2. Brett
Brett
The contract hit the table with a satisfying thud.
I nodded, flipping it open, scanning for the usual legalese until?—
Olivia Shaw.
My gut tightened as the world seemed to tilt instantly.
“What the hell?” The words shot out before I could stop them.
Vahn, my other friend, frat brother, and business partner, and always one to catch a shift in the air, smirked. “Something wrong, Collins? You look like you just swallowed a golf ball.”
Jerritt leaned in, peering at the paper, then barked out a laugh. “Oh, shit. Olivia Shaw? Your Olivia Shaw?”
My Olivia. Those two words played in my head like a broken record.
But she wasn’t mine. She had never been mine actually since I did the unspeakable and ditched her in college.
I’d walked away like an idiot, thinking I was too much of a “bad boy” to play house with the best damn thing I ever touched.
“I had no idea she worked for Maven I’d wanted to keep her forever. But I was a cocky idiot, too caught up in playing the ‘bad boy’ and letting my frat brothers’ teasing push me away from something real.
I had walked away. Not because I didn’t care. But because I cared too damn much.
And now? She would be sitting across from me tomorrow, looking just as stunning, probably thinking I hadn’t changed a bit.
I ran a hand over my face.
“Damn it.”
I pushed off the couch and headed to bed, my stomach tight with something I refused to call nerves.
Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The way Olivia had looked at me back then was like I was someone worth knowing and loving—and I knew she loved me—I could see it in her eyes. Then I threw it all away, choosing my damn reputation over her. Idiot.
She had every right to hate me. And she probably did.
I turned onto my side, exhaling. Maybe seeing her again would be punishment enough. Watching her be brilliant, driven, and completely out of my league as she had always been—without me.
Phoenix hopped onto the bed, curling up at my feet. I reached down, scratching behind her ear.
“Guess we’ll see how much damage I did tomorrow, huh?”
Phoenix just sighed, already closing her eyes and stretching out.
I closed my eyes, but sleep didn’t come easy.
Not when I knew that I’d be facing the best mistake I ever made tomorrow.
The night dragged on, and memories kept me hostage. The way Olivia’s laugh had sounded, rich and unguarded, the way her hands had skimmed over my chest with desire. I had wanted to tell her to stay and be mine but had swallowed it back because of the goddamn pressure to be someone I wasn’t.
I had let my frat brothers’ jabs dictate my future. And for what? A reputation? A label? The stupid idea that caring made me weak?
Now, I was a father and a businessman. I was a man who knew what mattered. And Olivia? She’d carved her own path, completely untethered from me.
Tomorrow, she would walk into that conference room, all sharp angles and confidence, probably rolling her eyes at the thought of working with me.
I groaned, rolling onto my stomach.
Maybe I’d make an idiot out of myself. Perhaps she’d shut me down before I could even complete a sentence. Either way, seeing her again would do one of two things—either rip open the regret I’d buried deep or prove that I had a second chance.
Phoenix shifted at my feet.
“Think she’s forgiven me?” I asked in a whisper.
She huffed in agreement.
I shut my eyes again, forcing myself to breathe evenly.
Tomorrow, Olivia Shaw was going to walk back into my life.
And I had no idea what the hell I was going to do about it.