7. Olivia
7
OLIVIA
Yesterday, I almost exploded when I read an email from Alex’s office. It was the equivalent of an eviction notice, for heaven’s sake. The arrogant jerk was so sure that he had my company in his hands. It had taken every ounce of self-control I possessed not to immediately call him to remind him that BioTech was still mine .
I still couldn’t believe he’d gotten my shareholders to jump ship and was pretty much forcing me out. Frustration had been burning a hole in my stomach since I got news of a hostile takeover. It had reached a boiling point now that I knew who the culprit was and that he was awful enough to rub it in my face with that stupid letter.
I slammed my palms on my desk and pulled in several deep breaths. “You won’t get anywhere with anger,” I whispered to myself.
Some of the misogynistic asses I had to deal with already thought women were too emotional to hold positions of power… Seriously, one of them outright said it to my face. I’d always had to remember to play it cool.
It had been a week since Alex showed up at my office and revealed his identity as the vulture going after BioTech. Surely, he’d calmed down after that tense first meeting. I was confident that we could have a civilized second meeting where I could explain to him why I was fighting so hard to keep the company.
It wasn’t just about me. We saved lives and helped countless people with our blend of technology and medical science. My father had his flaws… many of them. However, he wasn’t one of the misogynistic assholes I mentioned—not to the extreme, anyway. His saving grace was that he believed in BioTech’s mission, and he put his faith in me to continue the Brentwood legacy. I couldn’t fail. I wouldn’t. Therefore, I had to swallow my pride and appeal to Alex’s compassion. To call it what it was, groveling, would likely make me vomit.
Reluctantly, I picked up my phone and called Alex’s office. The phone rang twice before someone answered. “Thank you for calling KnightGuard, Alexander Knight’s office. How may I help?”
The voice on the other end was light and professional. It helped put me at ease a little. I realized that my heart pounded faster than usual because I half expected Alex to answer.
“Hi, this is Olivia Brentwood. I’d like to speak to Alex… I mean, Mr. Knight, please.”
“Please hold.”
My eyes rolled around, and I tapped out an agitated rhythm on my desk as I waited.
The same voice came back. “Mr. Knight isn’t available.”
“Did he tell you to tell me that?” I just had a feeling he did.
“Um… no... ”
The woman’s hesitation said it all. “Uh-huh. Well, can you ask him when would be a good time for us to meet?”
“Ms. Brentwood?—”
“Please. It’s an urgent matter.”
“Please hold,” the woman said before the line went quiet.
I blew out a breath and waited once again.
“Ms. Brentwood? Sorry to keep you waiting. Mr. Knight’s schedule is full.”
“Oh, come on…”
“I’m sorry.”
The woman sounded genuinely apologetic. Plus, it was hardly her fault that her boss was being an avoidant dick. “It’s fine. Thanks.”
As soon as I hung up, I grabbed my handbag and aimed for the door. If Alex thought I’d just sit and twiddle my thumbs until he was ready, he was in for a surprise. When I rushed out of my office, my assistant’s head popped up. She gazed at me with furrowed eyebrows.
“Is everything okay, Ms. Brentwood?”
“Everything is fine, Janice. I’ll be out of the office for at least two hours. Please hold my calls and push back my eleven o’clock.”
Janice’s professional smile appeared. “You got it.”
“Thanks.”
I squared my shoulders and walked out of BioTech with determination.
It took about thirty minutes to get from Cambridge to Alex’s office in Boston. That was sufficient time for me to get my irritation and frustration under control. Sitting in the parking lot, I stared up at KnightGuard.
It was so much more than a cyber security firm. I read in one of his many interviews that his operations were AI enhanced and everything was created from the ideas in his head. I knew it was true because he was highly intelligent. I smiled as I reminisced about the time I discovered my boyfriend was a genius. It was the night we shared our first kiss…
Twelve years ago…
I watched my new boyfriend with curiosity as he stepped into my apartment and looked around. He had his hands in his pockets as he seemed to inspect every corner of my place. I was a little nervous about having him in my personal space for the first time because Alex wasn’t predictable like the other guys I’d dated. He had this mysterious edge that became more intriguing the longer we spent time together.
“Nice place,” he said. “Of course, Princess Olivia would have her castle set up off campus.”
I rolled my eyes at the princess thing. He wouldn’t quit, but admittedly, I was starting to like it.
“Thanks. May I get you something to drink?” Our dinner date just ended, and he’d had plenty to drink, but still…
“Water.”
I nodded, hating the awkwardness that had crept in since I invited him inside. Things had been going smoothly for weeks, and we’d been on five dates so far. I liked Alex a lot, but I worried that he was getting bored with me because I got the feeling that I wasn’t his usual type. He had to be unimpressed by me because he’d yet to even kiss me .
“Coming right up,” I said as I shoved aside my disappointing thoughts.
When I got back to the living room, I found Alex lounging on a sofa. He had my laptop balanced on one knee and his fingers flew over the keyboard. Simultaneously, he tapped away on his phone, which was in his other hand. A look of concentration was etched on his face.
I took a moment to be impressed by the way he coordinated both hands on different devices before I asked, “What are you doing?”
As if snapping out of a different zone, he looked up. “I’m not snooping on your laptop, I swear. It was on and a message came in. I glimpsed the name you mentioned at dinner.”
Right. I’d left my laptop on because I’d been reading another threatening email before our date. I’d run out as soon as Alex arrived. I told him about the troubling emails and texts I’d been getting for weeks. I ignored them at first because I assumed it was some jerk with nothing better to do than prank me. However, the content had started to get troubling. Since I lived under a microscope, I hadn’t mentioned it to my dad or thought of going to the police. I just hoped whoever it was would get bored and stop.
“I can help,” Alex said.
Interested, I placed the bottle of water on the coffee table and sat beside him. “How?”
“By tracking down who’s behind it.”
“But all the messages are anonymous.”
“Nothing is anonymous in cyberspace unless you’re really good at covering your tracks.”
I took in his sly smirk. “Like you?”
He just grinned harder and went back to tapping on the keyboard. I leaned closer as he spouted a bunch of technical stuff that I didn’t understand. I was a biology major, minoring in business.
I missed some of the things he said because I was distracted by how amazing he smelled and how his long, lean fingers agilely moved with familiarity over the keyboard. He had nice hands. I bet they’d feel good on me…
“The IP address is the key…”
His voice pulled me out of my lustful haze. A bunch of data and codes moved on my laptop screen. “Looks like Mr. Anonymous is sending those messages right from campus. Amateur,” he grunted.
“And you’re an expert?” I asked.
Alex paused to look at me. “Tech is my thing. I’m good with computers and… other stuff.”
“Yet you’re enrolled in Harvard business,” I noted.
He smiled and my heart flipped. That mischievous grin of his just did something to me…
“If I already know tech, why would I waste time studying it?”
“Good point. The other stuff you mentioned… what are they?”
His hesitation made me frown. Instead of answering, he continued to type. Finally, he said, “Looks like the culprit is the Ken doll…”
“Who?”
He gave me a sheepish look. “Bryce.”
I scoffed. That immature asshole. He was probably pissed that I was dating someone else so soon after our breakup. Alex was twice the man he was…
“Of course, it’s him,” I muttered. “I’ll deal with him later. Right now, I want you to answer my question. ”
Suddenly, he got tense. However, he put the laptop down and turned to face me. “I’m not like you, Olivia.”
“Well… no… You’re much more fun,” I joked.
Seriously… I laughed more with Alex than I had in my entire life. He was this intriguing combination of sexy, humor, and mystery.
He didn’t smile back and mine melted away.
“I mean, I don’t have money.”
“So?” I shrugged.
“I got into Harvard because of my perfect GPA but not on a scholarship.”
My eyebrows puckered as I wondered where he was going with this. “So, you’re afraid of telling me that you’re super smart…?”
He snorted and then gave me a wry smile. “They tell me I have a genius IQ, but sometimes I question my intelligence because I tend to get myself into a lot of stupid shit.”
I chuckled at that. He was so honest and funny. “Genius, huh? Impressive.”
He shrugged it off as if it was no big deal. “My mom can’t afford tuition. We live in a trailer park…”
“Alex…” I scoffed. “You really think I care about any of that?”
“I wasn’t sure…”
“Oh, my God. That’s why you haven’t even kissed me yet, isn’t it? You think I’m really the rich, spoiled bitch everyone thinks I am.”
It irked me that he thought so little of me. I shuffled away from him, but he snagged my wrist. “Just calm down and listen, Princess.”
I rolled my eyes but did as he said.
“I’m trying to tell you something important about myself here,” he said. “Yes, I’ve held back with you but that’s because I want you to know exactly who you’re with before we go any further. I like you, Olivia, and I respect you.”
My heart got all warm and mushy. He didn’t have to tell me. He’d been showing me since we decided to date. “I like you too, Alex. A lot.”
“I lied to my mom and told her I got a full-ride scholarship.” Guilt clouded his eyes. “But I actually pay for my tuition and afford to live on campus doing the other stuff I mentioned.” He sighed. “I got a job at a bar using a fake ID I made. I figured a bar would work because of the tips… I make a decent amount.”
“I don’t care about that either,” I said. “You’re doing what you have to do. You’re not hurting anybody, and I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
He grunted. “Thanks, Princess, but that’s not all.”
“Tell me,” I prompted. I was so smitten with Alexander Knight that I bet there was nothing he could tell me to turn me off.
“Since I’m so good at creating fake IDs, I have a whole underground operation going. I sell them at a hefty price. The bar job is just a cover up so no one questions where I get cash from. I’m also a great hacker, which sometimes brings in a few bucks. I have a shitload of money saved up from illegal activities, but it’s all to help me get a head start when I finish school. I have to get my mom out of that trailer park and give her a better life. She fucking deserves it. I’ll stop doing underhanded shit as soon as I don’t have to.”
Goodness. How could I be mad at him for surviving ? “Alex?—”
“I’m telling you all this because I’m not such a standup guy… You know, one who’s worthy of dating a girl like you. Right now, I’m?— ”
“Alex.”
He stopped talking to look at me.
“Just shut up and kiss me,” I whispered as I leaned closer to him.
He hesitated for only a moment before he closed the distance between us. As soon as our lips touched, magic happened. I swore I felt electricity spark as our mouths melded. Finally, my first kiss with my new boyfriend. It was better than I anticipated.
Alex kissed me with the passion and experience of someone beyond his age and that made me both thrilled and nervous. I wasn’t sexually experienced… at all. I was still a virgin, and the way Alex kissed and touched me said he wasn’t. He reached over and picked me up and then settled me on his lap. We kissed wildly as I straddled him.
When I pulled away, I panted, “Alex?”
“Yeah?”
Blue eyes filled with desire stared back at me.
“I don’t care what you do. I still want to be with you. Your secrets are safe with me.” I palmed his face and held his gaze with imploring eyes. “Just don’t get caught and get into trouble, okay?”
A tiny smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “I won’t, Princess.”
Smiling, I swooped down to kiss him again. When Dad found out about Alex, he’d probably blow his top, but I didn’t care. I might already be in love…