Chapter 2
2
OLIVIA
I t’s rare to see a grown woman look like a child next to anyone, let alone their own offspring. Yet, here we are, and I’m witnessing it with my own two eyes.
At nearly seventy years old, by looks alone, I could never detract from how well Veronica takes care of herself. She doesn’t have the feeble-bodied mannerisms most women her age start to develop, and in the two years I’ve worked for Dr. Sinclair, Veronica hasn’t once come in for anything other than her quarterly checkup.
The genetic apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree with her son, it seems.
Victor Valentine looks unreal sitting beside his mom. He’s a marble statue in both intensity and size. Tall enough for his hair to brush the top of a door he crosses under and wide enough that he almost has to turn sideways to get through comfortably. Every inch of him screams raw power and domination, and for the first time in a very, very long time, I want it directed at me.
“Don’t be silly, Mother.” Victor hasn’t taken his swirling hazel eyes off me since he sat. I fear he’s noticed my inability to look away from him, too. “You’re looking very deeply into something that isn’t there.”
Hearing those words after the hushed whispers he and Veronica have shared thus far piques my curiosity. What could she have whispered to cause an outburst like this?
It’s made worse with her looking over at me with a devious grin. As if they’re both holding some big secret and doing everything in their power to keep it from me.
Of course, I know it’s nonsense. They’re mother and son before all, and after, they’re business partners. Their conversation probably doesn’t involve me at all. Hell, Victor’s gaze might not even be on me. He could merely be staring into the void, and I just happen to be seated in his line of sight.
I almost jump from fright when the door on my left swings open, and Dr. Sinclair emerges. Like Veronica, Dr. Sinclair is small and delicate in build, but her strong personality commands the attention of any room she enters.
In an effort to make myself look busy, instead of letting Dr. Sinclair see me ogling the giant a few feet away, I start shuffling papers around my desk and slotting files into various holders.
“Mrs. Valentine, please come through.” Doc’s all smiles today. I guess Veronica being her first patient and it being so early in the day makes being happy a lot easier.
Victor jumps to his feet and extends a hand to help Veronica out of her chair when she’s called. He walks with her to where Dr. Sinclair waits before the two ladies disappear into the back of the building to the office and labs.
Why am I so surprised at Victor’s chivalry? And how can I stop the goofy grin it plastered on my face from growing?
Him making his way over to me isn’t helping.
Wait a minute.
He’s walking … over to me!
Oh God, oh Lord. What am I supposed to do? How do I interact with someone like him? Greetings are one thing, but actually conversing with this titan? I don’t even know how to start.
Unless he’s coming to my desk for something else. A pamphlet or brochure about the services we offer. I’d hate to be the bearer of bad news who tells him she only accepts female patients.
Breathe, Olivia.
“So, what’s a nice place like you, doing in a girl like this?” Victor says this with the practiced charm of a natural-born leader. He rests his body over the tall reception desk, propping himself up by the elbows as he looks down at me.
“Think you fumbled the words on that one.” I giggle but manage to keep somewhat calm, considering my inner voice screams in disbelief that he’s even standing here.
“I know. It’s jus—” He pauses to clear his throat, turning his head to the side to let out a chuckle. “I saw it in a movie. Thought this as good a time as any to pull the line out.”
“Ah, I see.” Don’t mess this up, Olivia. Just keep calm, play the game, and enjoy the ride. “Well, if you ask me, that line would work better in a nightclub or bar. Y’know, instead of my office where the answer is working.”
A brow raises above Victor’s eye, and my first thought is that I’ve immediately screwed something up. I’m too nervous to convey my playful jokes the way I intend them, and my answer might’ve just come off as rude.
Damn it.
“Are you…” He pauses for dramatic effect while I search those two little words for any clue as to whether he’s upset or not. “Are you asking me on a date?”
A deep sigh of relief barrels out of me to another raised brow from Victor. However, this time accompanied by a smirk.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you were.” Victor looks over his shoulder at where he and his mom were just sitting. “I mean, you couldn’t take your eyes off me since I sat down. So, either there’s something very interesting on that blank wall, or?—”
“I saw you staring right back, Bucko.” An involuntary wink follows my words, and with it, my cheeks instantly set alight.
How the hell has he managed to burrow so deep into my brain that I can’t keep facial expressions in check?
“With a view as stunning as this—” He allows his eyes to travel down my body and back up again. “—can you blame me?”
On their return, his swirling gold orbs get stuck on the top button of my blouse, as if he’ll magically be able to undo it with just a gaze. A wave of warmth courses through my body, both by his compliment and leering, and settles in my core.
Had this not been my place of work, perhaps I’d have indulged this fantasy of his. Given into my base instinct and allowed him to do the same.
Stop thinking , my inner voice reprimands me. You’re blushing again. Red as a damn tomato.
“Fine, yes, I’m asking you on a date.” Is this really how I’m going to stop myself from blushing? Well, maybe that’s a luxury I can’t afford while standing toe to toe with this handsome giant.
“Then I’ll need your address, and you’ll need to be ready at seven.” Victor slides his hand into his blazer pocket and pulls out his phone. He unlocks it, slides his finger over a few buttons, and hands it to me with the New Contact screen on display.
“Tall, dark, handsome, smooth. Are there any words that don’t describe you?” I chuckle as I grab his phone and put my number in.
“The only thing that comes to mind is vile rapscallion . But I don’t think many people still use the parlance.” He takes his phone back and stares at the screen where my name and number are present.
In some bold gesture my hands make that my brain has no say in, I add 3 next to my name. If I wasn’t laying it on thick before, I squeezed every last drop out of the bottle with this one.
But Victor isn’t deterred by my silliness. His smile grows, and his eyes widen with great joy.
“Charming, witty. I could go on, you know?” I add.
Before he gets a chance to say I should, if that’s what he was going to say, the door to my left opens once again.
“As always, Mrs. Valentine, you are the picture of health,” Dr. Sinclair says as the ladies emerge. “Keep up whatever you’re doing, and I’ll see you in three months.”
Dr. Sinclair doesn’t spend more than a few seconds in the lobby after saying goodbye before she goes back inside.
“What’s this, then?” Veronica’s tone is laced with high-spirited knowing, while her eyes dance mischievously between Victor and me.
“A genie fulfilling your wish,” Victor says. Intrigued as I am to know what it means, I’m not jumping in the middle of this. “Better be careful, Mother. You’ve only got two left.”
“And I know exactly how I’m going to use them.” Veronica makes her way to Victor’s side, and it’s her turn to extend a hand to him. Victor looks at it hesitantly before she says, “What? Too good to hold your mother’s hand because you’re making gaga eyes at Olivia?”
I giggle frantically at Veronica scolding the giant, and it worsens when Victor slumps his shoulders and ends up taking her hand anyway.
“Too good? Never. I was afraid you were getting jealous that you’re not the only woman who has my interest.” He tries his best to play it off as cool, calm, and collected.
“There’s a good boy,” she says with a satisfied smile before leaning over to look at me past his enormous barrel chest. “You have a lovely day, dear. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”
“I’ll see you tonight, Olivia?” Victor asks, to my great surprise. He seems so self-conscious about how we were just flirting, and yet he’s willing to say that?
Frozen in place, partly due to the fact that he’s serious, I can barely move my neck enough to nod in response.
Then they’re off without another word.
I’m left stunned, bewildered, and excited that Victor Valentine wants to take me of all people to dinner. That doesn’t mean I won’t grab the opportunity with both hands.