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“Ooh, are you trying to seduce him to get what you want? Smart girl,” Jade all but squealed. “But you can’t actually sleep with him because that would be wrong. Maybe just flirting and some hot kisses.”
An instant image popped into Olivia’s mind. No, she was not going there. Jackson was hella sexy, but she wasn’t about to stoop so low as to use her body to get what she wanted. She’d worked damn hard to get to the top of her company . . . well, almost the top, and she’d done so because she was damn good at her job and she worked harder than anyone in that company.
There was only one more rung on that proverbial ladder to climb and the promotion had come down to the final round. Olivia refused to lose this to some jerk who thought his balls were reason enough for him to have the position.
“Piper asked if her dad was going to take me on a date because she thinks I’m pretty,” Olivia explained. “He keeps dodging me when I want to talk to him, so I pretty much agreed to a date. It’s all still within my plan. I just took a different approach, that’s all.”
She glanced up from the first coat of bright red on her nails and met her friends’ disbelieving gazes.
“What?” she asked, ready to defend herself. “That’s all this is. I just want to discuss the property.”
“And he agreed that easy?” Jade arched one perfectly shaped brow. “Maybe he’s going to try to seduce you into getting what he wants.”
Olivia laughed. “I doubt it. He’s made it pretty clear he thinks I’m a spoiled brat.”
“Then he doesn’t know you,” Melanie replied, all joking aside. “Maybe if you explain your reasons for wanting out of this—”
“He doesn’t need my reasons,” Olivia growled, but instantly regretted her sliver of anger. “Sorry, I’m not lashing out at you. I’m just frustrated, that’s all.”
“Maybe it’s time for those cocktails,” Jade suggested, then looked to Melanie. “Your nails are dry. Why don’t you make the first round?”
“We’re pretty limited.” Melanie wrinkled her nose as she came to her feet. She crossed to the brown sacks on the counter and started pulling out bottles. “I found some wine of the twist cap variety, some questionable vodka, and the cashier winked at me and slid an extra bottle of flavored vodka into the bag.”
Jade busted out laughing. “We’re sending you every time, then. Free booze? That’s perfect.”
Melanie threw a glance over her shoulder. “The guy was at least seventy. Don’t get too excited.”
“If he thinks you’re hot and wants to flirt, I don’t see the problem.” Jade blew on her nails, then stretched her arm out to admire them. “I think mint is definitely my color.”
“Everything is your color,” Olivia replied putting her last coat on. “You look stunning in everything. Your clothes, your polish, even when you crawl out of bed snarling before your coffee. It’s not fair to be so perfect all the time.”
“Remember my junior-year prom picture?” Jade leaned back in her seat and waved her hands back and forth to dry. “The hairstylist from hell and the dress that made me look twenty pounds heavier. Why didn’t anyone tell me when I tried it on in the store?”
Melanie flicked on the blender, so Olivia yelled, “You didn’t look heavier, it just wasn’t the most flattering. So you had one bad moment? I cringe every time someone tags me on social media in a picture because I never know what I’m going to pull up. I either look great in a photo or I look like that hairy Oak Ridge Boy.”
“Who?” Melanie asked as she shut off the mixer.
“My dad used to play their tapes in the hangar,” Olivia explained. “It’s an old country band.”
“My parents listened to classical.” She pulled out three glasses and filled each one. “I’m deprived.”
“Trust me, the Oak Ridge Boys are not something you’re missing out on. Except ‘Elvira.’ That’s one catchy song.”
Melanie sat the drinks on the table and took her seat. “So, when is your date and where are you going?”
Olivia reached for her glass and stared at the mixture. “What is in here?”
“Who cares,” Jade replied. “Drink up.”
Olivia took a sip, then a bigger drink when it didn’t taste half bad. “Is that peach?”
Melanie nodded. “I put a little of that peach Bellini I mixed up earlier in it.”
“This is pretty good, actually.” Jade took another long drink, then swirled the remaining contents around in the glass. “Get back to the date. When and where? We need all the deets.”
She should’ve kept her mouth shut. Olivia knew she’d never hear the end of this, but at the same time it’s not like she could keep the date a total secret. At some point she’d have to leave the house and they’d know she was up to something.
Besides, in a town as small as Haven, someone would see them out and they’d instantly become the week’s fodder for the gossip mill. That left her no choice but to suggest they go to a different town for their date. And by suggest, she meant demand.
