Entangled Love (4 page)

“Well, I guess you said what you came here to say. Maybe you should go.” Michael needed to get her away from him before he lost control of his emotions. He wasn’t a crier, but the urge to give in to the tears clogging his throat was growing stronger with each passing minute. “Call Victor. Maybe he can talk some sense into you.”

“You’re throwing me out?” Evelyn asked, the hurt evident in her voice.

“I don’t see any reason for you to stick around. You’ve made up your mind and there’s nothing left for us to say to one another. Have a good life.” Michael turned and headed back towards his bedroom. She could see herself out.

Evelyn started crying again as she watched him walk away. Michael had never spoken to her so coldly before. The realization that she had just destroyed their friendship hit her hard, she wrapped her arms around herself and she slowly wandered back out to her car. She had never felt so much pain, it was as if a piece of her had just been ripped away, leaving a gaping wound.

Getting into her car, she started to drive home, hoping that Victor would be there to help pull her back together and bandage her wounds enough to help her get through the next several days.

Michael watched Evelyn get back into her car and drive away. The tears ran down his cheeks unchecked as he watched his dreams of happily ever after fade away. There was no way he could stay around and watch her get married to someone else. He just couldn’t do it.

Acting on a whim, he grabbed his cell phone and called a buddy from college working down in Venezuela. He had been offered an internship helping to oversee a large construction project down there several months ago.  If there was any chance the position was still open, he was on the next plane out of town. Evelyn could save her father, marry Harry .. Henry.. whatever his name was, but Michael was getting on with his life.

Victor pulled into his driveway and noticed that Evelyn’s car was parked in front as well. After retrieving the newspaper, he turned to head into his side of the duplex when movement inside her car caught his attention. Puzzled, he walked across the yard and found himself hurrying his step when he realized Evelyn still sat in her car, hunched over the steering wheel. Was she sick?

“Evelyn?” Victor asked, rapping his knuckles gently on the window.

Evelyn picked her head up slowly and squinted through her tears to see who was standing outside her car. Spotting Victor, she pushed open the door and almost fell out in her attempt to get to him.

Victor caught her before her knees could hit the sidewalk, and gently gathered her up in his arms. He had seen Evelyn cry before, but the heart wrenching sobs coming from her were new and kind of scary. Something was seriously wrong.

“Evelyn, tell me what’s wrong. Are you sick? Is somebody hurt?”

He gently walked her inside her
house and sat her down on the couch. She still had to answer his questions; she was crying so hard he wasn’t even sure if she had heard them. Filling a glass with water from the kitchen sink, he returned to the living room and sat down beside her. “Here, take a drink and get control of yourself so we can talk.”

Evelyn took the offered glass and drank half of it before handing it back. “Thanks.” It took several more minutes before she was finally able to gain control. Victor sat patiently by, handing her tissues and rubbing a hand soothingly across her shoulders.

Taking another deep calming breath, Evelyn looked up at him and she wiped her eyes, “Thanks.”

Giving her a gentle smile, Victor replied, “You already said that. Now, tell me what has you so upset that I feel like Niagara Falls just moved locations.”

“I love him.”

Puzzled, Victor asked clarification, “Who are we talking about here?”

“Michael. I love him.” That statement started another round of tears.

“Whoa. Okay, so you finally figured out that you love Michael. I don’t see why you need so many tears over this revelation.”

“I lost him.”

Victor was really puzzled now. How did you lose a full-grown man? “What do you mean you lost him? Did you two go someplace this afternoon?”

Evelyn shook her head; Victor wasn’t paying attention. “I lost him and he’s never going to speak to me again. He kicked me out of his house.”

Victor sat up straight at this news and knew he had definitely missed something this afternoon. “Let’s back up for a minute because, girl, I’m completely lost right now. Michael and I went to the deli for lunch and brought you back a sandwich, but you were already gone when we got to the office. Where did you go?”

“My dad called. He took me to lunch.”

This was new. Evelyn’s dad didn’t do things like take his only daughter to lunch; not without some strings attached. “So you went to lunch with your dad? Did something happen during lunch to upset you?”

Evelyn nodded. When she made no effort to elaborate he pushed, “Evelyn, what happened at lunch that upset you?”

Evelyn wasn’t sure she could go through this all again. Once she started talking, the entire story came out in one big rush, “He told me that I had to get married to the guy, on Saturday… He owed Mr. Taylor a bunch of money and if I marry Henry then my dad won’t be destroyed…and everything will be okay…except I have to marry some guy I’ve never met…and Michael hates me…and I have to go to Spain for a month…”

Victor was starting to get an idea of what had transpired this afternoon, but the longer he let her speak, the more upset she was becoming. Pulling her into his shoulder with one arm, he hushed her, “Evelyn, stop. It’s okay. Take a deep breath…That’s it. Now another one… Good girl.

“Okay. Let me see if I understand what happened. Your dad’s been gambling again and lost a lot of money to a Mr. Taylor?” When Evelyn nodded, he went on, “Mr. Taylor has a son named Henry, and wants you to marry him?” At her nod, he continued, “If you don’t marry his son, he’s going to destroy your father financially?” Evelyn nodded and grabbed another tissue.

“Michael hates me. He doesn’t understand why I have to save my dad…”

“To be honest, neither do I, but let me make sure I have this afternoon’s events clear before we tackle that issue.” When Evelyn nodded her agreement, he continued, “You went to see Michael and told him what had happened and he got upset?”

“He wanted me to call my dad and tell him I wasn’t going to go through with it. When I wouldn’t take the phone, he got really upset and told me that I needed to put ‘us’ first. I didn’t know there was an ‘us.’”

“Evelyn, that’s not entirely true and you know it. You’ve been in love with Michael for years.”

“But that was only in my dreams. I knew it would never become reality and I didn’t want to lose his friendship.” That started the tears all over again.

Victor gave her a few minutes to gain her control back before he continued, “You have to know how Michael feels about you. He’s been trying to get you out on a date with him since your graduation party. And before you deny it, I saw the two of you in the parking lot. The chemistry between you two is nuclear. You’ve just been too afraid to act on it.”

Evelyn blushed at the thought of Victor having witnessed her and Michael’s parking lot kiss. Shaking her head in despair, “Well, it doesn’t matter now.  After Saturday, I won’t even be stateside for an entire month. “

Victor gave her shoulders another squeeze before letting her go and moving back a few inches. “That’s the part that I really don’t get here. Why would you willingly sacrifice your entire life, your dreams, our company, your friendship with Michael for a man who’s never been there for you? Who has taken and trampled upon your feelings your entire life? Who won’t stop his gambling, even if you make this sacrifice?”

Evelyn stopped and stared at Victor. He was right. Marrying Henry wouldn’t stop her father from gambling. In fact, it might even trigger more as there would be no personal consequences for having lost so much. Now, as she began to think it through, he didn’t care that he was asking her to sacrifice all of her dreams and hopes to marry this guy. He just didn’t want to face the consequences himself.

Victor watched the emotions cross Evelyn’s face. She was starting to think more clearly and realize that her sacrifice would not make the root of the problem go away. He stayed silent and allowed her to work things out in her own head. She would talk when she was ready.

Evelyn continued to roll things around and then remembered that safeguards had been put in place years ago to prevent Davenport Shipping from ever being taken out of the Davenport family portfolio. Changes had been made that prevented anyone not directly related to the family, from being able to vote more than 50% of their shares. The board had been afraid something like this might happen one day and had taken steps to ensure the future of the company when it did. It wouldn’t matter how much stock Mr. Taylor acquired, he would never have more than a 50% say in company actions. Evelyn still owned 25% of the stock, and knew the board of directors would back her wishes.  Her father would lose all but a token interest in the company’s stock, but Davenport Shipping would be safe.

She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she came to the realization that she didn’t have to marry Henry Taylor and her father would finally have to face the consequences of his own actions. Maybe he would even consent to some sort of rehab or counseling.

Michael. She needed to tell Michael. Jumping off the couch, she was startled to find Victor was still there, calmly watching her work things out. Grabbing him up and giving him a big hug, she gave him a beautiful smile and ran out the door. Getting into her car, she immediately headed back to Michael’s apartment.

She was happy to see his car still in the parking lot and ran towards his door, anxious to beg his forgiveness and tell him about her decision. She knocked on the door, pacing as she waited for him to answer. Knocking again, she began to worry that he was hiding from her, “Michael, it’s Evelyn. Please open the door. I’m not marrying Henry. I need to talk to you, please open the door.”

She knocked again, “Michael?  I want to see where a relationship might go between us. Please open the door. I’m tired of talking to this wood. Michael?”

Turning as she heard a noise behind her, she saw Mr. Washburn come around the sidewalk. “Are you looking for Michael?”

Evelyn nodded, “Yes. Have you seen him?”

Mr. Washburn nodded his gray head, “He got into a cab about thirty minutes ago. Asked me to let the movers in tomorrow when they show up.”

“Movers?” Evelyn asked in horror. What had Michael done? “Why are there movers coming tomorrow?”

“He said he was taking a job out of the country and was having everything put in storage. He had a couple of suitcases with him and seemed like he was in a hurry.”

Evelyn couldn’t believe he had just up and left. He was taking the internship in Venezuela, she just knew it. She had done this. She had hurt him so badly that he couldn’t even stay in the same country as her.  Softly thanking the old man, she slowly made her way back to her car and then home.

Victor was waiting for her and after taking one look at her face, he cursed and then went out and helped her into her side of the duplex. She relayed what she had found out once she arrived at Michael’s in a voice devoid of emotion and warmth. Victor made her some soup and then stayed with her until she drifted off to sleep on the couch.

Returning to his own apartment, he grabbed his cell phone with the intention of giving Michael a piece of his mind and telling him to get his tail over to Evelyn’s. Seeing a voice message waiting he pushed the buttons and listened to a devastating message from Michael –

“Victor, I wish you had picked up the phone. Man, I hate to do this through a message. Evelyn will probably help shed some light on things, but in short, she’s getting married on Saturday to save her father’s sorry ass and I can’t be here to watch. I love her. I didn’t realize that until she was here this afternoon, but I do. She doesn’t even want to try. She’s so afraid of losing my friendship; she won’t even take the chance.

Anyway, the internship in Venezuela is still open and I’m taking it. I’m sorry about the business plans. Maybe you can find someone else who would go into the project with you. Evelyn’s gonna be out of the picture and…Man, I can’t do this.  My flight’s boarding right now. I’ll be in contact when I can. Watch over her for me if you get the chance. Bye.”

Victor listened to the message and his heart broke for his two best friends. Their lives had just changed and he saw no way of reversing the course fate had decided to follow.