I’d never seen Cressida look so sullen. “He wasn’t a dick until after I started being a bitch,” she admitted. “He was so nice, and kept asking all these questions about me. He just seemed so… good. But strong. Kind, but fierce.”
“Cress…?” I coaxed.
She shook her head. “I did this to myself,” she said. “I don’t need pity for it. I messed up. I thought he was way out of my league, got scared, and sabotaged it. I didn’t think I’d regret doing so as much as I do.”
“I’m so sorry.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
“Hey now,” she said, her smile returning. “I said no pity. I’m learnin’ you a lesson, missy.”
“About regret,” I filled in.
“Actually, it was supposed to be about how we all have lapses in confidence sometimes but yeah, regret too.”
I drank the rest of my glass and walked to the fridge, bringing back the bottle and plunking it down on the table between us.
“Do we have any chicken strips in the freezer?” I asked. Tonight was a wine and crappy appetizer night if there ever was one.
24
Elizabeth
I couldn’t believe how quickly the latter half of the renovations seemed to fly by. One minute we were wearing dust masks and ripping the library to pieces, and the next the floors had been laid and the paint was drying on the walls.
“It looks amazing, Rod,” I complimented, inspecting the work.
He smiled, clearly proud. His employees had done most of the work in the library. “I choose my guys well.”
“Clearly.”
The room was already warm from the morning sun. Before long, Oliver would be needing to turn on his air conditioning. In a flash, the wet and windy mornings of spring had turned pleasant and bright.
And my work here was nearly done.
“What’s left on your list?” Rodney asked. “It must feel good to be nearly finished such a huge project.”
I wish that it did.
“Yeah, totally,” I lied. “I’ve got a few more pieces of furniture to order, but only for the rooms that we left for last.”
“Will that give your boss time to return them to the store?” Rodney joked.
I jabbed my elbow into his side. I don’t even think he felt it.
“Sorry,” he chortled. “I forgot that you two are buds now.”
I glared at him, but secretly I was delighted at how easily Rodney accepted that now. It meant that he also saw the change in Oliver, otherwise I’m sure he’d still be offering to kill him for me. More importantly, it meant that I hadn’t made Oliver’s whole change in attitude up in my head.
“We’re just more professional,” I said.
Don’t think about the kiss. Don’t think about the kiss. Don’t think about the kiss.
Rodney snorted. “You’re just more professional? You did a crossword together the other day.”
“We did not!” I defended. “I was doing it and he came up to help. It’s not the same thing.”
“When he stays past helping you with one word, you’re doing it together.” Rodney smiled churlishly. “My wife and I do crosswords together all the time.” The innuendo in his voice caused my stomach to flip. If only it meant what Rodney was clearly implying… But it didn’t.
“It was just a crossword.”
“And the Nile’s just a river in Africa.” Rodney winked. “You two have chemistry.”
“Oh my gosh,” I huffed. “You sound like my mother. Shoo!” I waved my hands at him. “Go lift some two by fours or something.”
He grinned evilly but left me to my own devices, which currently consisted of me trying to figure out what the hell I’d been meaning to do after the conversation. My mind was a blank slate. All I could focus on was the way Oliver had leaned over where I’d been sitting at the kitchen island, doing the crossword while I finished my lunch. His breath had smelled of peppermint and his body had been close enough for me to feel his heat.
My stomach fluttered at the memory and I could tell I was blushing.
Crap.
I shook my head to try and clear it, then dug deeper into my thoughts. Furniture. I’d been thinking about furniture. And ordering it. For the living room.
We’d converted one of the disused bedrooms on the top floor into a theater room for Oliver, complete with two rows of luxury recliners and a projector wall, but I wanted him to have a living room, too. Even a billionaire would want to curl up on the couch and watch whatever was on cable sometimes, right?
I headed to his office and knocked once. He responded right away.
I entered with a smile, which Oliver returned warmly as he closed his laptop. “How’s it going?” he asked.
I noted that he waited until I was fully in the room before he remembered to take off his glasses. I wished he would keep them on. He reminded me a bit of Clark Kent, but without the butt-chin.
“I wanted to ask you something,” I admitted.
He raised a quizzical brow, prompting me to continue.
“Would you like to come to pick out some furniture with me?”
Oliver chuckled. “I’m touched that you’re asking, but doesn’t it seem a bit pointless?”
“What do you mean?”
He ran a hand through his hair, causing a random piece to stick up in the middle. I decided not to tell him.
“I haven’t had any input on any of the furniture so far, and it’s all worked out. In fact, in those early instances where I did have an opinion, you dismissed it… and of course, it turned out you were right. So why start messing with the system now?”
I nodded thoughtfully, supressing the grin that threatened to overtake my face at having him admit, again, that my design choices were the right ones. “That’s true, but today we’re picking out the living room couch.”
“Couches. The specific variety of furniture that I’ve had the least say in,” he teased.
“Hey!” I said in mock outrage, trying to clear the smile from my face. “You had a choice! You just decided I was right.”
He folded his arms over his chest. Again, I struggled not to stare at the way his t-shirt strained to cover his biceps and shoulders. He wasn’t ripped like Rodney, but Oliver trained at a nearby boxing gym four mornings a week and it showed.
“My point stands,” he said.
I sighed. “Fine. I’ll be honest. I want you to help pick the couch in the living room because I’m hoping that if we can find one you think is super comfy and you love, you’ll spend less time here, in your office.”
“I like it here.”
I looked around, taking in the subtle design changes I’d implemented. Just like with his bedroom, Oliver had been very specific that he didn’t want much change. Nonetheless, it looked good.
“And I’m not saying this room doesn’t have its perks,” I ceded. “I just think you’d probably enjoy having somewhere else to relax when you need to.”
He leaned back in his chair. The old hinges squeaked as if adding their agreement to my argument. We both cringed.
I still wasn’t even allowed to think about getting him a new chair.
“Fine.” Oliver stood and rounded his desk. “I’m bored anyway. Let’s go get a couch.”
I pumped my fist in the air. “Awesome!”
Oliver screwed his nose in disgust. “Forget it. I’ve changed my mind.”
I laughed and grabbed onto his arm, tugging him along toward the door. “Too late! I’ll let you drive, though.”
It surprised me how unthinkingly I grabbed onto him.
It surprised me even more that he let me.
The best part about going shopping with a billionaire is the sense of freedom.
Sure, we weren’t shopping for me, but it still felt incredible to be able to go from couch to couch without having to look at the price. I’d come in well under my budget for the renovations, and anyway Oliver didn’t seem to care about money in the slightest. I’d long suspected the orig
inal reno budget was simply a figure Todd had concocted to dissuade the designer from ordering 24-karat gold toilets and other such ridiculous adornments.
“This couch has more cup holders than my car,” I marveled, flipping up the armrest to reveal even more places to put a drink.
“Who has this many cups?” Oliver asked. His brow was knitted in what looked to be genuine confusion. “It’s just not practical.”
I laughed. “Maybe this is a party couch?”
We looked at the relatively small gap between us. There was probably only room for two more people if they were small.
“This couch is making me uncomfortable,” he announced, pushing up onto his feet. “Let’s move on.”
I leapt up to chase after him, allowing him to lead me through the store like he was a bloodhound following a scent. We’d been doing this for the past hour. Surprisingly, I wasn’t even a little tired. I was enjoying myself.
Probably too much.
Who am I kidding? Definitely too much.
“What about this one?” I pointed to a leather marshmallow just to my left.
Oliver shrugged. “May as well give it a try.”
We approached the sofa and sat down in what had become our customary way—backing our knees up to it and then collapsing like ragdolls.
“I still find it hard to believe you haven’t found anything you love more than that horrid chair, yet.”
Oliver wiggled down into the cushions. “That chair is a classic. My grandfather bought it back when he first started his business.”
I sank further into the couch without trying to. It was like leather quicksand.
“It sounds like you really admired your grandfather.”
His expression wasn’t quite what I’d expected. He frowned.
“Yeah. He was a great man. He loved his family. He loved his business. He loved that house.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ there,” I prodded.
The headrest was making it hard for me to see Oliver’s face. I squeezed my abs and held my body forward more.
“No ‘but’,” he said, shaking his head. The fabric groaned from the motion. “He was a bit eccentric, but he wanted the best for me. I’m just still trying to figure out what that means.”
We lapsed into silence. It wasn’t my place to ask what he meant. I’d learned that if Oliver wanted to say something, he would. I waited for him to say it.
When he remained silent, I decided it was time to move on.
“Can we try another one?” I asked. “This one is eating me.”
Oliver looked over and cracked his lips into a smile. “I can’t help but imagine how many fewer problems I would have if I just let that happen.”
“Oliver!” I moaned dramatically. “Help meeee!” My abs finally gave out and my head fell back against the cushion. I must have looked truly pathetic because Oliver laughed and stood, extending his hand.
“Alright there, Shatner. Enough with the dramatics.”
I grabbed his hand and sent all my weight into standing up, not expecting him to pull me with the force that he did. I smacked hard into his chest.
Jesus. He could probably pick me up with one hand.
I retreated, nearly losing my balance and falling back onto the sofa. He steadied me with the hand still holding mine.
“You okay there?” His lip curled in amusement.
“Fine,” I said quickly. “Totally fine.” I glanced backward. “The sofa gods will not be receiving their offering this day.”
Oliver shook his head, chuckling. Neither of us seemed to notice that he was still holding onto my hand until we started walking.
Okay, maybe one of us did. But it felt too good for me to want to let go.
25
Oliver
“Hey boss.” Elizabeth breezed into my study, carrying two mugs. She set one down on the desk in front of me.
I eyed it warily.
“What’s this?” I leaned forward, inhaling some of the steaming vapours. Coffee. “Poison?”
Elizabeth laughed, swinging her hip up to half-lean, half-sit on the front of my desk.
“It’s coffee, you dolt,” she chastised. “I can’t poison you yet. I’ve still got a couple checks to collect.”
I reached for the mug and pulled it toward me. Elizabeth was horrible at making coffee. Nonetheless, I took a sip and smiled at her. “Thank you.”
“I’m just waiting for the workers to have their lunch,” she said. “After that I’m putting them to work moving furniture around in the library.”
“We’ve been through this, Liz,” I remarked. “You don’t have to inform me of every move you make each day.”
She giggled and shook her head. “I can see you’re in a good mood.”
I raised my brow at her and took another sip of the coffee. Too much cream made it feel thick in my mouth.
“I’m telling you because I thought you might want to come and help,” she said.
I let out a bark of laughter. “What gave you that impression?” I asked. “I’ve never wanted to help.”
“With the party planning done, I thought you might be bored.” She smiled warmly at me, batting her eyelashes over the rim of her cup. I loved when she looked at me like that. “I got my invite yesterday. You didn’t have to mail it.”
“I wanted you to feel like a bonafide guest instead of somebody I had to invite out of social requirement,” I replied.
Her plump lips pulled into a secret smile. I took another sip of the disgusting coffee to distract me from thinking about how much I wanted to bite them.
“So, are you coming or not?” Elizabeth asked.
I sighed and looked at my laptop screen. On it, my paused game of Tetris flashed insistently. “I suppose I can come down in a few minutes,” I agreed.
“Ollie,” she groaned. “Just come down with me now. Otherwise we’ll only end up having to move all the furniture again when you get there.”
“Why on earth would you have to do that?” I asked.
She looked at me as if it were obvious. “Because you won’t be satisfied with it.”
“And don’t call me Ollie.” The only one I let get away with that is Damien. He probably wouldn’t stop if I asked him to anyway.
She laughed maniacally. “I was wondering how long it would take you to notice!” she keened. “You called me Liz. Seems only fair.”
I wished I could be angry at her. I wished I could be angry in general. But the way her face lit up with mirth, the way her eyes danced in the fading afternoon light… I only felt a featherlike fluttering in my belly and the desire to reach out and pull her to me.
I’d always hated the nickname “Ollie”. My grandfather used to say life was too short for the third syllable in my name. Now, only the people I cared about could get away with using the moniker, as it reminded me of him.
I took another drink of the coffee. A big one.
I care about Elizabeth.
It wasn’t the first time I realized that, but as I considered it, I realized it went even deeper.
I care about Elizabeth a lot.
“I’ve got something I need to finish up first,” I said, nodding at my screen as though it contained important stocks figures instead of several rows of poorly laid Tetris blocks. I needed to think. This was trouble.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes but grinned. “Fine.” She pushed away from my desk and sauntered to the other side of the room, saluting me with her coffee cup. “Don’t be too long,” she said. “I’ll start with the small stuff.”
As if remembering something suddenly, her eyes popped wide. “I forgot to ask!” she exclaimed. “If I bring my swimsuit, would you mind if I took a dip after work tomorrow?”
“I suppose,” I said, furrowing my brow. “I didn’t realize you were much of a swimmer.”
“I’m not normally,” she admitted. “But the pool guys came around this morning and declared the pool officially open. And it looks inviting.”
The
pool did look good. I’d had that renovated last year, since I used it a lot in the summer.
“Just don’t drown.” I flicked my gaze back to the screen and tried not to imagine Elizabeth in a bathing suit. “I don’t want to get sued. It’s a pain in the ass.”
“Roger,” she said, slipping from the room.
When I was finally alone, I let out a frustrated groan. I wasn’t angry at her. I could never be upset with her. I was more annoyed with myself. How had I let it get this far? How could I have been this stupid?
We’d gotten close enough that she felt comfortable calling me nicknames and swimming in my pool. She brought me coffee and I thought about kissing her while we talked. It was a big, goddamn mess.
I’d thought that our little pillow fight would clear my mind a little, but it had only made it worse. A punch in the face would have definitely been better. It certainly wouldn’t have ended the same way.
Now all I could think about was her. That kiss. Everything else I wanted to do to her. My mind was consumed with Elizabeth.
I couldn’t afford that.
This had to end. And it had to end so completely that I wouldn’t be tempted back again. There was only one way to do that. I’d avoided it for far too long. It should have been the first thing I did when she showed up that first morning to start work.
I slammed my laptop lid closed and picked up my phone, dialing Todd’s number. He strode through the study door a few moments later and closed it tightly behind him.
“What’s the emergency?” Todd asked.
“It’s not an emergency.”
Todd looked down at his cellphone and frowned. “You should work on your communication skills then.”
“I need you to do something for me. It’s not an emergency, but it is important.”
Todd walked calmly over to my desk and crossed his arms, awaiting my instruction. If only it was going to be that easy.
“I need you to fire Elizabeth.”
Todd blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I need you to fire Elizabeth.”
Todd narrowed his eyes, then took a sweeping glance around the room. He stalked over to the windows and patted the drapes.
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