11. Olivia
OLIVIA
They landed a few hours later at another private airport outside the city.
Olivia watched out the window as they circled the gleaming skyscrapers, passed over the ocean, then made their descent into a small private airport.
The landing was smooth, with not even a hint of a bump, but Olivia still felt her stomach drop.
Flying had been a small break from reality, but now, she was about to face the consequences of her choice to come to New York with Leo.
Leo and Olivia both thanked the pilot, Samantha, before deplaning. The air was warm, though not as hot as Las Vegas had been. This time, there was a car and driver waiting for them on the tarmac. The driver wore a suit, and the car was a limo with tinted windows.
“I haven’t been in one of these since prom,” Olivia said quietly as Leo opened her door for her.
“They’re a comfortable way to get around the city, although I admit that I usually prefer other modes of transportation,” Leo said.
He climbed in beside her and flashed her another of his smiles.
He seemed to be in a good mood, and Olivia wondered what he was thinking about and why he was feeling so cheery.
Maybe he was happy she had agreed to come to New York with him.
“Like the subway?” Olivia teased, knowing Leo probably didn’t mean public transportation.
“Something like that.”
Out the window, Olivia could already see the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan.
She could make out a few familiar buildings, like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, and her heart raced a little.
She’d never been to New York City before, and despite the strange circumstances, she couldn’t help feeling excited.
It was the kind of city she’d dreamed of visiting after seeing numerous shows and movies set here, not to mention the books and songs.
The driver steered the car out of the airport and onto an expressway.
The buildings drew closer and closer before the car dipped into a tunnel.
When they emerged, they were in the center of Manhattan, surrounded by skyscrapers so tall that Olivia couldn’t see the tops out her window.
She stared so hard at the yellow cabs, suited businessmen, souvenir shops and hot dog stands outside that she felt a little like a country bumpkin in the big city for the first time.
Beside her, Leo was looking out the window, too, though he didn’t look quite as starstruck as she was.
After spending a while in traffic, surrounded by the honking of horns and the sounds of music and voices that Olivia associated with big cities, they stopped at the curb of a large building directly adjacent to Central Park. Both Leo and Olivia got out.
“Here we are,” Leo said, as he nodded to the doormen and gestured for Olivia to enter the gleaming lobby. They crossed to a bank of elevators, passing a receptionist at a desk, and rode up to the twenty-seventh floor. There, the elevator doors opened directly onto an entryway with sloped ceilings.
“Home sweet home,” Leo said, stepping into the apartment. He set his backpack down. “Again, I’m afraid to say this, but I’ll have to leave you for a few hours while I run to the office.”
“No problem,” Olivia murmured. She was still taking in the marble floors and vaulted ceiling. It made sense that Leo was leaving — he’d told her he had meetings that evening. Still, it was strange to think she was about to be alone in this enormous penthouse.
“I’ll show you your room,” Leo continued. He led her down a short hallway, past the open door of a bedroom where Olivia could see a slightly messy bed and a man’s suit hanging on the door. That must be Leo’s.
He opened the door of the next room onto a neat, if impersonal, guest room.
The bed was large and neatly made with white sheets, and a door on the far side of the wall opened to an ensuite bathroom.
There was an enormous window, almost floor to ceiling, that looked out over the trees and meadows of Central Park and more skyscrapers in the distance.
A desk sat right in front of the window, as if to invite the occupant to admire the view while working.
“This is yours,” Leo said, setting her case on the box at the foot of the bed.
“The kitchen is just down the hall — help yourself to anything you’d like to eat.
There’s also a living room a few doors down and a balcony, if the weather holds up.
And I have a home gym you’re welcome to use.
The TV has most streaming services known to man, in case you’d like to watch something. Now, I’m afraid I have to run.”
“No problem,” Olivia said again. “Thanks for… everything.”
“Thanks for giving me a chance and coming with me,” Leo replied. “I’ll try to be back by seven, eight at the latest.”
With that, he went back down the hallway, leaving Olivia alone in the expansive guest room. She stood frozen for a long moment, until she heard the whir of the elevator.
“Well, okay then,” she said quietly. Coffee and rest on the flight had helped her hangover, but she was still hungry. The pretzels she’d eaten hadn’t been filling, and she’d opted against the tuna sandwich. Maybe it was time to check out the kitchen Leo had mentioned.
Olivia went down the hallway, managing to spare only a glance at Leo’s room. The kitchen was easy to find. It was filled with gleaming appliances that must have cost a king’s ransom. She ran her hand across one shiny countertop before going to the fridge.
It was well-stocked with what looked like containers of meal prep.
There were boxes of rice with vegetables and chicken, containers of pasta, and small bags of snacks like grapes and cheese.
She found something that looked like stir-fry and popped the container into the microwave to heat it up.
While it spun, she looked around the kitchen more.
The view out the window was spectacular.
Olivia found herself staring at the skyline and wondering how Leo could afford a place like this.
She gave almost half of her salary for a tiny studio in a far-flung neighborhood of Seattle that could be most generously described as “up-and-coming.” This was clearly prime real estate in the heart of New York City and must have cost a fortune.
The microwave beeped, and Olivia got her food out.
She went to find somewhere to sit and eat and passed the living room.
There, she spotted a few framed photos of Leo with a man who looked a lot like him.
They were both smiling in all the photos, whether they were dressed in hiking gear or formal suits. This must be a brother, or a cousin.
Olivia found a table on the balcony and sat.
The air was cooler now, but enjoyable, and she dug into her food with gusto.
It was surprisingly tasty. When she’d finished, she went back to her room and took a shower.
The water was hot, the shower was filled with sweet-smelling soaps and shampoos, and Olivia took a while to rinse off the day she’d had.
She changed into her one remaining clean outfit, making a mental note to find a washing machine (and possibly more clothes).
With that done, she was at a loss. She was tempted to call Rachel, but was unsure of how to explain her current situation.
Rachel would have a lot of questions about how Olivia had ended up married and who her new husband was.
Questions Olivia didn’t know how to answer.
Maybe it was time for her to answer a few of those questions for herself.
Olivia wandered back into the living room and sank onto the soft white couch, tucking her legs beneath her. She pulled out her phone, which was still charged — a small miracle after the last few days. Then, feeling oddly apprehensive, she opened a search engine and typed in Leo Barclay.
The small screen filled with results. At the top were images of Leo, looking just as he had today with his sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. In all the photos, he wore a blazer or a button-down, and he was smiling.
Just below the first photo was a Wikipedia biography, which Olivia clicked on.
Leo must be very famous if he had his own Wikipedia entry.
In the first paragraph, there was the logo of the tree Olivia had seen on the plane, and her eyes widened.
Leo was the CEO of Palasa. Even Olivia, who wasn’t very tech-savvy, had heard of Palasa.
They were an enormous tech conglomerate that worked in everything from databases to AI to cloud computing.
At Palasa, we find the solution to your technical difficulties, no matter how unique, specialized, or complicated one line read.
Apparently, Palasa had an answer for everything in the tech world.
They’d developed custom solutions for huge companies, including online marketplaces, streaming platforms, and even rideshare apps.
And Leo was the CEO.
No wonder he could afford such a fancy place. No wonder he had a private jet. No wonder he moved with the effortless confidence of someone who had never had to doubt their place in the world.
Olivia’s chest clenched, and she quickly closed the browser.
Even though this was all public knowledge, she couldn’t help feeling she was violating Leo’s privacy.
He’d brought her back to New York so that they could get to know each other while sorting out their divorce.
Surely the fact that Leo was a huge tech CEO would have come out eventually.
Maybe he’d even told her last night, and she just didn’t remember.
It wasn’t as if he’d been hiding it… Right?
Olivia chewed on her lip uncertainly. She suddenly felt very… unsophisticated. Leo was a rich, powerful, attractive man who had founded his own tech company. Olivia was a failed photographer who was currently unemployed.
Her stomach clenched as she wondered if Leo had looked her up, too. But he wouldn’t have had to. She’d told him all about her lack of a job and her forgotten photography dreams.
If Rachel were here, she would have said that none of that mattered. Olivia had chosen Leo last night for a reason, and he’d clearly chosen her for a reason, too. Yet Olivia couldn’t help feeling less-than, even though Leo had never done anything to make her feel that way.
Maybe the best way to feel better was to get back to work.
Olivia fetched her laptop and opened a job portal website.
She’d planned to spend the afternoon panic-applying for jobs.
She might as well do that now, from this very comfortable living room with its very impressive view.
When Leo got back, they would talk. Until then, she might as well keep busy.
Olivia spent the next several hours applying for as many jobs as she could find.
This wasn’t exactly in-keeping with Leo’s suggestion of taking some time to plan her next steps, but at least, if she landed a job, she wouldn’t have to worry about where next month’s rent was coming from while trying to figure out her unexpected marriage.
That would help.
Wouldn’t it?