“Aren’t they adorable?” Chloe flashed Cole a thousand watt smile, daring him to disagree. “Just like a real live Barbie and Ken, right?”
Olivia’s cheeks flamed. She was going to kill Chloe. To his credit, Alex rolled with the introduction as if being compared to a plastic, sexless doll were an everyday occurrence. He extended his hand to Cole with as much dignity as possible and gave a firm shake.
“Alex, this is Cole Bennett,” she explained, “my boss.”
“Nice to meet you.”
God, Alex was a good sport. She mentally gave him bonus points for that alone.
“Likewise,” Cole agreed. His tone was friendly, but his eyes were ice as he addressed Alex. “And what do you do, Alex? I know you’re not in advertising, because I don’t recognize you.”
“Oh, do you know everyone in the business?” Alex asked, ignoring Cole’s blatant dig.
“Job hazard, I’m afraid.” Cole shrugged, ratcheting the tension up a few more notches. “When you own a company as big as PBA, it pays to keep an eye on all the little guys.”
“I’m sure it does.” Alex bristled. Olivia didn’t blame him. She was thinking about kicking Cole in the shin herself just to put an end to the pissing match. “I actually work on Wall Street,” Alex explained.
Olivia took a gulp of her wine. If ever someone were going to drop a house on her, now would be the time.
“Really?” Cole asked, clapping Alex on the back. “I didn’t think there was much money in stocks these days. Last I heard, the country was in a recession.”
“I do all right,” Alex replied, shrugging off Cole’s hand. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were hard. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Olivia prayed for rain, lots and lots of rain. “But truth be told, I tend to focus on the important things in life, like enjoying the company of this beautiful woman right here.”
Just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Alex slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close and boldly staking his claim.
“Some guys just have all the luck,” Chloe explained, goading Cole with a smirk. Thankfully, Kyle took the opportunity to grab her empty wineglass. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. Olivia couldn’t blame him. She was debating the merits of a cut and run herself. Maybe they could share a cab. “Lucky in life and lucky in love,” Chloe giggled in a singsong voice.
“So it would seem. It is nice to see Olivia getting out and having a little fun for a change.” Cole smirked, looking her over from head to toe. Heat tore through Olivia, her hammering heart pumping molten lava through her veins as if Cole had touched her physically. “You are having fun, aren’t you Olivia?”
“Of course,” Olivia returned through clenched teeth. She wasn’t big into daydreams, but even if she’d harbored fantasies about two men fighting over her, it wouldn’t have been like this! She gave Cole an insincere smile. “It’s such a wonderful cause. But we’ve taken up enough of your time this evening, Cole. We don’t want to keep you from the other guests. After all, who are we to deprive all these lovely ladies of your company?”
She turned her back to him and steered Alex toward the nearest waiter holding champagne. Ignoring etiquette entirely, she grabbed two and downed them both, replacing the empty glasses on the tray. To his credit, the waiter seemed completely unfazed. She guessed there was probably a lot of someone-I-stupidly-slept-with-on-a-dare-just-completely-embarrassed-me-in-public drinking at these things. As the champagne warmed her from the inside out, she began to relax a little.
Until she felt a tap on her shoulder.
She turned to see Lexie, a junior associate on her team, beaming at her. “Olivia! I thought it was you! You look soooo pretty.” Her words were slurring a little bit. “Oh my gosh, who’s the cutie you’re with?” She ran her eyes up and down Alex with a connoisseur’s glance.
Olivia smiled wearily. “Lexie, Alex. He works on Wall Street. Alex, Lexie. She’s a junior associate at my agency.”
Lexie giggled. She had clearly been hitting the free champagne hard. “I’m totally surprised you’re not here with Cole,” she stage-whispered, winking conspiratorially at Olivia. “Everyone at the office was betting you were a thing.” She glanced at Alex. “Oops, sorry.”
Olivia shot Lexie a killer glare. “No,” she said vehemently. “My boss Cole Bennett and I are not a thing. We have never been a thing. We will never be a thing.”
She realized too late that Cole was standing right behind her.
Chapter Fifteen