Page 52 of Painted Truths

Olivia

Despite waiting on a reply to ping in, one never arrives, and I leave the office feeling a little—more like a lot—bereft, though the blue rose between my fingers as I climb into the waiting town car helps to soothe the burn.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Olivia

The next day, another single blue rose appears on my desk as if by magic, with another note which reads:

Please forgive me for sending Alex to Dubai.

Yours, Henry

Well. I can't help the huff of laughter that escapes me.

At least he's owning up to that manipulation, regardless of the fact it would be apparent to a blind man he'd gotten him out of the way intentionally.

"Another one today, Liv! Someone really wants to impress you." Freya, who's perched her rear on the corner of my desk, sends a knowing wink my way, causing me to roll my eyes skyward in a good-natured fashion. She's incorrigible.

As I'm settling in to get everything started, my mobile rings. Glancing at the screen, I can see that it's Alex calling. My stomach bottoms out at how we left things, but I rapidly hit the Answer button before I can talk myself out of it.

"Alex." I'm sure he can hear the relief in my voice. "I'm so glad you called. You're in Dubai?"

"Liv, this is the life!”

Hearing the smile in his voice makes me smile in answer. My shoulders relax from the subconsciously held tense position they’ve been in since Saturday and my whole heart feels lighter at our normal easy exchange as he continues happily.

“The only thing missing is you, sweet girl!"

We both collapse into gales of laughter, our disagreement of the past weekend no longer hanging between us, just as I spy Andrea making a beeline for my desk.

"Hold on one sec." Then, placing my hand over the mouthpiece, I look up to meet her glare with one of my own.

"Olive, you are at work, and the time for personal phone calls is at lunch or after five. So you can leave your mobile at my desk in the mornings from now on if you are going to insist on being so unprofessional."

Where does this bitch get off? Taking my hand off the mouthpiece, I return to my call.

"I'm here, Mr DeMarco. Sorry about that. Some staff are using your absence as an excuse to try to intimidate me."

Her eyes open wide, and she retreats at top speed back to her own end of the office, making my lips inch upwards in a hint of a smile.

Olivia 1.

Cum bucket 0.

"Is everything okay there?" The smile has gone out of his voice, and I'm quick to attempt to return it. "Everything is perfect, I promise. Just Andrea being her usual cunt-ish self."

He chuckles down the line. "Cunt-ish? Christ almighty, Liv, what would Father Thomas say!"

We spend another half an hour on the line, during which time he gives me the details of the hotel he's staying at, along with emailing over his itinerary for the upcoming two weeks. Of course, I'll still be dealing with his UK-based itinerary, rescheduling meetings and sorting his personal commitments too.

"Alex, you've got a dinner booked off in your schedule for Thursday evening, but it doesn't have any details other than the time. Do I need to move that?"

He heaves a world-weary sigh. "Ugh. I'd forgotten about it. I'm booked for dinner with Mum. Just back from another retreat, and looking for more money, no doubt."

My heart fills with sorrow for my best friend. His mum has several annual “retreats.” He's never exactly gone into why she needs them, just that she has a delicate mind from when his dad left. She'd never gotten over him or his abandonment of them, and although both of us know things shouldn't be as bad as they are with the kind of help she's forking out for, it's not my place to force him to address the issues with his mum, no matter how much I want to.

"Do you need me to reschedule?"