Haunted by the past

Chapter Five

And so one moment changes your life! Never was there a truer reflection of the phrase. Everything as she knew it changed that night, and she still resented Jake for how her life had turned out. That day and the repercussions over the years had shaped her life, and she swore she'd never get into a situation like ever again.

She thought about Evan, he was sweet, caring, funny and sexy, more than she'd ever hope to see in a man. But he was her boss, and was in a position to ruin her and she couldn't let him do that. It had taken years to get her confidence back, and she wasn't sure that even now she had fully regained feelings of self worth. She couldn't let another man hit her into the gutter in the way that Jake had. If Evan was going to be in her life, then it would be as her boss, that was the position where he'd benefit her most, and she just had to prevent a repeat of their after dinner activities in the future.

On Monday she was dreading going to work. She didn't know how to face Evan. She'd left him in the street after throwing herself into his kiss so enthusiastically. And she'd purposely not answered her phone all weekend.

The office was quieter than usual, and she saw Eric scowling at her desk as she arrived. This was not how she needed this day to start.

"You ok?" she asked as she poured a mug of coffee from the machine.

He nodded, "I've just got a lot of hassle from above!" He gestured to the heavens but meant Evan.

"Anything I can help with?"

Eric groaned, then shook his head, "our beloved boss has just emailed me, is seems he's stepping back, talking about opening a small separate project. Something personal. Personal I tell you! That means that we..." he gestured around the room, "we have to pick up the pieces. Can you believe it?"

"Really?" Maddie couldn't help but relive her conversation with Evan where he'd told her how he missed cooking for people who mattered, for friends and exclusive people. Had he seriously taken her advice?

He nodded handing her an email, and she scanned it quickly, feeling her heart race as she realised that this was the restaurant he wanted to run. This was the concept he'd always dreamed about. He was following his dreams, days after discussing them with her. She didn't know what this, meant, but she felt touched that he may have actually listened to her.

Days passed and she still hadn't seen Evan, Eric was fraught; he was trying to organise a presentation of how he saw things developing over the next five years. There were a few candidates in line for the newly created management positions. It was really a company shake up and change had unsettled people. Gina was sniffing at a rise in the ranks, though she wasn't an obvious candidate in Maddie's eyes. Eric was at the moment the head honcho, but who knew what would happen if some outstanding candidates applied for positions in the restructure. Maddie smiled to herself, she couldn't see him running a restaurant, Eric thrived on the power that this job gave him. She was happy with her role; she had no intentions of changing anything. Not yet, it was all too soon.

On Friday afternoon she had a work email asking her to attend an address for an important meeting. It was an unsigned from the generic Club Tate email address, and on discussion with Gina, it seemed that she'd neither sent it, nor received something similar, so it wasn't a routine email to all staff.

Eric was visiting one of the restaurants to deal with some staffing issues, and she presumed it must be him. Though why he hadn't signed it she didn't know, he was hardly into subterfuge, the man was as obvious with his intentions as a man could be.

"I think it must be some plan of Eric's. I think he's feeling a bit vulnerable since that Peter visited," Gina offered.

Peter was a management candidate who'd wowed Evan apparently - he hadn't shown his face this week, and had been sent by their owner to discuss business plans with Eric. Eric had looked white with fear when the other man left, and he'd disappeared straight afterwards and they hadn't seen him since.