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EIGHTEEN

Evaleen

I’m not invisible anymore.

His eyes settled on me and refused to move for the past fifteen minutes. I wish I was nothing to him again. Just another employee at an executive meeting waiting for her five minutes to update the president of the company.

But, that wasn’t true anymore. Sure, I was Evaleen Bechmann, head of HR, but I was also the girl who was too scared to fight back. The weak one. Someone to be pitied.

I rolled my shoulders back and raised my chin.

So what if Edgar knew about me? What exactly did he know anyway? That Shane, I mean Damien, lived with my mom for a few months? Well, there’s knowing where someone lived and knowing what they did behind closed doors. He didn’t know that part.

I finally turned my eyes to Edgar, who I had been avoiding for the past week. He glanced away briefly before returning to me. He had no idea why I chose now to finally look at him. Why I gave him the attention he had been calling, emailing, and messaging me about since he left my apartment.

That’s why I returned his stare. Because he didn’t know me at all.

“Evaleen. How are you coming along with the new hire for Edgar’s department?”

I turned to find Jacob standing at the head of the conference table with a wall of windows overlooking some buildings across the street.

I reached into my folder and pulled out a stack of papers, pushing them toward Edgar. “Here you go, Edgar. Between our advert for the position and our head hunters we came up with over a hundred applicants. I narrowed them down to ten that I think you would be interested in based on your list of criteria.”

Edgar, with a look of surprise on his face, reached for the résumés. He must have thought because I wanted nothing to do with him that I would stop doing my job. Well, he thought wrong.

“Good. You two set up a meeting to finalize and begin interviewing applicants. Now on to—”

“Uh, Mr. Mimir.” I sat up in my chair.

“Yes, Evaleen?” He was smiling, but I could tell it was forced. Jacob Mimir was nice and an intelligent businessman, but when he settled a topic it was over and time to move on. Something I was refusing to do and he knew it.

“I don’t think Edgar needs help interviewing the applicants. I can set up the appointments and he can do the rest.”

I realized I sounded terrible right then, but the last person I wanted to work with was Edgar. Payne sounded like a better work buddy than Edgar right now.

Jacob let out a breath and itched his temple with his thumb. In my haste to avoid Edgar, I had made a terrible mistake. I pissed off Jacob. Like I mentioned, Jacob was a good businessman. If he made a decision, it was done.

“Did I ask for your opinion, Ms. Bechmann?”

Now he was calling me “Ms. Bechmann.” Shit.

I turned my head as I heard a chuckle coming from the other end of the conference table. Narrowing my eyes, I saw Payne miming a slow clap. Prick.

“No, Mr. Mimir. You didn’t. It was just an idea to help save time. I’ll set up a meeting with Edgar right after this one is over.” I kept my eyes glued to my hands.

I spent the rest of the meeting pretending to take notes like the coward I was. Maybe Edgar did know me. Sure, I put on a tough front but when I was challenged, had I really ever stood up and fought? No, I usually ran.

As I was leaving the meeting I continued to do what I was good at, ran. Scurrying to my office and shutting the door so I didn’t have to follow through with setting up a meeting with Edgar. Unfortunately, Edgar followed me.

“Evaleen, do you have a minute?” He stuck his head in after opening my door a bit.

My eyes fluttered over every piece of paper and equipment in the room, hoping I could find something to seem busy with. I found a stapler. As I held it in the air, I realized how pathetic I appeared.

Stop running, Evaleen.

“No, Edgar, I’m not busy.” I deflated back in my chair and put the stapler aside.

“Great.”