Chapter 47
OLIVIA
Nerves and excitement bubbled within me as I got ready for the conference to kick off.
A lot of work had been done to make this week possible and I was looking forward to seeing our clients and business partners from all over, but I was also anxious about effectively being in charge of things this year.
If it didn’t run smoothly, I would only have myself to blame, and the conference was one of my favorite parts of what I did. I desperately didn’t want to be responsible for messing it up.
As I headed downstairs for lunch, I swiped my tongue across my lips and sent up a silent prayer that this would be our best conference yet.
It was an opportunity for businesses all over the world to come and learn how to market better, to find out how to harness the power of social media, and how to figure out who your target audience is.
All of those were things I loved learning and teaching about, and we had some incredible speakers lined up this year to boot. The passion was there, the arrangements had been made, and the attendees were gathered.
All that remained was to ensure that everything went according to plan. On that note, I fired off a quick message on our operations texting group to check in. Then I slid my phone into my jacket pocket and smoothed out my skirt.
Thousands of people would be at the conference, but I liked to be active in the mingling parts of the schedule even if not everyone showed up for them.
For this lunch in particular, we’d booked the main ballroom of the hotel, which spilled out onto a large balcony with a bar along one side and another sitting area on the other.
Several event spaces adjoining the ballroom had also been opened up for us, and I liked how the guests would enter the lunch through the cozy, intimate sitting areas as well as another bar before all those smaller areas opened up to the ballroom.
As soon as I stepped off the elevator and heard the drone of voices, laughter, and chatter from across the lobby, adrenaline shot through my veins and I grinned. Gosh, this is going to be so much fun!
Even better for having Charlie around this year. At the mere thought of his name, my already racing heart tripped over itself and butterflies spread their wings in my belly. As always, last night had been next level between the sheets, but what had happened after was what had really blown my mind.
For the first time, we’d actually spoken about how we felt about each other and it turned out that I hadn’t been fooling myself. What was happening between us was as real as real could be and the feelings were mutual.
Charlie and I were both committed to this, and if we played our cards right, we might even have a future together. All of which was insane to me, the cowboy and the city girl falling in love.
Shaking my head clear of my thoughts of him, I strode into the lunch and focused on the first client I recognized, an older fashion designer who I’d worked with for years. I smiled as I reached for her hands, squeezing them.
“Cynthia! It’s so good to see you. Thank you for being here.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, honey. I am missing you, though. I love Abi just as much, but I have found myself looking for your face in our meetings.”
“You’re always welcome to video call me when you want to see it,” I said, giving her hands another squeeze before I released them and took a small step back. “I miss being part of those meetings, but I know you’re in the best hands with Abigail. She’s been taking good care of you?”
“Always,” Cynthia promised.
I chatted to her for another minute before I moved onto the next client and went around to as many people as I could to say hello.
When I reached the balcony, I finally spotted Charlie and my heart soared.
Standing at one of the small cocktail tables near the edge, he looked delicious in a crisp white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
That dark hair glinted in the noon sun and his forearms rippled as he spoke with his hands, clearly animated while he was speaking to one of our clients who ran a nonprofit organization.
As I made my way toward him, he looked up and saw me coming, those blue eyes lighting up as he watched me weave my way through the crowd.
I saw the warmth in his gaze, feeling it heating my skin as it raked across my body, but as much as it killed me, I knew I had to keep my distance.
Joining them, I stayed on the opposite side of the small, round table, wishing I could touch him, kiss him all over, and possibly do naughty, naughty things with him in the storage closet I’d passed on my way across the lobby, but that was why I kept my distance—so I wouldn’t drag him over to that closet.
Thankfully, Charlie didn’t reach for me either, simply smiling as he turned my way. “Olivia, have you met Andy? He heads up an organization that distributes food to places all over the world where there’s no food security.”
I extended my hand toward the man. “We met last year. How are you, Andy?”
He shook with me, grinning as he motioned at Charlie as if the two had become fast friends. “So much better now that I’ve met this guy. His family owns half of Texas and we’re trying to work out how their ranch can help our cause.”
“I was just getting to know more about their organization,” Charlie offered. “It seems like there might be some things that we can do for them.”
“I love it,” I said, completely sincere. “This is my favorite part of the conference, seeing connections being made and partnerships being formed. If there’s anything the firm can do to make this happen or to assist once it does, just give me a shout? We’d be happy to get involved.”
As a company, we were already involved with Andy’s organization, helping them raise awareness as well as funds, but if Charlie got into business with them, I was definitely interested in seeing how far we could all go together. Andy seemed to agree.
“The three of us working as a team would sure get a lot more good done around the world than any of us could ever hope to achieve individually.”
“Absolutely,” I said, my gaze lingering on Charlie’s when I turned back to him.
For just a moment, I had a flashback of seeing him come apart last night, his head dropping back and those ruggedly beautiful features contorting, and my mouth dried up. All the moisture in my body went rushing south and Charlie smirked as he raised his eyebrows at me.
“You were about to say?” he prompted me, barely veiling the satisfaction gleaming in those eyes.
Fucker!
I pursed my lips at him, but my heart was racing again and I loved sharing this secret with him, where only the two of us were in on the entire conversation we were having without words.
I smiled. “I was about to say that it’s very kind of you to offer to help.
We’re always looking to facilitate introductions between our not-for-profit clients and those in industries that align with their missions.
We’ve found it to be beneficial for everybody when the right businesses team up with each other. ”
Charlie grinned. “This is a fantastic opportunity for that. There have definitely been some beneficial deals being made already.”
When Andy was distracted by somebody else who had come to say hi, Charlie winked at me and I flushed, but I finally went around to his side of the table, murmuring to him as I took a place at his side. “I don’t remember agreeing to anything. There is no deal.”
“Oh, but there is,” he said happily. “The deal is that you and I are together now.”
“Charlie Anderson, this is neither the time or the place to have that conversation.” I smirked as I looked up at him. “I need to get some water. Give some thought to how you’re going to ask me to make it official, because telling me while we’re at a conference is hardly romantic.”
He chuckled and shrugged a broad shoulder. “Well, it was worth a try, but if it’s hearts and flowers you want, it’s hearts and flowers you’ll get.”
I batted my eyelashes and gave him a playful smile. “Thank you. I’m going to go now. See you around.”
Andy finished his conversation and tuned back into ours just in time to see me wave at Charlie. “It was great to see you, Olivia. We’ll talk?”
“We’ll talk,” I promised before I headed over to the bar, signaling for one the uniformed bartenders to hand me a water.
While I waited, a woman I’d never met before came up beside me, also asking for a water and then smiling when she saw me. “You’re Olivia Walker, right? I’m Scarlett Johnson. It’s awesome to finally meet you.”
“It is?” I reached out my hand to shake hers, surprised that her grip was just as firm and decisive as my own.
I’d always liked that about people, though.
In the business world, there were few things as annoying to me as a weak handshake.
It just never boded well. “It’s lovely to meet you too, Scarlett. Thank you for being here.”
“Of course.” She smiled, and she was so gorgeous when she did that it was almost blinding.
Seriously, this woman was a looker. Tall and statuesque, she had those strong regal features of a world-renowned supermodel and the confident way of moving to match.
Her long, platinum blonde hair shone silver in the afternoon sunlight and her sea-green eyes were sharp and intelligent, like she never missed a thing.
I could totally see men throwing themselves at her feet while she just climbed over them, flipped that hair, and moved on with her life. She leaned in a little when she spoke again, even her voice so beautiful and so commanding at the same time that I instantly knew she was a heartbreaker.
“I came here all the way from Texas for the conference,” she said, smiling in a way that made me feel like she was confiding in me. “I thought I’d traveled far until I realized that you had people here from all over. It made me feel significantly less special.”
I laughed, surprised by how much I liked her. While I could tell that she was a woman who got what she wanted and who took no prisoners in getting it, I felt like we could be friends. I was very much the same way.
“Every person who attends the conference is special to us,” I said easily. “We appreciate each and every person here.”
She regarded me with humor lighting her eyes, but she also didn’t hesitate to prove to me that I’d been right about not taking any prisoners. “Is that the official company line, or do you really mean it?”
“I really mean it,” I supplied without skipping a beat.
“I suppose it is probably also the official company line, but it’s very true.
You have no idea how much this conference means to us.
We appreciate every person who attends. Without all of you, there wouldn’t be a conference and that would suck. ”
She paused for a moment before she started nodding slowly. “You actually sound like you mean that, so I’ll take it.”
I chuckled. “What is it you do, Scarlett? What brought you all the way here?”
“I’m in investor,” she replied, nodding her thanks at the bartender when he delivered both of our waters at the same time. “I’ve heard great things about this conference and the information as well as the networking opportunities it provides, so I registered as soon as I could.”
“We’re happy to have you.” I chatted to her for a while before another client snagged my attention, but as I said goodbye to her, I felt like I might just look her up when I got back to Texas.
A woman who was decisive and who went after what she wanted, she’d seemed like she had a very similar personality type to me. We’d definitely hit it off, and a few more friends never hurt anyone. I grinned as I walked away, happy in the knowledge that the conference truly was already going well.
And I had a feeling it was only going to keep getting better.