Page 7 of Strings Attached

There's a moment of silence between us, filled with an undercurrent of tension I can't quite name. Finally, Evander speaks again.

"There's one more thing, Mireille. About today..."

I freeze, wondering if he's going to call me out on my change in appearance. "Yes?"

He looks at me intently, his blue eyes piercing. "I hope you know that you don't need to change anything about yourself to be valued here. Your work speaks for itself."

I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks. So, he had noticed, and more than I thought. "I... thank you, Evander. I appreciate that."

He nods, seemingly satisfied. "Good. That's all I wanted to say. You can go back to your work now."

As I turn to leave, I pause at the door. "Evander?"

He looks up from his desk. "Yes?"

I give him a small smile. "For what it's worth, I'm looking forward to going to the gala with you."

For a brief moment, I see a softness in his eyes that takes my breath away. Then it's gone, replaced by his usual professional demeanor. "As am I, Mireille. As am I."

I leave his office feeling light-headed and giddy. Despite my initial doubts, it seems Lil might have been onto something after all. There's definitely something brewing between Evander and me—something that goes beyond the typical boss-employee relationship.

As I settle back at my desk, I can't help but smile to myself. The gala is still a week away, I’m slightly nervous about it, I'm not sure what’s going to happen, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a night to remember.

Chapter 4

Evander

“Lilian,”I hear Mireille call out, her voice filled with surprise. “What brings you here?”

“You haven’t been in today and I know how much you need your fix of hot chocolate for lunch, besides, I’m also here to get volunteers—” I pause mid-sentence in my email, overhearing the conversation outside my office door. Lilian, from the coffee shop, is here, apparently trying to rope Mireille into some volunteer work. I'm about to tune it out and return to my work when I hear my name mentioned.

"Oh, come on, Lil," Mireille says with a laugh. "There's no way Evander would agree to that. You know how he is about these town events."

"Which is precisely why he needs to participate!" Lilian insists. "It'll be good for him to get out and mingle with the community. Plus, I bet he'd look adorable trying to fly a kite."

I can practically hear Mireille rolling her eyes. "Evander Prescott and 'adorable' don't exactly go hand in hand, Lil."

"You never know," Lilian says slyly. "Maybe he'd surprise you."

There's a pause, and I find myself leaning closer to the door, straining to hear Mireille's response.

"Well," she says finally, her voice softer now. "He has been full of surprises lately..."

I feel an unexpected warmth in my chest at her words. Before I can overthink it, I stand up and move to the door, opening it just as Lilian is saying, "See? Now all we have to do is convince him-"

"Convince me of what?" I ask, causing both women to jump slightly.

Lilian recovers first, flashing me a bright smile. "Mr. Prescott! Just the man I wanted to see. How would you like to participate in Starlight Bay's National Kite Flying Day?"

I raise an eyebrow, glancing at Mireille who looks like she wants to sink into the floor. "Is that what all this fuss is about?"

Lilian nods enthusiastically. "It's for a good cause. All proceeds go to the local children's hospital. Plus, it's a great way to bond with the community."

I'm about to decline politely when I catch sight of Mireille's face. She's looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and... something else. Hope, maybe? The memory of her words “He has been full of surprises lately," echoes in my mind.

Before I can second-guess myself, I hear myself saying, "Alright, I'm in."

The shock on both women's faces would be comical if I wasn't feeling so off-balance myself.

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