by Emma Vikes
Logan stepped back, realizing that I was about to have a meltdown. “Liv…”
I let out a defeated sigh and closed my eyes, shaking my head again. “I can’t do that again, Logan. I can’t get involved with you. Not again.”
A flash of hurt appeared in his eyes at my words but he seemed to acknowledge what I meant. “Okay. I…I understand. I’m sorry about what happened. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“I shouldn’t have let you,” I whispered and turned away. “Please just go.”
Without saying another word, Logan left quietly.
I sank to the floor when I heard the soft click of the front door. I pulled my knees close to my chest and let the tears fall.
What did I just do?
9
Logan
I can’t do that again, Logan. I can’t get involved with you. Not again.
It was meant to be a lovely dinner with Olivia and Amy. Olivia made it clear that she only invited me because Amy wanted to have me around. Despite that, I thought that after she tucked Amy to bed, we could have time to catch up. That was all I really wanted. Ten years was a long time and in that length of time, I’d wondered how she had been doing.
She had reached success because of her tenacity to reach her goal. It was obvious she was happy with having Amy in her life. Olivia was living a good life but just because it looked like that on the outside never meant it told the whole story. I wanted to know everything that transpired in her life in the last ten years.
But I let my own guard down and let temptation overrule rationality. When Olivia had been tucking Amy to bed, I couldn’t help but look through their photos. I’d already become aware that she wasn’t married but it could have just been a mere conclusion just because she didn’t have a wedding ring. I knew photos would reveal more about the last ten years so I couldn’t help myself.
And when I noticed that most photos were of her, Amy, and her family, I came into a conclusion that Amy didn’t have a father. Olivia didn’t have a partner to raise her with. Albeit there were pressing questions that came in mind, I zeroed in on the thought that Olivia was single.
Olivia was single and I could have her again.
The moment I came to that conclusion, I couldn’t think straight anymore. I gave her the chance to push me away, to tell me to stop, but the moment our lips met, even she became a slave to longing. She responded with the same lust and urgency that I felt, thirsting the same way I thirsted for her. It felt like we’d been in a drought and finally, rain came.
But then rationality finally overtook while we were trying to catch our breaths. She pushed me away and I didn’t realize how much it would sting when she did. The pang was surprising and unfamiliar and it honestly, caught me off guard.
“You seem to be in deep thought,” Clara commented as she let herself into my office.
Due to the amount of work I was meant to oversee, Clara couldn’t contain me in my house anymore. She knew the repercussions the company would face without me. If our stocks continued to deplete because of my absence, she was in for a whole lotta work and she wasn’t having that.
I sighed and ran a hand through along the side of my head, careful not to ruin my hair. “Why are you already here, Clara?”
She pursed her lips. “Your lawyer is supposed to meet with you. Since you have a lot of work to do, I figured it would be better to have her come here rather than have you meet her elsewhere.”
Clara still had no idea I had history with Olivia. If she knew, I was certain she would force me to change my lawyer. “Alright. What time will she be coming?”
I needed to prepare an apology for when she came. What I did that night was reckless and I’d stepped over the invisible line. Olivia had been nothing but professional to me since we’d met again and I didn’t want to make things awkward between us.
Although, it obviously would be now.
“She said she’ll come by before lunch. She also mentioned there were certain points the two of you didn’t get to discuss in your last meeting.”
My assistant came in, handing me a stack of folders with files I would need to check,
Clara went on, “And she also mentioned that everyone should stay because she wants to speak with them.”
My eyebrows rose at the last part. “Why would she do that?”
Clara shrugged. “She said that she might get more answers from other people. She told me she thinks she might have a reason why Julija did what she did but she said she needed proof. She mentioned something about obtaining evidence to support her claim and honestly, she kind of lost of me after that.”
I glanced at my watch. I had about another hour to finish reading and checking the proposals given to me. It gave me enough time to think of an apology to say to Olivia the moment she walked into my office. The only thing I could hope for at the moment was that Clara wouldn’t be in the room when she came in.
Relief flooded through my body when Clara finally left with my assistant and I sank into my seat. I flipped through the folders but my mind remained elsewhere. My mind remained with Olivia.
The fact that she called Clara to meet with me and talk to the other staff meant she was still willing to do the case. Olivia was still willing to be my lawyer despite what transpired between us at her home. She still wanted to do the case but it also meant she would be a lot more guarded now, given what happened between us.
And I wasn’t entirely sure if I was okay with that.
At 10:30, my assistant knocked on my door, opened it slightly to say, “Mr. Crewe, Miss Wilson is here to see you now.”
I leaned back in my chair and let out a shaky breath, nodding my head at Curtis. “Let her come in.”
Olivia came in my office, head held high, pristine in white, confidently walking up to me. She flashed me a tight-lipped smile‒ one that didn’t reach her eyes‒and bowed slightly. “Good morning, Mr. Crewe.”
I swallowed. Mr. Crewe. She was back to that now. “Olivia, it’s great to see you. I honestly thought—”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence because she sat down on the sofa, loudly placing her briefcase on the table. I knew she wanted me to sit in front of her and get things done already and I quickly did. She wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.
“As you know, we’ve barely covered anything during our last meeting,” Olivia began in a clipped tone, her eyes focused on the documents she procured from her bag.
She seemed cold and distant at the moment, so I knew now, an apology would be useless.
“I went through the documents Julia’s team handed me again. Most of them were bank statements that supported her claim of your embezzlement. I sent it to the bank for verification and I’m still awaiting results. It’s not unlikely that she may have forged it.”
I nodded. “That’s good. Julija had a lot of connections and if she was angry with me, I wouldn’t put it past her to plant evidence against me. Maybe she did obsess over me enough to frame me guilty for a crime I didn’t even commit.”
Olivia didn’t seem to be listening to what I was saying. Instead, she was staring at me intently, as if she was trying to figure something out.
I narrowed my eyes a little, tilting my head to the side to stare back at her. “Am I so intriguing for you to stare at me like this?”
Olivia scoffed and shook her head at me. “You’re still as narcissistic as I remember but it’s not that, Mr. Crewe.”
I cringed at the way she called me. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
She pursed her lips with the hesitation in her eyes. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh, took a deep breath, and then said, “I’m just wondering if you’re guilty or not at all.”
My eyebrows furrowed at her statement and I let out a scoff, appalled at her for even thinking something like that. “You think I actually did what she’s claiming? You’re supposed to be my lawyer, Olivia.”
But Olivia seemed unfazed by my statement. She leaned back on the couch and star
ed at me with curiosity in her eyes. “Just because I’m your lawyer doesn’t mean I can’t question your claims. You apparently broke her heart and she retaliates by claiming you embezzled money from one of your own businesses.”
“What’s your point?” I snapped, glaring at her, peeved at what she was trying to imply. If Olivia knew me well enough, she knew how hard I worked for what I had. Even when I was born with a silver spoon on my mouth, I continued to work hard to reach my own goals. It had been one of the things in life we always saw eye to eye with.
Olivia shrugged. “I’m not trying to make a point, Mr. Crewe. I’m just wondering, that’s all. Whether you’re guilty or not for embezzling money from that auto shop, I’ll plead whatever you want in court. You are my client, after all.”
But even with her reassurance, it still stung because it came from her. It stung because she was supposed to be the one who believed in me. Not because she was my lawyer but because out of everyone in this building, Olivia was the one who knew me best. She was the only person in the world that I tore my walls down for.
Olivia was the only one who knew me—the raw, real, and vulnerable version of me. And it hurt that she didn’t seem to believe my innocence.
“Is that what you think of me?” I asked, not even bothering to hide the hurt in my voice when I asked the question.
She stared back at me with surprised eyes. “I don’t even know if you’re being honest with me, Logan. You’re a bigshot billionaire with so many things to lose because of the scandal. I’ve encountered people like you in my career and heard about cases like yours. It’s not unheard of.”
“So you’d rather make a conclusion based on things you learned from experience from your career than from your experience of knowing me?”
My question seemed to have caught her off-guard. She looked at me, hazel eyes fixed on mine. “I didn’t conclude that you were guilty, Logan.”
I clenched my jaw, upset at how she seemed to be reconsidering my innocence over the matter. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you thought I wasn’t, Olivia,” I said in a quiet voice. Letting out a slow sigh, I stood. I paused for a moment, thinking of the right words to say to her. “My publicist told me that you wanted to interview some of my staff. If you have nothing else to discuss with me, you may go ahead with your other agenda.”
“Logan.”
I knew she wasn’t going to leave even when I basically ordered her to. “What?”
Again, she seemed hesitant. Taking a deep breath, she responded, “Did you or did you not steal money from one of your companies? Whatever your answer is, be assured that I will do what you want me to in court.”
I wasn’t sure why she even asked that question. Maybe she wanted to make it a point to me that she didn’t believe me nor knew me the way she did before. Maybe she wanted to remind me that ten years was a long time and she wanted to make it clear that people change in that timeframe. If I admit to that false assumption, it meant I wasn’t the guy she used to know.
Taking a step closer to her and leaning down so our faces were near, I replied, “I didn’t steal anything, Olivia. I would rather drop dead and lose everything I’ve achieved than steal money from anyone or anything. I’m ambitious, yes, but I’m not a thief. You know I’d rather work hard than do it the easy way.”
Olivia turned her head away and leaned back slightly.
I knew she was trying her best to stay away from me. I pulled away and stood straighter, staring at her with hooded eyes.
She pursed her lips and nodded as she replied in a clip tone, “I’m glad we’ve made that clear, Mr. Crewe.” She gathered the documents she had showed me and stuffed them back in her briefcase. She then stood up, still trying to appear confident.
But I knew that I had shaken her confidence a bit when I came close to her. The short distance that separated us now seemed to make her uncomfortable as she tried to make as much space between us as possible.
“You still don’t believe me.”
Olivia closed her eyes, as if fed up with the loop we were in. “Like I said, I’m your lawyer and I will plead however you want. Whether I believe you or not doesn’t matter.”
“Then how can you plead someone’s innocence when you don’t believe it at all?”
She looked at me evenly, features smoothened into a blank expression. “Don’t worry, Logan, I’m a fucking good lawyer. What I believe doesn’t matter. What matters is we garner enough evidence to prove your innocence.”
“Then you better because it seems like the court isn’t the only one in need of that evidence to conclude my innocence.”
10
Olivia
Logan stormed out of his own office and it honestly made me feel uneasy. I knew I may have pushed his buttons. Questioning his innocence and making it seem like he was capable of doing such a crime was enough to upset him. But I guess he was more upset by the fact that I was the one questioning his innocence.
It wasn’t simply because I was the person who would represent him in court but because I knew what kind of person he was. Logan and I dated for a year. Admittedly, since our breakup and with his petty excuses, I wasn’t sure if he’d been sincere the whole time. But Logan had showed me a side of himself at that time that no one else saw.
That must’ve been what upset him most. I didn’t believe him.
But a part of me thought otherwise. Logan might be feeling disappointed because I rejected him that night. Especially after I let things unfold in the direction that it did. I was supposed to be the one with a rational head over my shoulders but I’d lost myself in pleasure.
Pleasure had been a throbbing desire, a desperate ache in me longing to be subdued. The need that arose within me when Logan’s lips brushed mine felt primal, nearly animalistic. I had no idea how long I’d shoved that need aside. The moment Logan’s eyes had locked with mine as he’d approached me made weak to his desire.
“Miss Wilson?” A woman came in‒Logan’s publicist, as she had introduced herself to me earlier ‒and regarded me with a weary expression. “Mr. Crewe mentioned that you wanted to interview the staff? Do you want them to come in right now?”
Her presence brought me out of my reverie and back to the situation at hand. My eyebrows rose as I looked around at his office. “But this is Mr. Crewe’s office. Isn’t there anywhere else I could hold the interviews?”
“I told him I was going to get a conference room ready for you, the one that isn’t currently in use. But surprisingly, Mr. Crewe insisted that you stay in his office and hold the interviews here.” She seemed overly cautious with the way she talked to me.
I wasn’t sure how much she knew about Logan and me. She must’ve been wondering why Logan didn’t mind me using his own office and to be honest, it made me wonder too. He was upset with me and yet, he wanted me to use a room that was entirely his.
“I’ll have a cup of coffee for you while I send in the first staff member for you to see. Do you want everyone to come in here?”
I shook my head. “No. Just the ones working directly with Mr. Crewe and that actually includes you…”
Her nod was curt and she took a seat on the couch, hands folded on her lap.
I sat next to her, picking up a notebook that contained the list of questions that I had. “What’s your name?”
“Clara Davis.”
“How long have you been working for Mr. Crewe?”
“Nearly six years. I was hired soon after my predecessor’s resignation. If I knew how much the job would entail, I wouldn’t have wholeheartedly accepted it.”
Her answer made me raise my eyebrows in question. “Is it that difficult to work with Mr. Crewe?”
Clara let out an amused chuckle while nodding. “It’s not that he’s difficult per se. It’s the things he does and the mess I have to clean up. But then again, I wouldn’t have a job if he wasn’t involved in anything. You can’t have it all, I guess.”
I tilted my head to the side, trying to read h
er. “Were you close with Miss Burrows?”
Clara snorted and shook her head. “Julija was all over the place. She had this delusional thought that Mr. Crewe liked her despite being aware of the number of girls he strung along. She was smart though, I have to give her that. But not even decent brain cells were enough for her to remain rational when it came to love.”
I regarded Clara carefully but although her words seemed brutal, I could hear the honesty in her tone. Nodding my head, I wrote my notes about her and then set the notebook aside. “Thank you for your time, Miss Davis. Can you call the next staff for me to see?”
The next person to come took a little while and I had a bit of time to look around Logan’s office. There wasn’t really much to see and I remained in my seat to avoid any issue. If they caught me looking around, they might think I wasn’t here to help. Especially Clara. She seemed to regard me carefully, as if she could feel there was something different about me in this whole scheme of things.Again, it made me wonder how much she knew about Logan and me.
The next person came with my coffee and he was the next one I interviewed. There were about six more employees that came after him, most of which raved about how good Logan was as a boss. I actually didn’t doubt that he was. He always had a good sense of leadership.
For the seventh employee, I noted she had been an assistant for Julija.
A thin, frail looking woman, with small round glasses framing her face, and curly auburn hair. She kept her head down when she entered and looked a bit scared to be interviewed.
I leaned back on the couch, flashing her a kind smile. She looked like a mouse and the last thing I wanted was to make her feel like I was a very large dangerous cat. “Hello. You’re Layla Summers?”
Layla nodded her head slowly, awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. She looked around, like a scared animal that had been taken out of her cage.
I motioned to the seat beside me. “You can sit. I’m only gonna ask questions and I promise I won’t bite.”