“Well, yes,” Jonathan said. He hadn’t caught on to Olivia’s growing outrage, apparently, because he was still perched on the edge of his desk, beaming like he’d had the best idea ever instead of, once again, ripping her damn dreams apart. “The Vixen pitch really emphasized the quality of your work, Olivia, and Cole argued that we’d be stupid not to secure your skills for our agency rather than let you be poached by the competition.” He paused and looked at her. “Are you feeling well?”
Olivia was not feeling well. She could feel the sweat seeping through her expensive silk blouse and plastering her hair to her neck. Her pulse roared in her ears. She was confused. She was nauseated. And more than that, she was angry.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she said, struggling to maintain her composure. She was damn well not going to run out of his office and throw up in the bathroom again, thank you very much. One time was more than enough. “It’s just all rather unexpected. But I still don’t understand what Cole Bennett has to do with this.”
Jonathan nodded as a look of understanding spread across his face. “Ahh, I see. He didn’t tell you. After the Vixen pitch, he lobbied quite hard for me to offer you this position. He seemed to think he owed it to you. If I didn’t know your history better, I would think it was because he wanted to keep you around.” He winked at her.
Jonathan Pritchard had winked at her.
Shit.
This wasn’t good.
This wasn’t fair.
“I guess those late nights of teamwork had quite the effect on him,” Jonathan said, still smiling like a perversely well-groomed Santa Claus. “He seems pretty taken with you. Not that I can blame him.”
That was the last straw. Olivia rose from the chair, her lips pressed into a tight imitation of a smile, and extended her hand to Jonathan. “Thank you for the offer, Jonathan. Really. I just need to think about it. It’s been a big week for me.”
Olivia turned on her heel and fled.
…
Cole was contemplating a stack of carryout menus his realtor had left when there was a sharp knock at the door. He tossed the menus in the drawer and glanced at the clock. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe this was one of those old-fashioned buildings where people actually believed in being neighborly. As he made his way to the door, he was surprised to discover he didn’t hate the idea. After all, this was home now.
The last thing he expected to find when he opened the door was Olivia standing there, wearing that little blue jacket that brought out her baby blue eyes.
The baby blue eyes that were currently sparkling with what appeared to be either intense arousal or rage. He really hoped it was the former.
“This is a surprise,” he began, draping his arm over the door jamb. “I thought we were going ou—”
Olivia held up a hand. “Shut. Up.”
Cole bristled. What was going on? Had she not heard about the Vixen deal yet?
Olivia tapped her foot. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink. Yeah, this was definitely looking more like rage. “Are you going to let me in? We need to talk.”
He hesitated, wondering what could have possibly brought her to his door uninvited and unannounced. The silence between them as he studied her was deafening, the only sound was the soft jazz floating down the hall from his living room.
Only one way to find out. He stepped back and swung the door open for her. Without another word, he led her down the narrow hall, his bare feet moving silently over the rich mahogany floor. She was his first guest, and he wondered what she would think of the place as they emerged in the open concept loft space. On his first tour, he’d been shocked by the modern layout. The building itself was ancient and had beautiful turn of the century character, but inside it was a completely different story. It was chic, modern, and surprisingly cozy.
Or had been, until Olivia had shown up royally pissed off about something.
He stopped at the couch and motioned for her to take a seat. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Olivia sat, looking anything but comfortable.
“So how’d you find me, anyway? I just bought this place.”
“I have my ways.” Her voice was deadly quiet. He’d never seen her quite like this before. When Olivia was angry, she was usually all spitfire and brimstone. God, it turned him on just thinking about the fiery encounters they’d had at work. This, however, looked very different.
Cole sat down at the opposite end of the couch. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? I thought we were going out later to celebrate the Vixen deal.”
Olivia’s entire body stiffened. “I don’t think I have a lot to celebrate right now,” she said, her words hardened like her body. “Would you mind explaining to me why Jonathan Pritchard offered me a partnership today?”
Cole relaxed a little. He’d thought she’d had some bad news, but this was just a little matter of misunderstanding. He gave a little shrug and smiled at her. “I talked to him about it.”