Page 30 of Theirs to Take

“Because you look angry,” Nova said.

“Oh, I’m just exhausted,” Evie covered. “I think that I’m coming down with one of my migraines,” she lied. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to find Rod and let him know that I’m going to head home a little early.” She stood and gathered her things, not waiting for Nova to answer her.

Nova pulled her in for a quick hug, “Feel better,” she said. “I’ll call you later to check on how you’re doing.”

“Thanks,” Evie said. She knew exactly how she’d be doing though—she’d still be pissed at her new boss for putting her in this position, and she had a feeling that nothing would change that—well, except maybe a break-up.

Nova searched most of the top floor for Rod and finally found him in the employee breakroom having a coffee. She plopped down next to him on the sofa and sighed. “What’s up?” he asked her.

“I didn’t picture you as a break room kind of guy, Rod,” she said. “I’ve looked everywhere for you.”

“Well, you found me,” he said. “So, what’s up?”

“I’m leaving early,” she said. “I have a headache.”

“Do you need for me to drive you back to your place?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “I just need to get out of here before Nova finds me again and asks me questions that I can only answer by lying to her.”

“Shit,” Rod growled. “What happened?”

“My best friend is so happy for us, she had to let me know. How do I respond to her questions? How do I look her dead in the eyes and lie to her? I hate the position that you put me in, Rod,” she insisted.

“Hey, I didn’t come up with the plan for the two of us to go on a blind date together. That was all Nova’s doing. She’s the one who pushed us together and honestly, if we have to lie to her to keep the peace around here, I say that falls on her shoulders, not mine.” A part of her knew that Rod was right, it still sucked that she had to lie to Nova, and blaming him was easy since he was the one who came up with the plan.

“I just don’t think that I can stick with plan A anymore,” she said. “What’s plan B?” she asked.

“Hell, Evie,” he said, “I don’t have a plan B. I barely had a plan A. I’m winging it here,” he said.

“Great, so we’re both screwed,” she mumbled.

“How about you go out to dinner with me and we can talk about all of this—maybe even come up with a new plan,” he offered.

“No,” she quickly said. “Going out to dinner with you is how we ended up here in the first place. Besides, I already have dinner plans,” she said. She had planned to have dinner with one of her old college friends tonight. Evie was supposed to meet Tyler at six at the same place she and Rod had dinner, and she had to admit, she was looking forward to seeing him.

“You have a date?” he asked.

She wouldn’t call it a date, but there was no way she’d let Rod off the hook that easily. She liked the way her “date” made him squirm a bit. “Yes,” she lied. “I have a date.”

“Well, you rebounded quickly from your whole stance on dating,” he accused.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“It means, that when you and I went out just three days ago, you told me that you weren’t interested in dating. It was the one thing we had in common,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say it like that,” she said. “We had other things in common, Rod.”

“Not the point, honey,” he said. “You said that you didn’t want to date because you were going to concentrate on your job search,” he reminded. She did say that.

“Sure, but now I have a job,” she said. “So, problem solved, and I have a date,” she lied again.

Rod stood and took his coffee mug over to the sink, rinsed it out, and put it into the dishwasher. “Doesn’t matter to me, really,” he lied. She could tell that her having a date was pissing him off, for some reason, and she took some sick satisfaction in knowing that. “I’m just saying that you move fast for a woman who didn’t want a date just days ago.”

Evie stood, “While I’d love to stick around and discuss how fast I am with you, Rod, I do have to get home. I’ll need to take some medication for my intensifying headache, and then get ready for my date. I’ll see you in the morning,” she said. She walked out of the breakroom before he could say anything else to her. She knew that Rod would argue with her until she confessed that her dinner plans weren’t a date, and that was the last thing that she wanted to do. Let him believe what he wanted to about her—she really didn’t care anymore.

Tyler met Evie at the restaurant, and she had to admit—seeing his smiling face standing at the front entrance was a welcome sight. “Hey, you,” he said, pulling her in for a hug.

“I’ve missed your hugs,” she breathed against his neck. “You smell good too.”

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