Fate Harbor 2
Protecting Olivia
After almost being beaten to death, Olivia Prescott is recovering in Fate Harbor. There she meets firefighter Joshua Parker, who was everything she wants in a man, and she begins to fall in love. Later, his best friend and fellow firefighter, Ian Ransom, returns, and she recognizes a long lost piece of her soul.
Rather than coming between the two friends, she flees back to Boston. When Joshua and Ian find out that Olivia’s life is in danger, they realize that their friendship and Olivia mean more to them than any sense of betrayal. They recognize that to keep her they must learn to share her. Their background in law enforcement allows Joshua and Ian to protect Olivia while helping to discover who is behind the attempts on her life. While finding out who is behind the plot to kill Olivia, can they convince Olivia that the three of them are meant to be together and make a life in Fate Harbor?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre
Length: 91,044 words
PROTECTING OLIVIA
Fate Harbor 2
Caitlyn O’Leary
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
PROTECTING OLIVIA
Copyright © 2014 by Caitlyn O’Leary
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-743-3
First E-book Publication: May 2014
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
I want to thank my husband, sister, and aunt for their continued love and support.
Thank you, Deb and Melissa, for giving me great input to make this a much better story!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Author
PROTECTING OLIVIA
Fate Harbor 2
CAITLYN O’LEARY
Copyright © 2014
Chapter 1
“Just shut the hell up,” Henry said disgustedly. “If you want more celebrities to show up to our tournament, then chip in, out of your own pockets, for higher prize money! That way you’ll get the bigger-name golfers, hence the bigger-name celebrities. If you’re not willing to put your money where your mouth is, then just shut the hell up,” he repeated. Olivia watched as a husband and wife, who were both board members, opened and shut their mouths simultaneously, looking like guppies. She suppressed a smile.
“Are we done talking about the golf tournament?” she asked pleasantly.
Olivia itched to get out of her suit, not that it itched, it actually felt wonderful. It was silk, and fit her beautifully. It gave just the right impression to the board of directors that she could handle running a charity of over one hundred million dollars a year, without a hiccup. Her hair was always perfectly done for the board meetings. She kept the champagne-blonde mass swept back in a tight clip at the back of her head, and no tendril ever came loose. Her makeup covered her freckles. The only thing not up to snuff was her nails, and that had been commented on. She kept her nails bare and cut short, because she often worked in the soup kitchens and community gardens in and around Boston. She kept her face a cool mask of professionalism, no matter how much she seethed at the stupid things that came from the mouths of some of the men and women at today’s board meeting.
Seriously, lives depended on how fast they implemented the computerized programs between the shelters and soup kitchens. Families were living in their cars, people were living under bridges because when they were turned away from one shelter, they didn’t know that another shelter across town had availability. If the computer system were set up, they could help these disenfranchised Americans. Instead, these board members were bogged down with how another charity was getting more publicity than theirs. Furthermore, they weren’t concerned that their lack of publicity was hurting donations, but because they weren’t getting the big-name celebrities to attend this year’s charity golf tournament! She wanted to yell at them, but years of working with people of this ilk had taught her the best way to deal with them was to maintain a calm and pleasing manner. What’s more, as she glanced around the room, she saw more than one person who was getting just as perturbed as she was, so she waited.
She wasn’t surprised that it was Henry Peterson who had finally put a stop to things.
“We are, as far as I’m concerned,” Helen Styles stated firmly. She was a patrician woman who was on the board of many charities in
Boston. She stayed on task and had no patience for gamesmanship. Olivia’s focus was on helping people. She admired Helen a great deal. In fact, Olivia had noticed that Helen’s nails were also short and unpainted.
“Okay, our next order of business is our move into Atlanta.” Olivia explained. “The mayor is on board. We’ve got Georgia State University ready to volunteer their computer science lab, and they are already signing up students for school credit to help us out. This one is going to cost us three times the amount of any other city we have connected, just because we have so many different church-funded programs that we will have to identify and assimilate, so we will have to work harder to justify the costs. I’ve had Adam outline a prospectus for each of you.”
All of the board members looked at the papers in front of them. The husband and wife team were the first to speak up.
“I’m going to have to take this home,” said Kathy. “What do you think, Paul?” she asked her husband.
“I want to hear what our tax attorney has to say about this. I think this is going to attract some negative attention in our charity statement next year,” Paul stated. Olivia was unsurprised that Paul Stevens took the side of his wife and wanted to delay making a decision.
“That’s horseshit,” Henry said, loudly.
“No need to swear,” Olivia said calmly, while she inwardly smiled, totally agreeing with his sentiment. “Go ahead and take this home,” she said to the couple and to all of the other seven board members. “I’ll arrange for the tax attorney to be at our next meeting, but I must insist we not wait until next month to meet again. You’ll have to arrange your schedules to meet here in two weeks. We have to get this resolved, the university cannot be kept waiting.” And neither can I, she thought. “I’ll have Adam work with all of your schedules, unless you are ready to agree now. In that case, I won’t need your attendance.”
“Oh, I’m ready to agree,” Helen said, “but I think it would be prudent if I came to the next meeting.” She gave Olivia a sly smile, which she much appreciated, knowing that having her at the next meeting to help persuade any others who might be on the fence would be beneficial.
“Olivia, I have a question.” Olivia looked over at Richard Phillips, somewhat surprised since he rarely spoke at these meetings.
“Sure, Richard, what is it?”
“Why are you bringing the university into this, why not use InfoDyne like normal, to do all the systems work at connecting the computer systems?”
“That’s a great question, and I’m sorry I didn’t address it sooner. There are a couple of reasons. As you know, we’ve been giving scholarships in math and sciences over the last few years. Well, we’ve hired some of those folks right here at AHC. We’ve developed a small team internally who can start doing some of the work that we have been outsourcing to InfoDyne. Second, InfoDyne is based here in the Northeast, and we need a presence in the Southeast, so it made sense to use the university and our own AHC resources,” Olivia explained.
“InfoDyne really understands the needs of our foundation and has done a fantastic job. I don’t mean to second-guess you, but one of the main reasons you have me on the board is because of my background in information technology, Olivia. I think you’re biting off more than you can chew with such a large project by not using an established firm like InfoDyne to do all of the IT work, and instead relying on college students and untried AHC employees.” Olivia had never heard Richard speak so firmly.
“Richard, the reason this project is going to cost so much is chiefly due to the equipment outlay. I really think that we should try not to take on the large outsourcing costs of InfoDyne as well, otherwise this project would be five times the cost. Maybe for a nominal flat fee, we could ask them to come in and do a consultation overview, or maybe you could do that for us,” she suggested.
“Five times the normal cost would really hurt us,” Paul piped up.
“I’ll talk to InfoDyne before the next meeting,” Richard said.
“Maybe we should go to a city that doesn’t need as much help,” Kathy suggested.
“Atlanta is the one that has been evaluated for the last six months, we will be meeting to discuss the pros and cons in two weeks,” Olivia said in a tone that brooked no argument.
After the meeting was over, Henry and Helen stayed to supposedly talk with Olivia. However, Olivia had been noticing that Henry often hovered wherever Helen was, regardless of the conversation. She really hoped that the widow was receptive to Henry’s attentions.
“I would really like to give Kathy and Paul the boot.” Olivia smiled as Henry’s voice rumbled.
“Kathy’s father keeps donating, so she’s worth the annoyance,” Helen soothed.
“Maybe to you, she is,” Henry grumbled.
“I keep telling myself, the next board members could be worse,” Olivia said.
“Trust me, honey, they could.” Helen smiled. “So what do you have planned this afternoon?”
“I’m going to the South Side community garden.”
“Is that safe?” Henry asked.
“It’s gated,” Olivia assured him.
“Yeah, but is it guarded?”
“Henry, leave the girl alone. She’s been taking care of herself for years. It’s a community garden, for God’s sake.” Olivia and Helen smiled at one another in perfect understanding. “Come along, Henry. I think it’s about time I put you out of your misery and took you to lunch.” Olivia watched as the two of them walked out of the boardroom, and felt a small pang. Both of them were widowed, and if she wasn’t mistaken they might be finding love for a second time, while here she was at thirty-one, never having found it the first time around.
Shrugging off the momentary melancholy, she headed to her office, stopping at Adam’s desk on the way in. “Adam, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to put in a few hours on Monday, even though I promised you the day off.”
“No problem, boss.” He gave her a sunny smile. “I take it Paul and Kathy balked at Atlanta.”
“You nailed it in one. I need you to get Barry Hudson in so he can explain the ins and outs of the tax ramifications, and then schedule another board meeting in the next two weeks where he can attend. If you can start making calls before you leave today, I’d sure appreciate it. I know it’s a big imposition on a Saturday afternoon.”
“Seriously, Olivia, it’s worth it. There’s a reason I have people’s cell phones on speed dial. You look pissed off. Are you going to go dig in the dirt?”
“Yeah, there’s a bunch of second graders who are harvesting tomatoes today, and I promised to show them the difference between weeds and vegetables.” Adam smiled, knowing it was just the thing to mellow his boss out.
“Take some pictures, you know I love those candid shots of the kids.” Olivia smiled, because she knew he wasn’t just saying that.
“No can do, I’m only carrying the bare essentials. I’m taking the Silver Line subway to the South Side.”
“Be careful,” Adam warned.
“Adam, I grew up in the bad part of downtown LA. Laying low is second nature to me. I’ll be fine,” she assured him. Adam nodded, and she headed into her office. Olivia took a moment to look around the beautiful surroundings, and once again was amazed at exactly how far she had come. Once upon a time, she and her family were living in their car, and she had been in the foster care system. She knew just how important American Humanity Connections was, which was why Kathy and Paul’s roadblocks pissed her off so much.
She ducked into the connecting bathroom and changed into the worn jeans, tank top, and plaid shirt that she often wore when working at the shelters. This type of outfit made her more approachable to the people she wanted to assist. She put her ID, a credit card, and emergency cash in a pouch underneath her tank top, where it was indiscernible. In her jeans pocket she put a small amount of cash, a subway ticket, and the key to the building. The last part of her outfit was to put her hair in a ponytail, and throw on a Boston Red Sox baseba
ll cap, and then she was ready to go. She waved good-bye to Adam, who was already on the phone making calls.
When she got to the community garden, there were ten six- and seven-year-olds milling about, some with a parent, others obviously unsupervised. She saw tomato stains on two shirts, which told her that the harvesting had already begun, and perhaps a little horseplay as well. Olivia loved working with the youngest members of the community. It made her heart swell, and if she was honest with herself, she was beginning to have the urge for a family of her own. She gathered the kids around, and instead of having them look up at her, she sat cross-legged in the dirt in front of one of the tomato vines. She explained how they could tell which tomatoes were ripe and which ones weren’t. She patiently answered questions.
Then she asked which child would like to learn how to pick a tomato. A curly-haired blond, who reminded her of her foster brother Chance, raised his hand, so she smiled and selected him. He stepped forward, and she showed him how to gently twist the fruit then pull and place it softly into the basket so it didn’t bruise. She repeated the process with each of the nine other children before letting them loose on the row of tomato plants. One of the children’s fathers lent her a hand up off the ground, grinning at her.
“You’re good with my son. Normally he wouldn’t stay still that long,” the distinguished Hispanic man said.
“And my daughter would have rolled her eyes at you,” one of the mothers said. “How many children do you have?” she asked.
“None, but I grew up with a large household of children,” Olivia said with a smile.
Protecting Olivia [Fate Harbor 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 1
