26. Olivia
26
OLIVIA
The car hummed quietly as it sped along the lonely stretch of road leading away from Summit Correctional Facility. Of course, I went to see one of the men on Alex’s list of Don Weaver’s former associates.
At the moment, however, I couldn’t focus on the things that Raymond Walters had confirmed about Don Weaver. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions all centered around Alex. I was so out of it that I’d asked Elena to drive us back to Manhattan. I saw Elena glance at me from my periphery.
“Livy, you’re too quiet. Are you okay?”
There was no point in lying. I lied every day to the world, pretending to be the strong leader of the Brentwood clan, my father’s perfect successor, when in fact I was terrified and wanted to give up.
“No,” I whispered.
My friend’s sigh floated around the car’s interior. “Of course, you’re not. That man confirmed that what Alex said about Weaver was true. Look, I know you’re miserable about it right now, but?—”
“I’m not miserable about Weaver,” I interrupted.
Elena went quiet, her eyes on the road. However, I knew she was dying to ask me what was going through my mind, but she was afraid of upsetting me more. Smiling slightly at her consideration, I confessed, “It’s Alex.”
“What, are you afraid he’s going to win the battle you two have going?”
“A part of me is, but it’s not that. I’m heartbroken because he hates me.”
“There’s no way he hates you, Livy. If he did, he wouldn’t have helped you.”
My deep sigh fluttered the tendrils of my hair. “Maybe… I don’t know. I’m still in love with him.” I glanced at Elena to see her reaction. She gave me a raised eyebrow look before returning her attention to the road. “And like a fool, I slept with him.”
The car came to a screeching halt, and we both lurched forward and slammed back against our seats.
“ Elena , what the hell…?”
“You slept with Alex? When? And why am I just hearing about this?”
I looked around. “You can’t stop in the middle of the road, you mad woman.”
With a huff, she pulled onto the shoulder of the road and shut the car off. “Okay, what exactly is going on between you and your ex?”
I took a deep breath to organize my thoughts and get a grip on my emotions. I had to tell her everything, and let it all out before it came to a boil inside me and I exploded. “We first slept together?— ”
Her dramatic gasp made me stop to look at her. “You mean it happened more than once?”
My face heated up. “Uh-huh. It first happened weeks ago. It was after he helped me with that shady guy who was looking for my brother. It just happened and then we ended up… copulating multiple times that night.”
Elena’s eyes danced with amusement. “You did not just use the word copulating .”
“Fine, we fucked like our lives depended on it. Happy?”
She guffawed. “I am. You’ve almost graduated from your prude status.”
After a beat of silence, I laughed. I could always count on her to find humor even in the most serious situations. “He declared that it was a mistake the next morning,” I continued. “I didn’t think it would ever happen again. Then we hung out the other night and one thing led to another…”
Elena’s expression turned somber. “Did he say that time was a mistake too?”
I shrugged. “He sure acted like it was the next morning. The thing is, I was pulled back into that bubble I was in with him before and it felt good. It was amazing. It was as if we hadn’t missed a beat, as if we didn’t have a terrible breakup and almost a decade passed. I realized that I wanted him back in my life. Knowing that it will never happen hurts so much.”
“How do you know it won’t happen?”
“He’s wary. I can see the skepticism and flickers of resentment in his eyes from time to time. He doesn’t trust me, and he never will. I hurt him really badly when we broke up, Elena.” Sheer regret triggered something inside me and tears that I didn’t typically shed in front of others spilled down my cheeks. “I messed up and spiraled back into love with my ex who can’t stand me. ”
Elena gawked at me. “Jesus, Livy. I’ve never seen you cry before,” she breathed.
“I made it back into the nook,” I wail miserably.
“The what?”
“The nook ,” I repeated, dashing my tears away with agitation. “When he holds onto me with one arm, and I’m pressed against him with my face buried between his neck and shoulder. That’s the nook. That’s the place where I feel loved and safe.” I shuffled in my seat to show her how I curled up against Alex and rested in the nook, but she just stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“I see,” she says.
Rolling my eyes, I figured that maybe I did look crazy. I turned back around with a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. I might never make it into the nook again and it breaks my heart.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, reaching over the console to rest her hands on top of mine. I smiled when she gave my hand a comforting squeeze.
“Me too,” I murmured.
“Are you ever going to tell me why you broke things off with Alex? I mean, you’re still madly in love with him. I can’t imagine why you decided to end it.”
Shame instantly flooded me, and my eyes darted away from hers. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her and let her know what a coward I was. “It was just something I had to do…” I murmured, which made things sound so ominous. Well, I supposed the details were a bit gloomy.
Elena’s eyes narrowed on me, and I changed the subject. “I have to put my emotions aside and focus on working with Alex,” I declared.
“Wait…” She canted her head. “What do you mean work with him? ”
I lifted my shoulders. “We can’t let Weaver get away with being a criminal. He’s endangering lives.”
“True, he must be stopped,” Elena agreed. That tenacious journalist glint was already forming in her eyes.
“And you’re going to be the one to write that expose.”
“Hell, yeah I am.”
“With Alex’s help…”
Elena's hype immediately died down. “Erm… Jeez, Livy, are you sure you want us to run around being The Avengers with your ex-boyfriend whom you’ve just admitted that you’re not over? Won’t that be uncomfortable?”
I snorted at The Avengers bit. “We need all the facts, and it will be impossible to get them without him. Besides, I sort of promised Raymond Walters that I’d prove his innocence, and I can’t do that without Alex, so…”
Elena stared at me open-mouthed and then shook her head. “I hope this doesn’t cause you any more hurt.”
“It won’t. I can put my emotions aside to get things done,” I said with conviction that I didn’t feel.
I lifted my hand to knock on Alex’s door but dropped it. Tucking my chin into my chest, I inhaled and exhaled loudly. I was reluctant to face him, but I didn’t have a choice because I needed his help. God, I hated that I needed his help. Swallowing my pride, I lifted my hand but my knuckle just couldn’t touch the door.
“Just get your shit together—” I clamped my mouth shut when the door swung open and my eyes locked with electric blue ones. “Alex… ”
“Liv,” he purred. “Were you ever going to knock?”
As I gawked at him, I felt heat flood my face.
“I was just… How did you know I was out here?”
He glanced up and down the hall. Pointing a finger, he said, “Security camera.”
That meant he saw me trying to muster the courage to knock. How embarrassing. I followed his gaze, silently musing about not even noticing the inconspicuous device, and then a realization hit.
I gasped loudly. “Oh, my God. The other night, we…”
“No one saw you,” he assured. “I angled my body just right. Anyone watching would think we were just kissing. I promise.”
My eyes narrowed to the smirk lifting his lips. The maverick. He really had no shame. “Thanks, I guess,” I muttered. “Wait a minute, if you saw me that means… Alex, how do you have access to the building’s security system?”
He quirked an eyebrow, and I mentally slapped my forehead. Of course, he could hack anything.
“Why do you have access ?” I asked instead.
“It’s convenient.” He shrugged. “I only keep an eye on my door when I’m in Boston. And admittedly, I do look out for miserable Ms. Preston and her cat.”
I shook my head as I let out a little laugh. He tried so hard to be the bad guy when in fact he was incredibly sweet.
In an instant, his amusement vanished. It was replaced by that stony look… The same one he wore when he threatened to take my company. I hated it. “When I didn’t see you for a couple of days, I thought you went back to Massachusetts.”
“I went to see Raymond Walters,” I announced.
His eyebrows elevated. “Didn’t believe me even after I showed you proof? ”
“It’s always better to fact-check.”
He hummed out a response. “What are you doing here… at my door?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Goodness, he sounded as if I was the last person he wanted to see. When would Alex stop looking at me with the proverbial side-eye? It was like he expected me to betray him again. That familiar wave of shame hit me every time I thought about that night I broke things off with him.
“I need your help,” I said. “I mean, I figured we could work together.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “On what?”
“May I come in?”
I almost scoffed when he hesitated as if he wanted to say no. However, he blew out a breath and stepped aside… reluctantly . I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I stepped inside. “You know, Alex, I don’t bite.”
He gave me a glare of pure irritation. “Pardon me for being a little wary of the woman who betrayed me.”
The accusation hit hard. I wasn’t sure why I kept letting him run with that narrative. Because it no longer matters, I told myself. My father was dead and gone as was my relationship with Alex.
“I came here to discuss serious business, so hopefully we can put all pettiness aside.”
He responded with a derisive snort. “Get to the point of what you want, Liv. I’ve got a busy day ahead.”
Biting back my flippant retort for his churlish tone, I did as he demanded. “After much thought, I decided that we should do something about Don Weaver. He needs to be exposed and stopped.”
“We?” The word rang with skepticism. “What makes you think I want to help you more than I already have? ”
“Because,” I said, ignoring the hurt his questions caused. “The man is a menace to the entire business world and many innocent people who turn to companies like BioTech and Syn-Genix for help.”
Alex’s expression didn’t change, but I knew his detached look was just a front. “I prefer to work alone,” he said after a while.
A knowing smirk lifted my lips. “I knew it. I knew you were already making moves to stop Weaver in his tracks because I know you, Alex.”
“Not anymore, you don’t,” he insisted.
“Well, I know you’re the same keyboard warrior you were in college and you never could stand by and watch innocent people suffer.”
“Did you just call me a keyboard warrior ?” he scoffed.
I rolled my eyes. “For lack of a better term… You’ve always been the White Knight, Alex. That’s why I know you’re going to accept working with me on this… no matter how much you hate me.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I don’t… You know what? Whatever. Yeah, let’s work together to do a little good, Liv. The sooner I get this good deed over with, the sooner we can get back to being rivals, and I can take BioTech from you. Clearly, the company needs a wiser CEO who won’t blindly jump into a pile of shit with an evil executive.”
Fury sparked in my gut and sent fire shooting through my veins. “Take that back you… you… asshole.”
“I see I’ve hit a nerve.”
My molars clamped together with so much force that my jaw hurt. “Alright, I can admit that I made a bad decision with Weaver, but that doesn’t mean I’m not good at my job. It most certainly doesn’t mean you'll win in the end. That being said… wh at do you say about another truce?” I batted my eyelashes at him and forced out a saccharine smile.
Unfortunately, Alex knew me well—as much as I hated to admit it—so he saw right through me. His eyes narrowed. “You just gave up that argument way too easily. I should have gotten at least two more insults for being a dick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, so you know that you're a jerk? Good for you.”
One corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward. “You want something else from me. What is it?”
My teeth sank into my lower lip as I gave him a sheepish look. “I sort of told Raymond Walters that I could prove his innocence… which I can’t do without you.”
His jaw dropped and then he scoffed. “You sort of told him?”
Hanging my head like a child caught being naughty—I had to stay humble so he’d do me this favor—I admitted, “I promised him.”
“ Jeezus , Liv.”
“Oh, come on, Alex. Something like that is child’s play for you.”
“So you’re pimping out my hacking services now? Nice.”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” I glowered at him. “Let’s just get along to help the general public and then we can part ways… hopefully forever.” I only added that last part to keep up the pretense of not still being madly in love with him.
He scowled at me but then said, “Meet me back here tonight at eight. I have to get going. I’m spending the day with a very special lady.”
Jealousy flared and swept through me like a tsunami. However, I quickly masked it with a casual shrug. “Okay. Eight it is. ”
We stared at each other until I realized that I was in his apartment, so I should be the one to leave. Mentally facepalming myself, I muttered, “See you later,” wheeled around, and hurried to the door. All the while I wondered who his special lady was…