Chapter 4
Chapter Four
EVIE
“Evie, come on. It’s late. You don’t need to clean up.”
Too late. I’m scrubbing dishes, and Everett is on his laptop at the freshly cleaned kitchen island. It feels a little too much like I’m a kid again, back when he would visit on break from college, and I would be stuck doing my chores.
I glare, an old, playful bitterness resurfacing. “One of us has to do it.”
His expression flattens. “I take care of myself just fine when you’re not around.”
“I’m not taking care of you.” I place a plate in the dishwasher. “I’m trying to make your housekeeper’s job easier. Did you consider that?”
He waves a hand. “I pay her well.”
“You’d better.” I turn off the sink and dry my hands on a sky-blue towel. “I won’t clean everything—just a few things. I can’t sleep knowing there’s a messy kitchen.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not sure how we came from the same parents.”
“They were practically different people by the time I was born. It barely counts.”
“Good point.”
I still don’t know if it’s for better or worse. When I was born, my parents had reached their playful hippie era, and I spent too much of my childhood on vacation with them. The chores I had back then were self-assigned.
Even then, I couldn’t sleep if I knew the kitchen was messy.
We both love our parents, but who they are now differs from who they were when Everett was young. If the stories are true, my father was stricter and constantly stressed from his office job. My mother was tearing her hair out and going gray early from raising four boys.
Compared to them, I was an easy child—one little girl versus a group of four.
“About your friend…” I turn my back on Everett and store the leftover food in the fridge. A single thought of Theo makes my stomach flutter.
“Which one?” he asks.
Right. Everett has always been popular. I met dozens of people at the party.
Why would he assume I was interested in anyone in particular?
And I’m not. Being attracted to one of his friends would be—I don’t know—inappropriate…
but it would be a lie to say I’m not thinking about a specific conversation.
“Theo,” I say. “Big business guy.”
“Ah…” He looks up from his laptop and shuts the lid. “I should have known. You two would get along.”
I’m still thinking about Theo, in a perfectly appropriate way—about his offer. It was a good offer. Great, even.
A quick search of his company revealed that they’re one of the most prominent names in sustainable paper. They’re responsible for a lot—from boxes to diapers to just… paper. After spending so long pursuing my passions, it would be a tedious job, but…
He would pay me more than any bakery ever did, and my brother letting me stay for free would help me save up rent for next semester. It’s the perfect situation, but I can’t accept it.
“I don’t know if getting along is the right way to put it. We only talked briefly, but he offered me a job.” I let out a breathy laugh. “Can you believe it? Offering a stranger a job?”
“Yeah. I can.” He rolls his eyes. “All Theo ever talks about is work. That’s why I invite him here every damn weekend. He only shows up half the time, but at least I know he’s leaving that hipster office of his for once.”
I frown. “But is he always this generous?”
“He’s usually more generous. If he weren’t having such an off day, he probably would have offered to pay your whole damn tuition.”
“That’s… you’re being silly, Ev. He wouldn’t do that.” Those butterflies in my stomach are back. What are they doing there?
“Probably not, but you never know. The guy is loaded. He invested in the surf shop back when I first opened it. Wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Yeah. That sounds like him.”
Oh, as if I know the first thing about Theo Roche. That’s the name on his business card, but that’s all I know about him. Bring me to a convention of businessmen in business suits, and I wouldn’t be able to pick him out.
But he was sweet, funny, kind, and generous. Everett is right. He cares about the planet, which is rare for people in his position. I can’t think of something more generous than that.
These butterflies? These thoughts? This is why I can’t work for him.
Not only will it take me from my baking—my passion, my life—but the last thing I need is to spend more time around him.
He’s far too charming—not in a typical way, but in a way that draws me in, like he’s handcrafted to be the sweetest distraction.
It doesn’t matter. There’s a reason he’s offering me a job instead of a date. There are a few reasons, actually. I’m already making a list in my mind.
First of all, he’s Everett’s friend. Wanting me would be against the friend code. I’m not oblivious to that.
But wait, there’s more! He’s attractive, older, and so successful. For all I know, he already has a partner. A man like him is probably dating models, not struggling bakers.
“Did you take it?” Everett asks, bringing me back to reality.
“What?”
“The job.”
“Oh.” I shake my head. “No. Of course, I didn’t take it. I don’t know the first thing about working in an office.”
“C’mon. You could learn. It’s an entry-level position.”
“I can’t believe you’re encouraging this. Like, I don’t know anything about paper.”
“You don’t need to know about paper. No one knows about paper.” He stands up and groans. “Well, Theo probably knows a thing or two, but he’s a freak. All he needs is someone to keep his schedule together. You can do that.”
“You really think so?” I bite the inside of my cheek and lower my head, wiping a wet cloth against the kitchen counter. I’ve already cleaned the spot three times.
“I know so. You’re the most organized, levelheaded person I know.” He gestures around. “Look at that. You couldn’t stop yourself from cleaning my kitchen. Cleaning up his calendar will be easy.”
“Oh, now you like that I’m cleaning.” I lean in, scrubbing a spot of dried frosting. How did I miss that? A huff passes through my lips. “I don’t know anything about forestry, either.”
“So?”
“That’s a big part of what he does.”
“Did he already talk your ear off or something?”
“No.” I shrug and hang the wet rag by the sink. “I may have done a little research.”
He grins. “Which means you’re thinking about it.”
“I’m not! I already have a flourishing career, thank you very much.” Sort of. “I’m happy with it. They said I can have my job back at the bakery as soon as I return.”
“You still have the rest of the summer to keep busy.”
“Yeah, but…” I tilt my head thoughtfully, and then think better of it, shaking my head. “No, no. I couldn’t.”
“Like I said, you don’t need to know about those things.” He lifts a brow. “If you’re curious, you could always ask him. I’m sure he would be happy to teach you. You don’t know how many times he’s rambled to me about… whatever it is he does.”
“I’m not as organized as you think. Organized people remember to pay important bills—like rent.”
“You can’t pay bills if you don’t have money, Evie.” He speaks in a soft voice. “It doesn’t matter how organized you are. Cut yourself some slack. We’ve all been there.”
I lift a brow. “Have you?”
“Oh, yeah.” He snorts. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad, but after I dropped out of college, I was couch surfing for over two years.”
My jaw drops. “Everett!”
He lifts his hands. “I was staying with friends. It was completely safe.”
“Well… I guess you didn’t have a big brother to take care of you.”
“Don’t get all sappy on me.” He groans and grabs a beer from the fridge. “You don’t have to take the job. You can stay here as long as you need to. Transfer schools and get your degree here instead. Fuck it, right?”
Everett’s outlandish plans will be the death of me. He’s no more in touch with reality now than he was in his twenties. He’s drunk. That’s the only excuse I can think of for his suggestion.
I shake my head. “No! Wrong! The schools here are too expensive.”
“I know. I thought I would try to keep you around a little longer.”
“That’s sweet, but I’m only staying for the summer. I mean it.” I tap my lip. “What if I want to work at the surf shop?”
“You’d be silly. I can’t pay you a fraction of what Theo is offering.” He pops the cap off his beer bottle. “He’s a good guy. I wouldn’t trust the offer if he weren’t. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
My brother’s trust in Theo does put me at ease. If he thinks it’s a good opportunity, it probably is.
“Then you should take it,” he says.
“I still don’t think I’m qualified for the position.”
“And I think you have impostor syndrome, so we aren’t going to see eye-to-eye on this.”
“What do you know about impostor syndrome? You were winning surf competitions at eighteen.”
“Exactly.” He flashes a white smile. “I started training later than everyone else and still won competitions before them. Guess what?”
“You’re so full of yourself.”
He ignores my jab. “If I sat around wondering whether or not I was qualified, I wouldn’t have even tried. You know, most of those guys were surfing longer than me, right? Years before, even decades before.”
“I know. This isn’t the first time you’ve bragged.”
“I’m not bragging; I’m making a point. You’re no different than me. We’re made of the same stuff, kid.” He ruffles my hair and passes by, going upstairs. “You’re good enough for this and anything else you want to do. Don’t hold back.”
There’s so much I’m holding back from, and a job as an assistant feels low on my priorities, but it’s a way for me to make money. This is how I can finally get ahead. If I don’t take advantage of the opportunity, I may not be able to go back to school at all.
Once his bedroom door clicks shut, I grab a beer for myself.