“You think I like this?” Evelyn shot. How dare Maggie accuse her of putting this on herself?
“Yes, I do. You have done the Christmas period many,manytimes. You have overseen budget reports and meetings. All that shit you’ve done for years. Yet now those three lettersare attached to your name, you’ve become work obsessed. And before you try to argue: don’t!”
Evelyn was stunned into silence.
“When was the last time you took a weekend off? Or finished work before midnight? Gone out for drinks with your friends? Friends, I might add, that sorely miss you. Before you became ‘Evelyn Crawford CEO,’ you had a good balance between work and home. Now? Nothing, you’re making yourself ill, working every god given hour.”
“Maggie, I haven’t got my dad to fall back on this time. The buck stops with me. That’s what comes with having those three letters attached to my name.”
“Three letters you never wanted,” Maggie shouted. And there it was, the thing Evelyn hadn’t voiced in months: the truth.
Before Richard decided to go on an extended trip with the floozy, Evelyn was contemplating resigning from the family company. Maggie was her confidante and knew that for a few years, Evelyn had become steadily more unhappy in her job.
The thing that always held her back was her loyalty, which increased tenfold after her mother passed away. The thought of abandoning her dad and the company her mother had created felt too much. Her mum and dad had worked hard to provide her with a stable income, a family legacy.
For the most part, Evelyn loved working at Crawford’s Pet Supplies, but as she got older, she felt the need to branch out. Try something she had to work for without having her parents there to hold her hand. Because that’s how it felt. Even though Evelyn worked harder than most people, she still felt the unease of having a company practically handed to her. A career path laid out since she was a toddler.
“I couldn’t just leave, Mags.”
“Why the hell not? Your dad should have checked in with you before saddling you with his company.”
“It was my mum’s company too!” Evelyn shouted.
“But your mum isn’t here, Evelyn. I’m sorry, honey. I’m not trying to piss you off or hurt you. Hell, you’re doing a good job of that yourself. But be honest with yourself. Would your mum want to see you this stressed out, tired and on the verge of collapse?”
“It’s just until after Christmas,” Evelyn tried to reason. Was she reasoning with Maggie or herself, though? Why was she clinging so tightly to a company she didn’t really want to be a part of anymore? The answer was simple…that’s what she was used to doing. If she let go of Crawford’s, what would she have? No girlfriend, no other career options. Evelyn would have nothing, and that wasn’t acceptable.
“You won’t get all the things you want in life, Evie, if all you have is this office,” Maggie said, as if reading her thoughts.
“How did this turn into a beat on Evelyn conversation, hm?”
“Okay, you don’t want to hear it. Call your dad, ask why we have a bunch of dogs running around, and then apologise to that woman. She didn’t deserve the way you spoke to her.”
“Maggie…” Evelyn began, because she hated hearing the dejection in her friend’s voice.
“No, Evelyn, I’m done trying to convince you to look after yourself. I’ll see you later. I have some files to get to.”
Evelyn huffed out a breath. Today sucked. Like, really,reallysucked. With the budget meeting looming over her, Evelyn pulled open her bottom drawer and grabbed two chocolate bars. Ideally, she would like to have a shot of something strong, but she wasn’t quite at the drinking at work stage yet.
“I love you,” she mumbled to her Double Decker.
With an entire day’s worth of calories consumed, Evelyn picked up her mobile. It was over two months since her dad left,and she’d only received one message from the man. Well, now she needed him to pick up and explain who and why this sexy Ms Fox was in the building.
“Ms Fox,” she said to no one. Hearing the name roll off her tongue sent shivers down her spine. Evelyn could imagine playing a few naughty games with that woman. Pulling herself back to the present, Evelyn hit the call button. Straight to voicemail. Great. Instead of calling again, she sent a message asking her dad to call ASAP.
The office felt too big and way too quiet. Maggie’s words bounced around her brain as she sat in silence. What could she do, though? Even if shewantedto look into a different career path for herself, Richard had put pay to that by leaving.
Outside, Evelyn could hear her colleagues returning from their lunch. That meant the day had to go on. Whether or not Maggie agreed, there was still a lot to get done. The damn budget meeting for a start. Taking some meditative breaths, Evelyn readied herself for the afternoon ahead.
“Well, that went down like a bag of crap,” Evelyn muttered as she sat behind her desk after a gruelling two hours in the conference room. All the managers were angry because they didn’t get the money they requested. It was a no-win situation, and Evelyn was glad it was over. Budget meetings were Satan’s playground.
A sharp rap on the door nearly caused Evelyn to catapult her coffee across the room. Maybe more caffeine wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Come in,” she called, secretly praying it wasn’t someone else who wanted to shout at her. The door opened slowly, and Evelyn audibly gasped when she locked eyes with Ms Fox.
“Don’t worry, I’m not here for round two,” the gorgeous woman chuckled. “I came to apologise.”
Evelyn stared at Ms Fox, unable to form a sentence. Maggie called her a fine piece of ass—crude, but not wrong. Evelyn, however, would call her exquisitely beautiful. Ms Fox had thick, dark hair, which she had bundled into a ponytail. Though her hair looked as if it could burst its restraints at any moment. Evelyn could imagine Ms Fox’s hair hanging down in luscious locks around the woman’s shoulders. There must be some Italian in her lineage. Not only was her hair fantastic, but her skin, face, body, hell, you name it, Ms Fox had it. Even in worn jeans and a flannel shirt, she was delectable. Last but in no way least were Ms Fox’s eyes. Not brown, but almost golden. In a word, she was breathtaking.
