Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(11)
A message popped up on her screen, alerting her it was two minutes to ten. Time to meet with Pritchard. It was now or never.
She rose from the desk and smoothed her black pencil skirt, hoping Pritchard wouldn’t see through to her nerves. She doubted ‘prone to panic attacks’ was a quality he was seeking in his new partner, the individual he would groom to lead his company when he retired in a few years. Olivia straightened her back and strode down the hall with confidence. She was relieved when Pritchard’s admin Gabby waved her right in.
No waiting. That had to be a good sign.
She passed through the open door, pausing when she realized Pritchard already had someone in his office. Odd, he hadn’t mentioned anyone joining them. The hairs on the back of her neck began to bristle as Pritchard looked her way. His face lit up when he saw Olivia and she found herself smiling in return.
Jonathan could be a bit self-involved at times, but after five years of mentoring, she’d come to think of him as a father figure. Although, truth be told, he was nothing like her own father, who was just as likely to be found tinkering with his tractor as he was picking apples in the orchard. No, Pritchard was nothing like that at all.
A city dweller at heart, Pritchard wore overpriced suits, had a trophy wife half his age, and maintained an overbooked social calendar. He kept his white hair clipped short and his fingernails manicured, and played squash every Monday.
Every Monday except this one.
“I apologize for the interruption,” Olivia offered. “Gabby said to come right in. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting.”
“It’s fine,” Pritchard returned, motioning her forward from behind his heavy cherry desk. Behind him, an expansive wall of windows revealed storm clouds rolling into the city. Although she didn’t care much for the clouds, she would have killed for those windows in her own office. With any luck, she’d have a new office with an equally breathtaking view by the end of the meeting. “Come on in. We were just talking about you.”
“All good things I—”
She stopped dead in her tracks as the man sitting across from Pritchard turned in his chair, revealing his face. Dark gray eyes fell on her, registering the same overwhelming sense of shock that rocked her to the core. In that instant, the oxygen was sucked from the room.
Olivia couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t think.
Couldn’t move.
She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
The scene before her remained unchanged.
Broad shoulders. Unruly black hair. Killer dimples. Cole Bennett. This could not be happening. She wasn’t supposed to see him again—ever. So what the hell was he doing in Pritchard’s office?
“Have a seat.” Pritchard once again waved her forward like a poodle in need of coaching. Seeing no other option, she complied silently, taking the overstuffed leather chair next to Cole. She managed to avoid looking him in the eye as she crossed her legs and sat stiffly by his side. “Olivia, I would like to introduce you to Cole Bennett, my new partner.”
No, that couldn’t be right. Did he just say partner? She stared at Pritchard blankly. Speechless. Here he sat in his posh office, pleased as pie with his new partner, while he was ripping her dreams apart.
She felt as if her world had been tipped on its axis, throwing everything into chaos. Little black dots danced at the edges of her vision, making Pritchard, who was as sharp as they came, appear fuzzy. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, the back of her neck, and that hollow spot right between her breasts.
Not good.
Olivia’s stomach dropped. When it lurched back with the fury of a category five hurricane, she feared her breakfast might make an unwelcome appearance on Pritchard’s desk.
“Cole, this is Olivia Masterson. Olivia’s my right hand around the office and will be able to show you—”
“Excuse me.”
Not giving a crap if Pritchard was offended by her hasty exit, she raced from the room and down the hall, throwing herself through the door of the ladies’ restroom without an ounce of grace or dignity. She quickly scanned the stalls, which, thankfully, were empty. Moving to the sink, she braced her hands against the porcelain bowl and took a deep breath. The face that stared back at her from the mirror was pale and ashen.
How could this be happening? Not only was she not getting the partnership, but a man who knew her more intimately than most was? Talk about getting royally screwed. There was no way she could face Cole every day. Or work under him, for that matter.
Olivia had worked so hard to keep her professional life and personal life separate. She’d spent the last five years rubbing elbows with the most eligible bachelors in the city and she’d never accepted one offer of a drink, dinner, show, or museum date. Not even when the super-hot guy from finance had invited her to the invitation-only gallery opening of one of her favorite New York artists. Compared to some of her peers, she’d been a freaking saint. It wasn’t fair. She broke the rules one freaking time and this is what happened?
Fate was a cruel-ass bitch.
Shaking with frustration, and needing an outlet for her anger, she spun from the sink and kicked the metal trashcan with all the energy she could muster. It banged against the wall, so she kicked it again for good measure.
The resounding clang reverberated through the empty bathroom, bouncing off the tile floor and providing a much needed reality check. As if her day wasn’t crappy enough, she’d just scuffed the hell out of the Burberry heels she hadn’t really been able to afford in the first place. The trashcan hadn’t fared so well either, and was now sporting a rather massive dent.