Olivia stuffs the card in her pocket. “Oh, stop it.” She blushes. “There’s really nothing special about me.”
“Oh, I beg to differ. And I hope that, whatever it is, you two can work it through.”
Olivia looks at him shocked. “What makes you think we’re having troubles?”
“Like I said, I’m old, I’m not stupid.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Everything I asked for?” Olivia questions.
“Everything.”
“Wow, you’re amazing.”
Anna grins as they pull up front of O’Connell Industries.
Olivia hesitates. “Is he here?”
“No. He hasn’t come into the office since he and his dad exchanged cross words.”
“Who knows I’m here?”
“Other than Aiden, only Ian.”
Right on cue, Ian opens her door. “Let me take your bag.”
“Hi, Ian.”
“Welcome home.”
Olivia follows him up the walkway to the front door. Feeling like she’s being watched, she glances up. Aiden stands at his window, watching like a protective stone gargoyle. She raises her hand and gives him a small wave. He nods and closes the blinds.
“James!” She screams excitedly as Ian pushes open the research room doors.
He greets her with a huge grin. “It works!”
“Eeeek! I’d jump up and down, but I’m sure Ian would drop dead from heart failure.”
“I’m worried, is all,” Ian says unamused, as he puts her stuff at her desk.
“I’ve been working around the clock since you sent the new schematics. I’ve got four prototypes running and not one failure yet.”
“That’s fantastic!” She throws her arms around him in a celebratory hug.
“You’re a genius. Never in a million years did I think the solution would be so…simple,” James says in awe.
“I guess we’re all guilty of overthinking it. Can we get units in to do clinical trials?”
“I’m working on it,” Ian says. “I have should have the approval from the government in the next day or two.”
“Dave has given us a list of health facilities and doctors who are interested in trials.” She unfolds the list and hands it to him.
“I’ll start making calls in the morning.”
“Ian, talk to John and have him arrange for Ethan to go into the hospitals and do a few PR photos. Maybe get the newspapers there.”
“Will do.” Ian walks to the door and then stops. “You know, my wife is going to kill me when she finds out you’re here and I didn’t tell her.”
“I know. Give me a couple of days, then I’ll let them know I’m home.”
“And Ethan?”
Olivia sighs. “I haven’t decided how to handle him yet. I’ll guess I’ll figure it out.”
Ian turns and heads back across the room, wrapping his arms around her. “He’s not the only one who missed you. We all did. You’re probably not going to believe me, but Aiden was more upset than the rest of us.”
“You’re right, I don’t believe you.”
Ian grins. “Go up and say hello to the old man once you get settled.”
“I will.”
Olivia knocks on the slightly ajar office door then peeks in.
Aiden looks up and then gets to his feet. “Olivia. Come in.”
She closes the door behind her. “Rumor has it that you’ve missed me.”
“Perhaps a little, Miss James.”
“So what did Anna have to threaten you with to get you to agree?”
“Best we never talk about that.”
Olivia holds back a chuckle.
“Does he know you’re home?”
“No, not yet. What happened between you two?”
Aiden growls, “The boy is way too stubborn.”
Again, Olivia holds back a chuckle. “Details, please.”
“I want all this publicity with Aurora Technologies to go away. I want him to step down from his position and take over here.”
“I suggested the same thing. It didn’t go over very well, but I don’t understand why. They are comparable businesses aren’t they?”
“Somewhat. From a design and engineering standpoint, we can design for several different industries. Our current product profiles are a little different and our customer base tends to be small, local, independent entrepreneurs. I think his hesitance is that we don’t have an international presence. He likes that. Travelling the world, learning about the different markets. It’s more challenging for him. In comparison, OCI is much smaller in scale.”
“Is there any reason why OCI couldn’t branch out to international levels?”
“None, other than it’s a lot of work to gain market share globally, and I’m old and way too tired.”
“It sounds like the type of situation he’d thrive in. I don’t understand his hesitation.”
“So you understand then why I’m frustrated with the boy. He turns his back on an opportunity, and instead focuses on a company riddled with negative publicity, while ruining our family name. But the most unforgiveable was leaving you.”
“He did what he felt he had to do, Aiden.”
“Not acceptable.”
“If you thought that being with Anna put her in danger, in any way, you would do the same thing. He was protecting me. From himself.”
“Still. His lack of judgment, in the past year, has dragged us all into the middle of the media circus. I can’t turn on the TV without hearing about my family anymore.”
“I still believe he’s innocent, but Shannon’s running into roadblocks everywhere, trying to investigate. You’d think with all his friends being on the Guard, they’d be able to get all the down low on what really happened that night.”
“You look tired. Go home and rest. The boy needs to look after his own business.”
“Oh, I haven’t even thought about where I’m going to stay.”
“Stay at the flat.”
“That would be really awkward, right now.”
“He isn’t staying there.”
“He’s not? Where’s he staying?”
“Last I heard, he was staying out on the property in the trailer, but we haven’t talked for days. Best you let the girls know you’re here.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll go by the house on the way home.” She turns to leave and he stops her.
“Olivia.”
“Yes, Aiden?”
“Are you okay?”
She smiles and nods. “Perfectly fine.”
Olivia is mauled by a stampede of squealing sisters. Their voices echo down the long corridors of the century old O’Connell mansion. “I can’t believe it,” Madison repeats. “We all thought…”
“I know. You’re mother told me.”
“The asshole wouldn’t tell us a thing,” McKenna adds. “And I’m going to kill my husband for not telling me you were here.”
Olivia grins. “Kaylie, you’re squishing me and the baby.”
She loosens her grip. “I’m sorry. I just thought that I’d never see you again.”
“I wasn’t sure myself,” she says, glancing over at Anna.
McKenna looks down at her phone. “Ian called in a few favors and got the government approvals for Artemis. He’s added an extra overnight shift in production, so he’ll have units ready for clinical trials tomorrow.”
Olivia stands stunned at the news. “Really?”
“Yeah,” McKenna says proudly. “He’s a pretty quiet guy, but he always gets the job done.”
“I’m sure he does,” Olivia smiles.
“Oh, you’d be shocked at the things that man is capable of.” A light shade of pink flushes McKenna’s face.
“Ick,” Kaylie says, making a face.
Everyone pauses as the news flashes a story about Jessica and the new baby, posing a question about Ethan’s innocence.
“Gah!” McKenna growls as she picks up the remote.
“Wait!” Olivia says, walking closer. As pictures of the baby flash across the screen, Olivia squints. “Does anybody else think there’s something really odd about that baby?”
She looks around the room at blank faces. McKenna shrugs. “She’s at the corner coffee shop, every morning, with the baby. Every time I see him, I look for the mark of Satan.”
“McKenna,” Anna scolds. “Despite what’s going on, that’s still your nephew.”
Olivia’s face contorts into different expressions, trying to work out her thoughts. “I’m not so sure.”
Olivia walks down to Aiden’s office with a cup of tea and looks down to read a message from Shannon.
Shannon: Heads up. John told Ethan about Artemis this morning.
Olivia: How did that go?
Shannon: He needs a new set of dishes.
Olivia: Crap
Shannon: He’s refusing to do the publicity promos that John set up.
Olivia: Not surprising.
Shannon: Be careful, he knows you’re in Ireland.
Olivia: Thanks, Shannon.
Olivia leaves Aiden with his cup of tea and heads back to the research room. She’s startled by Ian heading toward her at full tilt. “INCOMING!” he yells, as he grabs her arm and pulls her into the nearest office, closing the door.
“Ian? What the hell?”
“Ethan’s on his way up to see his father and he looks pissed.”
“Doh!” She jumps as Aiden’s door is slammed with such force the pictures on the adjoining wall rattle.
They stand against the wall, trying to make out the low rumbling voices. Very quickly, the conversation escalates and Ethan’s voice becomes loud and clear.
“Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous it was for her to get on that plane to come here? We could have lost them both.”
Olivia looks at Ian, feeling tormented. “I should go in and try to smooth things over.”
“There’s not a chance in hell, I’m letting you go in there right now,” Ian advises.
“I don’t give a fuck about the family name, or my career, or Jessica’s lies. I’ll never be able to live with myself if anything happens to her or the baby! That’s why I left them, Dad. So they’d be safe. Why can’t anybody in this family just mind their own fucking business?”
Aiden’s office door swings open and the conversation moves out into the hall.
“Where is she?”
“She’s not here.”
“I know you know where she is. If you won’t tell me, I’ll find Ian. He’ll tell me.”
Behind the closed door, Ian closes his eyes and curses. “Awesome, I’ll spend my last days on earth holed up in an empty office avoiding the O’Connells. He’ll kill me for not telling, McKenna will kill me if I do.”
Olivia frowns. “I’m so sorry to put you in the middle of this, Ian.”
He sighs, “Meh, it’s not your fault. I knew what I was getting into when I married into this family. Have you got anything to eat? We should start rationing.”
Later that evening, Olivia quietly opens the front door to the Dublin flat and sneaks up the stairs. She gently turns the key, hoping not to make any sounds that will alert Mrs. Malloy of her arrival. Feeling along the way for the light switch, she makes her way through the cold dark room.
“Why did you come here?”
Olivia gasps. She flips the switch, lighting up the room, and finds him sitting in the chair in the corner.
“Ethan.” She holds her hand to her chest trying to calm her heart. As her eyes adjust to the light, she frowns at his appearance. His long unkempt hair and several day’s growth of beard accentuate his look of exhaustion. “I came to work on Artemis.”
“So it was you who worked out the logic.”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I had an idea, that’s all. James made it work. Ian got it into production.”
“And you put yourself at risk, flying here for someone else to do the work and take the credit?”
“It’s a great project. People have been waiting for it. I just wanted to be here to help.”
Getting to his feet, he crosses the room, locking on to her gaze. “I don’t need your help.”
“Right. Because you’re doing such an awesome job looking after things on your own right now.”
He stops as he reaches her and pauses. Being close to him makes her body respond, and she holds a nervous breath. Electricity prickles across every nerve ending, making her tremble. The meadow green is barely noticeable in his tired, blood shot eyes.
“Go home, Olivia.”
Anger pulses through her bloodstream and reddens her face. “Don’t tell me what to do. This is my home. My doctor is here, my sister-in-laws are here, my friends here.”
He growls and holds his tongue, walking away. He turns as he reaches the door. “I haven’t changed my mind about us. You need to accept that.”
“OH GOOD! Then half of everything that’s mine is here too!”
“Take it all. I don’t want it.” He slams the door behind him.
Olivia paces the floor so angry that she wants to scream. “I’ll show you who decides when this relationship is over.” She dials John’s number. The anger still vibrates in her voice. “Hey.”
“Hello.”
“How was your day?”
“Complete crap. Yours?” John says; sounding fed up.
“The same. I need the times and locations for the Artemis clinical trial PR shoots.”
“There’s no point. He refuses to do them.”
“Oh, I know.”
“What are you up to?”
“Well, if he won’t do it, then I’m thinking that the world should hear all about Artemis from Ethan O’Connell’s wife. The woman who’s madly in love with him and anxious to start their new journey together as happy parents.”
“Uhhh,” John says stunned. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“You have to ask?”
John sighs, then chuckles. “I’ll add the times to your schedule. You know that it’s me that has to deal with him when he finds out.”
“Pfft. You can handle him.”
“In a way, I hope you get him riled up. I can’t stand to see him so complacent these days. He’s talking about quitting Aurora. Selling his share of OCI.”
“What? He can’t do that. Aiden needs him to take over, so that he can retire.”
“I know, but you know what those two are like. Neither is going to give in. And right now, Ethan just doesn’t want to deal with the world in general.”
“I’m going to fix it, John.”
“It’s not going to be easy.”
“I’m not going to walk away at the time when he needs me the most. I just don’t have it in me.”
“I know. Promise me that if it gets to be too much, you’ll look after you and the baby.”
“I promise. Can I speak to Shannon?”
“Sure, hang on.”
“What’s up?” Shannon asks.
“What would be the one thing you need to start moving forward on Ethan’s case?”
“Right now, it’s gathering evidence. If we could just get access to the video surveillance from the area surrounding the bar, we might be able to identify the man she left with. At least it would be a start.”
“Okay, leave it with me.”
“Leave it with you? What are you going to do?”
“I’m guessing, you probably don’t want to know.”
“Oh, boy. You’re right. Tell me nothing.”
Olivia spends the next several hours manipulating firewalls, protocols, and gateways. She finally gains access to the video archive for the town of Dublin. She crosses her fingers as she scrolls through the dated files, hoping that they’ve kept the files back that far. When she finds what she’s looking for, she copies the files onto a USB drive to give to Shannon. Exhausted she falls asleep with her laptop on her knees.
At the property, outside of the city,
Ethan lay staring at the ceiling, feeling tormented. Only in the past few days, has that stabbing pain in his heart started to fade. Seeing her again today, looking into her beautiful hazel eyes, and being close enough to smell her perfume, made the pain feel new. He doesn’t know how he’s going to survive, if she chooses to stay. He’s certain that every time his eyes fall upon her, it’ll feel like death all over again. She’s the most frustrating, stubborn woman. Yet he still loves her. Always will.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Olivia gets ready to take on the PR world and Ethan O’Connell, simultaneously. In just a few hours, pictures of her and her stylish baby bump taken at the installation of Artemis in several key health centres will start popping up on YouTube, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and every other social media site. It’s time for the O’Connell name to start being associated with positive things again.
On her way to OCI, she passes the little corner coffee shop and remembers what McKenna said a few days before. She stops, and before she can talk herself out of it, she’s inside the front door. Sitting in the corner, occupied with her phone is Jessica. She walks toward her; with no idea what she’s going to say. She stands beside the table silently, staring at the baby until Jessica looks up.
“What do you want?” she asks nervously.
“I know what you’re doing.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Don’t even trying to play that game with me. You come all the way down here to sit in a coffee shop across from his office. Why?”
“There is no law against me stopping for coffee,” Jessica argues, looking uncomfortable.
“You seem to be an expert on laws. Or would that be your partner?”
“What partner?” Jessica asks, gently rocking the baby as he wakes.
“Whoever it is that helped you concoct this ridiculous set-up.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I’d really like you to leave me alone.”
“I’d really like you to leave my husband alone. Tell me, do you know the rules of chess?”
Indivisible Souls: Book 3 of the Bound4Ireland Series Page 28
