Rodrick
Rodrick
R od was determined to find Evie. It had been almost a week since she took off from the office. He hated that she told him that she just needed space. He didn’t want to give her space, he wanted to know what the hell was going on—why she suddenly believed what Nova had said about him using her. How could she believe that about him?
He had looked everywhere for her. Every day, he waited for her to come into the office, and she never showed up. She had called HR and told them that she was taking some personal time but didn’t give them a date that she’d be back. He was going nuts and he had a feeling that the only two people who knew where Evie was were his brother and Nova. He was done trying to figure this all out and marched into Alex’s office.
“Just tell me where she is, Alex,” he begged. Since she came clean and told Nova about their little ruse of faking a relationship and lying to her, she had disappeared. He knew that it had everything to do with Nova and their conversation, but neither she nor Alex was telling him where he could find Evie. He was done letting them lie to him. Rod had suffered enough, and he was going to demand answers.
“I promised my wife that I wouldn’t tell you where Evie is,” he said.
“I’ll beg if I have to, Alex,” he said. “I’m in love with her and I can’t just let her go like this.”
“You’re in love with Evie?” Nova said, walking into Alex’s office. “You forced her to lie to me, Rod. Does that sound like something you’d do to someone you love?”
“I made a wrong judgment call and drug Evie into my lie. If you want to be mad at someone, here I am, but you keeping her from me isn’t the right thing to do. What would have happened if someone tried to keep you from Alex?” he asked. “Or you from Nova?” he said to his brother.
“No one could have kept me from her,” Alex growled.
“I feel the same way about Evie, man,” Rod admitted. “I’m in love with her. I want her to move in with me, but Nova convinced her that I’m not serious about her. What did you say to her to make her run away from me?” he asked Nova.
“I told her the truth—that a man who asks you to lie for him is bad news. My ex-husband made me lie for him all the time and look where he is now.” Her ex was in prison for paying off judges and lawyers to win cases. Rod knew that he was nothing like her fucking ex-husband.
“That’s not fair, Nova,” Alex chided. “My brother might have told a lie to keep you from pushing him into going on more blind dates, but he’s nothing like Simon. At least admit that much to be true.”
“Fine,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry, Rod. I guess that I just got carried away. You aren’t like my ex, but you did get my very best friend to lie to me. Evie was the one person that I knew I could count on to tell me the truth. Now, I don’t even have that.”
“I can’t apologize enough, Nova,” Rod said.
“No, you can’t,” Nova barked.
He sighed, “But I can make you the promise that I will never ask her to lie to you again.”
“Ever?” Nova asked.
“Ever,” Rod agreed. “Please, just tell me where I can find her. I need to be with her.”
She looked over at Alex and Rod felt as though he was holding his breath, waiting for her to make up her mind about what to do. “Fine,” she grumbled. “I’ll give you the address where you can find her, but if you hurt her, I’ll be the one you’ll have to deal with,” Nova said.
“Duly noted,” Rod agreed.
“She’s at the hotel in town—the one on the corner of Main and Holiday Streets,” she said.
“I know the one,” he said. “Why did she go there?” he asked. “No, don’t answer that. I’m betting she went there to try to avoid me, right?” Nova nodded and Rod pulled her in for a quick hug. “Thanks,” he said.
“Don’t disappoint me, Rod,” Nova ordered.
“Never,” he assured. He ran out of the office and onto the elevator, not wanting to waste a second getting to Evie. He was going to go get his girl and nothing would stand in his way again.
Rod pulled into the parking lot to the hotel address that Nova gave him. He just needed to figure out which room she was in, and then, he’d find her and convince her to move in with him. Hell, he wanted to marry her, but they’d get to that.
He ran into the lobby and found what he was hoping was a friendly woman who’d find him just charming enough to give him Evie’s room number.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m trying to locate my girlfriend, but I can’t remember what room she said she was in.”
“I’m sorry sir, but it’s our policy not to give out that kind of information,” the woman said.
“I understand,” he said. “But I need to deliver some bad news, and well, time is of the essence.” The woman looked him over as if she didn’t believe a word that he was saying and why should she—he was totally lying.
“Fine,” he said, “if you would be so kind to deliver the message that her grandmother has passed, I’d be grateful.” He looked the woman over waiting for some response from her, but she gave none. “Thanks for your time,” he said, turning to leave. He made it all the way to the lobby door before she called Rod back over to the desk.
“Miss Jones is in room 328. Take the elevator around the corner to the third floor and make a left when you get off,” the woman said.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m sure that Miss Jones will appreciate this.” He knew for a fact that his showing up at her door was going to piss her off. He walked around the corner and got onto the elevator, following the woman at the front desk’s directions.
Rod found room 328 and knocked on the door. He heard someone rummaging around the room and he swore he could hear Evie’s soft curses, making him smile. She pulled open the door, “Can’t you see the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door handle?” She looked him over and immediately tried to shut the door on him. Rod shoved his foot in the way and winced when the door hit it with force.
“Evie,” he breathed. “Just give me a chance here,” he begged.
“I can’t,” she said. “I still don’t know how I feel about everything that’s happened between us. Talking to Nova put our ‘relationship’ in perspective for me,” she said, using air quotes around the word relationship.
“I don’t know exactly what Nova said to you, but I can guess. But you should know that she’s the one who told me where I could find you. She was angry that we lied to her and she put doubts in your mind about us—I get it, but you didn’t have those doubts prior, right?” he asked.
She shrugged, “Not completely. I mean, I wondered if you were just with me to keep Nova off of your back, but then, when we were together, you made me forget my doubts.”
“I never want you to have any doubts when it comes to me or us, honey,” he said.
“I wasn’t with you to keep Nova off of my back. I was with you because I like to spend time with you. Well, that and you’re hot.” She giggled and the sound gave him some hope that he might be getting through to her.
“I like spending time with you too,” she admitted.
“That’s a start,” he said. Rod took a chance and reached for her hand. “I had to find you,” he breathed.
“Why?” she asked. “Why did you need to find me, Rod?” It was almost as if she was challenging him to give her the words.
“Because I needed to tell you that I’m falling for you, honey. Before you told Nova, about us, I was going to ask you to move in with me.”
“You were?” she asked. “I think that I would have liked that.”
He smiled at her, “Well then, how about moving in with me?”
“That’s an awfully big step, Rod,” she said. “Are you sure that it’s one that you’re ready to make?”
“I am,” he agreed. “In fact, I was going to ask you to marry me, too,” he said.
Evie gasped and he pulled her into his arms. “Marry you?” she questioned.
“Yes,” he whispered. “Marry me, Evie. I’m so in love with you, I can’t imagine not spending the rest of our lives.”
“Oh,” she whispered. “I think that I’d like to marry you, too,” she agreed.
“Thank God,” he breathed. “I thought that I lost you, honey.”
“No, I don’t think that’s possible, Rod. You won’t ever lose me,” she promised. “I think that I’ve been waiting for you this whole time. Every time I turned a guy down, I wondered if I’d ever find someone to give my virginity to. But then, I met you and I knew instantly—you were the one. I love you too, Rod.”
He picked her up and spun her around the hallway, not caring that she was squealing and giggling, and would probably wake up everyone on the third floor. She was right—they were meant to be together. He found the woman he never knew that he was waiting for—his virgin assistant, his Evie. He had finally found her and now, he’d never let her go again.
The End