Page 68 of Naughty Heart

“Is… is everything okay?” I asked, my voice strained.

Malcolm linked his fingers through mine, making me tense. I tried to pull them away, but Malcolm wouldn’t let me go. He led me to the oversized chair on the opposite side of where his parents were seated and urged me to sit down with him. I did, but kept my body on the very edge of the cushion.

Swallowing hard, I asked, “What’s going on?”

Oh, God. What if they were going to fire me?

Mr. Westwood was the first to speak. “Evelyn, Wendy and I stopped in this morning to speak with Malcolm. He’s told us that you’re aware of the situation and the ultimatum we gave him prior to you starting here.”

I nodded to confirm this was all true.

“Ever since you started working for my son, there’s been a tremendous change in what’s happening here. Not only is Malcolm a completely different man, but the members of the staff have had wonderful things to say as well.”

“I’m glad,” I replied. “It’s been an amazing experience to work for this company, and I truly love this job.”

“Oh, then I hope you’re not going to be too upset about this,” Mrs. Westwood chimed in.

There it was.

That was my confirmation they were going to fire me.

My throat was tight, feeling as though a boulder had lodged itself inside of it.

A moment later, Malcolm’s hand came to rest on my thigh, just above my knee. Until he’d done that, I hadn’t realized I’d started to bounce my leg nervously. Of course, I was also mortified that he now had his hand on me in front of his parents.

“We’ve decided we’re very happy with how things have changed around here, and we’re planning to start the process of Malcolm’s transition after we all return to work in the new year,” Mr. Westwood revealed.

Relief swept through me. “Oh, that’s wonderful,” I declared. I glanced back at Malcolm, smiling, and said, “Congratulations.”

He smiled back at me.

That’s when it hit me. Mrs. Westwood had been concerned I would be upset about the news. The only reason that could have been the case would have been because things were going to change.

“I understand now,” I murmured. “There’s no longer a place for me, as Malcolm’s personal assistant in his new position, is there?”

“It’s not that, Evelyn. It’s just that Malcolm proposed an idea to us, and we wanted to discuss it with you.”

My brows pulled together. “What is it?”

“Over the next year, as we work through the process of having my son take over his father’s position within this company, we wanted to see if you’d be interested in training to take over for Malcolm.”

My body froze, my eyes widening in shock. “What?”

For the first time since I entered the room, Malcolm spoke. “You have incredible ideas on how to make this place a place the employees want to be. I told my parents that I think you would be the best person to fill my shoes, and based on everything they’ve already heard, they agree.”

I looked back and forth in stunned silence between Malcolm and his parents for a long time. “You… do you really mean that? You want me to become the Vice President?”

Mr. Westwood was the first to respond. “My son has informed me that you two have become something more than just boss and employee. He’s told us that you’re the girl for him. This is a family business, Evelyn, so we can’t think of anyone better to step into that role than you. You’ve got a year before it’ll all be official, but we’d love for you to take over for him.”

He told his parents I was the girl for him.

Tears filled my eyes.

I didn’t want to be crying in the middle of a meeting with all of them, but I couldn’t help it.

“This has been the best Christmas of my life,” I cried, burying my face in my hands.

Malcolm wrapped his arms around me as his mom said, “Well, we’d like to think it’s going to get even better. Malcolm, will you tell her?”