Olivia sighed through her nose. “I hope so, too. Because I really didn’t.”
“Do you want a new topic of conversation?” I asked.
“I really do,” she said.
“I can do that. Are you ready for the Halloween party?”
“I am. I went back and got my dress and my mask. It has to be tailored a bit, but let’s just say you’re going to have quite the hot date that night.”
“I didn’t doubt it for a second,” I said, grinning.
“Are we doing anything beforehand, or is it just us going to this party together to make up for me not showing up at dinner?”
“You really like drawing that line, don’t you?”
“You know me. I like boundaries.”
“So you can break them,” I chuckled.
“Hey, I never said I was a rule follower all the time.”
“It’s one of the reasons why you’re perfect for this job. I’ll need a rule breaker in order to take Greyson Consulting to where I want it to be. It’ll require us to break a lot of rules together. I hope you’re up for it.”
“I was back then, and I am now,” she said.
Her words punched me in my gut. I wanted to ask her if they had any sort of double meaning, but I bit down onto my tongue. Things were being left on a good note, and I didn’t want to ruin that with asking idiotic questions to satiate my roaring mind. I was hopeful our night at the party would go well. But I didn’t want it to be just the party. I wanted there to be more. And I didn’t want to leave that “more” up to chance.
“Are you doing anything after the party that night?” I asked.
Olivia shrugged. “Just going home and sleeping.”
“Well, I’m supposed to be meeting my parents at their house for lunch the day after. You’re more than welcome to come stay at my place. Come to lunch with us. I’m sure they’d love to see you. They always did adore you.”
“Oh, I miss your parents. How are they doing?”
“Come with me to lunch and you can figure it out yourself,” I said.
I watched her nibble on her lower lip before she cleared her throat. Never a good sign when it came to Olivia. If she wanted something, she always took it. But if she had to think about it, then the answer was almost always a wishy-washy one.
“Give me some time to think about it, Brett. But I’ll have an answer for you by the time you pick me up for the party. Okay?” she asked.
“Fair enough. I look forward to your answer,” I said.
“Got any plans for lunch right now?”
“Actually, yes. I’ve got another small phone conference call with Paris before I get things solidified for the trip I’m going to make there.”
“So, things are going well with France. How’s London faring?”
“I don’t know. I’ll let you know as soon as I can get a video conference call going with them,” I said.
“Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?” she asked.
“More like trouble syncing up schedules. It’s nothing big; we’ll get it figured out. Though I believe it’s going to cost me another very early-morning conference call.”
“Ah, the things we do for business.”
“Don’t I know it,” I said, snickering.
“Well, maybe another time,” she said.
“Maybe that afternoon with my parents.”
“Goodbye, Brett,” she said, grinning.
“Goodbye, Olive,” I replied with a wink.
Then, I left her in her office with her cheeks flushed. I loved it when I could leave her flustered like that.
13
Olivia
“Oh my gosh, I’ve missed you so much!”
I hugged Katie’s neck as I pulled her into my apartment.
“I haven’t even seen you since you started your job. How is it going?” Katie asked.
“I’m so sorry I’ve been off the grid. Things have completely gone bonkers in my life,” I said.
“Well, that’s why I brought wine.”
I released my best friend’s neck, and she pulled a large bottle of cheap blush wine from the plastic bag she was carrying. I took the bottle from her hand and carried it into my kitchen, then proceeded to screw the top off. I poured us each a large glass before pulling out a fresh sheet of Oreos, readying myself for a long, overdue conversation with Katie.
Though I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.
“Oh, we’ve got regular glasses full of wine. That means you have a lot to spill,” Katie said.
“So, you want to start with my personal life or my family life?” I asked.
“Family life? Is everything okay?”
I sat down on the couch next to Katie. “My father’s back in the picture.”
She almost choked on her wine. “Excuse me, you said what now?”
“His name is Daniel Wilson, and I had dinner with him Monday night.”
“And I’m just now finding out about this?”
“I’m sorry, it’s taken me a little while to digest everything that’s happening. But yeah. Mom called me this past Saturday saying I needed to come over because it was urgent. She told me she and my father had been in contact for a little while, and she gave me his number.”