Chapter 53
CHAPTER 53
OLIVIA
I woke up with a flurry of butterflies in my tummy and Charlie on my mind. All of us spending time together this week had been insanely fun and the time he and I had managed to carve out for ourselves had been special.
Waking up with those memories on my mind made me feel like my head was in the clouds. I smiled as I rolled out of bed and Abi caught sight of my face, giggling. She sat up in her own bed to arch an eyebrow at me. “Jeez, girl. I’ve never seen you so giddy about being in love.”
I groaned. “Why do people keep saying that?”
“Because it’s true,” Lacey piped up from near the coffee machine. “Todd never put a smile like that on your face first thing in the morning.”
“Fucking Todd,” London grumbled, her hair a messy halo as she sat up and glared out the window as if she was trying to use x-ray vision to find him out there and fry him with her brain. “I can’t believe he just showed up like that. I mean, who does he think he is?”
“The ultimate alpha-hole?” Lacey suggested before her brow furrowed. “Although he’s not really an alpha type of personality, is he? Dallas, on the other hand, now that’s an alpha. A sexy alpha cowboy with abs for days who kisses like?—”
“And that’s enough.” Abi laughed, her nose wrinkling as she looked around the room. “You’re all so nauseatingly in love. It’s cute and I love that for all of you, but I am not listening to you drooling over his abs or his kisses.”
“I’m not in love,” London objected with an indignant grimace. “Unless you’re referring to the city, in which case, yes. Yes, I am in love with my hometown, but oddly, I’m also missing Texas.”
I laughed. “So am I. I thought I was the only one.”
“Nope.” My sister sighed. “I guess we have two homes now, but other than that, I am absolutely not in love.”
Abi and I exchanged a glance, but neither of us contradicted her. Clearly, she wasn’t ready to accept it yet and pushing her on it would only make her even more stubborn.
Lacey fixed her coffee and let out a dreamy sigh as she wrapped her fingers around the mug, and I had to give it to Abi. She’d hit the nail on the head about the nauseatingly in love thing. I knew how I felt, but I could see it in Lacey.
Standing there with a tousled ponytail and fluffy socks on her feet, she looked like she was a million miles away, her smile soft and loving. I chuckled. “I’m going to grab a shower. Then I’ll come listen to you wax lyrical about your cowboy. Let’s just keep it PG.”
“In that case, I’m showering next,” Abigail said with wink. “At least that way, I won’t have to listen to all of you going on and on about hunky boys.”
London rolled her eyes. “Before you go, I think you should know that I’m happy for you. I’m still definitely not in love, but I’m glad you are. Charlie is way better than Todd and Abi might not want to listen to you wax lyrical, but I will. As long as I can bitch about Liam in return.”
“You bitch about him either way,” Abi shot back. “If you’d like to wax lyrical about him though, be my guest. I’d love to hear that. You can’t really blame me for not wanting to hear personal details about Dallas. That’s between him and Lace.”
“But you’d like to hear personal details about me and Liam?” London grimaced again. “He’s an ass. That’s the only detail I know.”
Abi sighed. “You two used to be best friends.”
“Never,” London swore, her eyes widening as her head shook. “Lace, tell Abi about Dallas’s juicy butt as punishment for that blatant lie.”
Leaving them to it, I chuckled and made for the bathroom, racing to ensure there would be time for each of them to grab a shower too before the conference kicked off for the day. As I stepped under the spray and my thoughts turned to the agenda, a flutter of nerves swirled through my belly, sending little spikes of anxiety through my veins.
Today was the day of my presentation, my first speech after being named the next CEO of the company. More than that, I would be opening the day as the first speaker and I would be presenting to thousands of people. The prospect was significantly more daunting than my welcoming address at the lunch had been.
I’d chosen my outfit for the day back in Houston, a super professional royal blue dress with a white jacket and blood red heels. I had to look the part today, powerful and capable, but still approachable and relatable.
My hands trembled a little bit until I dragged in a deep breath, keeping it in my lungs as I stepped out of the shower. I blew it out slowly, drying off before brushing my teeth and changing into the outfit I’d hung behind the door last night.
“Okay, I’m ready to roll,” I announced as I walked out of the bathroom. “Just makeup and hair left. Who’s next?”
“Still me,” Abi called, abandoning her coffee and jumping up off her bed. She raced over to the bathroom and was done in the shower by the time I’d finished getting ready. Coming over to join me at the dressing table in the walk-in closet, she gave me a onceover with a critical eye. “You look great, Liv. You know you can do this, right?”
“Yep.” I shook my hands out by my sides and rolled my lips into my mouth. “I’ve heard that I just have to picture the audience naked.”
“Or just picture your cowboy naked,” she suggested jokingly, pumping her eyebrows at me. “I bet that’d keep the nerves at bay.”
I laughed. “I thought you didn’t want to hear personal details about the cowboys.”
“I told you to picture it, not to describe it.” She grinned. “Although there might be some people in the audience who’d pay a lot more attention to that description than to anything relating to marketing.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I teased, still laughing as I moved over to let her have the space in front of the mirror. “To be honest though, that helped. You’re right. I shouldn’t take it too seriously. I just need to speak from the heart, right?”
“Exactly. Let the passion drive you.” As I left the closet, she added, “Passion for marketing, not Charlie!”
I laughed, but I had to admit, I really did feel better. Lacey had taken her turn in the shower and I strode over to the counter where she’d left my coffee, but the mug was gone. London had two mugs on her nightstand though, so immersed in her furious texting that she hadn’t noticed me yet.
I didn’t even have to ask who she was talking to. The weirdly smug, yet pleased, yet annoyed scowl on her face said it all.
Liam .
“I’m going downstairs for coffee,” I told her. “I’ll see you there?”
“We’ll be there,” she promised absently, still not looking up from her phone.
Chuckling as I collected my things and left the room, I wondered what the boys were doing. Well, the other boys. I knew exactly what Liam was up to: driving my sister insane via text.
It turned out that I didn’t have to wonder for very long. When I got downstairs to the lobby, the guys were there too, and just like I’d thought, Liam was scowling at his phone too. Dallas and Colt were wolfing down bacon as if it was going out of fashion, and Charlie was fixing himself some coffee.
I headed directly for him, and although I’d hoped to surprise him, those blues suddenly narrowed and swung my way. He grinned, raking a hand through his dark brown hair as he waited for me to join him.
“Good morning, gorgeous.”
I smiled, my heart skipping in my chest. “Good morning, Cowboy. How did you sleep?”
“Not as well as I would’ve if you’d been with me,” he said.
“Wow, that was smooth.” I laughed, those blue eyes making me feel all girly and beautiful as they looked me up and down. “What are you doing?”
He brought his gaze back to mine, a slight smirk on his lips as he shrugged. “Checking you out. Are you ready for your speech? You sure as heck look ready.”
“I’m so ready. Prepare to be amazed.”
“You amaze me every day.”
My cheeks flushed. “Well, someone seemed to have stirred an extra shot of charming into his coffee this morning.”
He laughed. “Only for you, baby.”
My heart rioted in my chest and I had the most insane urge to squeal out loud again. I only barely managed to keep myself from breaking out into a happy dance. “I’m going to make my coffee now. Then I’m going to go drink it backstage. Away from you, so I can focus on finding my center before the speech.”
“I can help you find your center if you like.” He winked at me before he stepped aside and motioned toward the coffee machine. “Just kidding. I’m trying to pump you up before your speech. Is it working?”
“Totally, and thank you.” I pressed a few buttons on the machine. A few minutes later, I waved goodbye and strode toward the backstage area of the conference center next door. The longer I was around Charlie, the more my heart and mind would dwell on him instead of focusing on the task ahead.
As it was, putting the handsome cowboy behind me was harder than it should’ve been. Finding a quiet spot to drink my coffee and get myself into the right frame of mind, I heard the day eventually getting started outside and I sucked in a deep breath.
It’s almost time.
“Liv,” Dad said from behind me. “How are you this morning, baby girl?”
I looked up and saw him rolling a chair closer to mine. I flashed him the best smile I could manage. “I’m good. A little nervous, but I think that’s a good thing.”
He chuckled. “The nerves will help focus your mind if you let them.”
Leaning forward, he sat down and took my hands, his chair now directly in front of mine. He looked at me, his eyes soft and even almost teary. “I’m so proud of you, Olivia. I realize that a lot of people think I’ve made you the CEO when I step down simply because you’re the oldest, but it’s not just that. I believe in you, darling. You were born for this, a real rock star, and you always have been.”
His words flowed through me like a strengthening force, injecting the confidence boost I’d needed right into my heart. I squeezed his fingers. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Standing up, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and waved toward the curtains. “You’re on, baby. Go wow them with your knowledge.”
I blinked hard, suddenly realizing that he was right and the emcee had just announced me. I rose slowly, drawing in a deep breath before striding out onto the stage and delivering the best speech I’d ever made. I even got a standing ovation, and as I grinned and fought the urge to punch the air in victory, I was so darn proud of myself that I truly felt like I was on top of the world.
I worked so hard and moments like this showed me the impact. It proved to me that every sacrifice I’d ever made for this job had been worth it.