Page 43 of Naughty Heart

Eighty-nine dollars.

It was more money than I should have considered spending, but I believed it was worth it.

Besides, Malcolm had just spent several hundred dollars on a gown, shoes, lunch, and cosmetics for me just two days ago.

The laugh I believed we’d both get from this would be worth every penny I couldn’t afford to spend.

So, I made my way to the register and asked about the nutcracker. Since I was taking the bus and there wasn’t a chance I could carry the nutcracker on with me, given its size, I needed to ask about shipping. Plus, I figured it would be funnier for the large wooden man to be delivered directly to Malcolm.

Nothing made me happier than to get confirmation the nutcracker could be shipped to Westwood’s. I hadn’t slapped my credit card down for an unnecessary purchase so fast in my life.

Following the impromptu stop at the store, I hurried to the bus stop, only to realize I’d just missed the bus that would take me back to Westwood’s by ten minutes. Since the bus ran every hour, I’d have no choice but to wait the remaining fifty minutes until the next bus came.

As I sat there, I started to regret my purchase. Though I believed it was going to give us both a laugh, I was now stuck here waiting for a bus because I’d decided to purchase something unnecessary instead of heading back to work immediately. I should have saved the money for my car repair.

Ugh.

Since it was too cold to wait outside for that long, I walked ten minutes down the block toward the coffee shop where I originally met Malcolm. I figured I’d sit here for twenty minutes to stay warm and head back to the bus stop with ten minutes to spare.

So, that’s what I did.

And when it was time, I made my way back to the bus stop.

It was more than an hour later than I had anticipated returning to work, so the moment I stepped off the elevator, I wanted to go right to Malcolm’s office to explain what happened. I hadn’t been very keen on sharing the truth about my transportation situation with him, but if he thought I was screwing around on company time, it was best to just be up front with him.

But right when I was about to step inside his office, I came to an abrupt halt. Malcolm was there, but he was still having a meeting with his father. And while I could have quickly interrupted, let him know I’d returned, and excuse myself until they were finished, I stood frozen to the spot.

Because Larry Westwood had said something that made it so.

“Hiring Evelyn really has made all the difference here for you,” he told Malcolm.

My heart had swelled to hear such wonderful praise. And given I’d felt as though I’d neglected work this week between the trip to find a gown with Mina and the effort I’d put into decorating, I was glad that Malcolm’s father had believed I was doing a great job.

“Yeah,” Malcolm agreed.

I was slightly disappointed he hadn’t said much of anything else. He was generally very talkative whenever the two of us were alone, so I found it odd that he hadn’t said anything else in response to his father’s words.

Feeling bad about eavesdropping, I was just about to walk away when Larry said, “I’ve got to be honest, son. When your mom and I stopped at your house that morning roughly two weeks ago and told you that you weren’t going to take over the company if things didn’t change by the Christmas party, I had little faith you were going to turn things around.”

“It was certainly the wake-up call I needed. I realized I had to do whatever it took to get you to realize how important it is for me to follow in your footsteps and run this company.”

He would do whatever it took?

My belly twisted.

“When we realized you hired your first personal assistant, and it was Evelyn, it was even harder not to think you just didn’t want to let go of your old lifestyle of being surrounded by beautiful women all the time,” Mr. Westwood added.

I felt sick.

Was this for real? Had it all been just a game for him?

All this time, I’d believed I was working for a man who wanted to improve the company, who valued my opinion.

He had only hired me so he could take over the company. Nothing about this was real. No wonder he hadn’t really said much in response to his father when Larry had been praising me.

From the very start, I knew that Malcolm was a guy who was confident and made people feel at ease. I saw it when I joined him at that first meeting, and yet, I hadn’t realized he’d used that ability on me, simply to fool his parents into believing he had turned himself around.

All the tension and chemistry I thought I felt between us was made up.