Okay…
Evaleen is now sifting through the box I brought and after a minute of silence looks up at me. She’s crinkling her brow and narrowing her eyes. "Why is this a surprise Drake?"
I do a quick headshake as my eyes dart around the area wondering if this is some really late April Fools’ joke I am the butt of.
"Are you kidding me? I had sex with my boss." I grab her hand and drag her into Henrik's office, which is now bare. My breath evaporates in shock as I absorb the bare walls, desk, and anything Henrik ever touched. Almost absentmindedly, I look to where Planty used to be, my eye drawn to the slightly discolored carpet from the water stain.
Hearing Evaleen groan snaps me back from thinking about an old dead plant and a former boss. We stop beside the large desk and I point as if I am giving her a tour. "This is where Henrik and I had sex."
Refusing to let go of her hand, I guide us back to the door and point again. "And this is where you, Mr. Ethan Mimir, and Mr. Jacob Mimir walked in on us."
Finally I let go and turn to face her. "Now you tell me, is that not a case for someone to get fired? Because most people would assume they are fired after that."
Evaleen chuckles as she places her hands on my arms giving me that pity look she does so well when she knows the truth. The awful truth.
"Oh Drake, yeah you are right. Jacob wanted to fire you and Payne. I fought for you and Ethan fought for Payne. Why he fought for him, I don't know, but they are friends so there you go. The Mimir brothers and I were discussing your future with this company when Payne burst into my office not long after we walked in on you two. That's when Payne told us that he specified to you that your job, especially your chances at the Executive Development Program, depended on you two getting together sexually."
Evaleen sneered as she said the final words. I shook my head. "No, that's simply not true." I may be mad at Henrik, but I am not going along with a lie, especially if it paints him as a slimy boss.
"I know Drake. You understand my feelings for Payne are very much the opposite of your feelings for him, but even I was telling him not to do that. I actually..." Evaleen put the back of her hand on her forehead and for a moment I thought she was about to faint, she took a deep breath and leaned against the bare walls for support. "I told Mr. Jacob Mimir that Payne has been...oh God...wow, this is harder than I thought. I am actually having a harder time telling you than I did Mr. Mimir."
I grab her arms and give her a slight shake. "What? What did you tell him?"
"Hey, watch it Drake. Don't make me regret this. Look, I told Mr. Mimir that I knew for a fact that what Payne was saying wasn't true. That he was a good...ugh...good boss." She visibly shuttered and dry heaved after saying it.
I stood there staring at Evaleen with my mouth wide open. I'm in shock that Evaleen would stick up for Henrik, and that Henrik would say any of this to the Mimir brothers to begin with. Why would he lie about that? Why would he lie about forcing me to have sex with him? I don't understand any of this. Evaleen can tell I am lost, so she wraps her arm around my shoulder as she guides me out of Henrik’s old office and toward hers.
"I know this is a lot to take in. That's why I have been trying to call you. I even tried to get a hold of Dixon, but she was with some guy and didn't know where you were."
"Oh, yeah. I went to my favorite bakery, Got Cake. It's one of those all night bakeries." I can hear the defeat in my voice.
Evaleen sits me at her desk as she heads over to her side and starts digging through drawers.
"But I still don't understand how I am signing paperwork for the program?" I look at her, still in a daze.
"Reluctantly, Mr. Mimir fired Payne, but not before Payne tried to claim your idea about the small distributors overseas to solve our problem there. I guess he thought he could keep his job if he solved the company's problem. Of course, he didn't count on you having told me about it Monday night. That's when things got ugly." Evaleen's lips curl as she rubs her hands together in a devilish manner.
"That mother fucker! I can't believe he tried to steal my idea. I trusted him. Here I thought I was the asshole in all this, wanting to break up to salvage our jobs. God, I am a fool."
I sit back in the chair and sigh. How could he do this? That’s not like Henrik at all. He may be an asshole but he would never steal an idea to save himself or steal an idea in general. Maybe I don’t know him like I thought. We have only known each other for five months. With all he has confessed to me in London, how I witnessed him laugh more, and the way he touched me, I felt more connected with Henrik than all my years together with Trevor Trance.