Cake Love: All Things Payne(36)

Evaleen sneered as she said the final words. I shook my head. "No, that's simply not true." I may be mad at Henrik, but I am not going along with a lie, especially if it paints him as a slimy boss.

"I know Drake. You understand my feelings for Payne are very much the opposite of your feelings for him, but even I was telling him not to do that. I actually..." Evaleen put the back of her hand on her forehead and for a moment I thought she was about to faint, she took a deep breath and leaned against the bare walls for support. "I told Mr. Jacob Mimir that Payne has been...oh God...wow, this is harder than I thought. I am actually having a harder time telling you than I did Mr. Mimir."

I grab her arms and give her a slight shake. "What? What did you tell him?"

"Hey, watch it Drake. Don't make me regret this. Look, I told Mr. Mimir that I knew for a fact that what Payne was saying wasn't true. That he was a good...ugh...good boss." She visibly shuttered and dry heaved after saying it.

I stood there staring at Evaleen with my mouth wide open. I'm in shock that Evaleen would stick up for Henrik, and that Henrik would say any of this to the Mimir brothers to begin with. Why would he lie about that? Why would he lie about forcing me to have sex with him? I don't understand any of this. Evaleen can tell I am lost, so she wraps her arm around my shoulder as she guides me out of Henrik’s old office and toward hers.

"I know this is a lot to take in. That's why I have been trying to call you. I even tried to get a hold of Dixon, but she was with some guy and didn't know where you were."

"Oh, yeah. I went to my favorite bakery, Got Cake. It's one of those all night bakeries." I can hear the defeat in my voice.

Evaleen sits me at her desk as she heads over to her side and starts digging through drawers.

"But I still don't understand how I am signing paperwork for the program?" I look at her, still in a daze.

"Reluctantly, Mr. Mimir fired Payne, but not before Payne tried to claim your idea about the small distributors overseas to solve our problem there. I guess he thought he could keep his job if he solved the company's problem. Of course, he didn't count on you having told me about it Monday night. That's when things got ugly." Evaleen's lips curl as she rubs her hands together in a devilish manner.

"That mother f*cker! I can't believe he tried to steal my idea. I trusted him. Here I thought I was the * in all this, wanting to break up to salvage our jobs. God, I am a fool."

I sit back in the chair and sigh. How could he do this? That’s not like Henrik at all. He may be an * but he would never steal an idea to save himself or steal an idea in general. Maybe I don’t know him like I thought. We have only known each other for five months. With all he has confessed to me in London, how I witnessed him laugh more, and the way he touched me, I felt more connected with Henrik than all my years together with Trevor Trance.

Evaleen walks over with papers in her hands. She rubs my back while shoving the paperwork in my lap.

"It's all over Drake. You never have to see that Payne in the Ass again. More importantly, I never have to see him again either. Now, you can sit back, relax, fill out some HR paperwork, and get packed for your six weeks in New York."

My eyes widen as I stare up at her.

"New York?" I gasp.

"Yeah, that's where the program takes place. It used to be here, but Mimir opened the New York office a few years ago and thought it would be better suited there."

Evaleen gets up and walks over to a filing cabinet. She opens up a drawer and removes several large manuals. Returning, she plops them in my lap, causing me to groan.

"Take this home, fill it out, and read up on everything. Have the paperwork back by tomorrow so I can arrange the flight for Saturday. You will have your own apartment that you will be sharing with another EDPS for six weeks."

My head is spinning from all the information. I am thankful that I have thirty pounds of books in my lap holding me in place or I would have face planted the floor by now.





Chapter 2

Morgana's Problem: Her Move

"You are dying aren't you? Oh God, my baby girl is leaving us. I knew this would happen one day, I just thought I would be gone before you. Why God? You are so young. And look at your figure! What man is going to want to squeeze your ample breasts when you’re dead? Perverts that’s who! You are only going to attract perverts now Morgana! My baby girl doomed to be groped by perverts," Mom wails as her arms wrap around my head at the dinner table.

I can barely breathe let alone see, as I hear gasps and a few “no's” being thrown around the small dining room. Pushing my mom's arms away from me and catching my breath, I see my father's strong lip start to tremble. His eyes become glassy as he mouths the words, 'I love you,' from the other side of the table. My brother is actually sobbing with his head in his hands, while his 'girlfriend of the month' with her short brown tight curls looks around the room petrified.

I turn to Aria who is shaking her head violently, as Grandma has a tear rolling from her eye. I have never seen Grandma cry, not even at Grandpa's funeral. This whole scene is shocking and completely inappropriate. Leave it to my mom to jump to the worst conclusion and be overly dramatic about it.

"Mom, why on earth do you think I am dying?"

"You gathered all of us here and it isn't anyone's birthday, so I just assumed. Wait...are you pregnant? Oh my God! You are pregnant! I am going to be a grandmother! Who's the father? Oh, it doesn't matter, we can raise the child together. I will support you Morgana."