OLIVIA
“ I don’t want to work for your egotistical, player of a best friend, Owen!” I shook my head at my brother, my blonde waves bouncing against my shoulders. “I’d rather live in a cardboard box in Hunts Point.”
“Listen, I get it—but you don’t even know Eli. You gotta just give him a chance, Olivia. He’s not that bad.”
“Right.”
“Come on.” Owen nudged my side, giving me a smile. “He owns the biggest media production company in NYC. This is the perfect break for you after what happened out in LA.”
“You mean being kicked off a movie that I wrote.”
His cheeky expression faded. “Just give Eli a chance. He’s not connected to those bozos out there in Los Angeles. He can give you the fresh start you need—and you definitely need a fresh start.”
“Because my big brother is his best friend.” My voice dropped as my heels clicked against the New York City pavement. I was no stranger to the Big Apple, but I hadn’t ever intended to come back after college...
And definitely not on the coattails of Eli Whiss, the magnificent billionaire playboy of NYC.
“He would’ve hired you regardless.”
“Without even interviewing me—or meeting me at all?” I raised an eyebrow at Owen, whose blue eyes mirrored those of my own. We looked very similar—both blond headed, fair skinned, and light eyed...
But Owen towered a solid foot taller than my five-foot-four self.
“He’s my best friend , and yeah, was it kind of a favor?” He paused, giving me a shrug. “Maybe, but just take it, Olivia. He’s been wanting to meet you for years. You were always just too busy chasing your dreams in Los Angeles.”
Right, because somehow it’s on me.
We stopped just outside of the towering skyscraper, and I gazed upward, my stomach flipping as I thought of the man I’d soon be calling boss. Owen had met Eli through some mutual friends after college, and they’d been thick as thieves for nearly six years now—but not once had Eli Whiss had time to meet me.
“Seventeenth floor,” Owen said, giving me a gentle push toward the revolving door. “Go do the thing, you nearly famous screenwriter, you.”
Nearly famous.
I let out a sigh and gave my brother a small wave, though he had already spun on his heels and headed back down the street.
I can do this.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the revolving door. My eyes were on my black five-inch heels, trying to prevent myself from tripping like the klutz I was. However, as I took a step forward and looked up...
“What the hell!” a deep voice shouted, startling me backwards.
My jaw dropped at the sight of a fresh dark stain across a light-blue dress shirt, eye level with me, the liquid cascading down to a pair of light-gray pants. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.” I instantly reached out, using my sleeve to catch the coffee from dripping down even further.
“What the fuck are you doing?” the voice boomed, and the realization that I had totally just been wiping my sleeve across this man’s crotch left me frozen. My gaze flickered up, meeting two ocean-blue eyes laced with irritation—and equal shock.
I laughed awkwardly. “Well, uh, a stain is a stain, no matter where it’s at, right? Just trying to do my part, for your parts.”
His eyes went even wider—if that was possible. “Will you just move your hand?”
“Yep, I will do that, right now,” I choked out, jerking my soiled sleeve from his crotch, standing back up straight. We stood there, staring at each other for a few long moments, me ferociously chewing on the inside of my cheek.
And then his face shifted. “Olivia?” His dark brows furrowed as a few drops of coffee fell to the floor between us.
My jaw dropped.
Oh my god.
I just spilled Eli’s coffee.
And then wiped his crotch with my sleeve.
I coughed, clearing my throat at the same time. “I am Olivia, but am I the Olivia? I don’t know.” I shrugged dramatically, giving him a little goofy smile.
He had no reaction whatsoever.
“Owen is my older brother,” I said quietly, tasting copper from biting my cheek a little too hard.
He blew out a sharp breath, his eyes dropping to his suit. “Fucking figures. Come with me back to the office and you can take my dry cleaning.”
“Dry cleaning?” I echoed, jogging to catch up with him as he was already leaps and bounds ahead of me. “I thought that I was going to work as a writer for you? I have a whole list of screenplays and other examples of my work.” I was literally having to run to keep up with his long, powerful strides to the elevators.
He should’ve been an athlete.
However, he didn’t respond to my comments about my writing. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at me as he pressed the button.
I barely made it in beside him before the doors closed, huffing as I brushed my hair out of my face. “You’re fast. I may need to get a gym membership. I’m so out of shape—like a penguin trying to keep up with a cheetah.” I laughed at my own joke, just like always.
He looked down at me, his face stone-cold. “Uh, okay.”
I nodded, looking away from him and staring at the maroon walls of the elevator. It was a hideous color, really, but I was not the person to ask when it came to things like that. My style was lacking, and as I stole a glance back over at Eli, who was everything I had seen in the pictures, I couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.
His dark wavy hair was styled just perfectly, his bright blue eyes focused on the door—like he couldn’t wait to get away from me. His complexion was probably better than my own, and his clean-shaven square jaw really showed that off. Eli looked like he had just been pulled out of a magazine and stuck right here in front of me...
Well, other than the coffee stains all over his suit.
Whoops.
“So, you said I was going to be taking care of your dry cleaning?” I asked, just as the doors opened to the seventeenth floor. “What does that consist of? Again, I’m not sure if you heard me, but I was planning on writing. I brought all my—”
“You can wait just outside of my office in the waiting area while I change. The dry cleaners I use is Elite Cleaners, not far from here.”
I snickered. Elite Cleaners— very fitting.
“I’m sorry, is something funny?” He turned to me, his eyes suddenly a little icy as his gaze bore into mine. “Because there’s nothing funny about the stain on my brand-new suit.”
“I’m sure you can afford to get another one,” I blurted out before I could stop myself, my hand clamping over my mouth as my eyes went wide.
His lips actually curled upward a little, showing signs of a potential smile. “I think you should just focus on getting this one to the cleaners for me.”
“Yes, sir.” I followed him through the extremely luxurious office, most of the people sitting at their desks and paying absolutely no attention to me at all. In fact, it almost felt like I was invisible as we disappeared into a small waiting area outside of a large black door.
“Good morning, Mr. Whiss,” a young, dark-headed woman said as we entered the area. “You look...” her voice trailed off as her eyes landed on the massive dark stain on his suit. “Um, do you want me to call Elite to come and pick that up?”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said with a bright smile. “I’ll have Miss Gray here take it for me.”
Her eyebrows shot upward as she suddenly noticed my presence. “Ah, the new help starts today—I forgot.”
“I’m Olivia.” I stuck out my hand, ignoring the judgmental look. After all, maybe she just had a resting bitch face or something.
“Brittany.” She didn’t take my hand, merely giving it a glance before looking back to Eli. “What about lunch? Are you still meeting with Mr. Ronaldo? Or would you like me to reschedule that?”
“Uh, nah, let’s just leave the meeting the way it is. I can fit it in before the meeting with the production crew. What about the party tonight for Mason? Is everything still lined up for that? It’s his birthday, and he deserves a hell of a party.”
Brittany laughed lightly and flawlessly, flipping her thick dark hair over her shoulder. “Absolutely. I worked out everything with the caterers. I think it’s going to be a hit—just like all the office parties are.”
“Only because you’re so great at it.” Eli gave her a wink before heading into his office and shutting the door. I crinkled my nose up in disgust at the exchange. He was one of those kinds of guys.
Gross.
As soon as the door shut, Brittany let out an audible sigh, looking over at me. “So, you’re Owen’s sister, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, rocking back and forth, feeling more out of place than ever. Apparently, everyone knew I’d been hired as a pity case.
Great.
“Well, good luck to you here. Eli might be super chill and fun, but he’s a true businessman. His flirting is just all in good fun—he’d never break the rules. Don’t get any ideas.”
Uh...
“Okay,” I muttered. I hadn’t once gotten a flirty vibe from Eli in the twenty minutes I had known him. I was positive I would not have the same problem Brittany did—so I changed the subject. “Do you know if I’m going to be writing? Or if I have a desk?” I held up my bag, giving it a little goofy twirl. “This contains all the magic.”
She raised her brows at me. “Uh, you’ll have to ask Eli. I don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing here. Are you a writer?”
My smile faded. “Um, yeah. I worked as a screenwriter out in Los Angeles for quite a few movies, actually.”
“Never heard of you.” She went back to typing on her keyboard, her eyes focusing on the screen. “He didn’t mention anything about you, other than you’re Owen’s sister and you need a job.”
“Oh,” I mumbled, slinging my bag back on my shoulder, defeat and embarrassment washing over me. “I’ll just take a seat and wait for him.”
She gave me a nod, never even looking up from her computer screen as she started typing away. The internal insecure me instantly started imagining what she was saying about me to all her office friends. I stared at my bag in my lap as my knee bounced nervously, jostling the contents.
My eye caught sight of my phone and I pulled it out, checking to see if there were any messages. Sure enough, Owen had already sent me something.
So you spilled coffee on him? LOL
I pursed my lips, glancing over to the office door, wondering what Eli had told him. My fingers hovered over the keyboard before texting out a reply.
I think he hates me.
I hit send, and instantly there were the three dots. I waited for my brother’s reply, hoping that maybe it would be something positive—after all, clearly they had already talked about my slipup. The sound of the door opening caught my attention though, and I quickly threw my phone back into my bag as Eli appeared in a fresh suit, holding out the soiled one.
Jumping to my feet, I rushed to take it from his hands. “I’m really sorry, Eli. I didn’t mean to spill coffee on you. I’m just in these heels, and I was trying not to—”
“Elite Cleaners,” he cut me off. “When you get back, I’ll have a list of tasks for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Um, okay.”
“See you when you get back.”
If I come back.