Evangeline

23

"Shit, sorry." I heard Seeley mutter, and before I could react he was picking my phone up. Holding it out to me, his fingers were warm as they brushed against mine when I took my phone back.

"Oh, thank you." I smiled at him after I realised my phone was crack-free.

"Are you finished already?" Looking up at Seeley, I saw his face was back to its normal unreadable expression.

"No, um, I'm just getting food for Mr Jackson. Do you want me to get you anything?" The words were out of my mouth before I had time to register them. Well it's fine, he is the bosses step-son. I was being nice. I hope he doesn't think I'm being weird.

"No thanks. Mind if I walk you?" I froze. I think my heart stopped beating. What the heck? Why would he want to come with me? Sweet cheeses, is this because of what I said last night? This is so embarrassing. I nodded stiffly, and we made our way through the lobby and out the main doors.

"How rough were you and Molly this morning?" He knew Molly's name? What is going on? I laughed a little.

"We weren't bad. I don't know if Molly was even drinking last night, and I'd only had a beer before..."

"Before you asked me to break your back?" Choking on air, my eyes widened at his words. I hadn't expected him to be so forward about it! Coughing, I tried to think of something to say.

"Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I was a little zooted." I laughed softly to myself. Despite how awkward it was, it was pretty fun. Seeley laughed quietly from beside me as we turned a corner, and I took in what he was wearing. Decked in a suit and tie, he looked pretty fancy. I wondered if he had to wear suits when he came to the office.

"Jared told me he bumped into you last night." I gasped and squealed, clapping my hands in excitement.

"Did he tell you?"

"Tell me what?" He was frowning now.

"I caught him and Molly sneaking back in to the party. They did it on the roof!" I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice down. I was so excited though! He visibly relaxed.

"Molly and Jared had sex?" I felt my skin blush a dark red at his words, and I just nodded. "About time." I heard him say quietly, and my brows furrowed. What was that supposed to mean?

"Where were you most of the night if Jared was with Molly? I didn't see you after the game, apart from, y'know... embarrassing the pancakes out of myself." My blush was getting worse the more I spoke, bringing back what had happened in the kitchen. I can't believe we shared a strawberry! Embarrassing myself was becoming a regular thing.

"I ended up playing poker with some of the American football players and the rugby team." I nodded absentmindedly as we pulled up outside the cafe. Seeley pulled the door open and waited for me to enter. I blushed and ducked under his arm, thanking him. I ordered Mr Jackson's food and we waited at a little table by the window. Watching people walk past, I was pulled out of my daydream when Seeley addressed me.

"Evangeline."

"You don't need to use my whole name, you can just call me Evan. Everyone else does." I smiled, and as usual Seeley's expression barely moved.

"Evangeline," My smile faltered. But I kind of liked him using my full name. Nobody really did. "When I was playing poker, Gregor Barnes came in and started the next game with us. He said he'd just been looking everywhere for you because something had happened and he wanted to know if you were okay." My breath hitched and I clasped my fingers together tightly under the table. "What happened?"

"It was nothing, just a little incident. Gregor was so lovely though, I really appreciated his help." Seeley's expression darkened ever so slightly. "Really, it was nothing. Don't worry about it." I tried to brush it off, but the expression on Seeley's was making me really nervous. I didn't want to tell him in case he did anything rash. Suddenly, my name was being called, and I collected the brown bag of food from the counter, putting the order on Mr Jackson's tab.

We walked back to the office side by side in silence. Not a word had been uttered until some guy bumped into me, shoving me into Seeley's side and making me drop the bag.

"Hey." Seeley snapped at the guy, who had stopped to scowl at me. Seeley held me gently by the shoulders to steady me, and glared at the man. He couldn't have been much older than us, in his twenties, but Seeley was way taller. "I think you owe her an apology." I picked up the bag, noticing one of the handles had ripped, and checking that the food was okay. I folded the top of the bag over to make it easier to carry.

"I think she needs to watch where she's going." The man snapped back, sending me a glare with such intensity that I took a step back, my grip on the bag tightening.

"I think you need to watch your mouth." Seeley took a step towards the guy, who took an instinctive step back. I reached out and wrapped my hand around Seeley's elbow, pulling him back. He didn't move, of course. But he looked down at me and nodded, stepping away from the guy. I heard the man scoff as we walked away and Seeley tensed up again, and so I tightened my grip on his elbow in a weak attempt to keep him still. But he didn't move. We were a few steps away and I began to move my hand away, but Seeley took my wrist and put it back on his arm, resting just above his elbow. I tried to stifle the smile that crossed over my face, but I couldn't keep it in. I bet we looked like an old married couple. I shook the thought away as we approached the office building and went in, entering the lift and waiting for it to move.

I moved my hand from Seeley's arm as we entered the floor, and I held the bag in both hands. My eyes spotted Edward sitting in the same place I'd left him, and I opened the bag. Handing him a brownie, he took it from my hand without looking up from his book. I turned away from him and found Seeley waiting for me with a curious look on his face. 

"My brother." I said bashfully.

Smiling at him shyly, we walked towards Mr Jackson's office and waited for a response after I knocked on the door. Stepping in after he called out, Mr Jackson nodded at me firmly as I placed the bag on his desk. His brows lifted slightly in surprise when he noticed Seeley standing behind me. His expression became straight again before he addressed us.

"Oh, well, I'm glad I caught the both of you. This weekend is the long weekend, and the company retreat. Now, Elderflower, I know you're new here, but this is something I expect you to attend. And Seeley, you better be there. No skipping out like you did last year." He announced. What happens on a company retreat? Like a wilderness thing?

"Wouldn't dream of it." Seeley said, and heat pooled in my stomach when he glanced over at me with a strange look in his eye. Nerves twisted inside of me, but I think part of it was excitement. Excitement for what? Heck if I knew.

"Um, how are we getting there?" I asked, wringing my hands together.

"Well everybody else is sorted, other than you two. Now, Seeley, you can either drive up with me on Friday afternoon, or you can get a taxi. I assume you can't drive?" Mr Jackson was looking at me now, and I nodded. It was easier than giving a rambled explanation on how I can, I just won't have a car. "Right then, you can get a taxi on Friday afternoon. I'll give you the company card to use, and Seeley you already have a company card so just charge the fees to that. You'll both receive emails about everything else before Friday, Yvonne's sending them over." I had no idea who Yvonne was, but with a dismissive wave, me and Seeley left the office.

Making my way over to my desk, I slumped back into my chair. This was something exciting to look forward to, I think. I just need to not focus on all the new people I'm going to meet. And being in a new place. My thoughts were distracted as I watched Seeley wander over to Edward. I watched quietly as they spoke for a good few minutes. Weird. Edward hates new people. I shook my confusion away and focused back on my work. I had a bunch of files to get through before I could go home, and I was tired as heck.