Chapter Twenty-Seven
Olivia
Simon takes me to a new Italian restaurant that opened not too far from our office. He started the tradition of treating me to lunch for my birthday when he learned that nobody celebrated it, and I felt obligated to reciprocate, so it’s been going on for years now.
I’ve seen some signs and promos for the restaurant, but it’s my first time visiting.
It’s a surprisingly delightful little place with jaunty Italian tunes, arranged from famous arias by Puccini.
The air sizzles with garlic, butter and olive oil.
If the food tastes as good as it smells, it’s going to be amazing.
A blonde in a pink dress checks our reservation and takes us to a cozy table by the window facing the busy street. Two laminated menus titled LUNCH wait for us.
I turn to the waiter for recommendations.
“Clam angel hair pasta for sure,” he says, all slicked-back black hair and two-day stubble. If he looked any more Italian, he’d be on the menu.
“Then let me get that. And a glass of Perrier with a slice of lemon, please.”
“I’ll have pasta pescatore and a Diet Coke,” Simon says, barely glancing up.
The waiter nods and brings out a basket of warm buttered garlic bread. I pick up a piece and nibble on it. This is yummy. I should bring Liam here when we do our next date night. It isn’t fancy, but it’s kind of perfect—lovely but not too intimate.
“Is there any seafood you don’t like?” Simon asks with a grin. “For some reason, I didn’t think you were a fan of clams.”
“Normally no, but on pasta? Oh yeah. Something about their textures together works for me.”
We make small talk for a while. “So how’s married life treating you?” he finally asks, very casually. “Is Liam cooperating with…you know?”
“As planned—orderly and neat” is what I should say, but I pause.
It feels wrong to categorize what I have with Liam so clinically.
The only thing planned about our marriage was the ceremony itself and making a baby.
Everything else…well, orderly and neat aren’t really the words, but I can’t imagine our lives getting much better, either. Everything already feels so…perfect.
Still, I don’t want to reveal too much. I take a sip of Perrier to gather my thoughts. “It’s surprisingly good. He’s very understanding.”
Simon nods, although his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes anymore. He opens his mouth to say something, but then the waiter arrives with our pasta.
Our food gets served, and we start eating. Simon chews thoughtfully.
“You still haven’t told Liam about you being the owner of Luminary & Co., right?”
I shake my head. “No. He doesn’t need to know.”
“Do you think he’ll disapprove?”
“No.”
Luminary & Co. is my secret weapon. I want to have a fallback position in case my plan fails or I get betrayed by someone.
A hundred thousand bucks a year from my mother’s trust has been set aside for my care and needs since I was ten.
Nice, but not enough for what I needed to do: find all the information I could about Hugh, Deena and Brielle, and also look into the background of “suitable” men.
My initial meeting with Tyler was no accident.
Things like that couldn’t be engineered on a measly hundred-k a year, especially when everyone can see I spend top dollar for quality clothes and accessories.
That’s why Brielle never suspected that Tyler was nothing more than a trap.
To Hugh’s family, I’m just a mid-level manager at some small wedding-planning firm who spends money carelessly.
The more they underestimate me, the stronger my position becomes.
And my strikes will be that much more painful, the justice that much more fulfilling.
I don’t want to tell Liam everything and reveal all my cold, ugly planning. He thinks I’m amazing, but if he sees too much, that might change. Just the idea of him looking at me like I’m some kind of monster makes my throat tight.
I inhale slowly. “This marriage isn’t something that requires us to disclose all our assets and get into each other’s finances. Liam and I have known each other for a long time.”
“From Stanford,” Simon says softly.
“Did Liam tell you?” Although he hadn’t said anything, I don’t think he’s a fan of Simon’s. It’s hard to imagine the two of them engaging in small talk.
“Not in so many words. But he was quite pleased about it.”
“Was he?” I smile. That’s adorable. Liam always seems to think everything about our past is more precious than diamonds.
Although we had several classes and projects together, I made sure not to let my fondness for him show, not with Brielle so close by.
Although she was at Santa Clara, she had lots of friends at Stanford.
She wouldn’t have hesitated to visit and get her clutches on Liam if she’d thought he meant anything to me.
What did he see in me back then? He says I’m his blue sky, but I wasn’t particularly social or open.
“Agh,” Simon says as red tomato sauce dribbles from his fork and lands on his shirt. He grabs a napkin and dabs at the shirt, but the stain spreads wider. “Damn it.” He rubs more, which makes it worse.
“Stop.” Shaking my head, I lean across the table with my napkin. “Come here.”
He shifts toward me.
I dip the napkin in the water and dab at the stain. “That should do for now. If you launder it tonight with baking soda, you might be able to get it out.”
“Hopefully. Thanks. It’s my favorite shirt,” he says, flushing. “You got it for me last year.”
That’s right, I did. I was tired of seeing him wearing the same two shirts for over half a year. “If it doesn’t come out, I can get you another. It’s just a shirt,” I say, wanting to cheer him up. “I’ve never seen you flustered like this, not since the first year you started working with me.”
The tips of his ears turn red. “Do you have to bring that up? That was such an embarrassing year for me. I thought I knew what I was doing, but then you showed me that I knew nothing.”
“I wasn’t that bad.” I laugh.
“Oh, yes. You were a demanding boss. And I think that’s why I decided to stay. Because when I first met you, I thought you were just a pampered little heiress playing at running a business.”
I smile. “Well, I’m glad that you stuck around, because you’ve been an amazing assistant. I couldn’t have done all this without you.”
“It’s been my pleasure.” He gazes at me, his eyes bright. “And it will always be my pleasure to stand by your side and help you achieve everything you desire.”