Chapter 31
It was ten o’clock. In three hours, Olivia would give one of the most important presentations of her career. It wasn’t the
content but the audience. Three of the five people who’d be interviewing her and deciding the next CIO would be watching.
At the tap on the door, she looked up to find Meera. “Just came to wish you luck.” Her gaze dropped to Olivia’s desk and the
single cupcake topped with a swirl of vanilla buttercream, dotted with raspberries, and proudly displaying a glitter Good Luck cake topper. “I see someone got here before me.”
“He hid it in my bag. I opened it last night when I unpacked. It was probably left over from Ellie’s party.” She didn’t know
why she was trying to dismiss the gesture. The cake topper had been bought specially. And with everything he’d had going sorting
out his daughter’s party, the man who claimed to be disorganized had spared a few minutes to do something sweet for her.
“You realize he’s utterly besotted with you, don’t you?”
That was why she wanted to dismiss it. She knew Connor was falling for her, and being entrusted with his heart terrified her.
She’d hurt men before, and it had been awful, but how was she was supposed to live with herself if she hurt Connor?
“I love you to pieces, Meera, but now isn’t the time for this chat.”
Meera grimaced. “Yes, sorry, my bad. Go and do what you do best and dazzle the socks off the bastards.”
“You can bet I’ll try.”
Meera waved goodbye and Olivia focused on her presentation again. She was still on the first slide when her phone rang. She
frowned at the caller ID and answered it. “Everything okay?”
“Honestly, no. I’m sorry, but I’m in a bind.”
Jessica sounded both stressed and worried. “What is it?”
“The school phoned to say Mia’s been sick and they think she’s got a stomach bug. Nick’s in Edinburgh and I’m down in Brighton
visiting a friend for the day. I’m trying to get back, but the bloody trains have a signal problem and everything is showing
delays. I hate to ask, but can you go and get her? I know the school will take care of her until I get there but it’s not
the same as being at home with family.” Her voice caught. “She’s a tough cookie but she’s going to be feeling miserable.”
Olivia stared at the presentation waiting for her on her computer screen. “Is there nobody else who can help? Ashley?”
“Ashley is in Paris with Aaron. I suppose I could try one of the other mums, but—”
“Mia’s ill. She needs to be with family.” God, she was Mia’s aunt. What was she doing, trying to push her sick niece onto someone else? “Of course I’ll pick her up. Is your spare key in the
usual place?”
“Yes. And thank you so much, Liv. It means a lot, knowing she’s with someone I trust to take care of her.” She heard her sister’s
voice crack. “I’ll be there as fast as I can. I hope you’re not in the middle of anything important.”
Again her gaze landed on the presentation. “Nothing that’s more important than Mia.”
After hastily saving the presentation to a flash drive, she hurried down the corridor to Simon’s office and knocked on the
door. He raised his head and waved her in.
“Sorry, I hate to let you down, but my niece is sick and my sister is struggling to get back to pick her up. I need to go.”
He frowned. “Can’t it wait until after the presentation?”
Leave Mia at the school for another four hours, at least? “Can we push the presentation back until tomorrow? Or later this
afternoon?”
He stared at her as if she were stupid, and okay, she knew how difficult it would be to ask important clients, the media,
to change their schedules, but clients canceled on them. And the media would turn up where the news was. “If that’s not doable,
I’ll get someone on my team to cover it.”
“We need someone senior.”
“I could ask Stuart.” Damn, it hurt to say it.
Simon inclined his head sharply. “You do that.”
If suggesting to Simon that her rival give the presentation hurt, it was nothing compared to the pain of asking the man himself.
The gloating smile, the overly sweet concern Stuart showed, all stuck in her throat. As did handing him the flash drive with
the slides. Her damn slides, all those hours she’d put into perfecting what would now be seen as Stuart’s presentation. Stuart, the man who saved the day.
It was exactly why she didn’t want kids, she reminded herself as she dashed to the tube. They deserved to be put first, and
she didn’t think she could do that. Not at the expense of taking a step back in her career.
The frustration of missing out on the presentation and the humiliation of asking Stuart to deliver it as a favor continued to burn in her stomach right up to the moment she pushed open the door to the school.
But when she saw Mia, eyes closed, looking so fragile huddled on the sofa in the school reception area, all thoughts of work
vanished. “Mia.”
Her eyes opened, and the wan smile she gave Olivia sent her heart tumbling. “You came. Mum said you would. She’s trying to
get a train.”
“I know, she’ll be with you as quick as she can.” Olivia sat next to Mia and enveloped her in a tight hug. “If you’re up for
it, we can wait for her at your house and you can do whatever it is your mum lets you do when you’re not very well.”
“Watch TV on the sofa with a cuddly blanket.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
They took an Uber to Jessica’s, and Olivia let them in with the key Jessica always kept round the back because her older kids
kept forgetting theirs.
Poor Mia immediately dashed to the toilet, and Olivia felt a rising sense of worry. When her niece returned, now looking even
paler, she slumped on the sofa.
As Mia drew the blanket round herself and turned on the TV, Olivia felt her forehead. Hot, clammy. God, she had no clue whether
this was serious or not. Should she call a doctor?
Just then her phone buzzed with a message from Connor.
Knock ’em dead. C x
Her heart squeezed. Not just because he was thinking of her but because he understood how important today was for her. She
typed a quick reply.
Thanks. Would have done but sitting with a poorly Mia instead.
A few seconds later, her phone chimed with an incoming call.
“Hey, what’s up? How’s Mia? Where’s Jessica?”
Her eyes welled with tears. How was Connor there just when she needed him? “Mia has a tummy bug.” She could hear the wobble
in her voice and hated it. “Jessica’s on her way but delayed with train problems. Nick and Ashley are too far away to be any
use.”
“Is she okay?”
She glanced again at Mia, who was focused on the TV. “I think so—maybe? But . . . God, I don’t know. She’s been sick at school
and just now. Her forehead is clammy and she’s white as a sheet.”
“Do you want me to come over?”
Yes. She shook the cowardly thought away. Mia was her niece, her responsibility. “Thanks, but I can manage.”
He sighed. “I know you can manage. I’m asking if you want any moral support.” Her hesitation was obviously enough for him
to understand. “You know what, I’m coming anyway. I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Giving her no time to argue, he ended the call.
“My tummy hurts.” Mia peered up at her with big trusting eyes.
“What does your mum usually do when it hurts? Have you got a hot-water bottle?”
She nodded.
“Do you know where it is?”
Mia shook her head.
“Okay, I’ll have a hunt.”
“And I’m thirsty.”
Oh God. “I don’t know if you should drink at the moment.” She kissed the top of her head. “Let me find the hottie, then I’ll
see if Google has the answers for what you can drink.”
Connor will be here soon.
For once she was massively grateful he’d ignored her wishes.
Connor pressed the bell at Jessica’s house. He’d had to grovel twice since his call with Olivia, once to ask his parents to
pick up Ellie, once to ask Ivan, one of the chefs, to swap shifts with him. Surprisingly, the first had been easier than the
second, a fact he put down to Olivia because she’d ticked all the boxes required to gain his parents’ approval. Boxes he’d
never managed to tick. Ivan had been unhappy at the thought of getting out of bed before eleven a.m. but had reluctantly agreed
when Connor offered to do two of his late shifts in return. A price he figured was totally worth paying when he caught the
look of relief on Olivia’s face as she opened the door to him.
“How’s the patient?” he asked, bending to give her a soft kiss.
“Swinging between hot and cold, saying she’s thirsty but I don’t know whether she should have anything to drink, as she didn’t
keep the last lot down. Oh, and her stomach aches, but I can’t find the blasted hot-water bottle in any of the places Jessica
thinks she left it.” She blew out a breath, her cheeks flushed. From the neck up, she looked frazzled. Neck down, in her black
tailored suit, she looked professional, smart, and capable of anything.
“Have you taken her temperature?”
“No. Damn it, why didn’t I think of that? There must be a thermometer in the medicine cabinet.” She exhaled heavily. “At least
I know where that is now.”
While she went off to find it, he wandered through to the lounge to find Mia. “Not feeling good, huh?”
“My tummy hurts and Aunt Olivia can’t find the hottie.”
He gave her hair a gentle tousle. “Okay, let’s see if we can find something else.”
He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge-freezer, and found a frozen gel pack. After running it under the tap to defrost,
he popped it in the microwave for thirty seconds. While he was waiting, he pushed out a few ice cubes from the freezer and
smashed them to make ice chips.
By the time Olivia returned with the thermometer, Mia was holding the warm pad to her tummy.
“You’ve found something for her stomach?” She popped the thermometer under her niece’s tongue.
“Yeah, these things do both cool and warm.” He nodded to the ice chips. “Ellie likes to suck on them when she’s sick. Helps
with the thirst until she can try a drink.”
“And when would that be, Dr. Connor?”