She’d claimed Olivia was addicted to cocaine, when really all that happened was she contracted mono her junior year. She’d claimed she had a conversation with Olivia, where Olivia told my sister she wasn’t really in love with me. I’d let her fill my head with so many lies when I should have been focused on the two of us, not cornering her with bullshit my sister was spouting off.
Then again, her roommate wasn’t any better. For some reason, that insane little girl thought I was cheating on Olivia.
Why the hell would any man cheat on perfection?
I gathered my things before pulling out my phone. I had message after message from my assistant: Olivia’s training is complete. She’s supposed to be reading the assigned material for our meeting next week. She’s getting settled into her office. I shot my assistant a message back and told her to cancel the reading material. She wouldn’t need it after the latest development with my business. Olivia would be the one to help me organize going international. That was her new task.
A task I’d have to brief her on myself.
I packed up the rest of my things and stood from my chair. I needed something to occupy my mind—anything other than the way Olivia’s legs had wrapped around me that night. I was no stranger to women. A playboy in high school. I’d taken the damn cheerleader captain’s virginity, for crying out loud. Olivia should have been nothing. Just a sweet little fuck to celebrate my favorite holiday. October had always been my favorite month. Halloween had always been my favorite holiday. I’d picked her out as my sweet treat the second she’d walked in the door, clinging to her roommate’s arm. She was innocent. Stunning. Just clumsy enough for me to teach her a lesson or two in how to please a man.
But the second our lips touched that night, I was forever hers.
Maybe I’d throw a Halloween party when I got back into town.
Katherine, look into throwing an office Halloween party this year. I think this business trip is worth celebrating. Look into the cost of throwing a masquerade party.
I sent off the text message to my assistant before heading outside. I slipped into my private town car, then ushered for the driver to head to the tarmac. With plans to go international solidified and future investors to get in contact with, I had a lot to field once I got back to Seattle. I needed to make sure I lined up everything as it was supposed to be. I had a list of twenty investors, and only two would make it onto my board. That meant more interviews. More face-to-face meetings. More paperwork to be filed. All in an attempt to take my company overseas and expand it into the empire I saw it becoming.
Which meant Olivia and I would be working side by side.
A lot.
3
Olivia
It was my first official day at work after my two weeks of training, and it had been dropped in my lap that my required reading was no longer required. But nothing had filled that time. All that was told to me by Brett’s assistant was that I needed to expect some sort of a phone call from him, filling me in on a new adventure the company was undertaking. Which was fine, I guessed. I didn’t like being held in the dark. I didn’t like not knowing the things that were going to be expected of me. But I had plenty to do in the meantime. I wanted to go introduce myself to the consultants. I needed to sift through all the electronic documents that had been flooded onto my laptop yesterday. I needed to familiarize myself with the invoicing software so I could keep track of how much and when the consultants got paid.
But first, I needed to get to my office and breathe.
Katie and I had lunch plans that day, but I needed to let her know that I wouldn’t be available. With my reading canceled and some sort of meeting hanging in the balance, the last thing I needed was Brett knocking on my damn door with Katie in my office. I stepped onto the elevator with my coffee in my hand, digging around in my purse as the doors closed.
“Come on, please don’t tell me I left the fucking thing at my apartment,” I murmured.
I jammed my hand all the way down to the bottom. I slid it past my laptop and felt my wallet fumbling in my hand. I groaned to myself as I ventured into all the pockets. I looked down into the bag, seeing my hand disappear into a vat of black.
“Damn it with these black interior purses. I’m not a bat. I don’t have fucking night vision here,” I cursed.