He sighed with relief when it finally subsided, but his relief was short lived. The living room blinds were thrown open, the harsh light of the morning sun blinding him in his hung-over state. “What the fuck?” he mumbled, as the bottle of Scotch was snatched from his grip.
“What the fuck is right,” Anna replied, hand on her hip. Cole attempted to shield his eyes. It didn’t help. In fact, it seemed highly possible his skull would crack open at any second, which might actually be a blessing compared to the alternative. With the sun at her back, Anna looked like a tiny Amazon warrior ready to kick his ass. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks,” Cole muttered, dragging himself to a sitting position. He scrubbed a hand over his face, getting a not so gentle reminder that he needed to shave. “Remind me again why I gave you a key?”
“For emergencies, obviously.”
“I hardly think this qualifies as an emergency.” Cole groaned and buried his face in the couch pillows. If this was Anna’s idea of emergency care, he was getting that key back before she left today. “Can you please close those blinds? You’re killing me here.”
“The pain is good for you,” she replied from the kitchen, where she was pouring his last bottle of Johnnie Walker Black down the drain. “It reminds you that you’re alive. Do you even know what day it is?”
“The better question would be, do I care what day it is?”
Anna returned to the living room, sitting on the coffee table in front of Cole. She twisted the top off a bottle of water and handed it to him, along with two aspirins he desperately needed.
“What’s going on? You haven’t returned a single one of my calls this week. I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” he lied, knowing full well Anna would never believe him, given his present condition. “Just taking a few personal days. People do that, you know. Take time off.”
“You are quite obviously not fine.” Anna gestured around the room, which was littered with takeout containers and empty liquor bottles. In the light of day, he could see the whole place was a disaster. Hell, he was a disaster. “What in the hell happened to you?”
“Olivia Masterson happened,” Cole groaned.
“Who?” Anna shot him a concerned look. “Start at the beginning and tell me what happened, Cole.”
So he did. He told her about how they’d instantly connected (leaving out, of course, some of the sister-inappropriate details). How Olivia would never really let him in because she was afraid of the damage to her reputation. How he’d tried to fix everything by talking to Pritchard about getting her the partnership she deserved.
Anna held up a hand in surprise. “Hold on. You did what?”
Cole shrugged. “I talked to Pritchard about making Olivia partner. It made sense. She’d done such great work with the campaign, and it was my fault she didn’t get it in the first place. And then after all that she just ditched me for a job at Vixen.”
Anna shook her head. “So this Olivia repeatedly tells you how important it is to her that she succeed on her own, and you go behind her back to pull strings? Good lord, big brother, I’d have bailed too. What were you thinking?”
“That’s not fair,” Cole retorted. “I tried to talk to her. I tried to explain I was just doing this because I wanted her to be happy, and she wouldn’t listen. She just kept insisting that I was only doing it to get her back in the sack.”
“And do you think the reason Olivia got the wrong impression about your motivations is because you weren’t man enough to tell her the honest truth, which is that you’re clearly in love with her?”
Damn. Anna never had been one to mince words, but she’d morphed into a tiny drill sergeant perched on his coffee table.
“I never said I was in love with her,” he said, scowling.
“You didn’t have to.” Anna gestured to the empty liquor bottles strewn across the room. “The only time I’ve ever known you to try and drink yourself half to death is when your heart’s been broken.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. “Just like it didn’t matter the last time.”
“This isn’t a Jacqueline situation,” Anna stated, unfazed. “Jacqueline didn’t leave you for another job because you were a controlling dick who went behind her back and pulled strings she explicitly told you not to pull. Jacqueline left because she wasn’t in love with you and didn’t want what you wanted. I’m sorry, I know that hurts to hear, but it’s true. And you have never wanted to own up to your emotions since then, and that is what’s gotten you in this mess.”
Cole scrubbed his face with his hands. Anna was right. He hadn’t been the same since London. He’d put up walls to defend himself from ever again feeling the kind of pain he’d felt then. And now those walls were responsible for driving Olivia away. He couldn’t forget how she’d looked at him that last night, like he was something foul that needed to be scraped off the bottom of her shoe. Then, it had hurt his pride. Now, it just hurt.
“So, you’ve screwed up big time,” Anna stated matter-of-factly. “What are you planning to do about it?”
“Do about it?” Cole felt like a kid learning to read, repeating things he didn’t seem to understand. “I don’t think ‘better late than never’ really applies here, Anna. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Well, sitting here feeling sorry for yourself is definitely not going to fix anything,” she pointed out, crossing her arms across her chest. “I’m not letting you give up on this girl, Cole.” She crossed her legs and bounced her foot mindlessly, seemingly lost in thought. “You’re gonna need to make a grand gesture.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“Of course you don’t,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “That’s why you’re in this situation. Haven’t you seen any movies? You need to man up, admit you were a total asshat, and tell this woman you’re crazy about her and you can’t live without her.”
He cringed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“In public,” she added. “You embarrassed her publicly. It’s only fair. And, Cole? It’ll have to be big. A dozen roses isn’t going to fix this mess.”
If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought she was enjoying putting him in his place. After all, wasn’t she the one who’d wished true love and happiness on him in the first place?
…
Olivia stared at the fashion show passes, trying to decide what to do with the second one. Natalia’s suggestion was hardly subliminal, but that didn’t mean she had to take it. She could do whatever she wanted with the pass, and while it was easy for an outsider to suggest she should forgive and forget, it just wasn’t that simple. It would never be that simple. Not with Cole.
Steeling her resolve, Olivia grabbed her phone and dialed. It was time to stop living in her head with worry and regret. She’d spent too much time there lately. It was time to get back to the real world.
Thankfully, Chloe answered on the first ring.
“It’s about time,” she barked. “What the hell is going on with you? You just left your job and didn’t even tell me what happened.”
“I’m sorry,” Olivia said, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. She deserved the tongue-lashing Chloe was likely to give her, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. “I should have called sooner. I just… I just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.”
“Cole?” Chloe asked, her words softer and swathed in empathy. If anyone could sympathize with heartbreak, it would be Chloe. She’d had more than her fair share. The difference was, she hadn’t given up on finding true love.
“Cole,” she admitted, her broken heart aching at the mention of his name. She’d have to work on that.
“Tell me everything.”
So she spilled her guts, telling her best friend how she’d thought maybe, just maybe, Cole had had feelings for her, and then how he’d gone behind her back and proved she was an id
iot for imagining he could have wanted anything but the obvious.
“I’m going to kick his ass!” Chloe shouted with enough conviction that Olivia experienced momentary concern for Cole’s physical wellbeing.
“I don’t think that will actually help.”
“I don’t care if it helps,” Chloe argued. “He clearly needs a good ass-kicking to get his head on straight. What was he thinking?”
“Who knows?” She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. And while I appreciate the offer, I’d rather not think about you sharing a cellblock with New York’s finest. I have enough to worry about right now.”
“Fine,” Chloe said. “What if I just drop a little Ex-Lax in his morning coffee?”
“Chloe…”
“Well, I can’t just sit here idly! There must be something I can do to help. I feel sort of responsible since I made the dare in the first place. Not to mention, I told him about your lust for lilies.”
Olivia swallowed a lump in her throat. The flowers. She’d forgotten the flowers he’d sent just before the Vixen pitch. For a real Vixen. He’d asked Chloe about the lilies.
She had to stop thinking about him.
“I was so sure he was going to be the one. I can’t believe he fooled me,” Chloe said. “What a schmuck!”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. He fooled both of us.” It was hard for her to accept that she’d been played for a fool. Again. She was a smart woman. So why hadn’t she seen his betrayal coming? Maybe she needed a coach. They had fashion coaches and weight loss coaches and even life coaches. Surely she could find someone to keep a watch out for dirty, underhanded backstabbers.
Olivia shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “Actually, there is something you could do for me.”
“Anything,” Chloe said without hesitation. “It sounds like I owe you one.”
“Will you be my date for the Vixen fashion show tomorrow? I know it’s short notice, but I’ve got an extra ticket and I really don’t feel like going alone.”
“Really?” Chloe squealed. There was a loud bang and Olivia was certain she’d dropped the phone in her excitement. When she returned, she rushed on. “I’d love to. Just one question. What should I wear?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Olivia skirted her way through the sea of bodies, searching fruitlessly for Chloe. Where on earth could she have gone? She prayed Chloe hadn’t snuck backstage for an early preview while Olivia had been busy with Natalia. She had been at it for the last hour, shaking hands, making polite conversation and basically torturing the hell out of her feet in a pair of too-tight Jimmy Choo’s that desperately needed to be broken in. Fortunately, Chloe was a social butterfly and perfectly comfortable making the rounds on her own while Olivia did the work thing.
If the energy in the room was any indication, the show was going to be a huge success. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been in such a charged environment. Of course, she didn’t make a habit of frequenting the fashion scene, but the excitement in the air was nearly palpable as the crowd speculated on the new Vixen designs. Natalia had worked the crowd, teasing them into a frenzy without giving anything away. Even Olivia had been swept up in the excitement. For the first time in days, she was starting to feel like her old self.
Spotting Chloe, she grabbed two champagne flutes from a passing server and made a beeline for her friend. The show would be starting soon and she wanted to claim their seats along the runway before some overly eager fashion blogger snagged them. Besides, her feet were screaming for mercy.
“Having fun?” she asked, as she handed Chloe a glass.
“The. Most.” Chloe laughed appreciatively and sipped her champagne. “I’ve never been to a fashion show before. This is ridiculous! There are so many people. And all these lights!” she cooed, spinning to admire the lights that cut across the crowd, continuously moving and shifting.
“Tell me about it,” she agreed. “The show will be starting soon. We should probably find our seats. We’re on the right side of the runway. Front row.”
“Front row?” Chloe squealed.
“This job does have its perks,” she teased, weaving her arm through Chloe’s and linking elbows.
“Have I told you I love your new job?”
Olivia rolled her eyes, steering Chloe toward their reserved seats. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.”
The lights flashed briefly as they settled into their chairs, signaling the crowd to be seated. She smiled and checked her watch. Natalia had warned her the show wasn’t likely to start on time and she’d been right. No surprise there. She scanned the crowd, nodding to a few of her coworkers as they waited.
A hush fell over the crowd as the lights died down and the runway came to life. Spotlights danced across the stage, keeping time with the loud techno music pumping through the speakers. She snuck a quick peek at Chloe, who was awestruck. It was hard to blame her. The videos she had watched of prior Vixen shows hadn’t done justice to the real deal. The music pulsed through her body, making it impossible not to get caught up in the mood.
When Natalia finally stepped onto the runway, the crowd was silent. She gave a brief introduction to the fall line, her usual wit and charm winning over the crowd. By the time she was finished, they were eating out of the palm of her hand, and Olivia had no doubt orders would be pouring in from the select group of buyers who’d been invited to attend the show.
The DJ cranked the music up as the models began strutting down the runway in some of the sexiest lingerie she had ever seen.
“Oh my god,” Chloe whispered, eyeing a lacey gold bustier and matching panties. “I’m in love. Look at those undies! They are killer! Please tell me you negotiated free samples as part of your compensation package?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Olivia promised. After all, it wasn’t like she’d be in need of sexy underwear any time soon.
“Seriously, Liv. This job is so much cooler than working at PBA. You are so lucky!” Chloe swore. “Well, it wasn’t luck so much as hard work, but you know what I mean.”
The rest of the show passed in a blur as they whispered about their favorite pieces and how great the models looked. By the time Natalia returned to the stage, she was grateful for the reprieve from the earsplitting music.
“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Natalia started, smiling warmly at the massive crowd. “Once again our designers have outdone themselves, delivering an amazing collection guaranteed to bring your inner vixen roaring to life. Please join me in giving these lovely ladies another round of applause!”
The models paraded back onto the runway amid thundering applause, reminding her fleetingly of her own time in the spotlight. The women fanned out on the runway, as Natalia started her closing remarks.
“Spring has always been my favorite time of year. And not just because it means the launch of a fabulous new Vixen line,” she teased, winking at the crowd. “I may be a hopeless romantic, but for me, spring always brings with it the promise of new love, new beginnings and, of course, new lingerie. At Vixen, we believe anything is possible when love is in the air, which is why I’ve invited a dear friend of mine to join me on stage today. This is his first time on the runway and he’s a little nervous, so be gentle!”
The spotlight shifted from Natalia, settling on a tuxedo at the back of the stage. As the suit stepped from the shadows and into the bright light, revealing the face of the man wearing it, Olivia nearly fell off her chair.
“You didn’t tell me Cole was going to be part of the show,” Chloe whispered, raising a questioning eyebrow. “Did you know about this?”
She shook her head, completely speechless. What was Cole doing onstage? It was too soon to reveal the new campaign. It wasn’t ready. So what then?
He walked down the runway, looking hella nervous and completely out of his element. The usually cool and confident Cole Bennett clutched his microphone in two hands as if it were a lifeline and he was two seconds from bec
oming shark bait. As he closed the distance between them, anxiety pierced her calm, reminding her of the pain he’d caused. She was also reminded of how much she missed him, and how good they’d been together.
While it lasted.
“Good evening,” he began, giving the crowd one of his dimpled smiles—and no doubt melting a few panties in the process. “My name is Cole Bennett, and I guess you could say I’m a bit of a runway virgin. The truth is, I’m probably in over my head today.”
The audience laughed good naturedly. How could they not? The man was a natural born charmer. And he looked damn good in that tux.
“Actually, I’ve been in over my head for a while now. I was just too blind to see it. I thought I had the world all figured out, that I was in complete control. Great job. Beautiful women. The right zip code,” he finished, ticking them off on his fingers wistfully. “I was flying high and nothing was going to drag me down. Nothing, it turns out, except my ego.”
Olivia’s heart began to race. Surely not. Was he really? Could he be?
“I was a superficial prick. I got burned once, and because of that I shut everyone out, never letting anyone get too close. And when I finally met a woman who made it past my defenses, I wasn’t honest with her, and I wasn’t honest with myself. I didn’t listen to what she wanted, and as a result I did everything wrong. And I mean everything.”
Once again, laughter rippled through the crowd. Olivia’s hand flew to her mouth. She couldn’t believe her ears. Cole was actually confessing to a crowd full of strangers. This was either the most romantic or the most desperate thing she’d ever seen. The jury was still out.
“Oh my God, Liv,” Chloe blurted out as a second spotlight dropped from the ceiling and landed on Olivia, setting her cheeks on fire. “He’s talking about you!”
“Shh!” she shushed her friend, not wanting to miss a word. This moment was going to be seared into her brain for all time.
Once Upon a Dare Page 17
