Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(38)
“Some guys just have all the luck,” Chloe explained, goading Cole with a smirk. Thankfully, Kyle took the opportunity to grab her empty wineglass. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. Olivia couldn’t blame him. She was debating the merits of a cut and run herself. Maybe they could share a cab. “Lucky in life and lucky in love,” Chloe giggled in a singsong voice.
“So it would seem. It is nice to see Olivia getting out and having a little fun for a change.” Cole smirked, looking her over from head to toe. Heat tore through Olivia, her hammering heart pumping molten lava through her veins as if Cole had touched her physically. “You are having fun, aren’t you Olivia?”
“Of course,” Olivia returned through clenched teeth. She wasn’t big into daydreams, but even if she’d harbored fantasies about two men fighting over her, it wouldn’t have been like this! She gave Cole an insincere smile. “It’s such a wonderful cause. But we’ve taken up enough of your time this evening, Cole. We don’t want to keep you from the other guests. After all, who are we to deprive all these lovely ladies of your company?”
She turned her back to him and steered Alex toward the nearest waiter holding champagne. Ignoring etiquette entirely, she grabbed two and downed them both, replacing the empty glasses on the tray. To his credit, the waiter seemed completely unfazed. She guessed there was probably a lot of someone-I-stupidly-slept-with-on-a-dare-just-completely-embarrassed-me-in-public drinking at these things. As the champagne warmed her from the inside out, she began to relax a little.
Until she felt a tap on her shoulder.
She turned to see Lexie, a junior associate on her team, beaming at her. “Olivia! I thought it was you! You look soooo pretty.” Her words were slurring a little bit. “Oh my gosh, who’s the cutie you’re with?” She ran her eyes up and down Alex with a connoisseur’s glance.
Olivia smiled wearily. “Lexie, Alex. He works on Wall Street. Alex, Lexie. She’s a junior associate at my agency.”
Lexie giggled. She had clearly been hitting the free champagne hard. “I’m totally surprised you’re not here with Cole,” she stage-whispered, winking conspiratorially at Olivia. “Everyone at the office was betting you were a thing.” She glanced at Alex. “Oops, sorry.”
Olivia shot Lexie a killer glare. “No,” she said vehemently. “My boss Cole Bennett and I are not a thing. We have never been a thing. We will never be a thing.”
She realized too late that Cole was standing right behind her.
Chapter Fifteen
Olivia excused herself under the pretense of finding the ladies’ room and made a beeline for the house. She didn’t actually need to use the bathroom, but Cole had ducked inside not five minutes earlier and she had every intention of hunting him down. What she was going to do when she found him, she had no idea. Suffice it to say, he was going to get a very explicit piece of her mind and she didn’t care who heard. In fact, the more the merrier. A public ass chewing would do wonders for his overinflated ego. Hell, it was a wonder his head fit through the damn door in the first place!
He’d been a complete jerk to Alex, throwing his money around and acting like a total prick. And for what? What was his problem anyway? He had a crap-ton of money, an infinite supply of gorgeous women, and Olivia’s dream job. What more did he want? Couldn’t he just butt out of her life already?
Olivia stalked up the stone steps and twisted the knob on the front door. She pushed the shiny black monstrosity wide open and let herself into the grand foyer without hesitating. A blast of frigid air met her at the door, raising goose bumps on her forearms. The pungent scent of fresh cut flowers wafted through the open space, rolling off the largest arrangement of purple orchids she had ever seen. Above, an antique crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting twinkling lights across the marble floor. A wide, curving staircase opened in front of her with narrow halls branching off to the left and right. The place felt more like a hotel lobby than a residence. The only thing missing was an English butler. Old money at its finest. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. There was no way she’d ever live in a place like this.
Looking around, she decided to try the hall on the right. He couldn’t have gone far and the sound of bustling caterers carried from the back of the house. Besides, she hoped it would be warmer in the kitchen with the ovens running.
Making her way down the hall, she rubbed her arms to chase away the chill. She squeezed past a slight girl with a tray full of hors d’oeuvres that smelled heavenly. Her stomach grumbled in protest, but she forged on without a backward glance. She was a woman on a mission.
Olivia crept into the kitchen, doing her best to stay out of the way. The room was in chaos with shouted orders, banging pans, and the roar of the gas stovetop. If she had any interest in the culinary arts, she might’ve envied the kitchen, but as it was, she could barely scramble an egg, so the expansive kitchen was nothing more than an irritation as she moved among the warming trays that had been jammed into every open corner. She skirted the sous chef and muttered in frustration.
Where the hell was Cole?
“Looking for someone?”
Olivia whipped around to find him standing behind her, leaning on an unmarked door and looking irritatingly sexy.
“As a matter of fact—” she started. Before she could finish, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the door, which turned out to lead to a dimly lit pantry the size of her apartment.