Chapter Twenty
When it rained, it poured.
The Monday following Olivia’s disastrous family brunch, fog drenched most of the city in an eerie mist and put a damper on her mood before she’d even arrived at the office.
Once she did, she beelined straight to the kitchen for her caffeine fix. She was waiting for the espresso to brew when Logan breezed in, wearing a pink button-down the exact shade of Richard’s pants at brunch.
Was that color in the Douchenozzle Handbook or something?
“Morning, Olivia.” He raked his eyes over her body. “You should wear that skirt more often. It makes your ass lookgood.”
Maybe it was because she was still chafing from her encounter with Richard, or maybe it was because she hadn’t had her coffee yet and it was too early for this shit, but Olivia wasoverLogan’s creepy-ass comments.
She’d held her tongue in the past, afraid of rocking the boat when she was so close to what she wanted career-wise, but honestly? Fuck him. Logan was a harassing asshole and not eventhatgood at his job. Olivia was better, and everyone knew it. She’d only been at the San Francisco office for two months, but Michael had already assigned her to some of the most high-profile projects. Case in point: Ty Winstock.
Sure, Winstock was still stringing them along, but he hadn’t signed with any other firm, and he’d asked for Olivia by name in his last check-in with Michael.
She wasn’t naïve enough to think she was indispensable, but she was a huge asset to the company and PHC was all about the profit/loss margin.
With that in mind, Olivia slammed her mug on the counter and whirled around, not bothering to hide her ire. “Please do not comment on my attire or my body. It’s inappropriate and makes me uncomfortable.”
A startled look slid into Logan’s eyes before he waved her response off with a smirk. “C’mon, I was just complimenting you. No need to get your panties in a twist.”
Olivia was glad her coffee wasn’t ready; otherwise, she would’ve poured the scalding hot liquid over his head and earned herself an assault charge.
“It may not have been your intention, but Iamuncomfortable.” She had to walk a fine line here—make Logan realize his comments weren’t okay without outright accusing him of sexual harassment. Office politics were a tricky beast, and despite her contributions to PHC, Olivia wasn’t confident enough in her standing to take on someone who’d been with the company longer than she had. Plus, Wall Street culture wasn’t known for being female-friendly. “I would appreciate it if you kept your comments to work-related matters. I’m sure HR would agree.”
She couldn’t resist throwing in the last part. Otherwise, she was sure Logan would ignore her request.
His face darkened at the veiled threat. “Fine,” he said in a clipped tone. “I was trying to be nice, seeing as how you’re new to this office and all, but I’ll stick to ‘work-related’ matters like you want. Quick tip from someone who’s been here for a while, though? It never hurts not to be a bitch.” He stormed off.
Olivia’s hands shook as she poured her coffee. She’d done what she had to do, but dammit, it wasn’t even nine-thirty on a Monday morning and she was already drained.
She wished she could deal with the Richard issue in the same manner, but family was even more complicated than office politics. She hadn’t decided whether she’d tell Alina what happened, but she needed to, fast—Alina and Richard’s wedding was in three months.
“Don’t worry about Logan.”
Olivia jumped in surprise. Luckily, she caught herself before her coffee spilled all over the front of her white shirt. That would’ve been the poison cherry on top of a shit sundae.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” An uncomfortable-looking Cassidy stood in the doorway. She shifted from foot to foot. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, either.”
“It’s fine.” Olivia placed a hand over her racing heart. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” Cassidy’s nose scrunched. “I came to grab some coffee, but I heard you and Logan talking and I didn’t think it was a good time for me to step in.” She looked around and lowered her voice. “He’s had issues with sexual harassment in the past, you know? Not anything physical as far as I know, but he always makes inappropriate comments, and several employees have filed HR complaints against him. That’s why he got transferred to this office a few years back; he was originally based in D.C. Anyway, he’s on thin ice. One more complaint and he’s out.”
Olivia blinked, shocked both by the revelations and the fact that Cassidy was, well, talking to her. The other woman hadn’t said more than two words to her before now, despite Olivia’s attempts to strike up a friendship.
“Why does PHC keep him on if he’s such an issue?” It didn’t make sense. Based on what Cassidy said, Logan was a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The blonde shrugged. “His father is best friends with the chairman of the board.”
Oh.Nowit made sense.
“Right. Thanks.” Olivia cleared her throat, feeling awkward. “Uh,whyare you telling me this, though? Not that I don’t appreciate the insight, but we haven’t...” She trailed off, trying to think of a way to say, “we haven’t gotten along,”without sounding rude.
Pink blossomed across Cassidy’s cheeks. “I thought you should know. Women need to stick together and all that. I’m sorry I haven’t been friendlier this summer, but I’ve had a lot going on and I get so wrapped up in work. Plus, I don’t have a lot of female friends, so I’m not the best at...that sort of thing.”
Sympathy flooded Olivia. Now that she thought about it, she could see how what she’d perceived as coldness on Cassidy’s part had instead been social anxiety. Cassidy had never been outright rude to her; she’d just turned down her past invitations.