Page 37 of What We Got Wrong

“And you know this already,” Quinn replied, eyebrows raised.

“I’m an expert,” Mel said in mock offense.

Quinn successfully navigated the day without running into any of the Palmers, and somehow, that felt weird, too, after spending the first sessions of the conference seeing Liv or a member of her family every time she turned around, to not seeing them at all. To not seeing her.

Despite the confusion coursing through her, she was doing a great job building connections. She made solid leads with teams from San Francisco, Seattle, and Houston. Because she was focused on work. She was. And if she spent half of her day seriously considering the pros and cons of skipping the Rhea Stewart interview, Mel didn’t need to know that.

Because this was the thing: Rhea Stewart was in this building, and Quinn was all but certain that Liv had brought her there. Quinn didn’t believe in coincidences, not like this. Not when Olivia Palmer was involved, maybe especially because she hadn’t said anything to warn Quinn. Yes, this was just like her, and that made Quinn’s resolve to stay away from her soften, before she reminded herself that this was exactly why she needed to stay firmly away from Liv…

And on and on the cycle went.

She’d just about decided to skip the event when she ran into Mel. Her friend could read her like a book, and she looped her arm through Quinn’s.

“I support you making the right decision for your own mental health,” Mel said. “But you would regret skipping this, bud. We’ll sit in the back, and you can take off if you need to.”

Mel was probably right. Quinn could admit it, though not out loud, and certainly not to her. She proceeded dutifully, though, allowing Mel to escort her through the crowd, finding some empty seats near the door in the back of the room.

It was clear that this was one of the big draws for the conference. The room was more packed than they’d seen it, even at the keynote, which, of course, made complete sense. Rhea Freaking Stewart.

Right on time, the lights in the room dimmed, and a video presentation began playing on the screens. It was a short clip, no more than five minutes, introducing Rhea: her competitive background, including clips from the Olympics; pictures of her husband and daughters; the amazing things she’d been up to in the decades since her last competition, including running her organization, The RJS Foundation, dedicated to creating opportunities for women and girls in sports.

When the lights came up, and Rhea walked onto the stage, Quinn was momentarily swept up, feeling like a kid again. She clapped and cheered along with the hundreds of other people in the room, and she let herself just enjoy the instant.

And then Liv joined Rhea on stage. Quinn’s stomach fluttered. She was gorgeous, beautifully poised, her dark brown waves flowing over her shoulders, her outfit a black suit, cut in a feminine style and paired with a white button-up shirt and a thin black tie. Quinn was no expert, but her makeup looked incredible, with a wine-red statement lip that Quinn did not at all find distracting.

“There is something about a femme in a suit,” Mel whispered to her, leaning in close. “But please put your tongue back in your mouth.”

Quinn wanted to snap back at her friend, but she couldn’t make her mouth form words.

Liv and Rhea sat, and they began the interview, first talking about Rhea’s time as a competitive swimmer, before pivoting to more applicable subjects. Liv asked for advice on topics including leading large organizations, fundraising, and building a supportive network. As Quinn had read every book Rhea had ever written, nothing she said here was particularly earth-shattering, but it was still incredible to hear her speak.

Towards the end of the hour, Liv brought up the theme of the conference. “As you know, the theme for this week is ‘Innovation through Excellence.’ So, I wanted to ask: how have technology and innovation impacted your foundation?”

Rhea paused thoughtfully before answering the question. “You know…the whole world has changed in the past few decades. It’s almost impossible to do anything now without a social media presence, right? But I have the pleasure of working with some truly incredible people who have taken us to the next level when it comes to that piece. They’re here recording us right now, of course, so we can use clips in future promos.”

“That’s wonderful,” Liv replied, in full performance mode, addressing the camera as much as the audience. “Anything to support!”

“We’ve used tech to build our brand across different platforms, helping get the word out about what we do and in front of eyes that may have never heard of us if not for these channels, driving fundraising efforts which, in turn, expands the scope of the organization.”

“Thank you for sharing that,” Liv said.

Rhea smiled, focusing on Liv. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t specifically mention that J&P Industries has been such an amazing partner to the RJS Foundation. I was so excited when you asked me to be here, Olivia, because your family, and you in particular, have been wonderful supporters. How long have we been working together now?”

“We launched the first program five years ago,” Liv answered, though Quinn could tell that she was uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken, that she didn’t want to focus on herself.

Five years? Five years that Liv had been working with Rhea Stewart and her organization. Five years of focusing energy and resources on building up opportunities and opening up access for girls in sports…

Quinn didn’t want to read too much into it. Objectively, the work that Rhea and the RJS Foundation were doing was amazing, and it didn’t have to mean anything that Liv had chosen to partner her family’s company with an organization so near and dear to Quinn’s heart.

But did it mean something?

How was Quinn even more confused?

“Fuck, she’s pretty awesome,” Mel said, and Quinn just nodded to her, unsure of which ‘she’ Mel was referencing.

Because the bigger problem was that her number-one celebrity crush, her literal swimming idol, was on the stage, and Quinn still couldn’t drag her eyes away from Liv.

Coming here had been a mistake.