Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(48)

“Olivia Masterson.”

“Ms. Masterson? It’s Gabby. Mr. Pritchard wants to see you as soon as possible.”

Olivia’s heart hammered in her chest. She hadn’t heard anything from Jonathan since the Vixen pitch. Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard anything from Cole in a couple of days either. This was very good news, or very, very bad news.

She let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Sure, Gabby. Tell him I’ll be right there.”

Olivia hung up the phone and sank into her chair. Her limbs felt like Jell-O. She wondered if she should swing by Cole’s office for a quick check-in. Maybe he knew what this was about.

No, she told herself firmly. If Jonathan had asked for her, then he wanted to see her. She’d take her licks on her own like a grown-up.

She rose from her desk and smoothed her gray skirt. She’d bought this suit specifically for the Vixen pitch; it had just the right combination of sexy and sophisticated. That’s what Cole had said, anyway. She took one more deep breath and walked purposefully toward Jonathan’s office. Gabby waved her right in with a smile.

That was a good sign, right? Gabby wouldn’t be smiling if she knew Olivia was about to get fired. Olivia stopped to steel herself once more, staring at the heavy door. Somehow, meetings in Jonathan’s office just never went quite the way she was hoping.

Squaring her shoulders, she straightened her back and strode into his office.

She felt herself relax when she saw it was just Jonathan waiting for her. She’d kind of expected Cole would be there too, but she was oddly relieved that he wasn’t. Jonathan rose from his desk chair and came around from behind the huge cherry desk.

“Have a seat.” Jonathan waved her toward the overstuffed leather chair. Olivia’s pulse was racing, her heartbeat thumping in her ears like a too-loud disco. She sat down, perched right at the edge of the chair.

“I have some news for you, Olivia,” he began. He was positively beaming. That had to be good. “We’ve signed the Vixen account. Natalia Rodriguez told me herself that it was due to your excellent pitch.”

Olivia felt every muscle in her body relax at once. The tension she’d been storing up all week literally melted away. She sank back a little into the deep, soft chair. “That’s fantastic news, Jonathan. Have you told Cole? He should be here. He was a big part of our team.”

Jonathan smiled at her. He was really looking pleased with himself today, but Olivia couldn’t blame him. Vixen was a huge account.

“Cole knows. And that actually brings me to the real reason I’ve asked you here.” He folded his incredibly well-manicured hands in his lap, resting them on the soft gray silk of the suit that Olivia didn’t doubt had cost more than her first car. He was now positively grinning. “I’d like to make you a partner in PBA.”

Olivia’s stomach lurched. “I’m sorry, what?”

Jonathan continued, smiling as nonchalantly, as if he were describing what he’d eaten for breakfast that day. “Cole pointed out to me that I had been unfair to you by making him partner when I’d essentially promised it to you. He also pointed out that—”

“Excuse me, did you say Cole talked to you about this?” Olivia could hear herself slip into Ice Queen mode. She sat straight up in the chair, any thought of relaxation pushed out of her mind by what Jonathan was saying.

“Well, yes,” Jonathan said. He hadn’t caught on to Olivia’s growing outrage, apparently, because he was still perched on the edge of his desk, beaming like he’d had the best idea ever instead of, once again, ripping her damn dreams apart. “The Vixen pitch really emphasized the quality of your work, Olivia, and Cole argued that we’d be stupid not to secure your skills for our agency rather than let you be poached by the competition.” He paused and looked at her. “Are you feeling well?”

Olivia was not feeling well. She could feel the sweat seeping through her expensive silk blouse and plastering her hair to her neck. Her pulse roared in her ears. She was confused. She was nauseated. And more than that, she was angry.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she said, struggling to maintain her composure. She was damn well not going to run out of his office and throw up in the bathroom again, thank you very much. One time was more than enough. “It’s just all rather unexpected. But I still don’t understand what Cole Bennett has to do with this.”

Jonathan nodded as a look of understanding spread across his face. “Ahh, I see. He didn’t tell you. After the Vixen pitch, he lobbied quite hard for me to offer you this position. He seemed to think he owed it to you. If I didn’t know your history better, I would think it was because he wanted to keep you around.” He winked at her.

Jonathan Pritchard had winked at her.

Shit.

This wasn’t good.

This wasn’t fair.

“I guess those late nights of teamwork had quite the effect on him,” Jonathan said, still smiling like a perversely well-groomed Santa Claus. “He seems pretty taken with you. Not that I can blame him.”

That was the last straw. Olivia rose from the chair, her lips pressed into a tight imitation of a smile, and extended her hand to Jonathan. “Thank you for the offer, Jonathan. Really. I just need to think about it. It’s been a big week for me.”