Cougar Boss

by Kerry Belchambers

  The following day, I was drained. I didn’t think I could take another week of spending all day at the office but I was a quick study and Colin was almost done. He looked a little more tired than me when he showed up, but his exhaustion was attributed to his night out partying.

  When the day was over, I was elated to go home but my high spirit was shot down when I found Rex at my door waiting for me.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were avoiding me,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me.

  I hugged him back, letting the calming effect of our friendship embrace me. When we pulled apart, his soft gaze met mine and his lips curved up in a smile. He placed the palm of his hand over my chin and leaned forward to peck my forehead.

  “Whatever it is that I’ve done, I’m sorry,” he said.

  My heart broke at his words.

  “You haven’t done anything, Rex.”

  I opened the door and we got inside. I placed the bag I used for work over my bed and turned around to find him watching me.

  “You want to tell me what’s going on then?”

  My approach may not have been subtle, but I couldn’t have been able to face him knowing whenever he found out the truth he’d get upset with me.

  “I never saw or heard from you again after the art gala. I was worried. Did something happen with Mrs. Gallagher? Did she do something to you?”

  His concern for me was endearing. “No, I mean…” So much had happened that night. “Why don’t you take a seat,” I said.

  His expression grew more concerned as he sat down and faced me.

  “I hate lying to you, Rex.” I went to sit beside him and closed my hand over his.

  “Liv, you’re scaring me,” he said.

  “No, don’t worry, it’s not like that.” I took a breath and slowly resumed, “When I talked to Mrs. Gallagher that night, I found out she was responsible for Frank Connor seeking you out.”

  He looked at me in confusion.

  “She asked him to take a look at your work. She was the reason your pieces were at the art gala,” I said.

  He pulled away from me and got to his feet. “I don’t understand. Mrs. Gallagher doesn’t even know me, why would she…” he slowly turned to face me. “Did you ask her to do it?”

  I shook my head. “I found out that night when we went outside to talk.”

  “Then why would she help me?”

  I recalled our conversation. Mrs. Gallagher claiming she’d only helped Rex because he mattered to me. “She said it was because I’d once mentioned to her how much you would’ve loved to have your work showcased at an art event. She was trying to help.”

  He paced a couple of times then stopped and turned to face me. I couldn’t read him quite yet. “Is she trying to buy off your friends now?” he asked.

  “Rex, she’s not trying to buy anyone off,” I said as I got to my feet.

  “Think about it, Liv. Every single artist at the art gala was established except for me. I’m an amateur. I did not deserve to be there. She used her power and influence to do this and she did it for you.”

  “You’re not an amateur, Rex. She admitted to having asked Frank to take a look at your work but she told me that he thought you were good.”

  He peered at me. “Liv, if you believed I deserved the opportunity to be there, you wouldn’t have kept this information from me all week. You would’ve told me the moment you found out.”

  “I do believe you deserved the opportunity. I just didn’t want you to get upset with me.”

  He silently observed me.

  “She did this for you Liv, but I doubt her reasons are as innocent as you think.”

  He walked over to the door.

  “Rex, please.”

  “I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all week to tell you so.”

  “What?”

  He turned and looked at me. “I think she did this to get me away from you,” he said.

  He didn’t make sense. “What do you mean and why do you say you’re leaving? Where are you going?”

  “When the time comes and whatever it is that’s going on between you two comes to an end, I’m more than certain Mrs. Gallagher’s reasons for doing everything she’s doing will become clear to you.” He walked out.

  “Rex!” I called after him before he slammed the door.

  I wanted to go after him but I didn’t think I’d accomplish anything. He was far much more upset than I’d thought he’d be. He seemed to harbor some distress for something far much deeper than I’d expected.

  What had he meant Mrs. Gallagher had helped him to get him away from me? Was she responsible for his going away? Where was he going? How long would he be gone for?

  I was so dependent on him as a friend. Who was I going to talk to? Why would he leave without telling me where he was going or the purpose of his departure?

  Suddenly I wished I’d kept in touch with him during the week because I would’ve been aware of everything that had happened and what was going on.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I couldn’t stop thinking about what Rex had said. Our entire conversation kept replaying itself in my head. I had a lot of questions, but he wasn’t available to answer them.

  On Sunday morning, I went by his apartment and art studio, but he was gone. I tried calling him on his cell, but all my calls went straight to voicemail. I didn’t know what to do.

  Maybe I deserved the silent treatment because I’d done the same to him the week before, but at least he’d known I was fine and he’d known where to find me. With him gone, I felt like someone had disturbed my sense of direction.

  Why did he think Mrs. Gallagher had anything to do with him having to leave? And why would he say she was trying to keep him away from me? What reason would she have to do so?

  He was my best friend and I trusted him, but his anger towards me for not coming clean about the art gala must have driven him to say those things. I believed Mrs. Gallagher’s intention had been good, but then why couldn’t I stop thinking about it?

  This whole situation was a little absurd. Rex was a fulltime student, so his travel was going to get in the way of his school work. He would never put his studies on the line. So whatever reason he had for leaving, it had to be a damn good one.

  Did Frank have anything to do with it? Had Mrs. Gallagher played a role in it? Was that why Rex thought she was trying to keep us apart? And if so, why would Mrs. Gallagher want Rex to stay away from me when she knew for a fact that he was my best friend? The questions left me in distress.

  When I went to work on Monday, I had tired myself thinking about Rex and at the end, his analogy managed to cast a shadow of doubt on Mrs. Gallagher.

  Sure, most of the time I couldn’t understand some of the things she did or why she did them, but I always chose to blindly trust her because I believed in her good intentions. Now, I was questioning myself about her too.

  She summoned me to her office shortly after I arrived. My feelings for her had developed but I always struggled to hide them from her at work even though she was fully aware of it. I didn’t want to create an uncomfortable working environment and I still badly needed this job.

  I went to her office and found her leaning back against her desk as she swiped her iPad with her perfectly manicured index finger.

  “Good morning, Olivia,” she said.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Gallagher.”

  Colin hadn’t showed up to work. I wondered if I had learned all she’d needed me to learn to fully perform my duties as her personal assistant.

  “How was your weekend?” she asked.

  With Rex gone and me stressing about starting my classes later on in the evening, I didn’t have anything happy to report.

  “It was fine,” I said.

  She turned her attention to me. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  I doubt her reasons are as innocent as you think. Rex’s words echoed in my head. “Uh, no.�
� I pulled my mind back to the present and put on my professional suit. “What can I do for you?” Maybe I needed to take a step back from my feelings to see if there was any truth in what Rex had said.

  Mrs. Gallagher seemed to be studying me, and then said, “I have a couple of meetings I’d like you to attend in my place today. I’ve forwarded the information to your iPad.”

  Did she really think I was ready? I couldn’t do what she’d done in Paris.

  “Olivia, what you’ve learned is just a small part of what I do. There are things that cannot be taught in an office. From today, some of your added duties and responsibilities will be to attend meetings I cannot take. You’ll have to learn these things on the job. I’ll provide you with all the information you require so that you’ll know exactly what to do.”

  I nodded, trying to conceal my nervousness.

  “I need you to be confident in your skills. You’re intelligent, you know how to read people and you have the ability to retain information. I need you to use this to your advantage. It’s going to be challenging, some of the people you meet will not want to meet with you in my place, so you need to be creative and prove to me that you can do this because from this point forward, you’re going to be my right-hand man. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I understand.” I may have been nervous but I was excited. I wouldn’t have to be confined to my desk. I was going to meet important people to discuss important issues. I was going to be a mini Mrs. Gallagher.

  “You’re my protégé,” she said.

  My entire being vibrated from the powerful effect of her words. Did she really mean that? Did she want me to be just like her?

  “Your evening classes start tonight, right?” she asked.

  I hesitated, wondering if I had mentioned this to her earlier. “Uh, yes.” How did she know?

  “I need you to be sharp and alert. You cannot let anything get in the way of your work so I’ll need to know if this becomes somewhat of a struggle for you.”

  “I’ll not let anything get in the way of my work,” I said.

  “What if you need to travel? You’ll miss out on your studies,” she said.

  I had thought about that and had figured when the time came, I’d find a way to deal with it. “My work comes first,” I said because at the moment, I needed the job more in order to pay my debts.

  “It shouldn’t have to. Your studies are just as important as your work.”

  I hesitated in my response.

  “If you lost your job after putting in so much of your time and effort, wouldn’t your studies suffer?”

  “Yes, but I’d find a way to catch up.”

  “You’d have accumulated debt, you’d be left behind, it’d take you years to graduate and finding another job would not be easy.” She stood upright and went around her desk.

  Why was she stating my fears? Didn’t she think I stressed about it enough? Where was she going with this conversation?

  “I want you to succeed, Olivia.”

  I met her gaze, which had grown softer. Why would Rex suggest she was after anything when she only seemed to want the best for me?

  “I don’t want you to get distracted.”

  Wait, what? She didn’t want me to get distracted? Did that have anything to do with Rex?

  “I need your studies to work around your work schedule and you may not be able to juggle it all because it’s going to be a lot of responsibility.”

  I was torn. What did she want me to do? I couldn’t quit school and from what she was saying, it didn’t sound like she wanted me to quit either.

  “I’ve hired you several professors who are going to pay their undivided attention to your studies. They’ll work with you around your schedule and should you travel, you’ll correspond through video. This way, your studies won’t interfere with your work.”

  I stared back at her in shock. “Mrs. Gallagher, I can’t–I can’t afford these professors.”

  “I’m paying for it,” she stated.

  “I can’t ask you to do that.”

  “You’re not.”

  “I uh–I don’t know what to say.”

  Did her generosity know no bounds? Why would she do this for me? I would never be able to pay her back.

  “You can say thank you,” she said with a bit of amusement in her eyes.

  My hands were trembling. “Thank you, thank you so much.” I couldn’t begin to explain my elation.

  “There are a couple of things I’d like you to add to your syllabus.”

  I looked at her in curiosity.

  “Languages and healthcare management. I’ve already assigned you the appropriate professors. I just need to know you’re going to give it your all.”

  I nodded, growing more uncertain about her reasons for doing this.

  “You’re about to become very busy, Olivia. Do not disappoint me.”

  She wasn’t leaving any chance for me to do so. “I won’t. I promise.”

  “One more thing,” she said.

  I held my breath.

  “I need you to live in a convenient location, somewhere in the city. The company has furnished apartments for some of the employees. I’d like you to take up residence in one of them. Does that sound like something you can do?”

  “Yes.” How could I possibly say no to a new apartment in the city?

  Mrs. Gallagher watched me intently, almost as though she was contemplating the decisions she had made. I knew she was putting a lot of faith in me so a little doubt wasn’t an alien possibility.

  I was determined not to fail her. “Mrs. Gallagher, I will not let you down.”

  “I know.” She said it with so much conviction I wondered if she saw something in me that I failed to see in myself. Why would she put so much trust in me? “I’m investing in you, Olivia. I’m investing in your future. You have no choice but to succeed.”

  “Why are you doing this for me, Mrs. Gallagher?”

  She’d said she wanted me to succeed, but she had to be motivated by something else, something greater. No one could be so selfless in their giving. Did she have any ulterior motives? I was going to owe her everything, was it going to come at a price?

  “Do I need to have a reason?” she asked.

  Yes, I wanted to say. But I didn’t want to reveal my doubt in what she was doing. “No, I guess not,” I said.

  “Olivia, you need to resign yourself to the fact that you may not always understand everything I do. But I need you to know that I never make mistakes.”

  She was starting to sound cryptic. But if she was willing to do all these things for me, I needed to trust her. “Okay,” I said.

  “Good, you start immediately. You’ll move before the end of the day, attend the meetings I mentioned and find an appropriate place for where you’ll be meeting with your professors. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  She nodded, showing me she was done. I headed for the door as I fought to restrain my excitement. I wanted to scream in order to let it out as my whole body trembled.

  “Olivia,” Mrs. Gallagher said when I was at the door.

  I turned around and found a small smile on her face.

  “Good luck,” she said.

  I smiled back at her and opened the door, hoping the unpredictable turn of events meant great things were about to happen.

  Chapter Thirty

  I went through the file a third time. I had quickly scanned through it once and placed it in my desk drawer, only having read what at the time I thought was important.

  The private investigator I’d hired to look into Olivia’s background had done an extremely thorough job. The file consisted of everything I needed to know about Olivia.

  I had requested the background check to verify the accuracy of the information she’d put forward while applying for the job.

  My private investigator had gone a step further and included drug tests, education, employment and medical records, financial information, and personal infor
mation regarding her past, her relationships and details about her family.

  The second time I’d gone through the file was to confirm the decisions I’d made regarding Olivia’s future.

  She was doing a Masters in Business Administration and should’ve finished by now, but being a part-time student with countless temporary jobs had greatly slowed her down.

  She excelled in her studies and really tried to keep up with the rest of the students but she’d missed out on a lot of classes during the time period she’d worked for me.

  The last exam she’d done during the time I’d given her a day off, she’d gone past the average mark though she could’ve done better considering how bright she was and how well she’d performed in the past. I attributed this decline to the time-consuming work she did for me.

  Her parents had paid her tuition during the beginning of her studies but had eventually run out of money, which had forced her to seek employment. She struggled with her student loan debt, but worked hard in attempts to pay it.

  Past employers credited her work, saying she was had working, driven and committed to her duties.

  She’d never experimented with recreational drugs and was in good health.

  She had an older brother named Gregory Williams. He lived with their parents and did not have a steady source of income and according to the file, he had a child and a girlfriend who lived with him in his parents’ house.

  I was going through the file a third time now, uncomfortably aware that I was invading Olivia’s privacy but I told myself it was of paramount importance that I learn as much about her as possible because of the responsibility I had entrusted her with a couple of days earlier.

  What was stopping me was the fact that what I was about to read now revolved around Olivia’s personal life. I opened the page where I had left off and read on.

  Gregory, Olivia’s older brother, was thirty-two years old. He was a slacker and mostly relied on his parents’ income to support himself, his child and his girlfriend.

  He was so different from Olivia. It was like one of them had been adopted.

  I opened the last page and went on to read up on Olivia’s personal life. The only person she had ties to in New York was Brexton Phillips, whose nickname was Rex and he was Olivia’s best friend.