10. Olivia
10
OLIVIA
“Do you think I’m memorable?”
Elena paused, holding the shoe she was about to slide onto her feet to look at me. “What?”
I leaned against the wall, holding a pair of heels that suddenly seemed trivial. “Memorable,” I repeated. “Do you think people remember me after they’ve met me? Do I leave my mark or a lasting impression?” I twirled one of the shoes as I stared at it. “Or do you think I’m so dull that I blend into the background… easily forgettable?”
Elena’s eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. She put the shoe she was trying on back in its box and looked around the high-end boutique. We had relative privacy in our corner, so we could talk.
“Is this a trick question? You know, like one of those things that crazy friends do to low-key find out what their friends think of them?”
My eyebrows snapped together as I stared at her. “You have a suspicious mind. ”
“I’m an investigative journalist,” she replied.
My lips quirked into a smile. “This isn’t a test. Seriously, how do you see me? Am I boring and forgettable?”
She sighed and shook her head. “Alright, we’re doing this then… You’re a bit of a prude, but you are definitely memorable, sweetie. You’re Olivia fucking Brentwood.”
I rolled my eyes. She’d been announcing my name like that ever since we met years ago. Elena was doing a feature on my father when we ran into each other in the hallway at BioTech.
She’d looked at me and said, “Oh, my God, you’re Olivia fucking Brentwood. I’ve been looking into you for a while. If you ask me, you’re the one I should be writing about, but the men insist on getting all the credit.” She’d rolled her eyes so dramatically that I thought she’d lose an eyeball. “And we ladies must appease their egos, right?”
I’d stared at her for a moment, taken aback by the loquacious stranger, but then I laughed because she was spot-on. After that, I relaxed and chatted with her a little. I liked her on sight and after an impromptu lunch date, we’d been inseparable ever since.
For someone like me who could never be sure if someone was pretending to be my friend because of my last name, it was nice to have at least one genuine companion. I could always depend on Elena to be honest… sometimes, brutally so.
“You think I’m a prude?”
She inspected me in my demure and dull pants suit and nude pumps. “I’ve been telling you for years that you need to let your hair out of that tight-ass bun.”
After a beat of silence, I laughed. “You have.”
Elena smiled but then it faded, and a concerned frown appeared. “What’s this about?”
Heat crept into my cheeks, and I averted my gaze to inspect the row of shoes lined out on a shelf. As the prude that Elena accurately accused me of being, I was at the demure pumps section.
“Uh…” As much as I tried to forget what Alex said the other day, I couldn’t, and I felt pathetic. A grown woman seeking validation because a man said something mean… Elena would be so disappointed.
“I think I know what’s happening here,” Elena said. “You’re feeling a little less confident after you lost your chance at an investor.”
I blinked. Oh, yeah. I might have lost my one chance to hold on to my company… My friend’s reminder made me want to sink into the floor because that’s not what I’d been thinking about for the last two days. Instead, I’d been driving myself mad with thoughts about my ex.
I was too embarrassed to respond verbally, so I lifted a shoulder and Elena ran with it.
“Don’t let that bring you down,” she said. “You’re one of the most determined people I know. You’ll find another investor.” She sighed. “And you’ve left your mark on the business and science world, Livy, so don’t worry about not being memorable. That’s just ridiculous.”
I stared at her, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and amusement. Well… I guess I’d just shut up and let her think my question came from my lack of confidence about my business prowess and not a guy…
“Thanks, Elena.”
She smiled.
“So…” I had to change the subject fast. “Remind me why we’re shopping again?”
“You mean other than to feed my substance addiction for expensive footwear? ”
I chuckled. “You’re shameless.”
Elena lifted a shoulder and reached for a pair of peacock blue slingbacks. She wrinkled her nose and put them back. “We’re shopping because I need a new outfit for my third date with Christian.”
“Christian… Christian…” My eyeballs rolled around. “Would that be the news anchor or the underwear model?”
“The news anchor.”
I grinned. Elena and her underwear model were an unlikely pair. However, she said she only consorted with him because he had a big dick. My best friend was crazy, and I lived vicariously through her.
“ Third date? Isn’t that a record for you?” She usually got bored after the second date.
“Are you trying to slut shame me?”
I snorted as she pointed a shoe at me in accusation. “Never. It’s just that you’re afraid of commitment.”
She gasped. “Am not!”
“The first-grader response says I hit a nerve.”
She sucked her teeth. “Shut up.”
“ Oh , a second-grader’s response. You’re maturing by the second…”
“I hate you.” She laughed.
Our giggles mingled as we launched into a conversation about her having a slight feeling that Christian might be the one to cure her commitment phobia. We then strayed into other girly chatter. This was why I loved hanging out with Elena. She was fun and spunky… the opposite of me, so she balanced my prudish ways perfectly. For a while, I forgot about the sadness that had me in its clutches since I met up with Alex again… since I was reminded of what was and what could have been.
We’d been so lost in conversation that we didn’t realize we reached the end of the aisle. We stopped in front of a pair of scarlet stilettos that seemed to capture the essence of allure. Smiling, we glanced at each other and chorused, “This is it.”
Elena laughed and picked up the box. “It’s perfect. You should get a pair.”
I snorted. “Why?” It wasn’t like any of the scientists who worked at BioTech had time to appreciate my taste in footwear.
“Because you need a little color in your life. You live in dark-colored pants suits and sensible pumps. I get that you’re a serious scientist and businesswoman, but, honey, sometimes you need to mix it up.” She smiled. “Plus, you could meet someone and get asked out on a hot date…”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Not likely.”
It wasn’t that I hadn’t been invited on dates. Plenty of men had shown interest. I’d just never had the time because I was busy taking BioTech out of the dire condition Dad left it in. Plus, why date when I never got over… I sucked in a breath and willed my brain to avoid the subject of him . A part of me wished I hadn’t seen Alex again. Too many memories and emotions had been stirred up.
“Olivia, I haven’t seen you go out on a date in…” Elena scoffed. “Ever! You need a little romance in your life.”
“Date? Romance? What strange language do you speak, woman?” I joked. Still, it was a little pathetic that my romantic life was nonexistent.
“Hilarious,” Elena huffed. She seemed more annoyed than amused, but I knew it was because she cared about me.
“I’m fine, Elena. Maybe I’ll date when all of this mess with work is sorted out,” I said as I ran a finger over a pair of provocative heels. The shoes were a symbol of who I was with Alex. He made me feel daring and sexy. After him, I crawled back into my prudish shell to play the role of heiress to the Brentwood empire.
That familiar feeling of emptiness when I thought about the box I lived in washed over me. I peeled my gaze off the hot shoes. I’d never let loose and be that fun girl again because I doubted I’d ever meet another guy who made me feel the way Alex did.
“Mom, just calm down. Liam is fine.”
I texted Elena as I spoke to Mom about Liam… reassured her, really. Although, I was lying through my teeth. The last time I spoke to my brother—when he finally answered his phone—he sounded out of it.
He told me he hated me and that he didn’t want to talk to me before he hung up. I figured— hoped —he didn’t mean it. He was a drug addict. He hated everyone who tried to intervene and get him on the right track… I frowned at the thought. God, I really hoped he didn’t hate me.
I brought my attention back to the two conversations I was having.
“How can you know that, Livy?” Mom’s high-pitched voice boomed through the phone’s speakers. “You said he hung up when you called him.”
Before I could respond, Elena’s next text came in.
I checked with my guy. Nothing traces back to Knight.
I nibbled on my lower lip as I stared at the text. I had my suspicions about the way Alex popped up and got his hands on Thomas Greggory’s company. It was too much of a coincidence, so I had Elena do some checks to see if Alex had gone snooping into my life, technologically or otherwise. She had a guy …
It seemed Alex’s hands were clean. However, I knew more than most what he was capable of once he got his hands on a computer. He’d never get caught unless he wanted to.
“Olivia, are you there?”
I blinked. “Yeah, Mom. I’m sorry…” I massaged my temple. “Look, you can’t get worked up about Liam. You’ll risk another stroke, for goodness’s sake.”
“He’s my child, Livy. You’ll never understand until you have one of your own.”
I looked skyward as Mom’s subtle dig into my failure to get married and procreate sunk in. She mentioned it sometimes… not enough to be irritating or overbearing though.
“I guess,” I grumbled.
Suddenly, I felt like a failure at everything. I was losing the company Dad left in my hands, I couldn’t save my brother, I couldn’t reassure my mother, and I couldn’t figure out Alex’s angle. Jesus . What could I do? You know those moments when you felt like your entire life was crumbling? I was experiencing one.
Pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes, I heaved a sigh. “Mom, I have to go. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what’s going on with your prodigal son.”
“Now isn’t the time for sarcasm,” Mom chided.
“I wasn’t being sarcastic. He’ll pop up…” When he needed money…
Right now, he was probably at some cheap motel, with a woman he barely knew, strung out on whatever drug he got his hands on.
“I’ll find him, and I’ll get him into rehab.” As I did every fucking time like clockwork …
Mom was quiet for a moment and then she sighed. “Okay. I know you’ll take care of it.”
After she hung up, I sent Elena my appreciation for looking into things with Alex for me. I then rested my head on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Mom’s words replayed in my mind.
I know you’ll take care of it.
Sometimes, I fantasized about a break from my real life where I could just relax, live for myself , and do something that made me happy.
My loud snort echoed around the room. It resonated with skepticism. Olivia Brentwood didn’t get any breaks… I looked around my apartment. It suddenly felt lonely and cold. I’d probably die single and miserable…
The buzzer went off, interrupting my morose thoughts. I jolted upright. The only visitor I’d have at this time—or at all—was Elena, and she was on her way to her date with that news anchor.
Curious, I reached for the intercom system mounted on the wall beside the couch. I pressed the button, activating the video feed, and the screen flickered to life, showing the lobby.
My breath escaped in a whoosh when I recognized the figure standing there. My heart skipped a beat in both trepidation and anticipation.
“Alex…” I muttered.
“Olivia,” his voice came through the speaker. “Can we talk?”
I hesitated, my finger hovering over the button that would grant him access. Part of me wanted to refuse him entry because his mere words seemed to send me into emotional turmoil. Yet another foolishly hopeful part thought that maybe he had a change of heart. He could be here to tell me that he was no longer interested in acquiring my company.
I pressed the button before I could stop myself .
“Come on up,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
Before Alex came up, I damn near wore a hole in the foyer’s floor. I was in the penthouse so the elevator ride took a couple of minutes. When I heard the soft ding that announced Alex’s arrival, I almost choked on the rapid fire of emotions that surged through me. The door slid open, and there he was, standing in my private space.