Chapter 17
Evan loved Christmas so much. But this one held no joy for him. Frankly, he was worried about Jessica as he attempted to focus on wrapping up the work he had left to do before closing the office for Christmas. It was so hard to pay attention; he didn’t care about work half as much as Jessica. Not having her in the office made everything feel empty and weird.
One of his developmental planners, Isaac, knocked on his door and shyly stepped in. This mousy man was obviously in love with Jessica, but also astute enough to recognize that Evan had laid claim to her. “Um, sir?” he asked.
“Yes?” Evan glanced up from his Mac, where he was trying so hard to pay more attention to the digits on his screen than his swirling snow globe of feelings.
“Um, what happened with Miss Allen?”
“We’re putting that project on hold,” Evan said through the lump in his throat.
“Well…” Isaac shifted uncomfortably. “So your mother alerted security to keep her out of the building and warned all of us to avoid her. May I ask what happened? Was she stealing or something?”
Evan ceased working and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyeballs to stop the migraine he felt starting. “She didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just a jealousy thing. My mom isn’t supposed to be in here either.” He reached into his pocket and tossed his mother’s key card onto the table. “Just so you know.”
Isaac stared. “May I ask what happened?”
“I am the CEO here, not my mother. You guys listen to me, not her. I want her out of the business,” Evan replied. The coldness in his tone surprised him. Usually he was such a warm guy.
Isaac was clearly surprised too. He gulped, then nodded. “Very well. Um, so I should scrap our project with Miss Allen or…?”
There was no point keeping up the pretense. “Yes, that project has ended. Please scrap all of it and get rid of the evidence, too.”
“Get rid of the evidence?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. Just shred everything. We don’t need any of the blueprints or plans anymore.”
“Oh….okay.” Isaac hesitated for a moment before realizing that Evan was not going to provide any more information. Then he slunk away, clearly shaken.
The idea occurred to him and he promptly put in a call to security to inform them to keep his mother out and let Jessica in.
“Really, sir?” the head of security sounded stunned. “Are you sure about that?”
“I am the CEO, right?” Evan replied. Then he softened his tone. “I am dead serious. I want to restructure how this place is run. I am in charge, not my mother. She is a board member but she no longer has any clout in this company. She may not waltz in here anymore. I have her key card and I need you to deactivate it. She is not permitted in the offices except for board meetings, when she is allowed to come in as a guest.”
“All right, sir,” the head of security said hesitantly.
It didn’t take very long for word to get around the office about Linda’s banishment. Everyone kept stopping by Evan’s office, indirectly trying to fish information out of him. But he kept his mouth shut. “Please don’t let my mother in here. Don’t believe her if she says that she lost her card,” he told everyone bluntly. “Security has been informed, as well.”
Everyone stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Linda’s presence in the office was drilled into their minds as normalcy. Many of them respected her word over Evan’s. Those days were now over, though, and Evan felt both guilty and exhilarated as he hardened himself. This was his company. And until he could find a suitable predecessor, he would run the show. Nevertheless, in the back of his mind, he was already planning his exit. He would miss this place, primarily because of the years he had spent here and the co-workers he had become close with, but he was not a CEO at heart. It was time for him to do what he loved and turn this place over to someone more cut out for the position. It was time to leave the cold corporate atmosphere and find a new place in the public sector, helping those in need.
Maybe Jessica had been a total fraud. Maybe she had left his life. But she had made a lasting mark and he could not thank her enough. Even if he couldn’t be with her, or even talk to her again, he could at least live with her in his heart forever.
Still, he missed her warm, tight pussy. The feeling of her creamy skin as she held him. The scent of her perfume and her shampoo and her sweat when they made love. The sound of her voice and her panting and her moaning. He settled back in his seat and shut his eyes to allow the images of Jessica to fill his mind. It was a strange sort of fantasizing, more like a kaleidoscope of memories and unfulfilled plans.
At two o’clock, Evan couldn’t stand it anymore. He shut down the office and sent everyone home for the next week for the holidays. The generous holidays that he offered his employees on holiday seasons was one of the perks of working at Davis Enterprises, and one of the few things he had managed to keep going despite his mother’s insistence that he demand more of his workers. He continued to ensure that even his construction workers and couriers and other non-administrative employees all shared the same excellent benefits. That was one thing that his workers were not willing to give up; they were willing to disobey his mother and listen to him on that front. That was how he knew that none of them would mind the absence of his mother’s domineering and intimidating authority in the office.
Everyone cheered. But then they exchanged looks.
“Um, sir?” Isaac piped up.
“Yes?” Evan asked.
“Are we still having the Christmas party? You know, tonight at your mother’s?”
Evan had been so distracted that he had forgotten all about the annual Christmas party. Honestly he had no idea. “I suppose that if you want to go, you can. I won’t be there, though.”
“But you have to come,” Debbie, the secretary, pouted. Debbie had always had the biggest crush on him. “I have a present for you! And I didn’t bring it in today. I was saving it for tonight.”
“Yeah, me too,” others chimed in.
Someone showed him the fancy invitation that his mother had already sent out. She had hired catering and a decorator.
Evan groaned. “I suppose I’ll make a brief appearance,” he agreed, to everyone’s relief.
Without much joy, Evan approached his mother’s palatial home. It was decked out in lights and he could tell there was a full house. Evan always made sure that even his most elementary workers were invited each year and his mother always complied without much resistance because it made her look good to her investors, who were also always invited.
The doorman eagerly greeted him with a gift bag and took his coat. He entered the living room, where everyone cheered at his arrival. Through the crowd, he noticed his mother glanced at him before rapidly looking away. Her ego was clearly punctured.
He accepted a glass of champagne and mingled. People kept telling him they had left him presents under the giant tree taking up a massive amount of space in his mother’s living room. Evan had also gotten presents for each of his workers, and had them delivered under the tree. He didn’t want to stay until midnight, when they usually opened presents. But what choice did he have? People seemed to be painfully aware of how he avoided his mother.
The doorbell rang and the doorman answered. He seemed to be arguing with someone about how she was not on the list. Then Evan heard Jessica’s voice. She was screaming his name.
He ran outside. The doorman attempted to intercept him for his protection but Evan shoved past him. There she was, her cheeks flushed with the cold and her eyes bright with tears. “Evan!” she cried.
Evan propelled down the steps and caught her in his arms. “Oh, Jessica,” he moaned. That was his first time using her real name without thinking about it and holding his tongue. It felt good to release the truth and break down the masks.
“Evan.” Jessica looked up at him with tears sprinkled down her cheeks. “I found out the most incredible news. And I don’t know if I should happy or sad, but it will change our lives.”
Evan opened his mouth to ask her what she had found out. But then his mother appeared in the doorway, her throws draped around her elbows. “I thought I had seen the last of you, but I guess you and your mother have a funny way of always haunting me,” she snarled.
Evan put up a defensive hand. “Stop, Mother. Can’t you see she’s upset?”
“She’ll be more upset when the police arrive. That’s right. I called them and they are very interested in Miss Jessica Collins here. And you, son, well you can cut me out of your company. But I will cut you out of my will. You’ll be left with nothing.”
“You know I don’t care about money,” Evan replied meekly. Then he put his arm firmly around Jessica’s back. “Let’s go somewhere so that we can talk. Don’t even worry about the cops.” He dinged his driver on his phone and the sleek black car pulled up. “Let’s go, dear,” he said, as he helped her into the car.
“You’re aiding and abetting!” his mother cried hoarsely. She had already had quite a bit to drink and it was apparent in the way she tipped and swayed. Other people gasped; a huge pool of onlookers had gathered on the portico to watch the scene unfold and many of them recognized Jessica from the office.
“Take us to a park far from here and hide the car,” Evan instructed his driver. He pulled Jessica into him and could feel her beating heart. “I won’t let you get arrested,” he assured her. “My mother was probably just bluffing, but I’ll keep you safe.”
“They’ll probably check your place,” Jessica replied anxiously.
Evan nodded. “Perhaps. So we’ll get a nice room. Wow, I was so worried about you. I wasn’t sure if I would ever see you again.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
“Why would I be?”
“Well, I did try to scam you,” she admitted reticently. She seemed to be puzzled by his warm reception.
“I knew that for a long time. But I wasn’t trying to scam you, Jess. Can I call you Jess?”
She nodded, a slow smile started to touch her beautiful and full lips.
“I knew who and what you were for a long time. But I sensed more underneath. I was hoping to unlock that and get the truth straight from you over time. That was my only scam. I should’ve just been honest.”
“I’m glad you feel that way because I missed you.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” Evan squeezed her close.
“By the way…what I had to tell you is….” She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a strange plastic object. Evan squinted at it, trying to figure out what it was. “I’m pregnant,” she informed him just as it registered what the device was and what the two lines on the window meant.