Carrie
Carrie
C arrie’s father finally arrived in town the next week. Alex and Rod picked him up at the airport and Alex insisted that her dad stay with him and his family. She wanted to protest and tell him that he could stay with her and Evan, but then, she’d have to admit that they were practically living together, and that wasn’t something that she was ready to share with anyone—especially her cousins. She had spent every night over the past week in Evan’s bed, and she had no plans on giving up her new sleeping arrangements any time soon, so her father staying with Alex worked for her.
He had come up with some crazy excuse about his passport being held up in Scotland, but she could see the faint outlines of the bruises on her father’s face. Someone had worked him over good and he was waiting for the bruises to fade. “Dad,” she breathed, “I can see the old bruises on your face and I’m guessing that the cast on your arm isn’t just for decoration.” Yeah, he had forgotten to come up with a good excuse for the cast on his right arm. She was betting that the same person who had given him the bruises had also broken her poor father’s arm.
“You were always too smart for your own good,” he teased. Yeah, except when it came to believe that her ex was a criminal who wanted nothing more than to hurt her and now her family. She hated that this was happening to all of them because of her dumb decisions. “Don’t look at me that way,” her father insisted. “You did the right thing by getting away from him.”
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“Do what?” he questioned.
“You read my mind,” she accused.
“I just know you, little girl. I always have and always will. So, you want to tell me why you seem to be so happy these days?” her father asked. When she left him a month ago and moved to America, she was in constant tears and miserable about all of the changes in her life. But now, anyone would be able to see that she was happy again and it had everything to do with her new boss.
“I’m just happy,” Carrie lied. “I like it here.” They were sitting in Alex’s office waiting for him and Rod to get out of a meeting before they would take her dad to Alex’s house to get some much-needed rest. Her father looked exhausted after such a long trip.
“Even given everything that has happened? You can’t even go back to your apartment. How can you be so happy? You don’t need to pretend for me, Carrie,” her father insisted.
“Evan has been very nice to let me stay with him, and I guess I just feel safe,” she said. It wasn’t a lie. She did feel safe with Evan at his home. Carrie was just sure to leave out the part about falling into Evan’s bed every night.
“He’s your boss,” her father reminded her.
“I’m aware,” she said.
“Doesn’t staying with him get in the way of you both working together?” he asked.
“Not at all. Evan and I work together very well.” That was also the truth. The two of them had found a way to keep their work life separate from their personal life—partly out of her not wanting her cousins to find out about their budding relationship and partly because she was worried about the two parts of her life getting tangled up together.
“I’m glad to hear that,” her father said. “When do I get to meet this new boss of yours?” Evan was hiding away in his office, claiming that he wanted to give her and her cousins time with her father, but she knew he was nervous about meeting her father. He might not be meeting him as her lover, but Carrie was sure that he was still nervous about meeting her dad as her boss.
“Um, let me run and see if he’s available,” she said. “Are you good to stay here for a few minutes?” she asked.
“I am,” her father agreed, “Alex’s office is bigger than our whole house.” She was well aware. Her father was going to be shocked at the size of Alex’s actual home.
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” she promised. She quickly hurried down the hallway to Evan’s office and knocked on his door. He called for her to come in and she pushed her way into his office.
“My father’s here,” she said.
“I gathered,” he said. “I know that Rod and Alex are both in a meeting and I thought that I’d give you both some time to catch up.”
“That’s very sweet of you,” she said, “but, he’d like to meet you.”
“Meet me?” he questioned.
“Yes.” Carrie looked him over and she could tell that he had something that he wanted to say.
“Go on, say what you want to say to me, Evan,” she said. Even after only being together for a little over a week, she seemed to know him.
“I’d really like to meet your father as your boyfriend,” he said, “not just your boss.”
“Boyfriend?” she asked. “Is that what we’re calling you now? That would make me your girlfriend,” she teased.
“You’re making fun of me, but I’m being serious. You said that you wanted to see where one night led us, and well, it’s led us here. I want to name this thing between us. I want to call it a relationship and I want to be able to tell people how I feel about you. I hate that every time we pull up to the building, you and I have to turn off our feelings and pretend that you didn’t just spend the night in my bed. I don’t like pretending that I’m not falling for you.”
“Wait—you’re falling for me?” she asked.
“I am,” he whispered. “Tell me that you don’t feel the same and I’ll drop all of this. I’ll walk into Alex’s office and pretend that you and I mean nothing to each other outside of work and meet your father as your boss.” She wasn’t sure if he was issuing her a challenge or trying to get her to admit her feelings for him. Either way, she never backed down from a challenge.
“I’m falling for you too,” she said, defiantly raising her chin as if daring him to dispute her feelings with her. “And I’d like to introduce you to my father as my boyfriend. You just have to know that he might not be very happy for us. He’s still trying to get over my last relationship and how its changed both of our lives. You might not get the warm greeting that you’re hoping for.”
“I understand,” Evan assured. “I’m standing by my decision though. I want to be more than your boss, Carrie.”
“Well, then,” she said, holding her hand out to him. “Let’s go meet my father, boyfriend.” Evan chuckled and took her hand, following her out of his office. “Here we go,” she whispered, walking into Alex’s office. She stopped dead when she found not only her father, but both of her cousins standing there, and all eyes were on her and Evan holding hands in the doorway. Carrie wanted to run. She wanted to tell Evan that she had changed her mind, but Carrie couldn’t do that to him.
He squeezed her hand into his own and she took a deep breath. “Dad, this is Evan,” she said. “My boss and my boyfriend.”
“What?” Alex growled. “You said that you weren’t together,” he shouted at Evan. Carrie stepped in front of Evan as if wanting to protect him from her cousin’s anger.
“It’s okay, honey,” Evan promised. “When I told you that we weren’t together, we weren’t. This happened a little over a week ago, and I’m not going to apologize for how I feel about your cousin. I care about her. Hell, I’m falling for her, but none of that is your business. She asked me to keep our relationship a secret, but I don’t want to do that anymore. I want everyone to know that we’re together and we’re happy. If you have a problem with that, you can deal with me.” Evan pulled her back to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and Carrie wasn’t sure if she should say anything or just stand silently by Evan.
“He’s the reason why you seem so happy then?” her father asked.
“Yes, Dad,” she said. “I didn’t move in with Evan hoping for this, it just happened, but I’m happy that it did. We work well together, and we won’t let our relationship get in the way of our work,” she promised her cousins.
“Well, I for one am happy for you both,” Rod said. “If you remember, brother, we both fell for our wives when they were our assistants and we all still worked together well.” Carrie had heard the stories about how they both fell for their wives when they were working as their assistants, and she thought it was ironic that Alex would protest her and Evan being together now.
“But this isn’t about us,” Alex challenged, “it’s about our little cousin.”
“I’m a grown, pregnant woman,” she said. “I’m not a kid anymore, Alex,” she said.
“And yet, here we are, still taking care of you,” Alex spat. Carrie gasped and stepped back into Evan’s arms.
“I didn’t ask you to take care of me, my father did, even after I told him that I could handle my own problems. You know what, Alex, don’t do me anymore favors. I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“No, because now, you have Evan taking care of you,” he accused.
“Not cool, man,” Evan said.
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me, I can take care of myself,” she shouted. “And I can take care of my own father. I quit, Alex,” she said.
“Now wait a minute,” Evan said, “I’m your boss, not Alex.”
“Fine then, boss, I quit,” she said. “Let’s go, Dad.”
“Where are you going to go?” Alex asked. “It’s not safe with your ex out there.”
“I don’t care,” she spat. “I’m going back to my apartment, and don’t worry, I’ll find a way to pay your rent every month as soon as I find another job.” Carrie looked her father over when he didn’t make a move to follow her out of Alex’s office.
“Dad,” she hissed.
“I don’t think that this is a good idea,” her father insisted. “You and Alex are both hotheads and you both need to calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. Listen, I’ll text you my address and you can come over when your done visiting with my cousins,” she said, heading back to her desk. She planned on packing everything up and walking out of the building with her head held high.
“Carrie,” Evan said, grabbing her arm. She pulled it free and turned on him.
“Evan, I need to do this,” she insisted. “I need to prove that I’m able to stand on my own two feet. Alex is right, I’ve used you as a crutch and I need to know that I can do this alone.”
“Do what alone?” he asked, “go out and get yourself killed? You can’t be serious about going back to your apartment. What happens if your ex is there?”
“I’ll call the cops. I can hide out at Mina’s place until they cart him off. Sooner or later, he’ll get the hint that I’m not going with him and go back to Scotland.”
“You can’t honestly believe that,” he said.
“I can and I do. I just need some time, Evan,” she said.
“So, what about us? You just told me that you’re falling for me and now, you want to end it all and move back to your apartment?” he asked. That wasn’t what she wanted at all, but she had dug herself quite a hole and now, she didn’t see a way out of it. This was what she did. Her mouth got her into trouble, and she ended up having to deal with the consequences.
“I just need some time to think about things, Evan,” she said again. “This is a good thing. Do you really want me to stay with you if I’m not sure about why I’m there?” she asked.
“No,” he breathed. God, he looked so sad, she just wanted to take it all back. She was a fool for falling into Alex’s trap. He was trying to get her to storm off in a huff, and she played right into his hands. He loved to prove that she was just a child and now, she was acting like one, proving him right. She was an idiot.
“I’d really like to say that I understand this and that it didn’t hurt like hell to know that you’re leaving, but I don’t get it and it hurts like hell,” Evan whispered. She hated making him feel that way.
“I’m sorry, Evan,” she said. “I’m not doing this to hurt you. I just need to know that Alex isn’t right. I don’t want to need or want you just to take care of me. I need to make it on my own before I can be with you or anyone else.” She didn’t want to be with anyone, but Evan. Carrie meant it when she told him that she was falling in love with him, but what if it was just a case of needing him to keep her safe? She felt safe around him and what if when this thing with Alastair was over, she realized that she was just using Evan, as Alex accused? She couldn’t live with herself if that was true.
“This is for the best,” she said more to herself than to him. She grabbed her things and headed for the elevator. Luckily, she didn’t have too many personal effects at her desk, so she could make a quick escape. Carrie refused to look back at Evan. She knew that she would only find disappointment staring back at her and she couldn’t stand that. Her heart already felt as though it was breaking, she didn’t need to add to it.