Chapter 14 Pizza, Plans, and Puppy Dog Eyes #2
Alyssa could make out the garbled noise coming from the other end of the phone.
“Whatever, Daniel, I’ll sort it out. Goodbye.” The sound of a phone being slammed into its cradle signalled the call’s end.
“Hey,” Alyssa called quietly. Approaching Evelyn cautiously. The CEO looked wired, maybe a little manic.
“Alyssa,” Evelyn barked, causing her to jump. “Sorry, didn’t see you there. Have we got an appointment?”
The hot poker of disappointment jabbed Alyssa in her gut. They’d never needed an appointment before.
“No, sorry, I just came to grab Bug.” Not a lie.
Yes, she hoped they could chat, but this clearly wasn’t the time.
Evelyn’s face visibly dropped, which confused Alyssa.
Was Evelyn upset she was taking Bug, or because Alyssa hadn’t come up to see her specifically?
Blimey, all this falling for someone was ridiculous and complicated.
“He’s in his usual spot,” Evelyn replied despondently, her fingers massaging her temple.
Should Alyssa just grab the pup and hightail it out of there?
Probably. That’s what commitment-free player Alyssa would do.
But this was Evelyn, and Alyssa’s heart ached at the sight of this beautiful woman struggling.
Instead of picking up Bug, Alyssa sat in the chair opposite Evelyn, who had her head down, staring at her desk. “Is everything okay, Evie?”
Stupid question. Clearly everything was not okay, but this was way outside Alyssa’s wheelhouse. If Evelyn was strictly a friend, Alyssa would be shit hot at advising, but as soon as the line blurred from friendship to something more, Alyssa was lost.
Evelyn let out a sharp laugh. “Oh, the usual, you know.” Finally Evelyn looked up. Alyssa was shocked at how tired the CEO looked. Dark circles marred Evelyn’s perfect face.
“Evelyn, when was the last time you ate? Or slept, for that matter?”
“What time is it now?”
“Half five.”
“Then yesterday. I ate yesterday. Couldn’t sleep, so I came in around four.”
Alyssa let out a surprised gasp. “Evelyn Crawford,” she admonished.
“I know, I know. I’ve already had a bollocking off of Maggie.”
“Good. Now, want to share the reason you were so angry at the phone you almost put it through your desk?”
Evelyn chuckled. “Apparently my father, the perfect boss, organised an HQ Christmas Party each year. Obviously I knew about the party, but I never realised it was him who threw it. Dan, the douchebag, was just informing me the responsibility for said party falls to me now. And he decided to let me know that nugget of information two weeks before the party is supposed to happen. I have no time to eat, let alone plan a fucking party.”
That was probably the first time Alyssa had heard Evelyn swear.
“I can help.”
Oh look, another case of verbal vomiting, Alyssa. Maybe one day you will think before you open your trap?
“You can’t help, you have the centre to run. You’re just as busy as I am.”
Alyssa heard Lil’s earlier words. The truth is you could, if you wanted to, dedicate some of your fierce focus on a woman.
Lil was right, Alyssa had plenty of help. There was no reason she couldn’t lend Evelyn a hand, as she was clearly struggling. What would that mean, though? Alyssa never chose a woman over Four Paws. Never.
“I have time, Evelyn, and I can help you.”
“What about Four Paws?”
“Lil is there and I have a full team to help. Let me do this for you. Let me help.” Alyssa saw Evelyn’s eyes swim with unshed tears. This was unfamiliar territory. How should Alyssa handle it?
Standing up, Alyssa rounded the desk and hauled Evelyn into her arms for a bone-crushing hug. Alyssa’s mum always gave her a hug when she was feeling a little overwhelmed, and it always helped.
“Thank you,” Evelyn mumbled into Alyssa’s shoulder. They stayed glued to each other for a few moments longer. Alyssa broke the hold because she was getting some pleasant feelings in pleasant places that were wholly inappropriate for the circumstances.
“Okay, here’s the game plan. You’re going to shut off your laptop and pour us a drink of something. Do you have alcohol?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Bummer. Okay, new plan. I’ll order a pizza and beer. We’ll sit on the sofa with Bug glaring at us while we eat.” That earned her a laugh. “Then we will have a quick chat about what needs to be done for this party, and then you’re going home to sleep. Deal?”
“Well, how could I say no to that?”
Alyssa grinned. “You can’t. It’s impossible.”
With the pizza ordered, Alyssa and Evelyn settled on the sofa. Bug trundled over, ignoring Alyssa completely. Popping his front paws on the sofa, Bug looked at Evelyn expectantly. Alyssa regarded the pair with curiosity.
What’s going on here then?
Evelyn didn’t skip a beat. As if this was something they did regularly, Evelyn scooped Bug on to the sofa by his bum.
Bug circled twice and then lay down, his upper body leaning over Evelyn’s leg.
Evelyn carried on like nothing was amiss.
Alyssa wanted to laugh out loud. What else did this pair get up to?
It was clear as day that they had formed a bond and now had a routine.
“Oh, pizza’s here,” Evelyn announced when her phone pinged. Jumping up, Alyssa headed to the elevator to wait for the delivery man. She was determined to get Evelyn to relax, and if that meant sitting on the sofa with Bug lounged on her, then so be it.
“Oh, my God, this is heaven,” Alyssa mumbled through her first bite of pizza.
“This is just what I needed, thank you Al.”
“No worries. I am worried about you, though, Evelyn. You can’t keep going like this.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I’ll just be glad when bloody Christmas is done.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We need to rectify this dislike of Christmas. You’re as grumpy as Bug about it. Have you never enjoyed it?”
“Not at all. I loved Christmas. Decorating, watching movies, eating junk. Waiting for Santa. What isn’t there to like as a kid?”
“But not now?”
Alyssa watched Evelyn deflate. “My mum was the one who made Christmas extraordinary. Every year seemed to get bigger and better than the last. Then she died.”
Alyssa wiped a tear from Evelyn’s cheek.
“Dad didn’t know how to make Christmas what it was without her and then he met the floozy. There was no way I wanted to share Christmas with him and her, so I worked. That’s when I realised how much larger my workload was over the festive period. I had less and less time to enjoy it.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Evie.”
“It’s okay. Times change.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Christmas again,” Alyssa said gently, taking Evelyn’s hand. All she wanted to do was make the woman feel better. Wrap her up in cotton wool and make everything okay.
“What’s the point? My dad will be away. Maggie has her family. I have an empty penthouse. I might as well forget about it and carry on as normal.”
No chance in hell Alyssa was going to let that happen. She had some planning to do.
“Well, let’s forget about that tonight. We still have pizza. Bug is practically drooling in anticipation. I’m guessing this isn’t the first time he’s got food from you with those big puppy eyes. Am I right?”
Evelyn grinned.
“Thought so. So let’s eat, drink, and plan for this party.”
“I can do that. And, to show you I’m not quite the grinch you think I am, I’ll treat you to some festive music.”
The opening bars of “Fairytale of New York” played softly through speakers dotted around the office.
With the light low and the beer flowing, Alyssa had to be on guard.
Those complicated feelings were becoming less complicated as the minutes wore on.
Evelyn Crawford had captured her attention, and it was becoming painfully clear that somehow she’d captured Alyssa’s heart, too.