Left of the Slash, page 27
“Shorty was like a siren,” he says. “She chewed you up and spit you out, man. That’s what happens when you're messing with those older women.”
I smirk, remembering how her age came into play in the depths of the playhouse. “Well, it wasn't all bad.”
The conference room table fills up, each seat occupied by a different department head and those of us who work in the executive wing. Eden comes in and takes a seat in the corner closest to the head of the table, and we nod to each other as she sits down. Eden and I have had an unspoken love for each other for a while now, but it has really peaked since the EWB meeting. It’s almost like she knows Olivia was in the wrong that day, but her loyalty to her friend won't allow her to say it. I'm not mad at it. That’s the way a true friend gets down. She won't say anything to me, but I get the sense that she has said a few things on my behalf when it’s just her and Olivia behind closed doors.
After Eden and I exchange a glance, the glass doors open again, and Olivia’s presence fills the room—her fragrance, her aura, her vibrance, her beauty. She struts in with a new sense of confidence that I'm not sure I've seen on her. Her face isn't as tight as it usually is. She has a smirk that won't leave her lips, and even her clothes—a black skirt with a black and gray blazer over a white blouse—seem to fit differently. She steps to the front of the room, stealing all of the air, and never looks at me once. After everything that has happened between us, I know something like that isn't an accident. It’s her way of reminding me that she and I are through.
“Good morning, everyone,” she begins, smiling bigger than I've ever seen her smile in this room. Usually, this conference room is teeming with hostility and arguments. Today, it’s filled with her obvious pride. “I apologize for being a bit behind schedule. I needed to send an important email before coming in because I won't have a chance to get back to my office once we’re done here. I have a meeting scheduled with our lawyers and the lawyers of East-World Bank, so I’ll have to keep this short and sweet.”
She takes a deep breath before continuing. Still, not a single glance my way. A siren indeed.
“The reason I've called all of the department heads here today,” she goes on, “is because I need to inform you of our newest client. As of three days ago, Obsidian Securities has reached an agreement with East-World Bank that will make us their new cybersecurity team. A new client will mean additions across the board to ensure that we protect them and their assets to the best of our ability. Our finance team will link with theirs, we will have to add their files to our servers and appoint a liaison and customer service rep for their team as well. It’s a lot of work bringing on a new client, especially one as massive as EWB. We’re still finalizing all of our numbers, but from the looks of it, this deal will be somewhere in the ballpark of six years, for a total of around five million dollars … per year.”
Eyebrows in the room immediately shoot the tops of faces. Jaws stretch down to the floor and I think I hear a few audible gasps. Thirty million dollars is far bigger than anything the people in this room have ever known Obsidian to deal with, and they know that amount of money puts the company into a new realm of possibilities. We are about to grow, and so is their income.
Out of nowhere, an applause breaks out. Joy is born in the room that has had nothing but negativity in it since I moved up here, and I see Olivia smile with her entire face. This is what she wanted the whole time—to see her father's company winning—and even through our bullshit, I'm happy to see her get it. Obsidian is safe now.
Olivia raises a hand, bringing the applause to an end. Then she takes another deep breath and begins again.
“Obviously, this is a major event for our company,” she says. “And I would just like to say that as happy as I am about reaching this deal, I want you all to know that it wasn't me who made it happen. I went into the meeting with talking points and numbers at hand. I spouted it all off from memory and the EWB board didn't go for it. They actually told us no. They were comfortable with the partnership they had in place, and they had no intention of budging. It wasn't until Mr. Quinn King took matters into his own hands.”
Olivia finally looks at me, and I see clear and obvious reverence in her eyes. I suddenly see gratitude emanating from her gaze as she looks at me in a way that she never has while we’re in this building. It’s enough to push me back into my seat, totally caught off guard.
“Quinn refused to take no for an answer,” she says, still looking right at me. “In fact, he used his own laptop to hack into the Palo Alto security system, and he locked the CFO out of his own account … right there at the table, in the middle of the meeting. It was the most extraordinary, brilliant, amazing thing I've ever seen, and it’s the reason that Joel Epson didn't have a choice but to accept our proposal. He risked his career, and let’s be honest, even his freedom to get us this deal. I was too blind to see it at first, but it’s as clear as day to me now just how incredible his sacrifice was. It’s not every day that someone risks jail time, but he did it for me … for us. So, I would like you all to direct all of your applause, graciousness, and thanks toward our very own CISO, Mr. Quinn King.”
The applause returns, but this time it’s only for me. Everybody in the room turns to me with smiles on their faces as they clap, and my heart fills with their joy. I look at Olivia and find her clapping too, but the way she looks at me is nothing like the way everyone else does. There's an emotion in her that reaches out and grabs me by the heart, pulling right back to where I was before the night she left me in the playhouse by myself.
“So,” she says, trying to regain control of the room. “As I said before, there is a lot of work that comes with bringing in a new client, and I need you all to prep your departments for what's coming. It is my hope that this deal will be signed in the next day or two, and we will begin taking over EWB’s accounts in a month, the second their contract with Palo Alto ends. So, congratulations, everyone. Thanks to Q, we just graduated to the big leagues. Now, let’s get to work.”
With a gracious nod, Olivia blesses us with one last smile before she leaves the room. I watch her go, hoping for a chance to talk to her, but I'm bombarded by people patting me on the back and thanking me for what I did. I shake a hundred hands and make my face hurt from smiling so much before I'm able to leave the conference room. By the time I'm out, the lights in Olivia’s office are off. I guess she really did have a meeting right after ours ended.
Feeling both confused by her actions—like calling me Q in front of everyone—and excited about everything, I dap up Rob and make my way back to my office, where I sit down and turn on my computer. I have my own preparations to make for the new files that will come with the EWB account, and it’s never too early to start looking for our next addition to the Obsidian team. Once my computer hums to life, I go into my email and immediately find a new one … from Olivia.
My eyes bulge. “The hell?”
I click the email and read it to the bottom, and try as I might, I can't help my smile.
Q,
I can't tell you how sorry I am for the way I reacted after the meeting. I was wrong. In fact, I have been wrong for a while now, but I don't want my words to be how I show you. I know that you're much more motivated by actions, so if you're free tonight, I'd like for you to come over. I’ll be home by 7. If you decide not to come, I totally understand and will have earned that response. Either way, I am so sorry for how I've treated you, and I appreciate absolutely everything you have done for me. I don't just mean EWB. I mean everything. Thank you, Q.
Olivia
FORTY - Quinn
Pulling into Olivia’s driveway, I have no idea what to expect. There has been nothing but static between us since we left the EWB parking lot, and while I've done a lot of thinking about my future and what I need to do in order to make it brighter and happier, I don't have any inkling about what has been going through Olivia’s mind. She basically went into a cocoon after the pitch, and she emerged this morning with brand new wings fluttering in the conference room. I don't think I'd ever seen so much happiness and surety in her eyes before, and that was before she ever glanced at me. Then … the email. She apologized and thanked me before asking me to come here, but she also accepted that I might not show and took responsibility for earning to be ignored. I don't know where all of it came from, but the fact that I'm here proves that I'm ready to find out.
When I reach her door, I have to knock once before I see her silhouette approaching through the frosted, elegant glass. I can make out white pants and a matching top, and when she opens the door, my suspicions are confirmed. Olivia looks like an angel in all-white loungewear, with her hair untied and hanging loosely down her back and over her shoulders. Her makeup is lightly applied—no eyeliner or mascara, just foundation and lip gloss that makes me marvel at how good she looks. I know women don't give a fuck about what men think about their makeup for the most part, so I don't bother to tell her that she looks incredible with or without it. Even now, with what I know is her bare minimum, she is absolutely radiant. Now that I think about it, I wish she didn't look so good right now. That email may have given me hope, but I have no idea what’s about to happen once we’re both on the other side of her glass door.
“Fuck,” I say as soon as the door is open.
“What's the matter?” she asks.
I sigh. “Nothing. I just wish you didn't look like that.”
Olivia glances down at her clothes. “Like what?”
“Like that. That good. That incredible. That enticing. You can't stop talking to me for days, then open the door looking like that.”
She grins but twists her lips together to keep it from growing into a smile.
“Thank you,” she says. “I'm so glad you decided to come. Please come in.”
I don't smell food cooking this time, so when I walk inside, I don't know where to go. I have to wait for Olivia to finish locking the door and let her pass me so I can follow her to the same stools we have sat on each time I've been here. She sits first and I mirror her, then I wait anxiously for her to speak.
This will either be the end of us or the beginning. On the way over, I thought about what I was willing to accept today. If Olivia is trying to bring us back to where we were before it all fell apart, I don't think I'm down for that. Sure, it was cool at first, but going through it showed me too much for me to go back now. I'm not trying to be her relief valve, so if that’s all she wants from me, the amazing sex won't be enough for me to wear all of that weight a second time. If I can't have all of her, I'd rather have none. The same goes for me. If I can't give Olivia all that I am—if she isn't willing to take all of me exactly as I am, then she can't have any. And if it all ends with us today, this will be my rule for every woman I date going forward. Accept me fully, or lose me entirely.
After a tense moment of silence, Olivia clears her throat and looks me in the eye. She’s not smiling right now, but I can still see that bright aura floating all around her. I swear, even in silence I can tell there is something different about her. When I first met Olivia, it was like she was encased in steel. Her hardened shell required a special lock to get to her softer side, but now that side is all I see. It’s like she's kinder and happier, and when she looks at me I don't see a wall anymore. Something has changed.
“I don't want to talk much,” she starts, making my eyebrows raise.
“You don't want to talk much,” I repeat. “Okay.”
“I don't want to talk much,” she says again. “But there are some important things I do want to say, and I'd like to start with … I'm sorry, Q. I know I put it in the email I sent you, but I needed to say it face to face. I'm so sorry for the way I treated you when we were together—”
“Ah, so we were together,” I jab playfully, and to my surprise, Olivia laughs.
“Yes, we were together. I was just too lost to see it. I always knew that I had issues when it came to my father, but I didn't know how deep they ran, and it took you and Eden to show me. I thought that if I allowed myself to have feelings for you, there would be no more room for the priorities I had before I met you. I thought that I would lose focus on Obsidian, and that meant putting my father's wishes second. I wasn't ready to do that, and when I started to have real feelings for you, it sent terror streaking through my heart. I kept thinking, ‘What about Dad?’ And ‘What about Obsidian?’ I panicked, and it made me cold. I was wrong, and I lied to you every time I acted offended by something you did. Nothing about the way you handled Jed and Simon bothered me at all. Nothing about the way you hacked the EWB system upset me. I don't know what it says about me, but I'm just a girl I guess, and I liked that you fought for me in both ways that you did it. You've fought for me with your body and with your mind, and I knew at EWB that you had me. Watching you take command of that room broke through every barrier I had tried to put up, and I knew I wouldn't be able to reconstruct them again. I just needed time to accept it, and now that I have … I’m sorry.”
I nod my head, taking in every word, stunned to be hearing them from her lips. I guess this is what I wanted the entire time—to be acknowledged for doing the right things for her. I'm not some narcissist who wants credit for dumb shit or things I didn't even do, but I was fighting for her. I was risking my livelihood for her, and it killed me when she refused to see it. Now that she has, I feel so much better. But I'm still pissed that we even ended up here.
“I can appreciate that,” I reply. “To keep it real with you, Olivia, it really sucked getting treated like that. I thought we had something real growing, and I'm not sure if you're saying you believe that now, too. Is that what you're saying?”
She raises an eyebrow. “Well, that’s the other part of it, but I don't want my apology to get lumped into that. I'm sorry first, and if you're willing to listen to the next part, then I'd like to tell you the truth about how I feel.”
I have to take a breath, hoping I'm not being set up for a push off a cliff. “Alright. I'd love to know how you feel. It'll either help me fall for you or help me move on from you.”
She smiles again, so at peace tonight. “Okay. Well, just so we’re clear, I am not in love with you.”
I chuckle. “I'm not in love with you either, but somehow that still hurts.”
Olivia lets out an adorable giggle. “But, I've never really allowed myself to open up to anyone to let love in. I've been avoiding it, saving all of my love for my work and my dad. But today is not the same as yesterday, and I want you to know that I'm open to you being the person I fall in love with. When that feeling comes, I won't stop it. In fact, I’ll dive into it fully and with my whole heart. Even though it hasn't happened yet, I want it to be you. I want you to be my one, and I hope that you want me, too.”
Suddenly, I have the urge to spill my guts. I came in ready to clam up and walk out without saying anything about how I felt, leaning into the silence and using it to help me get over Olivia. But now I want to grab her by the shoulders and scream it into her face.
“Of course I want you,” I say, maybe a little too aggressively. “You're the one who gave all of this to me. You helped me to discover that I'm a Dom. You told me to go see my dad. You told me to be who I truly am. All of that changed my life for the better, so even if we didn't make it and I was forced to move on from you, I was never going to forget you. But let me be absolutely clear. I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone, but I wasn't going to chase someone who didn't want me.”
“I understand that, and you don't have to chase me,” she says, reaching over and taking my hand. “I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to. I was an idiot, and even in my idiocy, I still missed you like crazy. I just needed to get my head together, and now that I have, I want to commit to you the best way I know how.”
“I want to commit to you, too,” I admit, standing up and wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “I want to protect you. I want to own you. I want to grow with you, and I want to support you while you continue to succeed and do all of the amazing things Diego wanted to watch you do. I don't want to steal your shine. I only want to help you and watch you glow.”
Olivia’s arms tighten around me, and I feel a brand new sense of happiness invade my entire body. She feels so good in my arms, and I never want to let her go. Even that thought shocks me. I never want to let her go.
“I'm so happy to hear you say that,” she says, her face against my chest before she pulls away. “Okay, so we’re doing this? Me and you? We’re officially together?”
“Absolutely,” I reply, finally feeling whole.
“Okay. Thank you for forgiving me, Q.”
“Thank you for being real enough to apologize.”
“I'm actually not done apologizing,” she says. “I said I didn't want to talk much and that sort got away from me, but there is something else I want to do. Something to seal the deal on our reunion.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Okay, I’m going to go down to the playhouse, and I want you to wait sixty seconds and then come down. Alright?”
I nod. “Alright.
I watch with an unwavering smile as Olivia gets up and jogs over to the door leading to the basement. She goes down, and I'm left to grin like a madman at how all of this played out. I woke up thinking we were over for good, but I’ll go to bed with Olivia in my arms tonight. Quite the turn of events, and I couldn't be happier.
After my sixty-second wait is up, I get up and go to the basement door, descending quickly as excitement hurries my steps. When I reach the bottom, I find Olivia kneeling with her hair tied in a ponytail, her hands flat against her thighs, and her body completely naked.
“This is how I want to commit to you, Q,” she says. “I'm yours. One hundred percent. You own me completely. You have all of my trust and my full submission, and not just while we’re down here. I belong to you all the time. From now on, I’m truly yours. Do you accept me?”
