The Billionaire Affair, page 14
“You look beautiful,” I tell her as she walks to me, her hips swaying seductively underneath the silver evening dress she’s wearing.
“It isn’t over the top?” Olivia asks, glancing at her dress.
“Hell no. It’s perfect.” I reach for her hand and pull her gently to me, then wrap my hands around her waist. I nuzzle her neck, inhaling her scent. “I love your smell.” I move to kiss her mouth but she pulls away after our lips brush against each other.
“You have lipstick on your lips now.” Olivia laughs and wipes my lips with the back of her hand. Then she raises her gaze to my eyes. “You are so handsome, Jace Anderson. I don’t know how some hot woman hasn’t snagged you by now.”
“She has.”
Her face heats up and a smile lights up her face.
“I love you, Olivia James.” I don’t want her to think that the first time I expressed my love for her was a mistake. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with Olivia. As Dylan pointed out, age is nothing but a number. There are a lot of couples with a ten-year age difference between them and it doesn’t affect their relationships.
Olivia kisses my mouth lightly. “Shall we go? We don’t want to lose our reservation.”
“Sure.” I ignore the stab of disappointment. Olivia doesn’t jump into situations. She takes her time, so expecting her to say the words back is setting me up for failure. I’ll give her as much time as she needs as long as eventually she’ll be mine, just as I’m already hers.
“Oh, Jace,” Olivia says in the car as we’re heading to the restaurant. “Thank you so much. I had such a great time today. I feel like I’ve been on a month-long vacation. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I didn’t know it was possible to feel so fucking happy over another person’s happiness.
“I dozed off at the spa,” she adds with a laugh.
I laugh as an image of Olivia sleeping as she got her treatments done comes to my mind. She does look relaxed and I’m glad I thought of that as a birthday gift.
I slide into a parking space conveniently located at the front of the restaurant. It’s a warm night, with a slight breeze to keep the air cool. Holding Olivia’s hand as we walk comes naturally as if we’ve been together for years.
“Where have you been all my life?”
She laughs. “I could ask you the same question.”
Inside, we are shown to our table at a private spot in a corner. I pull the chair for Olivia, then take the chair opposite hers so I can have the pleasure of looking at her gorgeous face all evening.
“Champagne?” Olivia asks, eyeing the champagne bottle on ice which I’d already preordered. Her birthday evening is going to be perfect. A night she will always remember and the many firsts that we’ll have together.
“We have to have champagne to celebrate,” I tell her. I nod at the waiter to pop it open. He does and pours it into two flutes, then excuses himself to get the menus. “A toast. To you, Olivia, to the kind, sweet, smart, funny person that you are. I feel so blessed to have found you. To us.”
Olivia has tears in her eyes as we clink glasses and then sip on our drinks. The waiter returns with the menus and after perusing, I go for the braised lamb while Olivia orders some fish dish that I’ve never heard of.
“Why didn’t you mention that your birthday was coming up?” I ask her.
A cloud comes over her face. “I’ve never celebrated my birthday.”
“Why?”
“Birthdays were always a disappointment when we were growing up, so we sort of avoided them. They were never a celebration.” Olivia takes a sip of her champagne and sets the flute back on the table.
I’ve never heard of anyone who doesn’t celebrate their birthday even if it’s just an acknowledgment of the date.
“I remember once, my mom told me to ask my friends over and she would bake a cake and make some snacks. She was on one of her few sober streaks and I was over the moon with excitement.” A soft smile comes over her features.
I can visualize Olivia as a girl, bouncing up and down with excitement.
“It was a Saturday and the day started out well. Our tiny house was filled with the scent of yeast and flour and sweets. Mom was baking. Hope flared in my chest. Marcus and I sat in the living room and exchanged hopeful glances. Maybe we were finally going to be a normal family.”
My stomach clenches in anticipation.
“Normalcy didn’t last. I’d invited five friends from school, girls from dysfunctional families like mine. Mom came carrying the cake but from the moment she appeared in the doorway, I could tell that something was terribly wrong. Her legs grew wobbly by the second and she has this weird expression like she was trying to smile but her lips were refusing to cooperate.” Olivia’s voice chokes.
“What happened?”
“She fell flat on her face, with the cake stuck between her body and the floor. At first, I thought she’d had a heart attack but on moving closer, I could smell the alcohol on her. She’d been drinking while cooking.”
I’m horrified and angry. “That’s messed up. She couldn’t not drink for the period it took her to bake a cake?” It’s not fair to judge but when it's children, it pisses the fuck out of me. Why do people bring children into the world and then make them suffer? Drugs, alcohol, abuse… those things make me so angry.
Olivia shakes her head. “I used to ask myself that all the time. Then I went for therapy. An addiction is a disease that needs treatment.” She looks so sad.
I tighten my fists, frustration welling up for the child that Olivia had been. “Did she get treatment?”
“Yes, but it never worked. She always went back to her alcohol, then later it became drugs.” Olivia smiles brightly, all traces of sadness leaving her face. “That’s how Marcus and I stopped celebrating birthdays. He and Charlotte will send me a birthday message in the morning but that’s it.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” I remember the surprise and the joy on Olivia’s face in the morning when I brought her coffee and then the flowers later. She might have started out as not wanting to celebrate her birthday as a form of protection but this is a different Olivia. “I’m no therapist but I do know that I want you to have different memories for your birthday starting from now.”
She smiles and dabs at her eyes with her napkin. “Thank you and it’s already working. I had a wonderful day and I felt special.”
“You are special.”
The waiter brings our food. It doesn’t disappoint.
“It smells so good,” Olivia says. It’s nice to see her getting excited over food as she never does. Hopefully, we can change that and make her start to enjoy food for the pleasure it brings.
We move on to lighter topics. Olivia tells me that she invited her brother, sister-in-law, and best friend for dinner at her place.
“Finally you’ll get to meet the people I’m always talking about,” she says, her eyes twinkling.
I refrain from pointing out that she doesn’t really talk about her family. “I can’t wait. Thank you for arranging it. Do you need help cooking?”
She raises an amused eyebrow. “Are you offering to help?”
“Yeah. By sending a chef I know.”
Olivia laughs. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for the offer though.”
We are starting to feel like a real couple, not just two people who have insane chemistry and like to act on it. I take a bite of my food, while I try to remember something I wanted to ask Olivia. It dances out of reach and just as I’m about to give up, it comes to mind.
“What are your plans when you finish working for me?” I ask her.
She’s quiet for a moment and her gaze is on her food, so I can’t really see her expression. She takes a bite of her food and chews before answering. “I haven’t decided yet. Maybe I’ll take another temp job.”
I don’t understand Olivia. I have so much I want to say but I need to sift through it and not hurt her feelings. There’s nothing wrong with temp jobs but they have no future. No opportunities for growth. “What’s wrong with a full-time job? If you like I can look around and see if there’s something available?”
“I don’t need you to get me a job.”
Chapter 22: Olivia
Fear makes me say things I don’t mean. Mean things. Like that last thing I just said. Silence descends on the table. I see the hurt on Jace’s face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it in that way.” I’m taking out my frustrations on someone who means the world to me.
Jace is right to be concerned about my future work prospects. It doesn’t look good from where he’s standing. I’m a temp who doesn’t seem to have plans for the future. I hadn’t thought about this. How could I when I couldn’t have predicted that Jace and I would become so close so fast?
“Maybe I’ll go back to college,” I say softly.
He nods. “That’s good, Olivia. Maybe study something to do with writing, though you’re already very good. I’d love to help in any way I can, whether it’s tuition or introducing you to people. Anything.”
Pain funnels into my heart. “Thanks.” My appetite disappears and for the next few minutes, I push my food around the plate. I hate this lying and yes, it’s for work but I still hate it.
“No pressure though, okay?” Jace says.
I nod. “Okay.” I inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Today has been a special day and I want it to end on a high note. I can’t have regrets haunting me all evening. I push away the disturbing thoughts. I’ll have more than enough time to ponder over what I did wrong when Jace and I part ways. For now, I’m going to enjoy every minute we have together.
“How did the show go?” I ask Jace.
“Good.” He glances at his watch. “We might catch it if we don’t stay for too long.”
“I’d love to watch it.”
“Something interesting happened. We got some very nice publicity from this magazine. The article went, ‘The Anderson Clinic has an ambiance that feels like home…’ Something like that,” Jace says.
My blood turns to ice. I’m not aware that the first piece has already gone out. Oh my God. It’s becoming real. I reach for the glass of champagne and down it in one go.
“I wish I knew who the writer was, I’d sent them flowers,” Jace says in a playful voice.
I’m so scared my heart is beating a mile a minute. “Good publicity is awesome.” I don’t even know what I’m saying.
I’m obviously making sense because Jace nods enthusiastically. “Oh yes.”
“I have a bit of a headache.” I’m desperate to go home. It’s true that my head hurts but that’s probably from sudden stress. “Is it okay if we leave?”
A look of concern comes over Jace’s features. “Is it the champagne? You only drank two glasses.”
I smile to show him I’m okay. “Probably too much relaxation. My body is not used to it. I’ll be fine. I just need to rest a little.”
Jace calls for the check and we leave shortly after. I feel guilty for making him worry but I can’t stand sitting there and pretending that I’m innocent. In the car, he rests his hand on my leg in a comforting gesture.
“Do you want me to drop you home?” Jace asks.
I want to be with Jace. This day has been perfect apart from a few blips. I say a few but I’m sweating on a cool evening. “The plan was to go to your place, wasn’t it?”
“Okay.” Jace will drop me home in the morning as he goes to work then I’ll follow half an hour or so later.
Jace and I settle in the living room after changing into comfortable clothes. A t-shirt and shorts for him and a borrowed shirt for me. He turns on the TV.
“Coffee?” he asks.
“Coffee would be great,” I tell him, feeling sick inside. Would it really be so bad if I came clean and told him that I’m a magazine writer? A fresh cold sweat breaks out on my skin, making me feel like I have a fever. The thought itself is enough to make me physically ill. There has to be another way. I just need time to figure it out.
I reach for the remote control to increase the volume when I notice that the show we’re waiting for has come on. The interviewer introduces his guests, first the CEO of The Blue Valley Medical Center, an older gentleman with graying hair. Then she introduces Jace and the camera zooms in to his gorgeous face. He looks so handsome and so solemn.
“Right on time,” Jace says setting the mugs on the coffee table.
“Thanks.” I take the coffee and wrap my hands around it as I bring it to my lips. I’m tense and I can’t bring myself to relax. “You look so good on TV.”
“Your man,” Jace says.
“Yep.” My tone is hesitant. I have no right to claim Jace. I want to cry but I can’t. I have to put on a front. I focus on the interview although I’m too tense to enjoy it.
The interviewer comes to the part Jace told me about. She takes a copy of the latest edition of Lifestyle Magazine and reads for him a bit of the article. The article is attributed to Staff Writer, another way of saying we don’t want you to know the identity of the writer.
I take my phone to search for the article online. It’s a small article, word for word of what I sent to Amelia. On the one hand, I’m flattered that she hasn’t changed a thing and thought it was good enough as it was. Another part of me would have preferred changes, so I could lie to myself that it’s not entirely my work.
Thankfully she doesn’t linger and moves on to another topic.
“It was a good interview,” I tell Jace when it’s over. “You’re really good in front of the camera.”
“Thank you. Practice makes perfect. I’ve been doing it for a long time.” Jace takes my legs and places them on his lap. He massages them and I let out a sigh as the tension leaves my body.
“Want to take this to the bedroom?” I ask him.
He grins. “Yes, ma’am.”
I laugh at his enthusiasm. To be honest, I’m looking forward to losing myself in that body of his. Make myself forget everything except that moment.
***
“You sure about this, Liv?” Chris asks me from the stove where he’s stirring a pan of soup. It’s the only job I’ve given him. Anything more complicated and he’ll ruin dinner. Chris cannot even cook an egg. He survives on takeout and eating at his parents’ home when he craves home-cooked meals. Sometimes he cajoles me into cooking dinner which I’m always happy to do.
“I have no choice,” I tell him returning to the kitchen to get more cutlery. “I’ve run out of excuses why he can’t meet the people I love.”
“And Marcus agreed to do this?” Chris asks in a dubious tone.
“I had to beg but yeah, he agreed. All you have to do is speak only when you’re spoken to. Or if you feel a need to talk, tell us about Maya.” Chris and the rockstar chic have been seeing a lot of each other. Almost every day judging from my communication with him.
He even gave me a couple of tickets for their concert tonight and though it’s a tight squeeze, Jace and I agreed to go. We’ll have dinner, spend some time with Marcus and Charlotte and then go to the concert which starts at nine. When I told Charlotte this, she sighed, “To be young.” I reminded her that Jace was older than her and Marcus and he was game to go out.
Chris grins. “She’s awesome, Liv and so real. She reminds me of you.”
I make a face. “That’s weird.”
“No, it’s not. You’re the realest person in my life, you know that. Maya is like that. She speaks her mind and she’s interested in important things. Like making music, giving back and just helping people. I’m glad you’re coming to the concert. You’ll love it.”
“Jace is coming too. After how special he made my birthday, I’m excited to do something nice for him. Something different. A rock concert is just the thing. Thanks, Chris.”
“You’re welcome,” he says. “Oh, and I have another piece of news. I’ll be their official photographer on their upcoming tour.”
“That’s wonderful,” I cry and leave what I’m doing to go and hug him. “Congratulations. Things are really working out for you, aren’t they?”
“They are. I wanted to go on tour with her but I didn’t want to feel like a groupie. But with a genuine official title, I can kill two birds with one stone. See where our relationship will go and work while seeing the country. I’m excited.”
“I’m excited for you too.” I’m glad that Chris is getting out of Chicago. It’ll do him good to widen his scope and this new relationship sounds promising. I really hope it works out. All these good things couldn’t be happening to a nicer person.
It’s fun catching up with Chris. Dinner is soon ready and we keep it warm in the microwave. I leave Chris watching the news while I take a quick shower and get ready for dinner. I’ve texted Marcus and Charlotte so much today that each told me in different words to lay off. There was even a threat of blocking my number.
It’s frightening to imagine all the things that could go wrong. Just one word and Jace and I could end tonight. I oscillate between relief that Jace is finally meeting Marcus, Charlotte, and Chris and sheer terror. Am I being foolish to believe that a whole evening can pass without anyone mentioning my real profession?
I’ve drummed into them what they cannot say in front of Jace. They can’t ask my opinion on matters of journalism or writing. They can’t talk about my colleagues at the magazine. They can’t ask what I’m working on. So many rules, they even made me dizzy. But it’s only for one evening. Two hours maximum. Oh and no more than two glasses of wine. Alcohol makes you loose-mouthed and careless.
I dress in a sexy short dress and pin my hair on the top of my head to get it out of the way. I finish getting ready and as I head back to the living room, the buzzer sounds.
“I’m sure that’s Marcus and Charlotte,” I tell Chris. “I told them to come early.”
“I’ll get it,” Chris says.
While they come up, I check on the food, making sure the oven is set very low. Marcus and Charlotte walk in quietly until they realize that Jace is not here yet. Then the noise starts. We hug each other noisily, Chris and Marcus bump fists and exchange guy hugs.
