Haunted by the past

Chapter Two

The room was spinning, and Maddie was glad she was sat down. "Oh my God!"

Evan laughed, crinkles appearing around his eyes as he did, "it’s kind of you to say that, but I’m not that good!"

She shook her head, still bewildered and completely missing his quick wit, "Mark called you Gordon..." Mark was the manager of the bar she’d worked in, and he’d organised the night out on the previous Saturday, he’d not mentioned that his brother was this semi famous chef. Then she froze as the penny dropped, "but that’s a joke cos you’re a chef, ‘Gordon’ Ramsey!" She looked up at him, and was greeted with a nod.

"Mark is my step brother, my mother married his father when I was in my late teens, I was already an established chef when we first met, not like I am now, but he’s always called me Gordon, especially if he’s had a few drinks!" He rolled his eyes, “amongst many other embarrassing things.”

The whole situation was mortifying, she’d slept with him, and now he was her new boss. How the hell did she get past that? Realising she couldn’t, she avoided his eyes as she started to shuffle the papers on her desk, "I’m sorry!" her voice was a mumble, "I’ll gather my things, you don’t need to honour my notice."

Evan was stunned, "What?" he braced himself on the desk in front of her. "I have no intention of forcing you to resign, or heaven forbid sack you. Quite the opposite, you spent most of Saturday evening explaining how great an opportunity your new job was, and how it was going to change your life, so I’ll be interested to see how much of an asset you are!"

She hated the way heat filled her face, how embarrassed she was to think that she’d bigged up her new job to her new boss, moments before going home with him. How the hell could she carry on working there? How could she sit in meetings with him? Call him on the phone? It was all such a mess! Then she processed his words, and looked up at him slowly, "did you know then? Did you know who I was?"

He stared at her for longer than was necessary, then shook his head, "I was too drunk to register, I don’t think you actually told me where this new wonderful job was, but it was great to see someone with so much joie de vivre. I didn’t even think to find out where your job was..."

She wasn’t sure she believed him, but then he had no reason to lie, "but you knew today?"
Evan smiled, and she hated that she could feel herself blush at that, "I read my emails on Sunday morning; Eric had sent me your details. There can’t be that many Madeleine’s who have had a ‘super’ new job..." she blushed even more as he continued, "I wanted to be here yesterday, but was stuck with a crisis at another restaurant; I couldn’t get back here in time. Even if we hadn’t met before today I would come and meet an important new team member, ok?"

She raised an eyebrow, "I don’t think this can work Evan..." She stumbled over the name, it seemed so unlikely. She’d been looking forward to meeting her boss, now it felt like there was a band squeezing around her chest, and she felt sick.

"Are you ok?" Evan rushed around the desk to squat next to her, "you’re white as a sheet!"
She gulped trying to catch her breath, "I’m a bit warm..."

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her to her feet, and led her towards the door, calling back over his shoulder to Gina, "Madeleine’s not very well Gina, hold the coffee, I’m going to help her get some fresh air."

The cold gush of outdoor air hit her like a smack to the face, and Maddie staggered, losing her footing. But Evan was there like a rock to help her. Leading her across the pavement, he bundled her into a low car, as she slumped exhaustively in to the comfortable seat, she felt her eyes wanting to close. Sensing movement beside her she opened her eyes to glance at him, his concerned expression as he studied her.