to come first, and going out to dinner with her new boss, whom she found handsome, wasn’t a great idea.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that dating my boss is a good idea,” she said. “I appreciate your offer, though.”

“A date?” he asked. “I wasn’t asking you out on a date, Carrie. I thought it might be a good idea for the two of us to get to know each other better—you know, for work purposes.”

“Oh,” she breathed, feeling like a complete fool. “I see. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Listen, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I should have clarified when I asked you to dinner. Can we try again?” he asked.

“Um, sure,” she said.

“Great,” he breathed, “would you like to have a professional dinner with me, to get to know each other better as employee and boss?” he asked.

“I’d love to,” she breathed, “thank you for being so gracious, Evan.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “Thanks for giving me a second shot at asking. How about you pick that place and then, text me? Do you have your phone on you?” he asked. She pulled it from her pocket and handed it over to him. “You need to unlock it,” he said.

“Oh, sorry,” she took it back and put in her code, handing it back to him.

“I’m putting my number in here and saving it to your contacts. If you need me for anything, it’s the best way to reach me.”

“Got it, thank you,” she said.

“Text me where and when for dinner tonight, and I can either meet you there or pick you up, whichever you prefer.”

“I’ll meet you there,” she agreed. “That way, it won’t feel like a date.” He nodded and she felt somewhat relieved that she wouldn’t have him stopping by her place to pick her up. She was still unpacking, and it was a mess. Plus, she really didn’t need her new boss stopping by her home. That felt too personal, and the last thing she needed to be with her new boss, was personal.

Evan

Evan took the rest of the day to set up his office and sit and watch the training videos on the laptop that Luke had given to him. He knew that he didn’t have to watch all of them, but that was the only way he’d be able to handle his new position.

When he talked Alex and Rod into letting him come on as their new Business Manager, he never imagined that they would offer him a partnership. He loved the idea of being a part of their company, but it was still a risk.

His main responsibilities were going to be managing their many employees. He was going to spend most of his time going from floor to floor just talking to employees, and he was being paid a boatload of money to do that. When people asked what exactly his job was, he usually told them it was all about talking to people, but it was so much more. What he was really looking forward to was developing a software that would enable his partners to scout out new talent and new partnership opportunities. Alex and Rod had built a very special company, but he was going to help it to run just a bit more smoothly and bring it into the current century with upgrades to their software.He was ready to get started and excited about the possibilities of what he could offer McTavish Industries.

“You settling in okay?” Alex asked, poking his head into Evan’s office.

“I am,” he said. “I’m unpacked and I’m going through the training videos.”

“Ugh, they are the worst. You know, you really don’t have to do them,” Alex offered.

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