Change of Heart (The Flanagan Sisters, #2) (13 page)

“I insist. You need to keep drawing.” He turned to Carmen. “She’s good enough to go the arts center for lessons.”

“I will make sure she does.”

“No,” Teresa insisted and spoke to Carmen in Spanish.

“She says it does not pay the bills and she can’t afford it.”

Anger welled up in him. That’s what he’d always been told. “It pays mine.” He put a hand over the girl’s hand. “These are a gift. I would like you to have them. I remember wanting to draw so much when I was younger than you.” Life wasn’t all about earning money. There had to be pleasure in it as well.

She nodded. “
Gracias
.”

“We should go,” Carmen announced. “I must be back for afternoon lessons. Zita will be finished.”

“Thanks for your help,” he said.

“Thank you for yours,” Carmen replied, nodding toward Teresa, who had the pencils and pad clutched against her chest.

Pleasure welled up inside him as he waved them off. He’d paid the gift he’d been given forward. Encouraging Teresa the way his primary school teacher had encouraged him.

His day couldn’t get better.

B
y the end of the day, Carly had to concede that Evan had been right. Without Hayden there to answer her phone and field her calls, she’d got nothing done. If she hadn’t already had meetings booked, she would have been chained to her desk all day. She called Hayden to find out how he was.

“Hello?” The quiet, pathetic greeting was enough to tell Carly he wasn’t going to be at work tomorrow.

“How are you feeling, Hayden?”

“Like I could sleep for a hundred years. Thanks for my basket.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m sorry, Carly, I don’t think I’m going to be in this week. My friends who’ve had this have been laid low for a week.”

“That’s not a problem. I’ll get a temp in to answer phones. You concentrate on getting better.”

“Thanks. The temp agency number is in my contacts. Don’t forget there’s the gala ball on Friday night. You need to find another date.”

Carly shook her head. He was as sick as a dog and still organizing her, though she had forgotten about the ball. Hayden was her plus one for it, and she’d have to find someone else. “Just get better,” she said and hung up.

After finding the temp agency number, Carly called and explained what she wanted. Within minutes she had arranged someone to answer the phones for the rest of the week. She checked her schedule to see if there was anything else she needed them to do. Hayden was right. She did have the gala ball this Friday. It was raising money for medical research and she didn’t want to go alone. Maybe Evan would be willing to keep her company?

She called him.

“Hey, Carly.” His voice sent lovely shivers through her body.

“Hi. Are you busy on Friday night?”

“No.”

“Do you want to go to a gala ball with me?” She held her breath.

“Sure. What’s the deal?”

“It’s a black-tie event raising money for medical research. If you don’t have a tuxedo I can get one for you.” She had no idea how much his paintings made him and didn’t want him out of pocket for her event.

“I can manage,” he said dryly. “Shall I meet you at your place?”

“Yes. About six?”

“Looking forward to it.”

Carly hung up with a smile on her face.

***

T
he next day Carly was desperately missing Hayden. She hadn’t thought answering a telephone would have been such a difficult task. The temp the agency had sent her didn’t grasp the concept of putting a person on hold and checking whether she wanted to speak with them, or even checking her calendar to see if she was free. She’d spent just as much time going over the process with the bored twenty year old, as she would have doing the job herself.

She sent Hayden a box of chocolates to let him know how much she appreciated him.

Her cell phone rang late that afternoon and Carly debated answering it. She’d had as much as she could take from people wanting things from her. She checked the screen and sighed in relief.

“
Mi niñita, Cómo estás
?”

Carly smiled. “
Hola, Mamá
.”

“You sound tired. Are you getting enough sleep?”

“Yes, Mama. Hayden is away this week and the temp hasn’t been very good.”

“What is so difficult?”

“Nothing. She just needs to answer the phone.”

“
Pfft
. I can do that. Would you like me to come in?”

It was a testament to how bad the temp had been that Carly was actually considering it. She couldn’t afford another day of answering phones. Her mother would be more than capable, but she had her own work at Casa Flanagan. Plus, sometimes Carmen was a little abrupt with people. “You have the girls to teach.”

“Zita can manage without me for a couple of days. I’ll stay with you.”

“I won’t be around much, Mama. I have things scheduled every night.”

“Then I shall feed your fish.”

Carly glanced outside at the empty desk. The temp had said she had an appointment and had left an hour ago. She checked her calendar. The whole week was full of appointments. If Carly asked the agency for someone new there was no guarantee she’d be any better, and Carly couldn’t be around to supervise a new temp. Hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, she said, “It would be great if you could come in, Mama.”

“
Bueno
. What time do I start?”

“Nine o’clock is fine.” She wasn’t entirely convinced she was making the right decision, but she was desperate.

“OK. Now, I must tell you about Evan.”

Carly frowned. “What about him?”

“He is a gem. He gave Teresa some pencils and she has been drawing ever since. She is far happier than she was.”

Her mother had been worried about her newest foster child. She hadn’t opened up about why she’d left El Salvador and they didn’t know what she’d endured.

“When did he do that?” He hadn’t mentioned it to her.

“Monday. After we gardened.”

She’d forgotten her mother had offered to help Evan in his garden. “That’s nice.”

“Yes. He is a nice boy.”

Carly saw where this was heading. There’d be the not-so-subtle hint that she should date him. “I know. He’s coming to a ball with me on Friday.”

There was a stunned silence, and then, “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She grinned at the dial tone. She’d beaten her mother to the punch. She finished her work, feeling much better about the coming days.

***

C
armen arrived at Comunidad at precisely nine o’clock carrying a bag full of food, which she put in Carly’s fridge. Carly didn’t comment, instead she explained the phone system to her mother, pointed out the instructions Hayden had written, and showed her her calendar.

“
Madre mía
! That is a lot of appointments.”

“It is,” Carly agreed. “If someone calls and I’m in a meeting, take a message. If I’m not in a meeting, get their details, put them on hold, and then ask me if I can take their call.”

Her mother nodded.

“Any questions?”

“No.” Unperturbed, her mother got out a book and started reading.

Carly crossed her fingers, hoping it would work.

***

C
arly had meetings all morning and hadn’t heard a peep from Carmen. On her way into her office, she stopped at her mother’s desk. “How’s it going?”

“
Bien
. Here are your messages.” She handed her a bunch of papers. “Your lunch is on your desk as your midday appointment canceled.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

“
De nada
. Are you coming to the Day of the Dead celebrations?”

Carly blinked at the change of subject. “Of course.” It was this weekend.

“I didn’t see it in your calendar.”

“It’s blocked out, I just haven’t written what it’s for.”

Carmen checked and nodded. “Good. Oh, I almost forgot. Lisa wants an appointment with you, but you have no free spots until Friday.”

“Check if she’s free now. I have time.”

“No. You will eat your lunch in peace.”

“Mama—” Carly began.

“No. You need a break.”

She let out a long quiet breath. Her mother was trying to take care of her. She headed into her office and picked up the phone. “Lisa, I’ve had a cancellation if you want to come to my office.”

Her mother wasn’t the boss here.

By the end of the day Carly was feeling a lot better about her mother working for her. There had been no other problems and all the phone calls had been handled professionally.

“Are you going home before your dinner?” Carmen asked, standing at the door to her office.

“No, Mama. I brought a change of clothes. I’ve told Harold you’re coming, and he’ll let you into my apartment. You might need to pick up some dinner on the way home. There’s not a lot in the fridge.”

Her mother nodded.

Carly felt bad about leaving her alone in her apartment, but it was better than her having to battle the traffic in and out of town for three days.

All in all, it was working out.

***

E
van couldn’t wait to see Carly on Thursday. Yesterday he’d had the most amazing phone call, and he was desperate to share the news with her.

A New York gallery wanted to exhibit his art.

Someone had heard about the little exhibition in Houston, had seen his work and wanted to know if he had more. Evan calculated that he’d need to paint a few more works to have enough for the exhibition. This could really be his big break.

The only problem was, the work he was doing for Basil was going to eat into the time he had to complete the new paintings. Though the project was already a bit ahead of schedule and Basil continued to be pleased with what he’d done so far.

Evan never imagined he’d have an issue with having too much work.

After collecting the food for lunch, he rode the elevator to the top floor. His footsteps faltered when he saw Carmen sitting at Hayden’s desk.

She spotted him immediately. “Evan! How are you?”

“I’m well.” When she stood up, he hugged her and kissed both of her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

“Hayden is still ill. I am filling in. Are you here to see Carolina?”

“Yes. We have a lunch date.”

She beamed at him. “Lovely. She is still in a meeting, but you can wait in her office if you would like.”

“Thank you.” Evan wasn’t quite sure about Carly’s mother sitting outside while they had lunch. He set the bag of food on the table and started to unpack.

Carmen stood at the doorway. “Teresa is much happier now she is drawing. Thank you for the lovely gift.”

“That’s great.” He didn’t know what the young girl had been through, but he was pleased he could bring some joy into her life. “Tell her if she wants any help, she can call me.”

“That is very generous of you.”

It wasn’t really. He was happy to help her. It was hard when no one supported your work.

Carmen returned to her desk and he took a seat at Carly’s meeting table to wait.

***

H
alf an hour later, Evan was still waiting. He became conscious of the little bubble of insecurity that he normally kept tightly under wraps, but he squashed it. He wasn’t a boy anymore, no one was telling him his paintings were childish scribbles. Carly had merely been too busy to make lunch.

And not cared enough to call.

No. He knew the real reason she wasn’t here. She’d forgotten about him, like his parents always had. He’d seen how good she was at avoiding things she wasn’t interested in, so she could have easily ended whatever meeting she was in and made it to lunch.

The bubble broke free and rose to the surface. Who was he kidding? She wouldn’t be interested in his news anyway. And he wasn’t waiting around. He still had work to do for Basil.

His heart sore, he left the food on the table in case Carly was hungry when she returned, and went back downstairs.

***

C
arly politely shook the hand of the CEO of Softco and forced a smile. “It was nice seeing you again,” she lied. What she really wanted to do was tell him there was no way he was getting his grubby little fingers on her company and to get lost. Instead, she accompanied the Softco representatives downstairs, making polite chit chat the whole way. Her whole body was tense, but she stood straight and confident while the two men towered over her, purposefully standing close so she would feel tiny.

The moment they left, she let out a deep breath. How dare they try and intimidate her in her own building! Even if she wanted to sell, they’d be at the bottom of the list after that session. She wasn’t going to give Softco any more of her time. It was clear they wanted to buy Comunidad, but they kept arranging meetings about different matters, before hounding her again, trying to pry more information about the company out of her. Well, she was done with them. They were going on her blacklist. Any business they could have done wasn’t worth going through their pathetic power play. Her stomach was tied up in knots after each meeting and that irritated her.

Walking toward her mother, she was greeted with a dirty look.
Now
what?

“Where have you been?”

Carly sighed. “Mama, you have my calendar. You know I’ve been in a meeting with Softco.”

“You are an hour late.”

“Yes, Mama. It was a tricky discussion.” Not wanting to explain herself, she walked into her office and stopped still when she noticed the food on the table along with a bottle of champagne.

Mierda
.

She’d had a lunch date with Evan. No wonder her mother was giving her the evil eye. How could she have forgotten?

She’d blocked the time out in her calendar, but she’d marked it private rather than putting Evan’s name on it. She’d assumed it was time she’d marked out for herself. And instead of finishing the meeting when it was supposed to finish, she’d let Softco dictate, hoping what they were proposing was worth it. She’d been foolish. She could have been having a nice lunch with Evan instead of all the politics.

She picked up the phone and called him. “I’m so sorry. I got caught up.”