Olivia excused herself under the pretense of finding the ladies’ room and made a beeline for the house. She didn’t actually need to use the bathroom, but Cole had ducked inside not five minutes earlier and she had every intention of hunting him down. What she was going to do when she found him, she had no idea. Suffice it to say, he was going to get a very explicit piece of her mind and she didn’t care who heard. In fact, the more the merrier. A public ass chewing would do wonders for his overinflated ego. Hell, it was a wonder his head fit through the damn door in the first place!
He’d been a complete jerk to Alex, throwing his money around and acting like a total prick. And for what? What was his problem anyway? He had a crap-ton of money, an infinite supply of gorgeous women, and Olivia’s dream job. What more did he want? Couldn’t he just butt out of her life already?
Olivia stalked up the stone steps and twisted the knob on the front door. She pushed the shiny black monstrosity wide open and let herself into the grand foyer without hesitating. A blast of frigid air met her at the door, raising goose bumps on her forearms. The pungent scent of fresh cut flowers wafted through the open space, rolling off the largest arrangement of purple orchids she had ever seen. Above, an antique crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting twinkling lights across the marble floor. A wide, curving staircase opened in front of her with narrow halls branching off to the left and right. The place felt more like a hotel lobby than a residence. The only thing missing was an English butler. Old money at its finest. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. There was no way she’d ever live in a place like this.
Looking around, she decided to try the hall on the right. He couldn’t have gone far and the sound of bustling caterers carried from the back of the house. Besides, she hoped it would be warmer in the kitchen with the ovens running.
Making her way down the hall, she rubbed her arms to chase away the chill. She squeezed past a slight girl with a tray full of hors d’oeuvres that smelled heavenly. Her stomach grumbled in protest, but she forged on without a backward glance. She was a woman on a mission.
Olivia crept into the kitchen, doing her best to stay out of the way. The room was in chaos with shouted orders, banging pans, and the roar of the gas stovetop. If she had any interest in the culinary arts, she might’ve envied the kitchen, but as it was, she could barely scramble an egg, so the expansive kitchen was nothing more than an irritation as she moved among the warming trays that had been jammed into every open corner. She skirted the sous chef and muttered in frustration.
Where the hell was Cole?
“Looking for someone?”
Olivia whipped around to find him standing behind her, leaning on an unmarked door and looking irritatingly sexy.
“As a matter of fact—” she started. Before she could finish, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the door, which turned out to lead to a dimly lit pantry the size of her apartment.
The pantry walls were lined floor to ceiling with shelves, and there were three little aisles created by additional rows of shelving, all of which were fully stocked. These people either did a hell of a lot of entertaining or they were preparing for the apocalypse. There was enough food stashed away to feed a third world country. What a waste.
Cole shut the door, sealing them inside the dank stone pantry. The door clicked shut with a resounding echo, and all thoughts of world hunger dropped from her consciousness.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked, planting a hand on her hip and taking the offensive. He was not getting off the hook this time.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” he asked, his brows knit together in disbelief. He took a step forward and Olivia’s heart fluttered. She was determined to hold her ground, although the urge to retreat was growing—fast. The pantry might be ridiculously large, but it wasn’t big enough for the two of them. She shouldn’t be this close to Cole, not alone, not even when she was pissed beyond belief. It was too dangerous, since she had yet to find a cure for I-hate-you-but-I-want-to-fuck-your-brains-out-itis. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” she asked, fighting to control her anger and hoping the noise of the kitchen would mask their words. She was having second thoughts about the whole ‘the more the merrier’ notion. The last thing she needed was a rumor about another knockdown-drag-out with Cole getting around the office. She’d been the subject of enough office gossip to last a lifetime, thank you very much.