The Attraction File (Cake Love Book 2)

by Elizabeth Lynx

  “Then what was happening in there, Edgar? Answer me that. I have never known Ms. Bechmann to sit on desks when meeting with people.”

  “She almost fainted, Jacob. I needed to discuss what the detectives mentioned last week, and the possibility of hiring someone to replace Ashton Graham with her. She followed me to my office, which is why I texted you to meet her here because she mentioned you two had a meeting.”

  I was laying it on thick, but my brother was buying it.

  “In the elevator she didn’t seem well, and I practically had to carry her into my office.”

  My brother nodded his head. “Oh. I see. When I saw you two I just thought—”

  “The worst. I know. Why would you expect more from your own brother?” I smirked.

  “No, Jacob. I’m sorry. There have been some issues with our overseas distributers and some changes in the laws in Europe and Britain. I think the stress is getting to me. I really am sorry.”

  I slapped my brother on the back in a friendly way. “Yeah, I get it. With Ashton missing and that some of the computers got hacked, I haven’t been myself lately either.”

  He put his arm around my back as I dodged it and mussed up his graying blond hair. We laughed and hugged it out.

  “We need to discuss what you found from the computers. Did you uncover anything about the hacking after looking at Evaleen’s, Henrik’s, and your computer?”

  “No.”

  That was the problem. It appeared the computers were shredded. Wiped clean. Because there was information on our server that wasn’t found on the computers. It was someone who knew what they were doing. Ashton could have done it but if a shredder was used, I had a feeling he wasn’t alone.

  I wanted to find out a bit more before I told Jacob. Besides, he seemed to have some worries of his own right now. I loved my brother. There was no need to worry him before I had all the facts.

  We walked back into my office to find Evaleen sitting with her back to the door across from my desk. I went around and bent to place my hand on her shoulder. Her hair was fixed, as was her clothing.

  Even her gaze returned to the guarded and focused one I have known all these years.

  “I was just telling Jacob here about how you almost fainted in the elevator. I suggested you take the rest of the day off, Evaleen. He agreed, didn’t you, Jacob.”

  Jacob came to the other side of her and leaned against my desk, his face full of concern. “Yes. Evaleen, if you are unwell you need to take care of yourself. I’m just thankful Edgar was there to help you.”

  Evaleen’s wide eyes bounced between me and Jacob before her rigid back relaxed. The stress, the worry of the last few minutes, seemed to blow out in one breath. Her hand reached up to her head as she nodded.

  “Don’t try to talk. Edgar will help you home. Make sure you get there safe.” Jacob patted me on the shoulder.

  Evaleen started to get up before Jacob moved to her side, helping her to her feet.

  “I don’t think I need help getting home. I can go myself. In fact, I am feeling a lot better. Maybe I should just go back to my office and eat something. I think I’m fine.”

  Jacob shook his head. “No, I won’t hear of it. Edgar.” He looked at me and jerked his head, indicating for me to help him.

  “If she is feeling better, maybe she could—”

  “Edgar.” Jacob’s jaw tightened.

  That was a fight only Jacob would win. My brother may get on my nerves at times, but he had a big heart. If anyone was hurting, he made sure they were taken care of.

  To make sure we followed his directions, he accompanied us to her office to pick up her things and then out to the sidewalk where he hailed a cab for us.

  When the taxi pulled up and we both got inside, he gazed into the window. “Now you take care of her, Edgar. She’s the best HR manager we have ever had.” Jacob winked at Evaleen before standing back up.

  The car moved away from the curb and got off Michigan Avenue, exiting onto Lakeshore Drive. Evaleen had her head turned and gazed out to the choppy waves hitting the beach. Only a few dedicated runners were out on this late March day, jogging along the bike trail that was sandwiched between Lakeshore Drive and the water.

  “I’m sorry. I needed to tell him you were sick so he wouldn’t think, that, uh, you know.”

  She turned to face me. “I understand. Thank you. I thought for sure I was going to be fired.”

  “Nah. He wouldn’t have fired you. You heard him back there, you are the best HR manager we have ever had.”

  She blushed and glanced down at her clasped hands. “I thought he was just saying that because he thought I was sick.”

  I placed my hand over Evaleen’s. “How do you see yourself, Evaleen?”

  “What?” She tilted her head.

  “What I mean is, do you think you are a good HR manager?”

  Evaleen shrugged. “I work hard. Make sure that anyone that’s hired is good enough for the company. Nothing gets by me.”

  I glanced up to the front of the taxi and saw the brown eyes of the driver move away.

  “Of course all that is true, but when you boil everything down, do you see yourself as a good worker? A great HR manager?”

  She nodded but it was followed by a shrug.

  “I want you to say it, Evaleen.”

  The lines on the ridge between her eyes wrinkled before she rolled her eyes. “This is silly, Edgar. What are you Robin Williams and I’m Matt Damon? Suddenly we aren’t in Chicago but Boston?”

  Evaleen blew the air out of her lips and shook her head. She glanced back out the window as the cab turned and abruptly came to a stop.

  “We’re here.” The accented voice came from the front of the vehicle.

  Evaleen removed her seat belt and quickly opened the car door, slamming it behind her.

  She must have had the money in her pocket because the driver was given cash before I could even take off my seat belt.

  I glanced up, but she was gone.

  SIXTEEN

  Evaleen

  “You’re home early.” My mom smiled at me walking in from the hallway.

  I leaned my back against the front door, trying to catch my breath. My mom made a face. “Oh no, is Mrs. Charles out there again. If she is, I’m not here. Also, tell her I’m on a cleanse and can’t have food.”

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed off the door. Dropping my bag, I shrugged off Big Earl, placing him on the coat rack in the corner.

  “You are on a cleanse?” I was dubious about cleanses. It’s just a glorified fast. I did one once in my early twenties—ended up gaining all the weight I lost back plus a few extra pounds after I stopped. Plus, I was angry all the time when I was on the cleanse. It wasn’t a good week.

  “No, not really. But she keeps pushing the lemon cookies she bakes on me. Have you tried them?”

  I shook my head.

  “Don’t. They’re terrible. How can anything with lemon in it taste like pickles?”

  Somehow the thought of lemons made me think of Edgar. Which brought my tears back. I let my head fall into my hands as a sob took over.

  “Oh, Evaleen, what’s wrong?”

  Damn it. I am really bad at this crying thing. Always picking the worst times.

  My mother came over to me and wrapped her arms around me. She guided me to the couch, never letting go.

  “This, Mom. This is what’s wrong.” I waved a hand around my face.

  She cupped her hands on my cheeks, her blue eyes searching every inch of my face. “I don’t understand. I don’t see anything wrong. Did you hurt yourself at work? Is that why you came home early?”

  I nodded. “You could say that.”

  I tried to figure out how best to explain to my mom that the man I had been fantasizing about for the past five years was about to kiss me when I exploded in tears in front of him.

  Thankfully I didn’t have to explain as there was a knock at the door.

  “Stay put. I’ll see
who it is. If it’s Mrs. Charles again, I’ll tell her we are both on a cleanse.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle as I wiped the tears from my face.

  I heard the door open. “Oh, uh, may I help you?”

  “Is Evaleen Bechmann here?”

  The sound of Edgar’s voice had me snatching a napkin from the coffee table and frantically wiping down my face. A quick scan of the area made me realize there were no mirrors around. I knew my face was red and puffy.

  Maybe my mom would tell him I wasn’t here and refuse to let a person she didn’t know into the house. Someone who could easily have looked up my name and where I lived on the Internet just to gain access into our apartment to kill us.

  That’s it, no more crime shows for me.

  “Of course, come right in.”

  Great, my mom just let in a potential serial killer. I knew Edgar wasn’t a serial killer but she didn’t know that.

  I got up and moved to the entryway. He stood there smiling at her with warmth. Edgar was a nice guy, but the way he gazed at my mom was as if he knew her. Which was weird since I had never even mentioned my family at work. I guess it’s his natural charisma bursting forth.

  My mother shut the door and turned finding me staring at Edgar. “Oh, Evaleen, this man . . . ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

  “It’s Edgar,” he said.

  I watched and was able to pinpoint the minute realization hit my mother. Her eyes widened as she looked Edgar up and down. “Well, how do you do, Edgar?” She hesitated but ended up giggling and putting out her hand. He shook it as she blushed.

  My mother would lose badly at poker. Badly.

  She turned toward me raising her brow and dipping her head. Her grin said everything, Look who is here, Evaleen, your crush. I know it’s your crush so don’t go denying it. It’s him and he’s hot. No wonder he is the star of all your romance books.

  Yup, that’s exactly what her expression said.

  “I’m about to hop in the shower because I have to leave soon, so it was nice to see you, Edgar.” My mom patted him on the arm which devolved into her groping his upper arm before she finally let out a sigh and let him go. She winked at me before heading down the hallway toward her bathroom.

  “You look a lot like your mom.” Edgar jerked his head toward the hall she retreated down.

  I folded my arms and glared at him. “I never told you that was my mother. We could be completely unrelated for all you know. Maybe I prefer to only room with people who look almost exactly like me. You don’t know that.”

  Edgar stepped closer his gaze set on me. “Evaleen, there is a reason I know that woman is your mother. It has to do with why I brought you to my office to begin with. Before things got uh—”

  “Weird?”

  He released a soft chuckle as he shook his head. “Yeah, kind of. I think things went sideways when porn was discussed.”

  I nibbled on the tip of my thumb as the embarrassment of that moment flooded back.

  “Anyway, I still want to show you what my investigator found.”

  Taking a deep breath hoping I wouldn’t break into tears again, I nodded. Edgar took a seat on the couch as I showed him into the living room. I remained standing on the other side of the coffee table.

  He patted the cushion next to him. “This isn’t an actual porno, Evaleen. I’m not going to rip your clothes off the moment you come to sit next to me.”

  If he only knew that was a scene I wrote in one of my books called When a Laird Comes Calling. The scene began to play in my head. Now I really didn’t want to sit next to Edgar.

  “Okay, have it your way.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “There is a man I have known for a long time that helps me find people. I went to school with his son. I reached out to him when Ashton went missing, hoping to find out what happened to him.”

  I felt silly standing there. I moved around the table and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch.

  “He sent me a picture today. Of Ashton. But there was someone in that photo who you might be interested in seeing.”

  Why would I be interested in someone who knows Ashton? It’s not like I knew Ashton that well anyway. In the two years he worked for the company, I interacted with him only a handful of times.

  Edgar reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped it a few times before handing it over to me.

  My ears burned and without thinking, I reached up to touch one. It didn’t feel hot to the touch but inside I was on fire. Even my eyes felt molten and they fluttered, but the only thing that came out were salty tears.

  At least I was crying at the right time.

  For the man in the picture on Edgar’s phone with much darker hair than I remembered, was a monster. He was hideous and disgusting, and the last person I ever wanted to see again.

  The image was of them leaving a coffee shop, based on the logo etched into the glass door behind them. Ashton was sideways but even I could tell it was him. There was another man with them, with disheveled brown hair, but I didn’t know who he was.

  The monster stared directly into the camera as if he knew his picture was being taken. As if he knew I would be the one looking at it.

  I had seen that expression too many times to know what it meant and still, I kept gawking. My stomach churned like it used to but my eyes stayed locked with his. Even when my sight blurred to the point where the picture was just smears of color I wouldn’t turn away.

  A hand, at least a blur of a hand, came over the phone. Edgar pulled it from me. “I’m sorry, Evaleen. But I felt you needed to see.”

  I turned my head toward him but kept my eyes on his phone. “I don’t understand. Why would you . . . I don’t understand.” I shook my head and squeezed my face tight.

  Not now. I needed to speak. To ask questions. To understand this. I was wrong. This wasn’t the proper time to cry. This was the time to find out how to make it all go away.

  But my throat tightened so I couldn’t speak.

  My eyesight unclear so I couldn’t run.

  “You know him as Shane Reynolds, but his real name is Damien Rosen.”

  “What? But how?” My voice was raw but I could at least get out something.

  “I know what he did to your mom, Evaleen. I know a lot about Damien.” He turned to face me and took my hand in his. “I also know what he did to you.”

  My jaw tightened, and this time I let the tears fall down my face. I took a breath and stood before walking to the door.

  Opening it, I glanced over at Edgar. “You don’t know anything about me, Edgar. I think you need to leave now.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Edgar

  October 31, 5 Years Ago

  I can’t believe it’s her. She kept touching my chest. Also, for whatever reason she was humming an 80s song.

  “Is that ‘I would walk 500 miles’?” The barista that just a few minutes ago was about to accept a date with me, figured out the title.

  As for me, I was still in shock that I found her. “Blue eyes.”

  I knew her name, Evaleen Bechmann, but when my mind would wander to her they would always conjure up images of those eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I have an interview shortly so I guess I am a bit nervous.” Her dark lashes fanned her cheeks as she closed her eyes, putting an end to the daze I was in. “Let me buy your drink to make up for it.”

  Evaleen opened her eyes and turned to the barista. “The boldest coffee you have. Medium. And whatever this man was ordering.”

  Was she still struggling? My eyes swept down over her body. Her brown suit, while clean and appeared well cared for, was very large on her. What I knew about where she grew up, how she grew up, I wondered if her clothes were second hand.

  “That will be eight dollars and twenty-six cents.” The barista watched Evaleen dig in her bag.

  Before she could produce any money, I slipped a ten to the barista.

>   I nodded to her and the barista blushed as she took the cash. It wasn’t hard to make a woman blush for me. One of the very few things that came easily.

  I had a feeling making Evaleen blush would require more than a smile and a wink. Just knowing that made me want to try.

  When Evaleen finally raised her head with a crinkled bill the barista shook her head and pointed to me. She turned her gaze to me, and I quickly placed my hand on her back.

  I had never felt anyone go rigid so quickly. It threw me off, and I glanced over to see if something was wrong.

  The way Evaleen’s eyes cut into me and then traveled the length of my arm to the hand that was on her back made me realize the problem was me.

  I gave her my best shy puppy-dog face. “Sorry. Habit when I see a beautiful woman.”

  Evaleen folded her arms in front of herself. “So you go around touching strangers based on how attractive they are?”

  I knew she would be a challenge, obviously a bit hardened by life, so her reaction shouldn’t surprise me.

  “I guess you’re right. I do touch people I find attractive.” I scratched at my beard forgetting I painted it blue this morning for Halloween. Flakes of blue makeup floated to the ground.

  Evaleen rolled her top lip into her mouth and it was wonderful. Up until the point her teeth clenched. “Look, I apologized for touching you earlier. I am honestly sorry for that. In fact, I wanted to buy your drink to make up for it . . .”

  I nodded my head. I had to admit she was kind of sexy when she was pissed off.

  “Just because you bought me a drink instead doesn’t give you the right to touch me. I don’t know you. The only people I let touch me are my mom and the guy who does those hand massages at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg because nothing beats a hand massage.”

  So she was single. I couldn’t help but smile at her no-touching status.

  “I prefer a good foot massage, myself.” I leaned my elbow against the pickup bar.

  “Have you had a hand massage before?” Her features eased from angry to confident.