Evie
Evie
E vie stepped off the elevator and ran right into Nova who seemed to be waiting for her arrival. “Just the woman I’ve been looking for,” she said. Evie wanted to run into her office, shut the door, and lock it, but she knew that sooner or later, she’d have to face her best friend.
“What’s up?” Evie asked. “I have a ton of work to do.” She added the last part knowing that Nova wouldn’t really care about her workload, but she had to try something.
“You remember game night when you and Rod left a little bit early, and I stayed at Tyler’s place with Alex?”
“Um, sure,” Evie said. Red flags were flying all around her, but there was nothing that she could do to get out of what was about to happen.
“Come with me,” Nova insisted. “We need to talk and I’m betting that you’ll want to do this in my office where we have some privacy.” Shit—this wasn’t how Evie wanted to begin her week. One of the guys had spilled the beans and now, all she was going to be able to do was come clean with her best friend.
She let Nova pull her along to her office and shut the door, pointing to her sofa. “Sit,” she ordered. Evie did as Nova ordered, not willing to face any more of her wrath.
“What’s this all about?” Evie asked, pretending to be in the dark. She knew exactly what this showdown was over but admitting it before Nova spilled her guts wasn’t about to happen.
“You know what this is about, Evie,” Nova said. “You lied to me. You let Rod lie for the both of you—you two aren’t really in a relationship,” she said.
“Well, that’s only partially true,” Evie said. “We are in a relationship, even if we weren’t when Rod told you that we were. It started as a lie, but it ended up being the truth,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Nova.”
“Sorry?” Nova breathed. “I consider you to be like a sister and you’re sorry for lying to me. You shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”
“You’re right,” Evie agreed. “I shouldn’t have, but Rod asked me to give him some time and well, I like him—I really like him.”
“Why did he ask you to lie for him?” Nova questioned.
“Because he didn’t want you to hound him about dating me—neither of us did.” Evie watched as Rod stepped free from the elevator and looked her over through the glass wall that lined Nova’s office. She tried to paste on her best, “I’m all right” face, but she worried that she was failing miserably at it. He seemed to buy it enough to keep on going into his office and she breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was him getting in on this conversation. Nova would have plenty to say to him separately, but Evie just wanted to get her part over with.
“I can’t believe you let him tell me that you two were together when you weren’t. I can’t believe you took his side,” Nova scolded.
“I told you, I like him. I guess I just lost my mind a little,” Evie said.
“How does he feel about you?” Nova asked.
“Um, I think he feels the same way about me,” Evie said. “We’ve only been together, officially, for a few days. We really haven’t discussed feelings yet.”
“Have you thought about the fact that he could be using you? What if he’s with you to keep me off of his back still?” Nova asked.
“That’s not fair,” Evie insisted. “He wouldn’t do that to me. He knows about my track history with men. I told him that I was a virgin, and he didn’t run away,” Evie whispered.
“Let me guess, he’s taken care of that for you, right?” Nova said. Evie didn’t like the way Nova was accusing Rod of wrongdoing.
“That’s none of your business, Nova,” Evie spat. “What’s happening between Rod and me is my business,” Evie said.
“I’m just saying if he was willing to lie to me, and I’m technically his family, then he’ll lie to you too. I just want you to be careful, Evie,” Nova insisted.
“I can take care of myself,” Evie breathed. “Listen, I’m sorry that I lied to you. I’ll apologize for my part, but I won’t sit here and let you tell me that I’m not important to Rod. He’s given me no reason to not trust him.”
“Sure, because asking you to lie to your best friend seems trustworthy,” Nova countered.
“I know that you’re hurt right now, so I’m going to give you a pass, but this conversation is over,” Evie said. She stood and walked out of Nova’s office, keeping her tears at bay. The thought of going to her office, where Rod or Nova could follow her, wasn’t a pleasant one. Instead, she headed to the elevators and took them down to the lobby. She needed some air, some time to think, and she couldn’t do that up in her office.
As soon as she got outside, she called for an Uber and was picked up minutes later, before anyone even knew she was missing. They pulled out onto the highway and her cell phone rang. It was Rod and she debated if she wanted to answer it or not.
“What?” she answered her cell.
“What the hell is going on, Evie?” Rod asked. “Why did you leave?”
“Nova knows,” she said. “Either Alex or Tyler told her after we left, but she knows that we lied to her. She said that you’re only with me because you’re still trying to keep her off of your back. She said that you’re using me.”
“Baby—that’s just not true,” Rod insisted. “Let me come get you and we can talk this out.”
“No,” she spat. “I just need some time. I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the day. I need to think about this and get my mind straight, please give me the time to do that, Rod.”
“You can’t be serious,” he said. “I’d never use you, honey,” he assured.
“I can’t talk about this right now; I’ll call you later when I have my head on straight.” She ended the call and tossed her cell back into her purse, letting the sob that had bubbled up from her chest out. Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life by walking away from Rod? She knew that she might be foolish for believing Nova, but a part of her was thinking that her best friend might be onto something. Rod and she shouldn’t have been together, but they were, and it felt right to her. Had he coaxed her into his bed just to make his lies the truth? Was he covering his ass with his family and using her to do it?
“Where to, Miss?” the driver asked. That was a good question. She couldn’t go home. She told him to go to the only hotel she knew of in town, and he said that he knew the place. She’d spend a few nights there cleaning her head, and then, she’d figure out what to do next.
Evie pulled her cell back out of her purse and called Nova, her call going right to voicemail. “I know I don’t have the right to ask you for a favor, but I can’t go home. I need some time to think about what you said. I need to know that you’re not right about Rod and that he’s not using me. Can you stop by my place and pack some things for me? I’m staying at the hotel down on Main Street. Please, don’t tell Rod where I am, he’s already called me, and I told him that I just need some time. I’m sorry, Nova,” she whispered into the phone and ended the call. She was sorry too. Never in a million years did she ever see herself lying to her best friend, and now she was going to pay a heavy price.