The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

Evie smiled. “Do you really want to know?”

I sighed. “Never mind. But thank you.”

Grams had asked us to drop her off at Marvin’s, so now it was just the two of us pulling into her driveway.

“You’re welcome,” Evie said.

I put the car in park and killed the ignition, but made no move to get out. “I think I’m going to work from down here until she’s out of the hospital and back home safely. I’ll probably arrange a nurse to come by and check on her, too, which will piss her off.”

Evie smiled. “It definitely will. But I’m glad you’re going to stay. I’m going to see if I can get a flight home late tonight or tomorrow morning. I didn’t cancel tomorrow’s patients yet, and I hate to have people think they aren’t my priority when I just started.”

“I don’t think that’s the case, but I understand.”

“Would it be okay with you if I came back? Her surgery is on Wednesday, and the doctor said she would only be in the hospital two or three days, so she’ll likely be home Friday or Saturday. I could come down for the weekend.”

“I’m sure she’d like that. Though I can only have you come back under one condition.”

“Oh?”

“I’m paying for your flight. And I’m reimbursing you for the one you already paid for.”

“No, it’s fine. I’d have done it for Kitty even if you weren’t my employer.”

“I know you would have. But it will make me feel better.”

She nodded, but I had a feeling she had no intention of giving me the bill, so I made a mental note to tell Joan in HR to put a bonus in her next check.

We went inside, and since the market was open today, I had some work to do and a bunch of calls to make. Evie went online and booked a ticket for 6 AM tomorrow morning and then said she was running to the store to pick up some things to make dinner.

It was almost six by the time I joined her in the kitchen. “It smells good in here.”

“I’m making chicken piccata, but I think it’s the cookies I’m baking that you smell.”

“Uh-oh. Should I be nervous about why you’re baking?”

She smiled. “No, I’m in a good mood. It was nice to be down here, and I’m relieved Kitty is feeling well and going to have the surgery.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

Evie turned to face me and leaned against the kitchen island. “Can I say something and you won’t get offended?”

“That’s never a good start to a conversation…”

She laughed. “It’s not terrible. Just an observation.”

I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the counter across from her. “Go ahead. Lay it on me.”

“Well, you’re a very different person out of the office. You come across as cold and hard, but you’re actually warm and soft.”

“Soft is not a word a man likes to hear himself described as, for many reasons.”

Evie smiled. “If you showed even just a glimpse of this side of you in the office, I think it would go a long way.”

I looked down, quiet for a moment. “I think I might have forgotten that there was another side of me. Maybe the trip down here was a reminder I needed.”

“Your grandmother is a special lady. She brings out the best in people.”

I looked up and caught Evie’s eye. “She is a special lady. But I’m not sure she’s the one who brought about the change.”

Evie’s lips parted, and I couldn’t stop staring at them for the longest time. When I finally forced my eyes up to meet hers, I found her watching me just as intently as I’d been watching her. But then…

“Merrick! We’re back!” Grams yelled from the other room. “Just wanted to let you know in case we’re walking in at a bad time.”

Evie and I looked at each other, breaking into smiles. I wasn’t sure if Grams had bad timing or good.





CHAPTER 18

Evie



I’d been looking forward to my Friday-morning patient all week for a few reasons. First, there were far more male traders than women, and I had only met with one other female trader so far. But secondly, Merrick had said Colette Archwood hated him. So I was curious what insight today’s session might bring.

My sessions were forty-five minutes, and for the first forty of Colette’s, we made small talk and I collected background. I hadn’t picked up on any discord with her job or Merrick, at least not until now.

“So how did you come to work at Crawford Investments?” I asked her. “I feel like just about everyone I’ve spoken to so far had a connection to Merrick or one of the managers.”

Colette frowned. “One of my close friends brought me on…Amelia Evans.”

“Oh.”

Colette sighed. “I take it you’ve heard about Amelia.”

I usually prided myself on not showing a reaction or judgment during sessions, but apparently, I’d let my mask slip. I shook my head. “Only that she was one of the founders and that she passed away.”

Colette harrumphed. “Passed away. That’s a nice way of putting it.”

My brows pulled together. “She didn’t pass away?”

“Oh, no. She’s dead alright. But passed away makes it sound…I don’t know, peaceful. Like she was sick and when her time came, a sweet angel walked her to the Pearly Gates.”