I knew he had two sons, and a beautiful wife who would do anything for him. He was a lucky guy.
He nodded abruptly. Smart man. No wonder I’d made him a VP. “Thank you, sir.” He hesitated before adding, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Walker.”
Hell, the guy was almost stammering. Was I usually that much of a Scrooge? “Merry Christmas, Turner.”
I watched thoughtfully as Turner scrambled away to find his wife. I knew every detail of what my employees did and what they handled at work. I found it strange that I didn’t even know how old Turner’s kids were. Come to think of it, I knew almost nothing personal about any of my executives. Maybe because I’d never bothered to ask. My business functioned like a tightly-run ship, and I was the asshole captain. Generally, this didn’t bother me, but as I’d watched Eva learn more personal things about my employees during one dinner than I’d discovered over years of employment, it was rather pathetic.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care about the people who worked for me. But I got so consumed with how efficiently the company ran that I didn’t have room in my life for anything more. Or maybe I was afraid of befriending any of them. Oh hell, I didn’t know why I was an asshole, I just knew that I was one.
I took a sip of my Scotch on the rocks and stared at Eva. I was across the room from her, and she was engaged in conversation with some women who were secretaries in the Contract Department. She wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to me, but I still felt like she was subconsciously beckoning me, luring me closer to her with every animated movement of her body, every adorable expression on her face.
This was how Eva was born to be: happy, expressive, and friendly to everybody who came into contact with her. It was how her life should have been…but wasn’t.
I knew who she’d spotted the minute I saw her expression change. Her arms, which had just been making expressive movements, dropped to her sides and her face became wary, her body tensing as she looked to her right and across the room.
Maybe I shouldn’t have invited her here. Maybe it was a mistake.
It killed me to see the light in Eva’s eyes dim, but there were things she deserved to know, and I’d invited Mrs. Mitchell here for that specific purpose. She’d begged me to be allowed to talk to Eva in person, but there was no way I was going to let my privacy—and Eva’s—be invaded in my home. Eva was safe, and I wanted her to continue to feel that way in my house. But I’d also understood, after finding out the details of Eva’s parentage, that she had to know the whole truth.
“Shit! I hope I don’t regret this,” I rasped in a quiet voice that nobody around me could hear.
I took another slug of my whiskey, watching the two women closely as the older woman made her way through the crowd to Eva. She slowly drew Eva away from the women she was talking to, and I saw a stubborn flash of temper on my sweet girl’s face that made me grin.
She can take care of herself.
Yeah, I knew Eva could defend herself, but I wanted to go to her because I knew seeing her accuser was going to make her vulnerable. However, I’d made a promise to Nora Mitchell that she could have a few minutes alone with Eva if she met her here tonight. I wanted Eva to have a neutral place, a venue where it didn’t matter if she had bad memories of her discussion with Nora.
I could tell the initial confrontation wasn’t going well. Eva looked downright pissed off, and Nora Mitchell looked tearful.
I released a breath I didn’t even know I was holding when Nora took Eva’s arm lightly and gave her a pleading glance that caused Eva to turn and follow her.
If she hurts Eva, says one word that even upsets her, I vowed that Nora Mitchell would regret it for the rest of her life.
Restlessly, I moved across the room, my eyes unconsciously searching for Eva. I didn’t see her, and I knew the two women had found a private place to talk.
I’ll wait. I promised to give Nora time.
Honestly, I didn’t give a shit about my promise to the older woman, but I was hoping the discussion would give Eva some closure with her past. Ultimately, this was all about Eva for me, and I silently hoped that I’d done the right thing.
Chapter Thirteen
Eva
It shouldn’t have really surprised me to see the woman I hated more than any other female alive show up at a Walker party.
What had really shocked me was when she approached me, asked to have a discussion with me privately. All I could think was that she was going to warn me that she’d expose me if I showed my face in her social circle again.
I braced myself for her lecture as she led me into a small, empty room that was just as plush as the rest of the country club.