Addicted to Mr Parks (The Parks Series #2)(46)

“Why would you do that?” I hissed.

He smirked. “Men should be chivalrous to a woman.”

“But I’m not their woman,” I reminded him, and his reaction was heaven.

“Damn right you’re not.” He dipped down and kissed me good-bye as the lift came to my floor. “I miss you already,” he whispered as he walked me out of the lift before getting back into it himself.

I stood with my back to the closed lift door, bracing myself for the office. Bracing myself to face my work colleagues and Clarke.

Melisa glanced up from the reception desk as she heard my heels clipping down the corridor. She saw it was me and beamed. “Evey. It’s good to see you back.”

Fake bitch. No one really thought it was good to see me back. They hated me, didn’t they? But that didn’t bother me. What did bother me was how Clarke was going to act around me. In no way did I want our working relationship to become awkward. Clarke was one of the reasons I stayed at the law firm. He made my workday a breeze and seemed to genuinely care for me. If I’d jeopardised that in any way by simply acting the way I did, I’d never forgive myself.

Clarke glanced over his glasses when I sauntered through the door, and I sagged monumentally when he smiled instead of scowled.

Pushing to his feet, he opened his short arms wide. “Come here, my girl.”

I hesitated at first; of course I did. But I couldn’t decline a proposal of truce from Clarke. Stepping into him, I tapped his back lightly with one hand as he hugged me. I pulled back to look at him. “I know I’ve been a shit assistant, but I’ll get better, Clarke. If you’ll keep me.” I grinned.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else,” he confirmed, gesturing to my chair.

“Nice to see you back, Evey. It’s been boring without you.”

I lifted my eyes to see one of the closeted Johns blow a kiss to me after his comment, then I glanced over to Posh Pat. She nodded on a short smile, then put her head down to carry on typing.

Getting comfortable in my chair, I placed my bag under the desk and wiggled my mouse to start up the computer. “I’m surprised Carla let me stay.” Clarke’s brow arched, making me question his expression. “What?”

“Carla has been moved.”

“What? Why?”

He tucked his glasses into the collar of his shirt. “Mr. Parks can be very directive.”

My head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

Clarke’s expression quickly become sheepish. He pulled out a sheet of paper from a folder and began mindlessly studying it. “We had a delightful conversation about lifting your suspension. Although, it was extremely unlikely I would have kept you away from this office for long.”

“Delightful?” I scoffed, getting more intrigued by the second. I picked up a stray pen and pointed with it. “So why didn’t the word delightful match the way you said it?”

Clarke pulled at his blue patterned tie his wife had bought him. It was hideous. “Evey, would you like to be my new junior? You would make a great interrogator.”

I poked him in his shoulder with the tip of the pen. “Don’t change the subject, Mister.”

After a deep pause, he shifted his weight to face me. “Well, I accidentally—” he winked, “—informed Mr. Parks of the attack Carla dealt you in her office. Ghastly woman.”


Slowly it was all starting to make sense. “So Parks got rid of her?”

Clarke nodded. “You should have heard him, he was murderous. But no, he shipped her off to another area of the building.” He laughed at my expression as I slumped into my chair on a sigh. “Aren’t you happy about that, my girl?”

“Yes, but who do I wind up now?”

Clarke mischievously glanced over to Pat. “I can think of a few people.” After that, he informed me the board were going to employ another manager for the office and pronto. It was bound to be another woman if Parks had anything to do with. I’m sure he didn’t want another “Dwayne situation” on his hands.

As I listened to him and absorbed the fact that Carla would never be able to piss me off again due to the actions of Parks, I suddenly felt like I was wrapped up in a bubble. I breezed through my work and impressed Clarke even more.

At half past five, it was almost time to leave, so I briefed Clarke for the next day, reading from his diary. “Right, you have a meeting with a client in the morning, Mrs. Hampshire and her son. You also have an appeal to look over tonight. Make some alterations, and I will type it up and get it sent out by tomorrow. I have also booked a table for two at Bumpkin tomorrow night for yourself and your wife.” He looked clueless at that part, so I reminded him on a song. “It’s your anniversary.” There was no way in hell I would have remembered that off my own back, so thank God for my diary and my cleansed mind.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Evey.”

Before I could exit, the phone on my desk started ringing. Clarke told me to leave it, but I got it anyway and picked up the receiver. “Parks Law Firm, Evelyn Banks speaking, how may I help you?”

“Trevor will be out soon. I’m counting down the seconds, Evey. Tick-tock.” The stone-cold voice rang in my eardrums. I stilled, and even after Gabe had hung up, I kept the receiver to my ear, unable to move.