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A blush creeps into her face, and she looks down at her shoes. “I’m sorry.”
“No need for apologies. I was just on my way to get some lunch. Would you like to join me?”
She shakes her head. “I have so much to do today, so I’m skipping lunch. Uh, you don’t remember me do you?”
I rack my brain. “Have we met before?”
“You were dating Megan Stanford for a while. We met in the elevator once.”
I scroll through my memories, trying to recall her. I remember being so wrapped up in Megan at the time that I probably barely gave Olivia a nod.
“I don’t remember. I’m sorry.”
“It was brief. When you didn’t recognize me yesterday, I figured it was because it had been a few years.”
“Do you still see Megan?”
“Yeah, I’m best friends with her sister, Lexi.”
The memory of her sister makes me smile. “I miss Lexi. She was great, but after she broke up with my brother, I didn’t think it was appropriate to spend time with her any longer. But now she’s married, and Noah’s married; hopefully, I can see her again. Would you tell her I was asking for her?”
“Sure, but you know that you’ll eventually see her again since her brother in law is marrying Rory.”
“Right. I had forgotten about that. I’ve been away for a while.”
Olivia nods and smiles apologetically, which tells me that she’s most likely aware of what happened with Cassie. Anger wells up inside me at the thought of her as a stranger, pitying me.
“I have to go,” she says quickly. “Thank you for the offer of lunch. Maybe another time.”
Despite my initial frustration, I stilled to watch Olivia walk away. Part of me was conflicted because I was intrigued by her, but I also felt a pang of heavy guilt at the idea of betraying Cassie by looking at another woman. Swallowing thickly, I slip into my office and rake my hands through my hair. It had been almost two years since I was last with anybody. Zane was right; it wasn’t easy being alone, but it was what I had decided was best after Cassie died. I wanted to remain faithful to her for the rest of my life.
Taking a seat at my desk, I called Noah. After the third ring, he answered, asking, “Hey Luc, how are you doing in the big city?”
“Fine. Everything is done. I’m now part-owner of Eltech.”
His voice changes, and he asks, “Is this what you wanted?”
I shrug even though he can’t see it. “It’s something new for me. Boston is no longer my home. There are too many memories.”
“I spoke to Richard today, and he’s not happy with you.” I smile because it seems Noah still feels the same way about our father as I do.
“Frankly, I don’t care. I never wanted to work for him in the first place, but he talked me into it. He took that from me, but now I have a chance to do what I want to do.”
“But is this something you want to do, or did you only want to help Zane?”
“Both,” I assure him. “Zane has always been there for me, even when others thought I was nuts for hiding away.”
“I know you mean me in that other group. I wanted to be there for you, Luc, I did. Hell, I was, but you ran away. I was angry that you thought you couldn’t trust me to support you.”
I sigh. “I needed to be alone. Think about how you’d react if you lost Vivian.”
“I did lose her.”
“Cassie is never coming back, though. Vivian could and did.” Silence takes over the line as I gather myself and apologize. “The reason I called is that I’d like your permission to see Lexi again.”
“If I said no, would it matter?”
“Truthfully, not really. I miss her, and you do know that eventually, you’ll have to see her again since Rory is marrying Hunter.”
