A Broken Promise

Chapter 14

Georgia had skipped breakfast and gone right to work that morning, avoiding everyone she didn't want to see, but at lunch her stomach won the battle as she started towards the dining room.  Sylvia always put on a good spread at lunch.

The room was full when she entered it.  Ewan and Reggie were at one end of the dining table, papers spread out across the dark polished surface, deep in discussion. Carrie was doing something on a laptop to Ewan's left and Sylvia, Isobel, Diana, and Renee were all at the other end of the table eating.

They all looked up at her as she entered.  The ladies only paid her a passing glance but Ewan and Reggie both looked at her for longer than a moment, Reggie with a smile and Ewan with no emotion.  She noticed he was wearing his glasses which he did only when he would be working for awhile. So much for him paying a brief visit.

Lunch was a spread of chicken, shrimp, and ham salads with croissants and assorted sides.  Georgia picked the shrimp and fruit then sat at the only seat left at the table which was across from Carrie.

Taking her time getting settled, she looked at Carrie closely and she looked close to tears. She knew that Ewan and his sharp tongue was most likely the cause of it but she refused to look at him.

The ladies were all talking about clothes and vacation spots, a conversation which held little appeal for her, so there was no option of distraction there. Unable to help herself she listened to Ewan's deep voice as he talked with Reggie.

She let it wash over her, doing her best to choke down her food.

Carrie rose and moved towards Ewan and Georgia noted how her hands trembled as she spoke softly about something that ended with Ewan telling her to print the document that was on the laptop in front of them.

"What do you mean you don't know how?" His voice was slow as if he was talking to a child. Most people would show their frustration by taking off their glasses or rubbing their face but not Ewan.  He would use words as usual.

She watched as Carrie swallowed hard and looked as a deer would if caught in someone's headlights. She cleared her throat. "I'm not familiar with how to do that-"

"Is this not what you do for a living? Are you really so incompetent?" He wasn't yelling.  Ewan didn't yell.

Everyone in the room froze at his words except Georgia, she kept right on eating as if nothing was happening praying that Ewan got over his temper sooner rather than later. Ewan was generally not as impatient as he currently was which meant that there must be something serious going on for him to be so short.

"Why does my sister pay you?" Ewan waited for a reply. It was not a rhetorical question as one might think.  He really wanted an answer.

All heads turned to look at Diana but Georgia knew that she would be no help as she watched Carrie flounder, tears building in her eyes.

Unable to take the tension any longer Georgia rose and moved around the side of the table putting her hands on Carrie's shoulders and moving her aside with a gentle motion. Aware of Ewan's closeness and knowing he couldn't get up and move away from her, a little devil made her stay close next to him as she knelt down to see the computer better.

Her arm brushed his thigh as she turned the computer towards her and she could feel the heat and tension radiating off of him. If she turned her head to look up at him she would be lost so she focused on the job in front of her.

She minimized a few programs, opened a few new ones, clicked on a few commands and then turned the laptop back towards Ewan.  Rising, she left the dining room, which was in complete silence, crossed the hall to Sylvia's office, and returned with the printout a few moments later, handing it to Ewan.