See You Maybe (Dangerous Blooms #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Atlanta—Present Day

Olivia wiped her damp palms on the black pencil skirt of her suit, and took a deep breath to steady herself.

Breathe Olivia.

Anticipation fluttered wildly in her chest making her feel like she might jump out of her skin.

This is actually happening.

Olivia fought the urge to check her reflection.

Do I have lipstick on my teeth?

“Nervous, sweetheart?” Richard, her boss and former father-in-law, his face pale and drawn, asked. Normally, she’d remind him not to use the endearment at work but today she let it slide, as her eyes searched his face. Richard’s treatments were taking their toll on him, and Olivia’s heart squeezed with guilt, knowing her decisions over the last couple of years had added to his stress.

“Our financials are in order, and the presentation you put together looks incredible. Don’t forget they approached us about XEROS,” Richard reassured her.

Olivia smiled weakly. Nervous wasn’t the word she would have used. It was far too simple for the maelstrom of emotions currently wreaking havoc with her central nervous system.

Excited. Overwhelmed. Hopeful. Terrified.

Her heart pounded as she stared unseeing out the window at the cars far below. Richard strolled away from the window, his own anxiety over the meeting with Bloom Capital evidenced by his hands clutched in front of him. She swallowed a curse as the sharp smell of her ex-husband’s cologne polluted the air around her.

“Yeah, Livvy.” Kyle pitched his voice low, ensuring others in the reception area couldn’t hear him. “Don’t be nervous . Don’t think too much about the fact that if you mess this up, you’ll cost my father millions,” he sneered. “His only chance to retire and live out his last days in peace entirely depends on you.”

Olivia tried to shift away, hating that his body standing so close to hers immediately made her nauseous.

“So many people are counting on you to not fuck this up.”

Olivia stiffened but refused to let his words affect her. Kyle’s poison couldn’t reach her.

Not today.

She should be worried about all of those things. If the presentation to Bloom Capital went well, and the equity group purchased Armstrong Electronics, the Armstrong family would make a fortune, and her employees would keep their jobs.

But she wasn’t thinking about any of that.

What had consumed Olivia from the moment she received the introductory email from Bloom Capital was the realization that…

She would see him again.

Declan is on the other side of those mahogany doors.

The man Olivia thought she’d never see again after their magical week in Ireland.

“It’s in the bag,” Stuart Pruitt, head of the Armstrong Electronics’ Research and Development Division, said confidently as he joined them. “You have nothing to worry about Olivia.”

Kyle curled his lip at the man and strode to where his father was waiting. Olivia gave Stuart a grateful smile. It wasn’t the first time he’d intervened when Kyle had tried to corner her.

“Bloom Capital isn’t the only one interested in getting their hands on XEROS,” Stuart reminded her. “We still have that other meeting in a few days.” He shook his head. “But I still can’t figure out how Bloom Capital and Bloom Communications are connected.”

Olivia licked her lips, pleased when her voice sounded even as she explained. “Declan Bloom was the CEO of his father’s media company, Bloom Communications. After his father’s death, Declan formed a private equity firm—Bloom Capital.”

She forced herself to focus. There was a lot more at stake than just seeing Declan again. The executives she was meeting today played in a much bigger sandbox than she was used to. Olivia needed to be flawless.

Over the last four years, Armstrong Electronics had sunk everything they had into the development of the microprocessor they named XEROS. That gamble was about to pay off. The XEROS prototype had performed beyond their expectations, and several companies had approached them about purchasing the entire company to gain control of the invention.

She inhaled a slow breath through her nose, and just as she thought she had gained control over her heart rate, the double doors swung open and an attractive woman in a sleek, red pantsuit ushered them in to the conference room.

Olivia’s legs trembled as she followed Kyle and his father into the room. Her heart thudded hard in her chest as she discreetly scanned the handful of faces, searching for him . Olivia shook hands and heard herself returning pleasantries automatically, but her body was in an uproar. Olivia pivoted, trying to see around a tall man.

A stab of nerves hit her. Maybe he hadn’t come.

The man speaking with her turned to welcome Stuart, and the world slowed around her.

Her heart stuttered.

There he was. Even more handsome than she remembered.

Declan Riordan.

No, that’s not right.

Riordan was the name he’d let her believe was his—not his real name.

Olivia still remembered the shock she felt seven years ago, when she saw his picture on the cover of Trend magazine, and discovered who Declan really was. The body she’d memorized, draped in a designer suit over the headline: Declan Bloom, CEO Super Star.

She’d felt like a fool.

It only took a quick Google search, and staring at photographs of him longer than she’d admit even to her best friend, for her to be sure it was the same man.

As if there was any mistaking the square jaw and dark brows over his devastating violet eyes. Even on the two-dimensional, glossy cover, Declan captivated her.

Olivia didn’t know why he’d given her a fake last name all those years before. To be fair, she’d let him believe her name was something different as well. However, it finally made sense why she could never find him during those late night, wine-fueled internet searches.

Olivia hadn’t known she was trying to track down the man of her dreams using not only the wrong name but in the wrong country. The man she had fallen head-over-heels, soul- shatteringly in love with twelve years ago while on vacation in Dublin.

Declan sat centered on the far side of the long conference table, one leg crossed over the other, his broad shoulders leaned back, taking up the entirety of the leather chair. The position at the table wasn’t necessary. No one could deny the power Declan exuded or how his presence demanded attention even while he ignored the group from Armstrong.

Light from the window behind him highlighted his profile. Turned slightly, he listened to the man leaning down speaking quietly into his ear. Her heart flipped as a dark curl slipped over his forehead before a large hand lifted to push it back.

Olivia’s feet had a mind of their own, and inched closer, only to come to an abrupt stop.

What am I doing?

This wasn’t a bar in Dublin, and they weren’t alone .

She stood awkwardly as people flowed around her, taking their seats. Declan had yet to acknowledge any of them. Was he being intentionally rude as a negotiation tactic? If so, it was working. The previously confident expressions on her colleagues’ faces had grown wary.

“Move,” Kyle hissed in her ear, pinching her hard just above her waistband as he moved past her to take his seat. Olivia didn’t mean to flinch, but she was out of practice. Kyle hadn’t hurt her physically in the two years since she’d walked out, limiting himself to cutting words and intimidation whenever he saw her.

His minor brutality wasn’t a total shock. Kyle had been on edge lately, and she was always his favorite target. Olivia’s surprise came in that he would risk doing it here, where his father might see.

Richard took the seat directly across from Declan. Kyle and Stuart claimed the seats on either side of Armstrong’s owner. The two lawyers Armstrong Electronics hired filled in the other seats. Eyes turned her way, and Olivia was suddenly conscious that she was the only person in the room still standing and quickly slipped into the only open seat on their side, next to Stuart.

Around the table, people fidgeted, straightening the papers waiting in front of them, but the head of Bloom Capital, deep in conversation with the man standing to his side, continued to ignore them. The awkwardness of the moment grew, and even the Bloom Capital representatives exchanged confused glances.

Declan lifted one long finger and brushed it back and forth across his full bottom lip thoughtfully. Heat spread low in Olivia’s stomach as her eyes followed the slow stroke. An image of Declan lifting his lips from her stomach and meeting her eyes with a mischievous grin appeared in front of her. She blinked as goosebumps rose on her arms.

“I’ll handle it when we’re done,” Declan’s deep voice rumbled, and her heart lurched.

It’s been so long.

Memories washed over her in a torrent—that same voice whispering everything from “I love you” to absolutely filthy commands that still made her blush when she thought about them.

The man nodded and turned to go, and Declan finally gave the group his attention.

Look at me, Olivia silently implored him. Her pulse jack-rabbited as she anticipated his reaction. He had to know she was here. Declan would have done the same due diligence on Armstrong as they had done on Bloom Capital.

Her picture was on the website…

Would he want to talk afterward? Maybe get a drink? Was he single?

The blogs referred to him as a bachelor, and Olivia hadn’t seen a picture of him recently with one of the models normally on his arm… She’d checked.

Declan’s violet gaze met Richard’s, and his lips lifted in a cool smile. “I apologize. A family emergency popped up. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course,” Richard agreed. “Thank you for hosting us here today. We’re looking forward to sharing a full picture of Armstrong Electronics’ capabilities and exploring how we can move forward in partnership.”

Declan nodded.

Anxiety threatened to make her squirm, but Olivia curled her toes inside her heels, reminding herself to stay still.

Richard continued, “Let me introduce my team.”

Olivia straightened, her eyes on Declan.

This is it. He will hear my name, look at me and…

Olivia’s heart fell to her feet when not even a flicker of recognition crossed his face as her name was announced. Declan simply rested the same vaguely uninterested gaze on her as he had when it was Stuart’s turn.

The voices continued as Bloom Capital’s acquisition team was introduced, but Olivia was having a hard time breathing. Raw pain speared through her chest, and her blood thumped through her veins so hard she felt light-headed.

Declan was the love of her life, and he didn’t remember her.