Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Alexander
Derek Tocher is a schmuck. He has nothing to offer Olivia.
“Who’s that?” Jack peers over my shoulder at the screen of my phone and the headshot of Tocher from his brokerage firm’s website.
“No one.” I exit the site and drop my phone in my pocket.
“His mother would disagree with you.” Jack pats me on the shoulder as he rounds his desk. “I’ve got everything together for you, Alex.”
I watch as he drops a stack of papers on his desk. “Tell me this is the right thing to do, Jack.”
“Do you want me to answer that as your friend or your financial advisor?”
“Both.”
He falls into his chair. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s smart. You’re not going to regret this.”
I hope to hell I’m not.
I’m not a wealthy man. I’m not a poor man.
I’m comfortable with a little breathing room.
Jack’s kept me on track because I pay him to do that. He’s helped my money grow to the point where I can do something like this.
I can invest in my future, and other people’s as well.
“You don’t look convinced.” He leans back in his chair.
I rest both hands on the edge of his desk, looking back at his open office door. His assistant, Everly, took off for the day when I arrived.
I have no fucking clue if she was off the clock or if Jack sent her on her way so we could discuss this in private.
Either way, I’m glad this is just between the two of us.
“I’m confident in what I’m doing,” I say gruffly. “I put a lot of thought into it.”
“I’m confident in it too.” He picks up a pen and taps it against the edge of his steel desk. “You’ve come a long way, Alex. I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming.”
I didn’t either, but I’ve learned recently that life doesn’t give a shit about the plans you make. What matters is what you do with the opportunities you’re presented.
“How soon can we get moving on this?” I point at the stack of papers. “Do I need to sign any of those?”
He hands me the pen. “Get comfortable. You’re signing every last one of these.”
I have no idea what Olivia’s definition of later is.
It’s nearing eleven p.m. and I still haven’t heard from her. Granted, I didn’t reach out to her earlier. I spent the evening with Jack. After I signed documents until my wrist was numb, we went for a celebratory beer.
That turned into three beers and the brilliant idea to come to Olivia’s apartment.
The doorman remembered me from last night. He also recognized me from the performance of the Philharmonic he attended last week.
One selfie later, and he let me come up to her place to surprise her.
I hope to hell I won’t be the one in for a surprise. If I find Derek Tocher inside, I’ll tear him apart with my bare hands. Or I’ll fuck off and drown my sorrows in another few beers.
I knock softly on the door of her apartment.
Silence.
I knock again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
Hoping the third time is a charm I bang my fist against the door and call out to her, “Olivia, it’s me.”
The sound of a door opening behind me turns me around.
The sight of Olivia in a pair of black sweatpants and a blue T-shirt almost drops me to my knees.
Her hair is in a ponytail. Her skin is washed clean.
She looks fresh-faced and innocent.
She’s breathtaking.
“What are you doing here?” Her brows pop up. “Did something happen to Alvin?”
I shake my head. I can’t think. All I want to do is take her to bed. Hold her, kiss her, fuck her. I want to keep her.
Her gaze falls back to her friend, Kate. “I’m going to go.”
Kate nods but doesn’t say a word.
I stand to the side as Olivia unlocks the door of her apartment, turns on the light and beckons me inside.
“Why are you here, Alexander?”
I close the door behind me. “Who is he?”
“Who?”
“Daryl.” I shove my hands into the front pockets of my jeans.
I had the sense to go home and shower before I went to Jack’s office. I needed the time between my meeting and signing those documents to think about my future.
“Derek,” she says the lowlife’s name with a half-grin on her face.
“Did you fuck him?”
Her hands fall to her hips. “You did not just ask me that.”
I repeat the question because I need an answer. “Did you sleep with him?”
“That’s rich,” she begins before she turns to walk to the living room. “That’s so rich coming from you of all people.”
What the actual fuck is going on?
I watch the defiant way her ponytail sways as she marches across the room. I want to twist it into my fist and yank on it as I fuck her from behind.
“Olivia. Answer the question.”
Her arms are crossed over her chest when she turns. “No.”
I close the distance between us with steady, even steps. “Answer the question.”
“Only if you answer a question for me first.”
How the fuck did this turn into a negotiation?
I want to know if he touched her, so I agree with a brisk nod.
She steps closer to me, her eyes burning into mine. “How did you feel when your lover walked in on you and another woman? How do you think she felt to find you in your underwear with a naked woman?”
I scrub my hand over the back of my neck. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Her finger jabs into the middle of my chest. “Let me refresh your memory. You met a woman and you took her home that night.”
I shrug. “That doesn’t help.”
She huffs. “You had sex. Apparently, you had a lot of sex for a couple of months and one day she showed up at your place and you were fucking someone else.”
I stare into her stormy blue eyes. They’re filled with passion and anger.
She’s jealous.
She’s scared too. It’s there in her posture and the tremble of her bottom lip.
“You’re talking about Lola.” I exhale harshly. “It was her idea to keep things casual. She was fucking her boss. I was fucking… other women. She happened to show up one night when I had company.”
Skepticism knits her brow. “You didn’t cheat on her?”
“We were never exclusive,” I say tightly. “She knew I was sleeping with other women.”
She doesn’t say a word.
“Her boss fired her that day,” I go on. “He ended the personal relationship too. She took that frustration out on me when she came over and I wasn’t available to…”
“To screw her,” she finishes for me.
I nod. “I don’t know who told you about her, but you only heard one side of the story.”
She rubs her temples. “I didn’t know.”
I take a tentative step toward her. “If I were in a relationship with a woman, I would not fuck around.”
She works on a swallow. “Are you fucking around now?”
“Are you?” I ask because I need to know if she’s sleeping with Derek.
“No,” she whispers. “It’s only you.”
I believe her. I see the truth in her eyes.
“Derek is a guy I know from high school.” She rolls her eyes. “He was a dick back then. He’s a bigger dick now.”
Relief rushes through me. “That’s good to know.”
“We’re both on the committee for our tenth high school reunion, but the meetings are mostly Derek humble bragging about things that aren’t true.”
I huff out a laugh. “I could tell he was an asshole when I met him.”
“You have no idea.”
I study her face, realization hitting me. “You’re planning your tenth high school reunion? How old are you, Olivia?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“I’m thirty…”
“Five,” she interrupts me again. “I read it on your website. You were born in New York City before you traveled the world. You won some very prestigious awards.”
“When did you look at my website?” I cock a brow.
She turns to the side. “It doesn’t matter.”
“When?” I press.
Her bare foot starts tapping on the hardwood floor. “I don’t remember exactly.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
She stares at me, her mouth curving into a smile. “It was shortly after you left the boutique that first day.”
That knowledge makes her want her even more. She felt the pull that day too. “I don’t want you to fuck anyone else.”
Her chin rises. “I won’t if you won’t.”
I pull her close. Staring down into her eyes, I kiss her softly. “We have a deal.”