35. Olivia
35
olivia
T onight is the big Bayview Bourbon party for their new Black Tie label campaign. Maggie and I spent months hunched over our desks like little trolls working to prepare for this launch, and now that it’s here, I finally get a chance to rest. Everyone from Lakeshore Creative will be here as well as some local Milwaukee celebrities, the local media, and several of the Riders. Maggie, God bless her gossipy self, told our client rep I was bringing Hayes as my date. So, they asked if we could get more of the Riders to help promote the brand. I was so hesitant to ask Hayes to invite all of his teammates, but his response was simply, “Hockey players and free bourbon? How many can the venue accommodate?” I secretly think Maggie did this as an excuse to be around more hockey players.
“Holy shit, Liv, this place looks unreal!” Maggie gasps as we walk into the event space at the art museum.
“Right? This is amazing.”
Maggie and I are here a little early to make sure everything is in place, and thankfully it looks fantastic. We hired an event planner to create a black-tie theme for the gala, and their attention to detail is unmatched. Black chiffon fabric, adorned with fairy lights, cascades across the ceiling while a stunning crystal chandelier hangs in the center of the ballroom. There are multiple bars featuring samples of the new Black Tie label along with cocktails highlighting the new line. The dessert display boasts a variety of black and white colored sweets and the most adorable little tuxedo cake pops. Hanging throughout the space are various graphics Maggie designed, art boards showcasing the ads that will soon hit magazines, billboards, and commercials across the country. She even worked with our printing company to create giant cutouts of the bourbon bottles for guests to take photos with. I don’t think she realizes how talented she is .
“Mags, I still can’t believe we get to come to events like this.”
“Given the shit we put up with from people like Bill and the demanding clients we work with, we’d better get invited to these things.” She rolls her eyes, slowly spinning in a circle and taking it all in, a satisfied smile on her face. “It’s one of the few perks we get, and I, for one, am drinking my weight in top-shelf Black Tie Bourbon tonight.”
“Let’s hit the bar while we wait for guests to show up.”
As we wait for our drinks, I see five gentlemen in tuxedos walking into the gala in a ‘Flying V’ formation. The Milwaukee Steel Riders have arrived, and it’s as if they are walking in slow motion as nearly every head in the room turns to watch. I am stunned to see the most dapper one, the one I’ve been waiting for all night, is in the center, his eyes focused only on me.
Hayes . I swallow, my hand trembling as I straighten from the bar. Holy mother of pearl.
I’ve seen Hayes in a suit, and it’s a nice view, but Hayes in a tux ? I’m going to need one of those old-timey southern lady fans to cool myself down. Especially since we are in an art museum and not a building full of ice. The way his pants hug his muscular thighs and highlight the fuck out of his juicy ass has me praying for this event to be over quickly. Not to mention that bowtie. Why does he look so hot in a bowtie? He’s going to need to walk behind me the rest of the night. This man looks like he stepped off the red carpet at a fancy awards ceremony surrounded by screaming fans. But he didn’t. He’s here. With me. As my date.
What world am I living in?
“Hey gorgeous,” Hayes says, placing a gentle kiss on my lips, his scent entrancing me.
“Hey handsome…you are wearing the hell out of that tux.”
“Me? You look absolutely stunning. Let me get a better look at you.” Hayes takes a step back, as I twirl around for him. As a short girl, I don’t typically wear floor-length dresses, but this canary yellow gown just spoke to me. I feel like a movie star from the 1920s.
“You like?”
Hayes pulls me close, whispering into my ear with a deep, dark tone, “There’s only one problem with this dress, Olivia…I can’t see your gorgeous legs, and it’s making me want to rip it off and fuck you senseless in the janitor’s closet.”
Heat crawls into my face, surging deep into my belly at the thought of Hayes and I fooling around at this event.
“I think that’s two problems,” I sass back, leaning closer into him.
“You’re looking for a punishment tonight, aren’t you, sweet girl?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smile, his hand snaking around me to give me a pinch on the ass.
“That’s a preview for later,” he says as I gasp and give him a little smack on the arm.
He’s such a troublemaker, but God, do I love it.
Late into the evening, the room is packed with guests as I stand crowded around one of the larger high-top tables with Maggie, Hayes, and a few of his teammates. Boucher, Johansen, Taylor, and Volkov are here tonight, and I notice Maggie sizing them all up like a snake deciding which mouse will be her first victim. I give her a not-so-subtle ‘be chill’ look, and she proceeds to scratch her face with just her middle finger in retort. I roll my eyes back at her. Way to be mature, Mags.
I lean over to Hayes. “I’ll grab us some more drinks…keep an eye on Maggie while I’m gone. Make sure she doesn’t kidnap any of your friends.”
He chuckles, side-eyeing my friend and kissing my temple. “I don’t think that’s physically possible, but I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“You don’t know Maggie like I do,” I say, kissing his cheek as he laughs, not wanting to let go of my hand as I walk away. “I’ll be right back, Haysey-poo”
“Haysey-poo, huh?” I hear Bougie gasp, his teammates immediately razzing him about this little nickname. Smirking, I know my job is clearly done.
I am sooo getting punished later…and I can’t wait.
I check my phone while I’m waiting for our drinks when I hear someone talking beside me.
“Well, well, well; look who it is.”
My skin prickles at the familiar voice. What in the actual fuck?
“What the hell are you doing here, Cayden?” I glance over my shoulder, refusing to give the douchebag my full attention. “This party was invite only.”
“Enjoying some delicious bourbon, Livy.” He leans against the bar, crowding me as he shoots me what he assumes to be a megawatt smile.
It falls short, and my lips thin. “Don’t call me Livy.”
“And I have an invite. My roommate’s dad is a liquor distributor, and he couldn’t make it, so he gave us his tickets.”
Fucking fantastic.
Glancing back towards our table, I desperately try to use some sort of telekinesis to get Hayes’ attention to come and rescue me. Why can humans not speak to their fated mate through their minds like in my books? Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a skinny blonde with ginormous boobs, overly injected lips, and a head that seems way too big for her body approaching. Her extremely short dress gives off slutty Halloween vibes rather than the classy gala attire everyone else is wearing. She stops in front of me and places her arm around Cayden’s waist, who of course is wearing jeans and a blazer, and no tie to a freaking black-tie event.
“Cay-Cay,” she whines, “How long do we have to stay here? This is boring.”
Cay-Cay? Barf.
“Not much longer, Shay-Shay,” he replies, leaning over to grotesquely kiss her.
Cay-Cay and Shay-Shay? Double barf. I can’t hide the sneer twisting my lips. What did I ever see in this guy?
“Cayden, who is your friend?”
“Oh, this is Shay. We work together. She just started a few months ago.”
My eyes well with tears, rage coursing through my veins as the puzzle pieces fall into place. I’m guessing I’ve just met his distraction during the last crumbling bits of our relationship.
“Hi! I’m Shay; I work with Cay, and I’m also a personal trainer on the side,” she says, smiling brightly and reaching her hand out to shake mine.
I blink at her hand, my own curling into a fist. She has no fucking clue who I am.
“Olivia,” I say, forcing the words through my teeth and quickly shaking her hand.
“How do you two know each other, Cay-Cay?” Shay asks, glancing between the two of us.
“Oh, Livy’s just someone I used to hang out with, sweetheart.”
“Someone you used to hang out with?” I scoff, my eyes like ice as I stare the two of them down. “Not your former girlfriend? Real classy, Cayden. I wouldn’t expect anything more from you anyway.”
I’m about to turn and walk away, when warmth radiates behind me and an arm gently wraps around my shoulders. A calmness washes over me as I lean into his touch.
Hayes.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Cayden?” Hayes snaps, his voice deadly in my ear as his arm tightens across my chest. “Stay away from Olivia.”
“Larsy! This is awesome!” Cayden looks around, standing on his tiptoes to try and see over the crowd. “Are there other Riders players here?”
Hayes is in Cayden’s face so fast, his heat is still cocooned around me. I grab his arm to make sure we aren’t going to have an incident, especially with my bosses and a big client here.
“You don’t fucking listen, do you? I warned you that if you ever called me Larsy again, it would be the last words you ever spoke. Yet here you are, ignoring my request and ruining the evening my beautiful, talented girlfriend has been working on for months.”
“Wait, wait, wait…your girlfriend ? Olivia?” Cayden’s laughter causes a few heads to turn towards us, while Shay is currently taking selfies on her phone. “You’re seriously dating Olivia? The clingiest girl there ever was? Dude, I warned you. You’ll see for yourself. Good thing you have a lot of away games this season, otherwise you wouldn’t get any time alone.”
Oh fuck. I can actually hear my heart racing. This is not going to end well. The look in Hayes’ eyes is feral. And not in the ‘I want to bang my girl and make her mine’ way, but in the ‘I’m going to murder this guy’ way. His hands are tightly clenched by his sides, his face a deep shade of red I’ve never seen before. Not even on the ice. I am still holding him back. He’s not fighting my hold on him, but I need some backup. I miraculously make eye contact with Maggie, who sees what’s happening with wide eyes and a panic-stricken face. She quickly wrangles up the guys and heads my way.
“Hayes, he’s not worth it,” I beg, trying to calm him down. “He’s a jerk and we all know it. Let it go.”
“NO,” Hayes barks. “Olivia, I will not have this fucking asshole, or anyone else, talk about my woman like that.”
Well, now I kind of want to let him beat the shit out of Cayden.
Finally, the cavalry arrives. Maggie approaches with Hayes’ teammates who stand beside us, helping me keep Hayes from doing something stupid. Thankfully they walk him back a few steps from Cayden.
“I’m good,” he says ripping his arm out of Vladi’s. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. This fucking waste of space is not worth it,” he sneers, his eyes never leaving Cayden. “But you should know you are dead wrong about Olivia. She is the most amazing girl I’ve ever met in my entire life. What you see as clingy , I see as the most gorgeous, warm, and sexy woman pressing her sexy-as-fuck body up against mine. And if she’s considered clingy, so am I, because I don’t want to be away from her for one day, let alone an hour or a minute. You treated her like shit. Like she was a bother. Like you didn’t actually give a damn how she was. But there is no one in this world I would rather have cling to me than this woman.”
Oh.
My.
Fucking.
God.
Hayes letting Cayden have it is the sexiest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my entire thirty-one years of life. Shock, heat, joy, and a feral rage course through my body, setting me on fire in a way I’ve never experienced before.
Cayden’s face is a mixture of fear, embarrassment, and anger. And ‘Shay-Shay’ seems oblivious to whatever the hell is going on using her phone to check her makeup. I glance over at Maggie, a giant-ass grin on her face at the sight of Cayden getting verbally dismantled in front of her . I’m surprised she’s not chiming in.
Hayes continues, “If you ever come near her again, I will not hold back.” He looks back at me, and firmly says, “We’re leaving…if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” I whisper, my shoulders relaxing knowing I’m completely under Hayes protection.
Hayes turns back once more to speak to Cayden, taking a step toward him and bumping shoulders with Bougie and EJ. “I almost forgot. Do you want to know the best part about ‘clingy’ Olivia? The way her pussy clings to my dick while she screams my name. Something she never did with you.”
Hayes pulls me into his body, mercilessly slamming his lips on mine with a fierceness I’ve only seen when he’s trying to score the winning goal.
Holy shit this man is the fucking king of my world.
He breaks our kiss, leading me towards the door. “Wait…Hayes,” he turns, his eyes softening as he looks at me, “I drove Maggie here. I need to make sure she gets home okay.”
“Vladi, Bougie, EJ…Make sure Maggie makes it home safely,” he says firmly, as if he’s commanding his army.
“You got it, Larsy; anything for you.” Bougie shouts as Vladi gives Hayes a quick nod.
I see Maggie’s eyes light up at the thought of one of these guys taking her home before Hayes whisks me away.
“Wait…you dated her?” Shay asks, her voice shrill as she’s just now catching up on the situation.
I follow him toward the exit, and we head to the car, neither of us saying a word. Cayden, I’m sure, I hope, is still standing stunned with his jaw on the floor.
Good riddance, motherfucker.