Leo's Chance(24)

CHAPTER 13


I wake up the next morning and grimace at the memory of the night before. Sitting through dinner was torture. Every time the door to the kitchen swung open, my heart leaped into my throat. But I never saw Evie again. I gave the mint to her blond friend, who I was pretty sure was gay, after watching him swish his hips through the room. Straight men don’t walk that way. He had looked at me dubiously when I handed him the mint for Evie, but he stuck it in his pocket anyway and walked back to the kitchen.

After dinner, I had written a check, bid on a few items up for auction, and then I had retrieved my car and headed home. I wrestled with myself over calling Evie, but I knew she probably didn’t get off work until late and that the last thing she probably wanted to deal with was me. Shit. I could barely sleep, but I had to put her first and leave this until morning, even though every instinct in me was screaming to drive over to her apartment and explain myself. I started writing her a text message but after sitting there for a good five minutes not knowing what to say that would come across in the right way, I threw my phone on my bedside table and collapsed back on my bed.

I shower and get dressed, and then head over to Evie’s apartment. I’m all worked up with the need to explain to her what the night before was about. I need to make this right if I’m going to be able to keep sane today. I ring her apartment from the front door buzzer and when there’s no answer, I take out my phone, look up the Hilton’s phone number and dial as I pace in front of her apartment. When I get through to the housekeeping manager, I tell him that I’m supposed to pick Evie Cruise up today but forgot the time she told me to be there. With no questioning whatsoever, he tells me what time she gets off work. That pisses me off slightly, even though I got the information I wanted.

Even though it’s Saturday, I have a couple morning meetings scheduled with Preston and then the head engineers. We’re up against a couple testing deadlines and so the team has agreed to sacrifice a couple weekends in order to meet them. As much as I’d like to obsess about Evie, I have to put my corporate hat on and be present for work. I owe it to all the people working extra hours for me. I finish up the first round of meetings just in time to catch Evie getting off work.

I drive quickly downtown and pull up near the bus stop that I know Evie takes, and park illegally as I wait for her to come around the corner. I don’t feel nervous, just determined. I’m going to make her understand what last night was about. There’s no other option. There is no way in hell that Gwen, of all people, is going to come in the way of what I had started to re-build with Evie. Un-f*cking-thinkable.

After ten minutes or so, I see Evie appear around the corner of the hotel. Thankfully there’s no one behind me as I pull up slowly next to her as she walks down the block. She looks over at me and I lean over the seat and smile. "Want a ride little girl?" I tease, trying to coax a smile from her, too. No go. She looks over at me as if I’m a fly that just landed on her dinner. Great. That’s okay – I’m willing to work for this.

"Funny. No, Jake. I'm good with the bus." She keeps walking.

"Evie, we need to talk," I say seriously, but she doesn’t even look back my way and instead keeps walking.

"No, Jake, we don't," she says.

Fuck me, there are cars parked along the street from this point forward so I pull to the side and get out of my car. I would leave my car in the middle of the street if I had to.

As I jog up to her, she sits down on one of the empty bus stop bench seats and cranes her neck to see if the bus is coming. Oh hell no, I will jump on that bus with her.

Because there are people milling around in front of her, I stand behind her and slightly to the left as I say, "Listen, Evie, last night was not what you think it was."

"Jake," she interrupts, "It's been a long day. I'm really asking you to just leave this, okay? You should have told me you have a girlfriend. You didn't. It's done. Walk away." Then she turns away from me. I can feel my blood start to boil, not because I blame Evie for her anger, but because it’s f*cking Gwen who is between us right now. It’s too ludicrous for words. I clench my jaw.

"Gwen is not my girlfriend, Evie. I hope you'd think more of me than that after the time we've spent together."

"Jake, again, walk away."

"I'm not gonna do that, Evie," I say. No way in hell.

I see her heave a big impatient breath and purse those beautiful lips of hers. She’s pissed. She stands up and gets right in my face, eyes narrowed. "Clue in, Jake. You don't know me. You think you do, but you don't. You think you know what type of person I am, but you have no idea. And so, you don't get to do this. You don't get to interrupt my life over and over again and then think that I will be grateful to you for gracing my life with your very presence. After last night, I think it's perfectly clear that there is no reason for you to be here. So I am asking you again if we can have this conversation another time like never?"

As she goes to turn away from me, I grab her hand and pull her back toward me, right up to my face. Oh hell no. This girl is going to listen to me if I have to pin her against the wall to make her do it. Would I really pin her against the wall to make her listen to me? Yeah, f*ck yeah, I would. But I’m kinda hoping that scenario is not going to go down because then I’ll really piss her off. I’d really rather have this conversation in my car, but I guess that’s not going to happen.