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His thoughts turned to her disturbing phone conversation. Money. Something he had plenty of and liked to spend. His facial features tightened as he wondered what she could be getting into. His thoughts wandered to the extreme, and he found himself uncomfortable that she could be dabbling in trouble.
I’m going to follow her, see what the hell she’s doing, he thought. In the meantime, I have a contract to draw up. I’m going to do what I do best.
Business.
Page 3
Two weeks later Olivia sat in the locker room of the diner, gasping as tears fell from her eyes while she dug her fingers hard into her hurt arm. She’d just closed but couldn’t bring herself to walk to her car just yet.
Gasping, she took her last Percocet and swallowed it dry.
God if you’re there, she started. Then scowled and cut the prayer off as quickly as it started. No point in praying when you're abandoned. If God can’t help a little girl to live, why should he be bothered with my arm?
Olivia hadn’t heard from Colin, except from him reminding her of their appointment the next morning at ten o clock. She appreciated the space, as she was still reeling from the hottest sexual encounter she’d ever had and needed time to think about things.
Their night together, she’d waited until Colin left before going back outside, scooping up the money and taping it together. Placing four of the five hundred dollars in Allison’s shoebox and then using the other one hundred to buy a few groceries.
Olivia walked wearily into her apartment, the most exhausted she’d ever been. She took a few minutes to warm up some chicken noodle soup she’d made and spaced out as she stared at the food rotating in the microwave. Her vision was blurry, and she swayed rather unsteadily on her feet. She’d barely been sleeping, working almost eighteen-hour days for the last two weeks on top of seeing her new clients, and she knew she looked rough.
She ate and laid down, hearing her phone ping.
See you tomorrow at 10a. -C
She tried to type out a response, before her phone hit the pillow and she fell asleep, not having sent it.
***
Olivia woke up the next morning feeling slightly more refreshed, having been able to get a solid nine hours of sleep for the first time in about four years. Picking through her closet, she contemplated what to wear. She’d decided she’d go to the meeting with Colin to turn him down in person. It was only the right thing to do after he treated her to such a lovely dinner and had given her money.
She’d even bought and sent him a thank-you card to his office over a week ago. To show him she had manners, the necessary manners that a person needed to have. The manners he didn’t think she possessed.
Asshole, she thought to herself again for the dozenth time. There was something about him she couldn’t place. Something dangerous simmering beneath his cloak of magnetism.
Mindful of her arm, she pulled on a cheap department store cream linen dress. And accessorized with her ‘Ally’ necklace and stylish dark green ballet flats. She didn’t put on any makeup aside from mascara and gloss and brushed her hair into a shiny, flowing mass down her back. Humming gently, she got into her car and put Colin's office address into her GPS, wincing as he was forty-five minutes away. She checked her gas level, relieved, as it was fine for now.
She smiled as she got closer and closer to Colin's office, imagining the look on his smug face when she turned him down, telling him she never wanted to see him again. The truth, as she just didn’t need the complication. She wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for, but she knew she wasn’t it. She didn’t belong in his world.
And thanks to Gypsy coming through with the extra clients, she’d almost earned all the money she needed, and she was only halfway through the month. She sighed contentedly, happy that she didn’t need what he alluded to in his text two weeks ago.
Olivia pulled next to a tall office building, making sure it was the right one. C. McDermont and Tech Holdings, LLC. in large, intimidating, shiny chrome letters. She glanced quickly around at the car park outside of the building and saw no empty spaces. She parked illegally, not having change to put into a street meter.
I’m only going to be in there for a few minutes, anyway, she thought to herself.
She nervously gave her cream dress a smooth over with her hands before walking confidently into the glass building.
Swanky, she thought, admiring the tastefully done architecture and the interior decoration of the place.
Spotting one of the two pristine receptionists seated at a long mahogany desk with a marble countertop, she introduced herself sweetly. The letters C. McDermont and Tech Holdings, LLC. striked an imposing presence on the wall behind them. The shiny chrome letters backlit against white lighting. She frowned slightly, not having realized that Colin was such a big deal.
Olivia bit her lip, suddenly finding herself shy and uncomfortable. Wondering who she really went to dinner with. Her eyes fell on the mounted letters again.
It further solidified her decision to let him down, maybe not with glee this time. How could she involve herself with someone so apparently well off and connected? Would he know her clients? If they became involved, she wouldn’t be able to continue to work if he ran in the same circles as her clients. That was too big of a risk to take.
No, it’s better to just cut it off at the pass and keep it moving.
“I have a ten-o'clock with Mr. McDermont,” she stated confidently, inspecting the extensive area with a keen, curious eye. There were several banks of elevators, men in suits walking around, well-dressed women with their heels clacking on the marble floor. The receptionist got up and walked her to the bank of elevators, before sharply turning right and turning to face another lone elevator. This one was flanked by huge potted ferns.
She watched curiously as the woman entered a code into the wall before pressing her hand to her ear and spoke into it softly.
