by Ravenna Tate
Blair rolled over and curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her cheeks once more. She had no idea what to do. She felt lost and alone, just like she’d felt most of her life. The only things that had grounded her were her job, and Oliver. If she lost him, she’d have to leave Fairchild BioSystems. There was no way she could continue to work with him. Her life had finally taken a right turn, and now it might all be gone again.
****
Oliver wanted to go to her apartment because he had a strong suspicion that’s where Blair had gone, but first he needed to take care of a few things. He returned to his office and called Penny Katz, the paralegal on his attorney team. She always took care of preliminary work on suits against him or his company.
He asked her to search for any recent filings by Donny, and asked her to dig into Donny’s background. Blair had given him a rough sketch, but Oliver had a hunch this guy had been on the wrong side of the law for a while. He was going to take care of this asshole for good but first he needed the proper ammunition.
He called Blair’s phone, but it went to voicemail after four rings. Either she wasn’t near it, or she was ignoring his calls. He prayed it was the former. He left her a message, asking her to call or text, just to let him know she was all right, even if she wasn’t ready to talk or to see him.
Unfortunately, he did have a meeting he couldn’t postpone, and it took much longer than anticipated. By the time he was able to return to his office, it was almost four in the afternoon. He’d missed a call from Penny, so he returned her call first.
“He filed a suit this morning. It names you and Blair, and alleges she promised him she’d give him money to help him out, despite his having not been granted alimony in their divorce. The reason you’re named is because he alleges Blair emailed him a month ago and told him she had a source for that money she’d promised him, and names you as the source.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake. What a load of horseshit.”
“It gets better. He alleges he has the email to prove it.”
Oliver snorted. “I can blow that out of the water in less than ten minutes. What about his background?”
“I’m emailing it to you now. I was able to track down info from before we all moved underground, as well. He’s not only a thief, he’s a con artist, and he has more than one arrest for rape and sexual misconduct.” Penny’s voice was filled with concern, and a hot sliver of fear shot through Oliver at her tone. “Is Blair safe? I wouldn’t trust this guy near her.”
“Yeah. Yeah, she’s all right.” As soon as he ended this call, he was moving Blair out of her apartment and into his. And she’d have a bodyguard, whether she wanted one or not.
“Good. If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Thanks, Penny.”
Oliver called his security team and told them to assign dedicated people to Blair on a permanent basis. Then he called Barclay. He needed help with this, and he needed it quickly. After explaining the situation to Barclay, he asked if he was available to help Blair move out of her apartment.
“Does she want to do that?”
Oliver sighed. “I don’t know. I haven’t asked her.”
“None of my business, but you might want to have a conversation with her first.”
“But this asshole is out there! He’s already come here, bold as daylight, and threatened us both. He’s filed a civil suit. She probably got served already.”
“If she had, she would have called you. Have they served you yet?”
“No.”
“Then take a deep breath. She’s safe for now. I’m sure your security detail is already over there.”
“They’d better be.”
“Okay, then. Go over there yourself and talk to her, Oliver. Make sure this is what she wants.”
“If it is, will you help?”
“Of course I will. Rissa and I both will.”
Oliver felt a bit better after he spoke with Barclay, but most of the uneasiness was still there. He knew the only way to solve this issue was to go to Blair and tell her how he felt. Enough fucking around. He was acting like a complete jerk. She was in pain, afraid, and his place was with her, not in this office making calls, no matter how noble his intentions.
He called his security team on the way to make sure she had a bodyguard in place, and was assured her building was now being watched. Then he called Penny again and asked her to try to find out when the suit papers would be served on both of them.
When he reached Blair’s building, he tried to call her again, but her phone went to voice mail once more. He hoped she was all right. What if she wasn’t up there? Fear tried to force its way in again, but he pushed it aside and used the keys she’d given him weeks ago to enter her building, and then her apartment.
Her bag was on the floor, next to the sofa, but where was she? Fighting rising panic, he peeked into the kitchen and half bath, then stared at her closed bedroom door. She had moved all her clothes and personal items into his place weeks ago. The fact that she’d come here at all told him how much pain she must be in.
But what if he was wrong about her state of mind? What if she didn’t want to be with him, and that’s why she’d chosen this place as a refuge? What if he’d been wrong about the love he swore he glimpsed in her eyes, and heard in her voice all these weeks? What if he went in there and she told him they were through?
****
Blair sat up, struggling to remember where she was. Your apartment. Your bedroom. She’d come here to think and had ended up falling asleep.
The light in the room told her it was almost dark outside, so she must have slept for a few hours at least. She turned on the light, glancing around for her phone, but she must have left it and her bag in the living room. She walked into the bathroom and grimaced when she saw her face and hair. She looked like she’d been crying for a week, and she didn’t have so much as a hairbrush left here.
She crossed the room and reached for the door knob. When the door opened before she could touch the knob, she yelped. It was Oliver, and he looked both afraid and relieved to see her.
“Oh … oh, you’re here.” She flung herself into his arms and tried to hold back the tears, but they came again, just as hard and fast as they had before. She was babbling, trying to tell him everything she’d been thinking earlier, but nothing coming out of her mouth seemed to make sense.
The only things that did make sense were his warm, strong arms around her, and his voice, soft, soothing, calm, telling her that everything was going to be okay. She finally pulled away to look at him, and he brushed the tears off her face.
“Blair, I have some things to tell you, but before I do, I have to tell you this or I’ll explode. No matter what you say, I mean this and I always will.”
“What is it?” Had something else happened with Donny? She’d kill him if he had bothered Oliver again.
He swallowed, and then cupped her face. She was alarmed to find his hands so cool. “Blair, I love you. I’m so in love with you. I should have told you before, but it never seemed like the right time. Please tell me I haven’t lost you.”
“What? Oh my God.” Blair was certain her heart was about to cease beating. “You were afraid of losing me? I was afraid I’d lost you.”
“No. Not a chance. Never.”
“Oliver, I am so in love with you, too. I should have said something as well, but I was afraid.” The fucking tears were back again, but she ignored them this time. “I was afraid after Donny showed up that you’d decide you couldn’t deal with my fucked up past, and you wouldn’t want me.”
“Oh, baby.” He pulled her close, and Blair wrapped her arms around him and pressed against him for warmth. “Oh, that is so … no way. I love you. Your past is part of you. We will deal with anything that rises up together. I told you that, and I meant it. You’re stuck with me, sweetheart.”
She clung to him, hardly daring to believe this was real. He wanted her. All of her. Even the fucked up parts. Blair had
never been this happy in her life, and she knew this was real. Finally, she understood that she was worthy of this. She was allowed to feel this way. She was allowed to love this man.
Chapter Eighteen
Blair had no idea how long she and Oliver held each other in the doorway, but they both jumped slightly when the buzzer on the wall next to her outside door sounded. “Who could that be?” she asked, her heart pounding.
“Let’s go and find out.”
He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his arm, stopping him. “What if it’s Donny?”
Oliver gave her a huge grin which confused her. “Ah, that’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. He won’t be bothering you, love.”
“What—”
The buzzer sounded again, cutting her off. They walked to the door, and she pushed the intercom button on the wall. “Who is it?”
“Sheriff, ma’am, for Blair Adams.”
She sighed, glancing up at Oliver. “He filed suit, didn’t he?”
“This morning.”
As Blair pushed the button that would unlock the door downstairs, Oliver’s phone rang. He answered it as she waited for the sheriff to come upstairs. The man handed her the papers, said “You’ve been served” in a tone that implied he was bored with life, then walked away.
She shut the door as Oliver got off the phone. “That was my housekeeper. She accepted my papers on my behalf just now.”
Blair opened the complaint and began to read. “Oh, for the love of…”
“I know. After you left the building, I called the paralegal who works for my attorneys and she found the complaint online.”
“Oliver, there is no such email. I never promised him shit.”
“I never thought there was an email, and I know you didn’t promise him anything. Don’t worry about this, all right? My attorneys will take care of it.”
Guilt washed over her. “I’m sorry I did that. Leave the building, I mean.”
He took the papers out of her hands and tossed them onto the floor, then pulled her close again. “It’s over. We never have to discuss it again. I understand why you did it, and I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know how special you are to me. Blair, what’s in the past can’t hurt you. Not if you don’t let it.”
A shadow crossed his eyes, sending a nasty shiver down her spine.
“I would like you to move out of here. Come and live with me. I’d feel better knowing you were safe.”
“Safe? I’ve always been safe here. What else is going on that you haven’t told me?”
“Let’s get you out of here first.”
“Tell me now.” She didn’t like where this was going. He took a seat on the sofa, and she sat next to him, waiting.
“Okay. This isn’t going to be easy to hear. I also asked Penny to look into Donny’s background. Based on what he said in the reception area, I assumed he was going to or had already filed a suit, and I like to know who I’m dealing with when I get sued.”
“Do you get sued a lot?”
He nodded. “Sweetheart, when you have a company as big and as well-known as mine, it’s a given.” He opened his phone and scrolled, then handed it to Blair. “This is what Penny found, and some of it goes back to before 2118.”
Blair read convictions for far more crimes than Donny had told her about. When she came to the arrest record, she nearly dropped the phone. “Holy shit. I never knew this. Oliver, what if he had hurt me?”
He took the phone, placed it on the coffee table, then pulled her into his arms. “He did hurt you. Maybe not physically, but emotionally.”
“Why?”
“Why what, love. Why did he hurt you emotionally?”
“No.” How could she put this into words? “Why do I choose men like this?”
“I’m not a psychologist, but I can think of one obvious reason, can’t you?”
“Yes.”
He moved away and looked into her eyes. “I’m not like that, yet you chose me.”
“I pushed you away for two years.”
“It wasn’t the right time for you, but that’s over now. We’re together, and I’m not letting you go. I will never hurt you.”
“I know you won’t.” She glanced around. “When can I move out?”
He laughed. “Now?”
“If only I had a truck and a bunch of people to help.”
Oliver picked up his phone. “We have that.”
****
It was close to ten in the evening by the time everything that had been in Blair’s apartment was now in storage, or had found a new home in Oliver’s apartment. After the phone call Oliver made, Barclay and Rissa had shown up with four friends and a vehicle large enough to hold furniture, though only a few pieces at a time. Blair was actually surprised Oliver didn’t know someone who owned a moving van and could drive it over at a moment’s notice.
She had dropped off her keys at the management office, forwarded her mail online, and after a cursory inspection by the property manager, who had been watching a movie in nothing but his underwear when she knocked on his door, she had foregone having her security deposit returned in lieu of being allowed out of her lease early. She was free and clear.
The friends had taken the truck and left, but Barclay and Rissa were still in Oliver’s apartment. The four sat in the great room, each with a glass of wine.
“We won’t be working tomorrow,” said Rissa, raising hers.
Barclay clinked his glass against hers. “We can work from home.”
They both laughed, and Blair gave Oliver a curious glance.
“Sorry,” said Rissa. “It’s kind of an inside joke. When we first started looking for data on Rob’s laptop, we worked from his apartment so much that we joked about moving the entire operation into it.”
“I think Blair and I will work from home tomorrow, too,” said Oliver, giving her a wink. Heat rose to her face, and she took another sip of her wine.
“So, is it official?” asked Barclay.
“Is what official?” asked Oliver.
Barclay gave him a droll look. “You two. What else?”
Oliver gave her a tender look. “Gee, I sure hope so. I’ve never asked anyone to move in here before.”
That surprised her, but she said nothing. She didn’t yet know Barclay and Rissa very well, and wasn’t sure what he’d told them about her background.
“We should go out together,” said Rissa. “The four of us. You’re the only other Weatherman who lives here, and I could use a female friend to gossip about the bunch of you with.”
“I’d love to,” said Oliver, glancing down at her. “Would you like to do that?”
“Yes. That would be great.” She was touched that Rissa wanted to get to know her better. She’d never been part of an elite group, and she’d never had close female friends.
“If Valerie has her way,” said Barclay, “we’ll all move to Central together, house our companies in the same building, and live in apartments next to each other.”
“She misses everyone,” said Rissa. “We all had so much fun at Liane’s and Emmett’s wedding.”
“The next one isn’t until December,” said Oliver, glancing toward her once more. “Dominic and Angela are getting married then.”
“Did you all space them out like that on purpose?” Blair knew that Ace and Harper had been married last December.
“Yes,” said Barclay. “We wanted to be sure all of us could attend each one.”
“At this rate, we’ll be attending weddings for years,” said Rissa, holding up her left hand. Blair couldn’t help but smile. Her engagement ring was stunning. And huge.
Rissa smiled up at Barclay with nothing short of adoration. “Eight of you married or engaged, four to go.” She cut her gaze toward Blair’s bare hand. “Or, is it soon to be nine?”
Barclay gave her a cautionary look. “I think you’ve had enough wine.” He removed the glass from her hand. “And I think we s
hould let these two get some rest.”
Rissa surprised Blair by giving her a hug when she and Barclay left. “I hope we can get to know each other better.”
“Thank you. So do I.”
After they were gone, Oliver apologized for Rissa’s question. “She’s very blunt.”
“I’m not offended by what she asked. Are you?”
“Not even close. We finally got around to saying ‘I love you’. Discussing marriage is entirely different. I’m trying not to scare you off.”
She stared at him for long moments, trying to organize her thoughts. The wine was getting to her, but she didn’t want to let this wait or she’d chicken out and never ask. “Is that what you want? I mean is that where you see us heading? Toward marriage?”
“Of course.”
He hadn’t even hesitated.
“Blair, I’ve never asked anyone to move in here. I’ve never told another woman I loved her. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. You can ask any of the others. They’ll tell you the same things.”
“I don’t need to ask anyone. I believe you. I’m just overwhelmed.”
“In a good way, right?”
“Yes.”
He held her close and she closed her eyes, letting his words sink in. Even when Donny had asked her to marry him, he hadn’t said such things. She could count the number of times he’d told her he loved her on both hands, and each time it had been because she hadn’t wanted to have sex for one reason or another.
By that time, in her mind she had come to think of “real” love as a legitimate reason for wanting sex, as opposed to having it forced on her. Oliver should know that. It might help him to understand her reactions.
“Can we talk about Donny again for a moment? And about my past?”
“We can talk about anything you want to, sweetheart.”
