Chapter 48
CHAPTER 48
CHARLIE
I watched Olivia flit around the room like a bird, graceful, elegant, and so dang beautiful to look at. She was met with smiles, handshakes, and hugs, everyone wanting a piece of her and a minute of her time.
Honestly, she was a total boss woman and it was hot as hell to watch her in action. An absolute highlight for me personally was when she went up on stage as the lunch got underway to welcome everyone, speaking with such ease despite how many people were watching her.
It was amazing. Here I was, talking to animals most days, and yet she got up and spoke to a room full of professionals like they were a handful of her closest friends—and she did it without any trace of nerves.
A podium had been set up for her on the stage in the ballroom, but she never disappeared behind it, simply lifting the microphone out of its cradle with a steady hand. She smiled warmly and rested her elbow on top of the podium as she got comfortable beside it.
Standing up there, she looked like the future CEO of a large, successful company, dressed to impress in a black suit jacket with a fitted skirt, another pair of high heels on her feet and her hair twisted up behind her head. At the same time, however, she also looked like my Liv, smiling, and happy, and comfortable in her own skin.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she started, the mic held loosely in front of her mouth. “I am so, so happy to see you all here and I’d like to welcome you to New York.”
Applause burst out and she waited it out for a moment before she smiled again. “I know that many of you only arrived this morning and you’re probably hungry, so I won’t keep you for too long.”
Chuckles rang out. I looked around and realized that a lot of people were looking at her with genuine adoration on their faces. I wasn’t sure how she’d managed it, but she was obviously widely loved even among professionals of so many different industries.
“To my local folks, don’t worry,” she said with humor in her voice. “I’d like to welcome you, as well. It’s not just the people who have traveled from far away whose presence we appreciate. It’s yours too. We’re just so happy that each and every one of you took us up on our invitation to be here.”
She motioned at a table right at the front of the room where Nathan was seated. “Every year, we gather for a week to learn from passionate experts who care about business as much as they care about people. We care about improving livelihoods and helping everyone reach the audience they need to reach in the way they need to reach them.”
She smiled. “It is an absolute honor for me to be able to call the man who is responsible for all this my father. Dad has always been committed to a better world, to education, and to sharing knowledge instead of storing it all for himself. This is his last year as the CEO of Walker Marketing, but make no mistake, this is a tradition that will live far beyond any of us who are here today. For as long as the agency exists, we give our word that we’ll gather every year, and we will keep sharing the information that you need to know.”
People leapt to their feet, cheering and clapping. Nathan finally rose, took a quick bow, and sat down again. Olivia had set the microphone on the podium to join the applause, and she picked it up once people started settling down.
“That’s it from my side for now. Thank you all so much for joining us and we look forward to a productive week, but first, let’s eat.”
More cheers and clapping. She set the mic back in its cradle and descended the stairs, making a beeline for the table where the guys and I were seated. Her name was placed right next to mine, and when she sat down, I touched her hand under the table.
“That was surprisingly inspiring,” I said. “New York really is just one surprise after another.”
She laughed. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, buddy.”
Under the table, she twirled her pinkie finger around my own and moved her leg slightly so that our feet were pressed together as well. Dallas sighed and leaned over to whisper something to Lacey, who chuckled and nodded her agreement.
“You two are being so obvious right now,” she stated when Olivia sent her a questioning look. “I think it’s adorable, though. Dallas doesn’t agree.”
He narrowed his eyes like he was silently accusing her of being a traitor before he glanced back at me and shrugged. “I’m just not used to seeing you like this.”
“I’m not used to being like this,” I said, quietly enough that the people at the tables surrounding ours wouldn’t overhear us, but honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if they did. I loved being this close to her and I didn’t care who knew.
She smiled at me before tightening her grip on my finger, but she let go when a swarm of servers entered the room and started placing plates in front of people. The scale of this conference was staggering, the amount of people in attendance so much more than I’d been expecting, yet I hadn’t sensed a hitch anywhere so far.
Working together, the servers had plates in front of every person within at most ten minutes after they’d first entered, and I grinned when I saw steak, potatoes, vegetables, and salad on my plate. It was presented all fancy-like, but it was familiar food and I glanced at her, wondering if my suspicions were correct.
“You did this for me, didn’t you?”
She feigned innocence. “I did?”
“Yep. I looked up last year’s menu online before we came here. I was trying to decide if I was going to order pizza from room service after, and I honestly thought I would have to. It was all dishes I couldn’t even pronounce.”
She sighed. “Fine, you got me, but I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Colt.”
My brother grinned wide from across the table and pressed a hand to his chest. “Why, thank you, Liv. It’s always nice to know people are thinking about me.”
“You’re welcome.” She laughed and turned back to me, lowering her voice so much that even I almost couldn’t hear her. “I just thought you might appreciate a little taste of home. Besides, who doesn’t like steak?”
“Nobody sane,” I responded immediately, but that didn’t mean that my heart wasn’t getting all excited about her tailoring an entire menu to my taste.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the opportunity to tell her just how much I appreciated it before she had to leave. After eating as fast as I’d ever seen her eat, she excused herself to go check on the speakers for the afternoon talks, and then she was gone.
Abigail had been sitting on my other side throughout lunch, and she nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. “You’ll take care of her once you get back to Houston, won’t you? Liv is stronger than anyone else I know, but that means that she takes care of everyone around her. No one ever thinks she needs to be taken care of too.”
“You have my word,” I promised without even thinking about it. “We’ll watch out for her. She’s one of us now.”
Colt nodded his agreement with me, but he couldn’t do it verbally because he was too busy inhaling his food. It was delicious, even if it did make me miss home something awful. I wonder if Olivia has been feeling this way while she’s been in Texas.
She’d never let on, but I knew that the move couldn’t have been easy on her. Adjusting took time, and I vowed to myself right then and there to help her wherever and however I could. As long as she stuck around.
The afternoon talks went great, and though I hadn’t been expecting to, I actually enjoyed learning about the impact media could have on business. It also gave me a new perspective on what Olivia did, and I was genuinely starting to understand.
There was another big dinner this evening, but Olivia, the guys, and I met Abi, London, and Lacey in the hotel bar after the last talk had ended. Liam showed up too, and I noticed that he took a seat as far away from London as he could get at the table where we were sitting.
Dallas carried two pitchers of beer back from the bar and Colt followed him with a tray full of glasses. Olivia and I were sitting next to each other again, pressed together with our backs to a wall and another wall—this one simply made up of our friends and family—in front of us.
“To a successful first day.” Olivia picked up her glass and held it high above the table.
Everyone else followed suit, with London, Lacey, and Abigail in particular looking pleased as punch about how the day had gone. We clinked our glasses against hers, then sipped our drinks. For me, it was one of the best moments of the day. Relaxed and together, like we were back around the bonfire on the ranch—just with less flames and significantly more people around.
“We should go out into the city again tonight,” Colt said when his beer was about halfway done. “What do you guys say?”
“We’ll have to go to the dinner first,” Olivia replied, glancing at me with a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. “After that, we can take to the streets. Sound good?”
Under the table, I gave her hand a squeeze. I was becoming one of those guys. Excellent. Exactly what I’ve always wanted.
I didn’t even try to stop the impulse because what I’d always wanted was what my dad had with my mom, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Olivia was that for me—and I was okay with being that guy for her. “Sounds great.”
Her answering smile made my heart do flip flops, but then Abi spoke up again. “We can go out every night and still not get to everything. We’re going to have to prioritize.”
“We’ll brainstorm while we’re changing,” London decided out loud. “On that note, we should get going. There’s not that much time left before dinner and we’ll have to look our best. You never know who’s going to be attending.”
She winked at the girls as she said it, but Olivia just stared back at her. “We know exactly who’s going to be attending. I sent you the RSV?—”
“Oh, shut it. You know what I mean.” She flipped her hair dramatically as she stood up, making a point of not looking at Liam. She drank down her beer and left, wiggling her fingers above her head in a wave at us.
Liam huffed out a breath, downed the rest of his drink in turn, and stalked toward the elevator himself.
I sighed. “What is it with those two?”
“No idea,” Liv replied quietly. “They used to be friends growing up. Or maybe the more accurate terms is frenemies. Either way, they have gotten along in the past, even if only occasionally.”
As we spoke, we finished our own drinks and got up, but she and Lacey wanted to check on something before they headed to their suite, so we walked over to the elevator alone. Colt stuck his hands in his pockets, shooting a quick look over his shoulder to make sure they were out of earshot.
“Well, that was a hell of a lot more informative than I thought it would be,” he said mildly. “Being here might not actually be such a waste of time.”
“If you thought it was a waste of time, why did you come?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “It didn’t have anything to do with Liv, did it?”
“It had to do with her insisting that I work with you back when she didn’t want to talk to you at all,” he retorted before pressing his tongue against his cheek in thought. “On the other hand, she was pretty impressive today, and we all know that she’s beautiful. I may just?—”
“Watch it,” I warned him, that heat that had been missing from my threat this morning back in full force now.
He laughed and winked at Dallas. “Every fucking time, man. This is hilarious. It’s like he just can’t help himself.”
Dallas shot me a single look and then groaned. “That’s because he can’t help himself, Colt. In case you haven’t noticed, your brother is whipped and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it except to keep your mouth shut about his girl. Although, if you don’t, I win a bet I’ve got going with Cody, so go for it, boys. Just make sure not to ruin each other’s faces. We’re going out tonight and I’m not missing it because of a broken nose.”