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“I’m not sure how much I should say,” I confessed. “It’s not… work related.” She smirked, so I added, “Or appropriate.”
She giggled. “Now I’m interested.” She leaned forward, patting my hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything. I’ve enjoyed having you around, and I hate seeing you like this.”
“Alexander and I… we’re not in a good place right now,” I confided, tracing the rim of my cup with a trembling finger. “I feel like I don’t know where I stand with him anymore.”
Natalie reached across the table, covering my hand with hers. “That must have been so hard for you,” she empathized, her touch offering solace amidst my turmoil. “I’ve seen things like this, you know. Business trips put a lot of strain on relationships, even business ones. And these negotiations have been brutal.”
“Thank you, Natalie,” I murmured, not wanting to tell her that this relationship wasn’t business in the slightest. “Your support means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
Our conversation continued, a balm for the ache that had burrowed deep within me. But as much as Natalie’s kind words soothed me, I couldn’t help but feel a gnawing sense of unease.
“Olivia! You’re needed in the conference room,” Max called out as soon as we returned.
I nodded, reluctantly extricating myself from the safety of Natalie’s embrace. As I strode through the office, the weight of my professional obligations chafed against the raw edges of my heart, creating a friction that set my nerves on edge.
Upon entering the conference room, I found myself face-to-face with Alexander. My skin prickled with awareness, as if every inch of my body longed to be touched by his hands, yet recoiled at the thought of the vulnerability that would entail.
“Let’s get started,” he said, his voice steady and commanding. I couldn’t help but notice the way his jaw tightened as he looked at me, betraying the strain that simmered beneath his composed facade.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms as I fought to maintain control. The meeting proceeded around us, a storm of words and ideas that we navigated with feigned detachment. But beneath the surface, our connection crackled and sparked, a live wire that threatened to scorch everything in its path.
As the meeting concluded, I stood to leave, desperate for space to breathe and think. But Alexander caught my gaze, holding me captive for a moment that stretched into eternity.
“Olivia,” he murmured. “Let’s talk.”
“Later,” I managed to choke out, breaking free from his magnetic pull. I fled the room and sought refuge in the corner of Natalie’s office, where I intended to hide until we could get back home.
Chapter Eighteen
Olivia
The weight of a thousand emotions pushed down on me, threatening to crush my chest as I paced the confines of the suite. Alexander was out at a business dinner that he had said I didn’t have to attend.
I had thought it would be nice to have a reprieve from him, but after an hour of overthinking everything, I wasn’t so sure. I knew that I needed to get this out, and there was one person I felt like I could trust that actually knew Alexander.
I loved talking to Mia, but she didn’t know him. It felt different to tell someone that understood everything about Alexander without me having to explain. My fingers trembled, but I managed to dial Ethan’s number and pressed the phone against my ear.
“Olivia?” His voice was a soothing balm, calming my nerves. We had been texting off and on while I had been on this trip, and I had missed working with him.
“Hey, Ethan,” I choked out, swallowing the lump that had lodged itself in my throat. “I… I need someone to talk to.”
“Of course, Olivia. What’s going on?” He sounded genuinely concerned, and I felt my defenses beginning to crumble.
I heaved a sigh. “You remember how you joked that something would happen between Alexander and me if we were going to be sharing a room?”
He squealed, the noise so high-pitched I jerked the phone away from my ear. “I knew it! Is he amazing? He looks like he’d be amazing in bed. You have no idea how long I’ve been staring at that man just picturing what he could do to me. You are so lucky!”
A lump lodged in my throat. “I wasn’t that lucky,” I mumbled.
He heard it immediately, and his voice dropped down to a somber tone. “What happened?”
I had been wanting so long to just let it all out. I told Ethan everything, about how this started before we came on the trip, about Alexander’s promises, and about how worthless I felt when he didn’t show.
“Everything’s just… overwhelming,” I confessed, sinking onto my couch. “Ever since Alexander came into my life, it feels like I’ve lost control over my own emotions. I don’t know how to handle this.”
“Take a deep breath, Olivia,” Ethan instructed gently. I followed his advice, drawing in a shaky breath and then releasing it slowly. “Just take it one step at a time. Tell me what you’re feeling right now.”
“Scared,” I admitted. “Vulnerable. Like I am standing on the edge of a cliff and the world is pushing me towards the edge.”
