Page 49 of Theirs to Take

“You’re right,” Evie agreed. “I shouldn’t have, but Rod asked me to give him some time and well, I like him—I really like him.”

“Why did he ask you to lie for him?” Nova questioned.

“Because he didn’t want you to hound him about dating me—neither of us did.” Evie watched as Rod stepped free from the elevator and looked her over through the glass wall that lined Nova’s office. She tried to paste on her best, “I’m all right” face, but she worried that she was failing miserably at it. He seemed to buy it enough to keep on going into his office and she breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was him getting in on this conversation. Nova would have plenty to say to him separately, but Evie just wanted to get her part over with.

“I can’t believe you let him tell me that you two were together when you weren’t. I can’t believe you took his side,” Nova scolded.

“I told you, I like him. I guess I just lost my mind a little,” Evie said.

“How does he feel about you?” Nova asked.

“Um, I think he feels the same way about me,” Evie said. “We’ve only been together, officially, for a few days. We really haven’t discussed feelings yet.”

“Have you thought about the fact that he could be using you? What if he’s with you to keep me off of his back still?” Nova asked.

“That’s not fair,” Evie insisted. “He wouldn’t do that to me. He knows about my track history with men. I told him that I was a virgin, and he didn’t run away,” Evie whispered.

“Let me guess, he’s taken care of that for you, right?” Nova said. Evie didn’t like the way Nova was accusing Rod of wrongdoing.

“That’s none of your business, Nova,” Evie spat. “What’s happening between Rod and me is my business,” Evie said.

“I’m just saying if he was willing to lie to me, and I’m technically his family, then he’ll lie to you too. I just want you to be careful, Evie,” Nova insisted.

“I can take care of myself,” Evie breathed. “Listen, I’m sorry that I lied to you. I’ll apologize for my part, but I won’t sit here and let you tell me that I’m not important to Rod. He’s given me no reason to not trust him.”

“Sure, because asking you to lie to your best friend seems trustworthy,” Nova countered.

“I know that you’re hurt right now, so I’m going to give you a pass, but this conversation is over,” Evie said. She stood and walked out of Nova’s office, keeping her tears at bay. The thought of going to her office, where Rod or Nova could follow her, wasn’t a pleasant one. Instead, she headed to the elevators and took them down to the lobby. She needed some air, some time to think, and she couldn’t do that up in her office.

As soon as she got outside, she called for an Uber and was picked up minutes later, before anyone even knew she wasmissing. They pulled out onto the highway and her cell phone rang. It was Rod and she debated if she wanted to answer it or not.

“What?” she answered her cell.

“What the hell is going on, Evie?” Rod asked. “Why did you leave?”

“Nova knows,” she said. “Either Alex or Tyler told her after we left, but she knows that we lied to her. She said that you’re only with me because you’re still trying to keep her off of your back. She said that you’re using me.”

“Baby—that’s just not true,” Rod insisted. “Let me come get you and we can talk this out.”

“No,” she spat. “I just need some time. I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the day. I need to think about this and get my mind straight, please give me the time to do that, Rod.”

“You can’t be serious,” he said. “I’d never use you, honey,” he assured.

“I can’t talk about this right now; I’ll call you later when I have my head on straight.” She ended the call and tossed her cell back into her purse, letting the sob that had bubbled up from her chest out. Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life by walking away from Rod? She knew that she might be foolish for believing Nova, but a part of her was thinking that her best friend might be onto something. Rod and she shouldn’t have been together, but they were, and it felt right to her. Had he coaxed her into his bed just to make his lies the truth? Was he covering his ass with his family and using her to do it?

“Where to, Miss?” the driver asked. That was a good question. She couldn’t go home. She told him to go to the only hotel she knew of in town, and he said that he knew the place. She’d spend a few nights there cleaning her head, and then, she’d figure out what to do next.

Evie pulled her cell back out of her purse and called Nova, her call going right to voicemail. “I know I don’t have the right to ask you for a favor, but I can’t go home. I need some time to think about what you said. I need to know that you’re not right about Rod and that he’s not using me. Can you stop by my place and pack some things for me? I’m staying at the hotel down on Main Street. Please, don’t tell Rod where I am, he’s already called me, and I told him that I just need some time. I’m sorry, Nova,” she whispered into the phone and ended the call. She was sorry too. Never in a million years did she ever see herself lying to her best friend, and now she was going to pay a heavy price.

Rodrick

Rod was determined to find Evie. It had been almost a week since she took off from the office. He hated that she told him that she just needed space. He didn’t want to give her space, he wanted to know what the hell was going on—why she suddenly believed what Nova had said about him using her. How could she believe that about him?

He had looked everywhere for her. Every day, he waited for her to come into the office, and she never showed up. She had called HR and told them that she was taking some personal time but didn’t give them a date that she’d be back. He was going nuts and he had a feeling that the only two people who knew where Evie was were his brother and Nova. He was done trying to figure this all out and marched into Alex’s office.

“Just tell me where she is, Alex,” he begged. Since she came clean and told Nova about their little ruse of faking a relationship and lying to her, she had disappeared. He knew that it had everything to do with Nova and their conversation, but neither she nor Alex was telling him where he could find Evie.He was done letting them lie to him. Rod had suffered enough, and he was going to demand answers.

“I promised my wife that I wouldn’t tell you where Evie is,” he said.

---