Page 3 of Heartstrings & Hijinks

How long had it been since I’d spoken out loud to anyone? Probably too long. I had been cooped up in the office for several hours. Had I even eaten lunch today?

“Is this Greg?” A woman’s voice came across the other line.

I didn’t quite know how to answer that. Technically, my name was Greg. I preferred Gregory. But if this was Evan’s phone, perhaps they were looking for his brother?

“This is Gregory Alton,” I said. “Why do you have Evan’s phone?”

“Oh, well, that’s complicated.” She let out an awkward laugh. “Umm.” Background noise filtered through the phone, loud music and lots of talking.

“Is Evan all right?”

“Sort of. He needs someone to pick him up.”

I knew through the grapevine that on Friday nights, Evan and his crew would go out to the bar for drinks after work. I had no idea how late they stayed out or how much they had to drink. It was none of my business.

It seemed awfully early to be so drunk that he couldn’t drive, and it didn’t seem like Evan’s style. And why would he call me?

“Ma’am, can you start at the beginning? Tell me plainly what has happened. Does Evan need a sober driver?”

“Sort of? Well, here’s the thing, Evan was a hero, really. His bravery is unmatched. He drank a drink that was spiked with a drug meant for me because my date is a scumbag, and, well, now Evan’s feeling the effects of the drug.”

Of all the things I’d expected her to say, that was not one of them. “What the fuck?!” I exclaimed. “I’ll be right there. Tell me where you are exactly.” Evan had been drugged?

“Oh, we’re at the Heist. It’s on—”

“I know where that is,” I said. I knew it well. I knew way too much about Evan and what he did. I knew that he frequented that bar and a little piano bar over on the south side. He and his friends spent their weekends enjoying karaoke, a pastime that I didn’t understand.

“I can be there in ten minutes. Does he need medical assistance? Should the police be called?”

“Oh, the police have already been here and arrested the scumbag, and Evan was cleared by an EMT to sleep it off.”

“Right. Okay.” Thank goodness. My breath whooshed from my lungs in relief, and the vice grip of emotions that had my stomach in knots loosened.

Evan always held an… interesting place in my heart. He was the fun-loving type of guy who everyone said hi to in the office. He organized potlucks, always made sure that everyone’s birthday was acknowledged, and he brought in donuts. A lot. So much so, that I worried he was going to put himself into financial trouble because he was buying gourmet donuts by the dozen and yet no one else pitched in.

Sending the email telling him to stop buying donuts hadn’t been the best plan. Pretty sure that didn’t paint me in the best light.

I grabbed my coat and left my laptop. I didn’t have time to wait for it to shut down, then I left. I called the front desk while the elevator took me down to the lower level and had them bring my car around. Thankfully, they worked quickly.

Evan sacrificing himself to help someone else, someone he didn’t even know, totally tracked. He was selfless like that. Couldn’t say that I condoned drinking an unknown substance, though. That part had been dangerous.

For years I have fought the attraction I had toward Evan. I had even tried—not very hard—to encourage Greg not to hire him. Evan’s skills were too good to pass up, though, and I vowed not to cross that line. Not only was he my best friend’s brother, but he was also an employee at my company. That made him doubly off limits. I could be in the same office with him and not act on my attraction. It wouldn’t be that hard.

But it would be lonely as hell.

Maybe that was why I turned into a cynical grump.

Within minutes, I was pulling into the parking lot of the Heist bar. This definitely wasn’t on my bingo card for Friday night, but it beat reading reports.

Now, what exactly kind of trouble did my Evan get into this evening?

Chapter 3

Evan

Things were getting more confusing by the minute. At one point, there was a policeman. I know because he was cute, but he had a wedding ring. He might have shined a flashlight in my eyes. Then, I swore there was an EMT. He got there quickly simply because the ambulance was nearby when the call came in, or so I thought someone said… It was getting hard to keep track. He also shined a flashlight in my eyes and took my pulse.

“I don’t wanna ride in an ambulance,” I had said. They assured me that sleeping it off would be fine. Or maybe that was wishfulthinking? I really could use a nap right then. I really wanted to close my eyes and settle into my dreams.

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