Three
EVELYN
After calling my contacts and getting everything set up for the restaurant, I managed to keep myself away for the next few days. Though I wouldn’t admit it to myself, I was avoiding him. If he tried to get in contact with me, I could easily blame my job for keeping me away. Whenever I could, I tried to use my job to distract myself. As much as I’d tried to stay away, I knew I could only hide away in my office for so long.
Now that today was the start of the build, I would need to be there. I knew once I saw him again, Rhett would flood my mind. It already took a lot of work just to get him out of my mind the last time I had seen him. Was I ready to look him in the eye after the what had happened since the last time we had been near each other?
What had happened in his office was something that shouldn’t have gone down. I was being paid to do a job and kissing the man who hired me should not have even been an option. Instead, I found myself caving in to what I wanted. It was unprofessional and I should have known better. Even after these few days of us being separated, I still continue to beat myself up over it.
I could only imagine what he was thinking.
While I didn’t exactly want to think about it, the question continued to ponder my mind up until I arrived at his restaurant. Remaining outside of the building, I supervised the site and made sure everything went accordingly. That’s what my job was to do. I was pretty sure that as long as I didn’t find myself alone with Rhett it again, I should be able to control myself. There was no excuse for what I did before and I had to make sure that it wouldn’t happen again.
Two weeks. That’s how long this project should take as long as I remained focused. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore. He would forget all about me and I could move onto my next job and pretend nothing happened. Even if I wanted to consider a relationship, it would be impossible. Relationships were too difficult, let alone with one of my clients.
Rhett seemed great, perfect even. I wanted him more than I have ever a man before, it was hard to describe. I just knew that if I followed my heart instead of my brain, I would slip and screw something up. After working so hard at my profession, I couldn’t afford any distractions even if he was perfect.
Deciding that I had already used enough precious time thinking about how much he was distracting me, I turned my attention on the contractors I had hired and made sure that they were doing their jobs properly. I needed to make sure that this change was exactly what was needed to turn this business around, even if I doubted that this was the cause for the lack of business to begin with.
Something in my gut told me that it was something else, something bigger within the business. I had already seen enough to rub me the wrong way. I can only imagine what it would be like if I came in as a customer. Maybe that wasn’t a terrible idea, I could always do some investigating while I was nearby. I’m sure I could see what Rhett couldn’t, surely he would appreciate any sort of help that could save his business. Helping him get more business was technically my job anyway, we could just count it as a form of extension to our agreement.
Making my mind up, I figured doing this would not cross any lines I was laying out for myself. I would tell myself that as many times as I would need to. If I was going to really do this, that meant that I would have to make a reservation and find something nice to wear. I rarely ever dressed up, I wasn’t even sure if I had anything in my closet. Feeling like I was already overthinking this, I decided to let time play out and wait to see what happens.
Turning my attention to the work in front of me, I once again used it to distract me until the day was finished. Accepting that I was going to go with my investigation plan, I quickly made a reservation ahead of time, giving myself enough time to go shopping. I wanted to try to look nice for this place. Luckily for me, I managed to make enough time for me to go.
The next day, I was luckily not needed at the site. The men working seem to have everything in order and would keep me updated by the hour just in case if something went wrong. So feeling more reassured, I felt a pang of excitement when I went into the town’s small shopping mall. Deciding to go to one of the more popular shops, I entered the building and immediately looked around.
As someone who normally dressed casually, just imagining myself wearing the type of clothing sold in this place left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. But I knew some sacrifices needed to be made. So taking my time looking through the racks, I was think full that I was left alone to browse. To find something that I would be comfortable in, I knew it would take a while.
They had a plus-size section that I found myself swallowed inside. Searching through the different dresses, I was actually surprised to find some cute designs. While most were colorful and eye catching, they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. Though only a few caught my eye, there was one in particular that I was eager to try on. After finding myself in the fitting room, I stripped away my clothes and pulled the dress on. Turning around to look at my reflection in the mirror, my brows rose.
I didn’t look that bad.
Black silk coated my body as the fabric hugged my curves all the way down to my knees. My chest had a see-through design, my cleavage was impossible to hide. While I normally would feel embarrassed by my skin being so revealed, just imagining that a certain pair of eyes could see me wearing this left me satisfied with this visit. This was the dress that I wanted, I was confident with that.
I just hoped the dress looked this good when time came around to me going to the restaurant. I wanted to wait until the very last minute before I would enact my plan. If I went too soon, I felt like I’d end up making a mistake and regretting whatever actions took place. With all the time away from him, hopefully by then, I wouldn’t feel the need to see him.
Purchasing the dress and going on my way, I found myself becoming eager for when the night would come.
As work continued and I still made my visits to the restaurant, I continued avoiding Rhett like the plague. As each day past, the feelings that had grown inside of me were beginning to fade away. I purposely avoided thinking about him whenever a thought tried to pass by.
Even on the hottest days where I just wanted to slip inside for just a chance to feel the well air-conditioned temperatures, I was stubborn and refused to cave in.
Before I knew it, the patio was looking just like I had imagined it when I first sketched out the design. It was breath taking. I wanted to be the first to sit there and experience what it felt like to dine under the many hanging lights. Though I didn’t think I would be around long enough to experience such a sight.