The One: The Complete One Series Collection (17 page)

I couldn’t have interrupted even if my brain had been able to string together a coherent thought. My mouth literally couldn’t form words. I nodded that he should continue.

“Whatever Connor is paying you, we’ll go 50 percent higher. The job would mean you would have to relocate to D.C., but the signing bonus we’ll pay you should more than cover expenses associated with that.” Mark reached for his water glass and I noticed the silver band on his ring finger for the first time. I had to admit, it would be nice to have a boss that was 100% off-limits.

“What exactly would I do at
Palmroil?” I surprised myself with my question. Was I actually considering taking this job?

“Consultant. Legal advisor. We can determine the title later but essentially you’ll work full-time saving our ass. We already know you’ll be good at it, so now you just need to decide if you’re ready to make the leap.”

The waitress brought our lunch and business talk was stifled for the time being. Not a lot of negotiating could happen between bites of food but after the bill had been paid, Mark raised the issue again.

“I don’t need a yes right now, but I also won’t take a no. Take some time to think about it. This is a prestigious position and you are a young woman. This could really launch your career.” Mark and I shook hands. “I have to say, I expected you to not even let me finish making my offer.”

“Why’s that?” I was surprised, too, actually.

Mark thought for a second. “I’m not sure. I just picked up on some strong loyalty between you and Connor.” He chuckled. “I know he’s a big fan of yours. He’ll be pretty pissed if he finds out about this conversation.”

“What Connor doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” I said with feigned gusto. In reality, my talk with Mark felt like the ultimate betrayal. Not because Mark had offered me a job, but because I was seriously considering taking it.

When I returned to my office, the bouquet of flowers on my desk made everything that much worse. I knew from one glance at them that they were the work of William Connor. I stared at the white lilies and reached for the card with a shaking hand. The envelope said simply, “
Olivia
,” and the card inside was simple and to the point.

“
Please say yes to dinner with me tomorrow night. All My Love, William.”

CHAPTER TWO

When I first met William, I tried to fight it. I tried to pretend that I was an independent woman that could do as I pleased. But very quickly I learned that I would save myself a lot of trouble if I just accepted the truth- I couldn’t say no to William Connor.

It was the Friday after Valentine’s Day and the restaurant was crowded. But William knew how to exert his influence so I wasn’t surprised when the hostess led me to the best table in the place. William was already there, standing gracefully as I approached. He looked dashing in his dark suit. I was sucker for a man in suit. Scratch that. I was a sucker for this man.

“Livy.” William’s smile was breathtaking. “You look amazing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I waved away his flattery. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it, I just had a hard time accepting compliments. I smoothed down a few wrinkles in my skin-tight red dress and winked at him. “You look pretty damn hot yourself.”

William laughed and kissed my cheek. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me for dinner.”

“You know I can’t resist you.” No use denying the obvious. “Plus you know how I like a free meal.”

“It’s the least I could do.” William pulled out my chair. “This is technically our first date.”

I looked up in surprise. Now that he mentioned it, this was the first public outing for the two of us as a couple. “Wow, I guess you are right. At least it doesn’t matter now if I put out on the first date.”

William laughed again. His laughter was one of my favorite sounds. “You have no idea how much I have missed you.”

If it was anywhere close to as much as I missed him, then he had been going through hell. It would have been easy to forget the past and just focus on being with William in the present. I wanted to be with him, and we were together. But not everything could go unspoken.

“About what happened in my office,” William said. He reached for the glass of scotch in front of him and that was when I noticed that he had ordered one for me, too. “I crossed the line. I should never have done that.”

“Because you were trying to stay away from me, or because it happened at work?” I hated that I couldn’t tell what William was thinking. Did he want to be with me, too? Was I imagining our rekindled romance? Maybe William had just been looking for a quick fix in his office and now he was regretting his slip.

“Both, actually.” He twirled his scotch and took a drink. When he removed the glass from his lips, I recognized his teasing smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I regret it. Quite the opposite actually. But I shouldn’t have done it.”

“I don’t want to play these games anymore, William.” I waited for him to look me in the eye. “I want to be with you. Plain and simple, that’s what I want. If you aren’t willing to commit to that, then we need to move on.”

William reached across the table and took my hand. He laced our fingers together and said, “That’s all I want, Livy.
You’re
all I want, all I’ll ever want.”

The waiter arrived to take our orders and the mood was effectively ruined. William politely sent him away. “What are you thinking?” he asked nervously.

It wasn’t very often that William Connor sought someone else’s approval. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one completely flummoxed by our relationship. “I think I’m not hungry anymore.” I tilted my head and smiled slyly. “Not for food anyway.”

“So…” William started to return my smile.

“So it looks like you are getting out of buying me dinner yet again.” I gulped down the last swallow of my scotch. “Let’s go home.”

“Home,” he agreed, and was on his feet in an instant. He pulled out my chair for me and threw some money on the table before helping me into my coat. His hands lingered on my shoulders and then he brushed my hair to one side and kissed my neck. “Your place is closer,” he said.

“You want to go to my place?” I had never even invited William past my front door. His house was much nicer than my one-bedroom apartment. “I thought you wanted to go home?”

“I do want to go home. Home is wherever you are.” It would have been a very sweet moment if William’s phone hadn’t started buzzing. He glanced at it and frowned. “Sorry, love, but I need to take this.”

I was amazed at how smoothly he stopped being William and slipped into the role of Connor, Gravity’s CEO.

“Hey, good to hear from you. Yeah, I spent some time on the files today, and my team has some ideas on how we can make this go away. Are you available to meet on Monday?” William frowned and squeezed my shoulder. “I’m actually at dinner right now.”

I saw his face darken at whatever was being said. “Yeah, okay. I’ll stop by. See you soon.”

“Excuse me?” I poked him in the stomach. “Who will you be seeing? I thought we had an agreement that we would be getting naked very soon.”

“We will. I promise.” William kissed the tip of my nose. “That was our baseball player. He’s at a bar close by with his buddies and he wants to introduce us. We could really use these clients, Liv.”

“Fine. I’ll keep it in my pants. For now.”

If I hadn’t been so distracted by my lust for William, I may have given a little more thought to the situation. And if I had done that, I may have predicted what was about to happen. But I never saw it coming.

I followed William into
McClary’s Pub thinking only of one thing- leaving as quickly as possible. William headed straight to the bar while I excused myself to use the ladies’ room. The scotch from the restaurant had gone straight through me. By the time I found William, he was deep in conversation. His eyes were focused and his jaw clenched and unclenched as he listened to his companions. I recognized that look and knew that he was bothered by what they were saying.

I didn’t want William to be upset, but I had to admit that he looked even hotter when he was brooding. I was so busy thinking about William’s hotness that I didn’t pay attention to
the guys around him. It was only when I got a few feet away that I finally noticed them and stopped dead in my tracks.

One of them noticed me and he flinched violently. William noticed his reaction and turned. “Livy,” he started to smile but then noticed my obvious distress. “What’s wrong?”

The room started to spin. I opened my mouth a few times, but no noise came out. My skin began to burn as if I was on fire and I thought I might throw up. William grabbed my arm and asked me again what was wrong. I saw his lips move, but his voice sounded far away. My chest tightened and I couldn’t breathe. I shook my head several times and yanked my arm away. My legs were shaky as I ran for the door and I only just made it outside before I collapsed to the ground.

“Olivia.” William knelt on the ground next to me, his hand on my back. “What is going on with you?”

Now that I was outside, I was finally able to breathe again. I still felt weak and I wasn’t entirely sure I wouldn’t throw up, but at least now I could speak. William’s face was full of concern when I lifted my head. “Paul.” It was just one word, but it was all I had to say. He understood instantly.

“P.J. Jackson is Paul?” His face grew hard and his eyes clouded over. “Your ex-boyfriend who almost killed you?”

I felt nauseous again and rested my head on my knees. I don’t know how it never occurred to me that Paul might be one of the athletes involved in the drug scandal. It was a huge coincidence, sure, but my life was full of unseemly coincidences.

“Olivia. I need you to focus.”

I lifted my head again and William leaned very close. “Be very clear with me, Olivia. I’m about to go in there and beat the shit out of that man, so I need to know I understood you correctly. Are you saying that P.J. Jackson is actually the Paul that put you in the hospital?”

“Yes. It’s him.”

William’s eyes flashed and his hands clenched into fists. “Fuck,” he said. I could tell he was seconds away from rushing inside and connecting his fists with Paul’s face.

“Don’t.” I grabbed one of his hands and waited for him to unclench it. He didn’t come around easily.

“He deserves to pay for what he did to you, Livy.” William finally took my hand in his. “I mean, look at you. Look at what he’s still doing to you.”

“I’m okay, William.” I tried to keep my voice strong and steady. Very carefully, William helped me to my feet. “It was just a shock, seeing him. But I really am okay.”

William used one hand to brush my hair away from my face, while his other hand still clung to mine. Anger burned in his eyes, but it was tempered by a softness that he reserved only for me. “I don’t think I can just walk away.”

“You can. I know you can.” I leaned into him until he wrapped his arms around me. His heart was still thudding violently but his breathing had become more regular. “Let’s go home, William.”

“Liv!” Paul’s voice had the same impact as a bullet being fired from a gun. William’s arms tightened around me and his breathing escalated. “Liv, are you okay? I just want to talk.”

“Go away, Paul.” I twisted in William’s arms enough to look Paul in the eye. If William hadn’t been there, I would never have been so bold. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Liv. Please.” Paul had the nerve to smile at me. “It’s me. You know me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

William released his grip on me and put himself between me and Paul. “I suggest you leave now while you still can.”

“Easy, Connor. This has nothing to do with you. This is between me and Liv.” Paul looked at me over William’s shoulder. “I thought you didn’t like the jealous type?”

“I don’t like the abusive type either, Paul.” I stepped out from behind William. While I appreciated him protecting me, I was finally ready to face Paul. “Go. Away. I have nothing else to say to you.”

“I don’t believe you.” I recognized the look in Paul’s face and it made my chest tighten. “We were together four years, Liv. I made one mistake. One. Whatever happened to second chances?”

“I don’t give second chances to people that try to kill me.” From the corner of my eye, I noticed that William had gone perfectly still.

“That’s an exaggeration.” Paul scoffed. “You always were a drama queen.”

“Well, I guess you taught me a lesson and I got what was coming to me.” I actually rolled my eyes. Paul didn’t scare me anymore. In fact, I pitied him. “You’re pathetic, Paul.”

“Good luck, Connor.” Paul had turned back to William. “Maybe you’ll have better luck with the bitch.”

The next ten seconds moved in slow motion. I saw William flinch, and he sprung forward without even a second of hesitation. His fist landed solidly against Paul’s jaw, and his head snapped back. The sickening crack signaled that his jaw had been broken. Paul clutched his face with both hands and let out a tortured scream. William seized the front of Paul’s shirt and twisted it, drawing him forward. Very calmly, he said, “I’m giving you a pass this time. The next time I see you, I kill you. Consider this your second chance.”

William shoved Paul away and turned to me. “Let’s go home, Livy.”