Honor

Chapter 37

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

E vie

“How was your weekend?” Cleo strolls into the private washroom attached to my boss’s office.

“Fine.” I shoot her a glance and a smile as I check my hair in the mirror above the sink.

The wind was calm on my way to work today, so my straightened hair looks just as fabulous now as when I left my apartment.

“Someone seems extra happy,” she comments before she steps a few feet closer to me to adjust the white collar of my red and blue polka dot dress. “This is cute as can be, Evie.”

I pinch my fingers over the fabric on the skirt of the dress and move it slightly so it swings back and forth. “I think so, too. I went shopping yesterday and indulged in this.”

I don’t bother to add that the shopping took place at Past Over. It’s my favorite vintage shop. I stepped inside yesterday afternoon on my way home from lunch with Reid. I instantly spotted a rack of ‘ gently worn dresses’ that were all a great price. Since I couldn’t decide between three, I bought them all. It was money well spent.

She looks me over. “The shoes are new, too, right?”

They’re not. I lugged them to New York with me when I moved here. They’ve spent most of the time since then in my closet. They’re red patent leather, so they look great with the dress. Judging by the approving grin on Cleo’s face, she agrees.

“Old,” I say with a sigh. “They’re timeless, though.”

“What’s timeless?” The deep voice asking that question catches us both by surprise.

Cleo’s smile disappears as her gaze catches mine. She doesn’t need to say a word because the panicked expression on her face says it all. I’ve never been in this washroom when my boss has arrived at work.

“Good morning, Reid,” I say to add to the shock value.

It works. Her eyes practically bug out of her head, and this time, she doesn’t stay silent. “Reid?”

“That’s my name.”

She spins to face my boss. Since I’m still standing directly in front of the sink, I have to take a few steps to the right to land in his line of sight.

Once I do, his gaze trails over me, but unlike Cleo, he lingers when his eyes reach mine.

“Why is she calling you that?” she questions him. “Evie has always called you Mr. Hunt.”

I bite the corner of my bottom lip to keep a smile at bay.

“And now she’s calling me Reid,” he answers succinctly. “You have a meeting in five minutes, Cleo.”

“Do I?” she asks before she glances at the watch on her wrist. “Oh, shit. I do.”

She inches around him and tosses me back a wave. “I’ll let you know if I’m free for lunch. Maybe we can meet up for a sandwich or something.”

“Evie has lunch plans,” my boss says, surprising both Cleo and me.

Even though I know she’s in a mad rush, she stops to question him. “Why are you calling her Evie? Something big happened, didn’t it? Or I’ve fallen into an alternate reality where you aren’t a…”

Her voice trails, but Reid picks up her sentence right where she left off. “Hard-ass?”

Her head shakes from side to side, but the smile on her face is too broad to hide. “You said it, not me.”

“I am a hard-ass,” he admits. “Especially when one of our top investment analysts is on track to be late to a very important meeting.”

“Double shit,” she mutters. “I’m out of here, but I want to know more about what’s changed between you two.”

“That’s none of your business,” he informs her as he shoots her a look. “Go now, Cleo.”

She takes his advice. Even though she’s wearing four inch heels, she sprints to his office door before disappearing out of sight.

“She’s going to keep asking me why you’re calling me Evie and why I’m calling you Reid.”

Mr. Hunt glances at me. “She won’t.”

He may think he knows his employees, but he doesn’t. Cleo won’t drop this, and I, for one, don’t see the big deal in telling her that Reid and I are in the same wedding party. Knowing Cleo as well as I do, I suspect she’ll ask me if she can tag along as my plus one since she adores weddings.

“She will,” I argue playfully as I set off toward my desk.

“Cleo’s about to be bumped up to a senior position within her department.”

Shocked by that news, I don’t try to hide the surprise in my expression. “What?”

“We made the decision a week ago.” He skims a palm over the lapel of his gray suit jacket. “Baden and I couldn’t reach an agreement on salary terms, but we did last night over dinner, so he’ll deliver the good news to her this afternoon.”

“She’ll be thrilled,” I whisper.

“She’ll be more than thrilled when she sees the terms we’re offering her,” he says. “They’re a step up from what she has now.”

“A step up from having a ride back and forth to work?” I laugh softly. “What could that possibly be? A private helicopter that lands on the roof of this building to drop her off each morning and pick her up after work every day?”

His gaze latches on mine. “No helicopter, I’m afraid, but I think she’ll be happy when she reads our proposal.”

“I know she will be.” I nod. “Cleo does good work for the company. She deserves everything you’re offering.”

He walks toward me with even steps. “Is that regret I hear? Do you wish you would have negotiated a ride back and forth to work?”

I wish I had asked for a higher yearly salary, another week of paid vacation, and a lunch allowance, but live and learn.

I shrug. “Regrets are a waste of emotion, sir.”

“Reid,” he corrects me. “It’s Reid, remember?”

“How could I forget?” I whisper as he steps to within inches of me.

“Your contract comes due in a few months,” he reminds me. “We can revisit its terms then.”

This is when I tell him that won’t be necessary since I plan on leaving Vidori once my two year contract expires.

I sort through those words in my head so I can say them in a way that doesn’t offend him, but before I can do that, the phone on my desk starts ringing.

I spring into action and start racing toward it. Once I’m there, I pick it up without hesitation. “Good morning. Mr. Hunt’s office. How may I help you?”

As a potential client tells me about their need to change their meeting with my boss from today to tomorrow, I glance over my shoulder to find him staring at me.

We lock eyes, and when I finally drop my gaze to his lips to find a soft smile, I turn away.

He’s way too brutally handsome for his own good or mine.

I refuse to lose sight of my big picture plans.

I can’t build the career I want at his company. I can’t let his smile sway me to give up my dreams, and I definitely can’t fall for him.