Chapter 22
Evelyn draws in a long breath and walks over to her boyfriend and her cousin.
Raymond tries to touch her but she shrugs off his hands.
“What are you doing here, Raymond? You told me that you are busy, you can’t give me a damn ride,” Evelyn queries him.
Raymond frowns.”Why are you acting like this, baby? I came here to get some things and I saw your cousin,”
She raises her eyebrows, glaring at him.”How do you know she is my cousin? I don’t think I have ever introduced her to you before,” Evelyn utters.
“You showed me her picture once. It has been long though, maybe you have forgotten,” Raymond says.
Evelyn raises her eyebrows. She can’t seem to remember, showing Raymond her cousin’s picture. She had never talked about her cousin to anyone, even Marina. How come Raymond claims that she had done that?
Evelyn shifts her gaze to her cousin. Skylar, on the other hand, quickly fakes a smile and hugs her tightly.”It has been a long since I saw you, Evelyn. You have really changed, especially in your beautiful appearance,” She says.
Evelyn doesn’t even bother to hug her back. She is still confused and trying to remember when she told Raymond about Skylar.
Skylar breaks the hug, her face holding a frown. “What is wrong, Evelyn? Are you not happy to see me?”
Evelyn shakes her head.”Of course, not. I am just confused. Do you know my boyfriend before?”She asks her cousin.
“Well, yes. He came to my modeling agency in Paris and we just talked about some topics. I didn’t know that he is your boyfriend until today,” Skylar replies.
Evelyn heaves a sigh of relief. She kind of understands now, even though she still doesn’t remember when she showed the picture of Skylar to Raymond. She will have to worry about that later.
She opens her mouth to say something but her words are cut short by her phone beep. The caller is her boss, Jayden. She had forgotten that he was waiting for her in the parking lot. Seems like she won’t need him to give her a ride anymore, since her boyfriend is here.
She moves away from her boyfriend and her cousin, so she can hear him clearly.
“Do you want to sleep in the shopping mall?” Jayden’s deep voice resounds in her head.
She rolls her eyes as if he can see her doing that.”Seems so. I think I need a pillow and a long blanket, can you please get them for me?” She says, using the same tone he used.
“Must you joke with everything, dummy? I just got a message from someone, I need to go somewhere now. So, get out of the mall, and let’s leave,” He orders.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Jayden. I won’t be needing your help anymore. My boyfriend is here, he will give me a ride,” She tells him.
He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, and he then finally mutters.”Thanks for wasting my precious twenty minutes, Evelyn Jones,” He utters and hangs up the call.
Evelyn’s eyelids drop. She knows that she hurt him. She ought to have told him before, but her mind was occupied with why her boyfriend is with her cousin. She will apologize to her boss later.
Jayden clenches his fist tightly around the steering, as he is driving to the impromptu meeting. He feels like a dummy. It feels like someone dumps him. It funny how he waited for almost twenty minutes, just for her to tell him that she doesn’t need a ride anymore, because of her boyfriend. Why did he agree to give her a ride to the shopping mall, in the first place? The time he wasted should have been used for something more useful.
Damn! His friend, Joe must not hear of what happened. The son of a bïtch is going to tease the hell out of him and call him a fucking simp.
****
It has been three days since Skylar is living in Evelyn’s house. Skylar is not the kind of person Eve can vibe with. She is too loud and obsessed with social media. She is always doing TikTok videos all over the house.
But, they still go along well, after all, Evelyn is not always around to witness the stuff her cousin is obsessed with.
Her boyfriend, Raymond, is on a business trip to India. He will be coming back next month. So, she is lonely once again and stuck with Marina and her extroverted cousin, Skylar.
Evelyn doesn’t know why her boss has been giving her cold shoulders. He is not acting friendly towards her, since the incident that happened at the shopping mall. She wants to apologize to him for wasting his precious time. But, he doesn’t give her a chance to apologize. He ignores her totally in the company. He doesn’t spare her a glance, talkless of annoying her. Like now, he is inside his office, busy with his personal business. He doesn’t even get on her nerves or send her silly errands anymore. It is funny that she misses his annoying attitude, despite that it always annoys her.
Something pops into her mind. Maybe, she should try to talk to him and apologize.
It is a lunch break, so she is less busy. She walks over to the entrance of his office and knocks on the door.
“Who is that?” He asks from inside the office.
“Evelyn Jones,” She replies.
“Come in,”
She swallows a gulp down her throat and walks inside his office.
“What do you want?” He questions her, his eyes not leaving the computer on his desk.
“I… It is lunchtime,” She stutters.
She tightens her fist. She hates that she seems scared to talk to him. Why is she acting like this? He is still Jayden Turner, her psychotic boss.
He looks at her.”So?”
She clears her throat.”Well, are you busy?”
His forest green eyes bored into her honey brown eyes.”Yes,”
“Can you stop what you are doing? You can continue after lunch break?”She asks.
“Evelyn, what are you driving at? What do you want to say? I don’t think I have time for all these. Just go straight to the point,” He rambles.
She looks into his eyes with her newfound courage. “Can you take me out for lunch?”
His brows furrow.”What do you mean?”
“Take me out for lunch. I promise I won’t waste your money. Trust me, I don’t eat much,” She continues.
Jayden stares at her in disbelief. What is wrong with his secretary? He has been ignoring her all these days, trying to forget about her existence in the office. She doesn’t seem to care about his change of attitude towards her. So, why did she come here with this silly offer?
“If you know you can’t take me for lunch, let me take you out then. Bills on me. Just don’t eat much,” She blurts out.
His eyes narrow.”Are you drunk, Skylar?”
She bites her bottom lip, thinking of another crazy offer.
“Should I just buy food for you, then bring it here? We will eat together. Hope you don’t mind?” She utters.
Jayden hit his palm on her forehead in frustration. Seems like his secretary is crazy.
He starts.”Evelyn, you – ”
She cut off his words instantly.”I will continue making suggestions, Mr. Jayden. Please, say yes to one,”
He nods his head in the affirmative. “Cook for me, Evelyn,” He mutters.
Her mouth falls open. She recalls that she had once told him that she hates cooking. He deliberately wants to set her up, so she will give up. But, she won’t. She won’t give up even if it means she will enter the kitchen, after a very long time.
A corner of his mouth curls upwards.”Can’t you do it?”
She takes a deep breath.”I will cook for you. Where are the gas cooker, pot, and foodstuff?”
“She is not going to give up,” He says in his mind.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
He will have to say something that will turn her off.
“They are in your house. You’re going to cook for me. In your house,” He drops the bombshell.
Evelyn frowns. Cooking in her house is not a big deal but she doesn’t want Mr. Jayden to see her cousin doing stupid videos or saying dirty things. Now, she is stuck between giving up and doing what he wants.
Jayden steals a glance at his computer, turning to her.”Leave my office if you can’t do it,” He says bluntly.
“I will cook for you. In my house,” She snaps.