Connections (7 page)

Olivia hurried across the lawn, clutching her small purse to her side.
 
She followed Margaret’s direction and luckily found that no one was using the bathroom.
 
She hurriedly locked herself inside and leaned back against the wall, staring up at the beautiful crown molding as she breathed deeply.

Alex wasn’t kidding
, she thought tiredly.
 
She hoped they wouldn’t have to stay for much longer, but then felt guilty.
 
She needed to support Alex and his family.
 
And like she’d said herself…it was only for tonight.

She massaged her neck for a bit before she dug through her purse, looking for her phone.
 
Christie had ordered her to keep her updated tonight, so she planned to send off a quick text.
 
But when she flipped open her phone, her stomach dropped.

2 unread messages from BLOCKED.

Heart pounding, Olivia debated whether she should just delete them.
 
But she brought up the texts regardless, a strange sense of curiosity winning out.

I thought we had something special,
was the first, which was sent a little over a half hour ago.

The second, which had been sent only five minutes ago, read:
Have you let him touch you?!
 
Whore!

Fighting to keep her breathing calm, Olivia hit the ‘reply’ button with shaking fingers.

Whoever you are, stop contacting me before I get the police involved.

In reality, she didn’t even know whether the police could do anything about this.
 
Whoever they were, they hadn’t physically harassed her or stalked her, for all she knew.
 
The disturbing texts were the only thing she’d received.
 
But she hoped the threat would make them stop nevertheless.

But what if it escalates?
she couldn’t help but ask herself.
 
She wondered if she should tell Alex, but decided against it.
 
It would only upset him and since they were still on shaky ground after their fight earlier this week, she figured it wouldn’t help their situation.
 
No, she’d deal with this on her own.

She turned off her phone and slipped it back inside her purse.
 
After a few moments of pulling herself together, she went over to the sink and patted some cold water on her face and neck.
 
Blotting her face dry with a hand towel, she took one last deep breath before she exited the bathroom.

There was a woman waiting on the opposite side of the hallway, looking impatient.
 
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Olivia started.
 
“I didn’t realize anyone was waiting.”

Olivia couldn’t help but stare.
 
The woman was beautiful in her shimmery silver cocktail dress.
 
The dress was tight, hugging her slim curves and showing off her sculpted arms and a heavy amount of cleavage.
 
She was the type of woman who looked so perfectly polished that one couldn’t help but dislike her just a little.
 
Her brows were dramatic and perfectly plucked…that was one of the first things Olivia noticed.
 
Her lips were painted a bright red, yet the rest of her makeup had a natural look.

What is it with beautiful people and this party?
Olivia couldn’t help but grumble silently.

The woman gave her a once over as well and sculpted her lips to form a small, inviting smile.
 
“No worries.
 
We’re women, after all.”
 
The woman pushed away from the wall, moving towards Olivia.
 
She stopped about three feet away, but the woman towered over her in her four inch heels.
 
“You came here with Alex,” the woman stated.
 
It wasn’t a question.

“Um, yes, I did,” Olivia started slowly, understanding beginning to dawn while her stomach began to tie itself into knots.
 
“Are you a friend of his?”

The woman cocked a brow and gave a throaty chuckle.
 
“Why yes, I suppose you could say that.
 
Although, we’ve definitely been
more
than friends at one point, if you catch my drift.”

Bingo
.
 
Olivia knew exactly who she was.

This must be the infamous Julia.

Anger started to burn softly in her chest for this woman…and maybe a little bit of jealously too.
 
This woman was gorgeous.
 
No wonder Alex had wanted her.
 
Old insecurities couldn’t help but emerge.

Olivia decided to play it cool and feign ignorance, at least in an attempt to throw Julia off guard.
 
“Oh?” Olivia asked, her lips forming a calm, almost disinterested smile.
 
“Are you one of his exes?”
 
Bam!

Julia blinked in surprise, but then she turned positively icy, seeming to catch onto Olivia’s game.
 
“Oh yes.
 
The
ex, if we’re being honest.
 
I was his longest relationship and I’m sure I’ll be keeping that title for quite a long time, if not forever.”

“What do you mean by that?” Olivia asked, her lips thinning in irritation.
 
She couldn’t help but feel insulted.

“I kept his attention the longest,” she said simply, cocking her head to the side.
 
Olivia felt an urge she’d never felt before…the urge to claw another woman’s eyes out.
 
But she tried to control her temper.
 
“And sure, he’s amazing in the sack and everything, but frankly, Alex is a little…damaged.”
 
She leaned forward and whispered, “He has daddy issues, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“Alex isn’t damaged,” Olivia stated, her voice hard.

Suddenly, another voice broke through the haze of fury that was building up inside of Olivia.
 
“Get the hell away from her, Julia,” Alex demanded as he stalked down the hallway, his voice as chilled and hard as ice.
 
Olivia almost shuddered.
 
She’d never heard him so angry.

“Oh, hello, sweetheart,” Julia purred, thrusting one of her hips out provocatively, as Alex reached them.
 
“We were just talking about you and your amazing skills in bed.”
 
Olivia stiffened in disbelief.
 
Alex’s jaw began to tic again.
 
“In fact, I remember this one time when we were in Cabo and you did this most delicious thing with your tongue.
 
God
, I get—.”

“Enough!” Alex yelled, shaking with anger.
 
Julia’s mouth snapped shut but she pouted at him.
 
Even Olivia jumped at the ferocity of his tone.
 
“Get the fuck out of here, Julia, and never speak to Olivia again or maybe I’ll tell your father that you’ve been fucking one of his business partners for over a year now.
 
How old is Eddie again?
 
51, is it?”

That wiped the smug look off her face and her lips pressed together in rage.
 
They had a stare down for a brief moment, before Julia stomped passed.
 
Her side hit Olivia’s shoulder as she passed and she hissed down at Olivia, “Enjoy him while it lasts.”

Olivia swallowed, not turning to look at Alex.

After a few beats of silence, she heard him sigh.
 
“Olivia…” he started, but she held up a hand to stop him.

Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “I’m not mad, I promise.
 
I just…I need a second.”

And with that, she hurried back into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Alex cursed silently, staring at the bathroom door Olivia had hid herself behind.
 
He was already seething over his encounter with Julia, but the fact that Olivia had faced her alone before he’d arrived sent him into a panic.

Olivia already had reservations about their relationship.
 
He didn’t need to give her one more.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and, seeing no other option, he simply waited until Olivia felt calm enough to emerge.
 
He leaned against the paneling of the hallway wall across from the bathroom and tucked his hands in his pockets, remembering the look on Olivia’s face when he reached the two women.
 
He cursed again, tapping his foot nervously.

Unfortunately, Beth had made him promise to stay through the toasts, so they’d be staying another hour.
 
But right now, he was seriously considering breaking that promise.
 
Olivia had looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.

He knew Olivia and Julia had been discussing him.
 
When Luke had been pulled into conversation with one of Alex’s cousins, Alex had noticed that Olivia was no longer sitting with his grandmother.
 
The older woman had informed him that Olivia hadn’t been feeling well and had went searching for the bathroom ten minutes before.
 
And when he scouted out the hallway, he’d caught the tail end of their encounter.

Alex isn’t damaged
.

Olivia’s words ran through his head on repeat.
 
Something had bubbled up inside him when he’d heard them fall from her lips.

He’d known then, one hundred percent, that he was in love with her.
 
Without a doubt.
 
Now, he just had to convince her to stay with him.
 
Because he sure as hell didn’t deserve her.

He glanced down to the end of the hallway when he suddenly heard a noise coming from the direction of his father’s office.
 
A second later the study door opened and closed and the man himself appeared.

His father smelled of cigar smoke when he passed Alex in the hallway.
 
The smell made Alex stiffen.
 
He recalled the memories that came with that smell, none of them good.
 
Most happened in this very hallway.

Alex didn’t say anything when his father stopped to face him.
 
The two men simply looked at one another.
 
Alex felt immense satisfaction that he no longer had to look up at his father.
 
Now he looked down.

“I thought I heard Julia out here,” his father tested, his face set in stone.
 
Yet, Alex recognized how pleased his father seemed.
 
Bastard
.

“You did,” Alex stated curtly, not breaking the older man’s unforgiving gaze.
 
“But it’s not your concern.”

His father’s face darkened.
 
“This is
my
house.
 
Not yours.
 
Everything
is my concern and don’t you forget it.”

The bathroom door was tugged open suddenly and Olivia emerged from the bathroom, looking more composed than she had a few moments earlier.
 
She glanced at Alex’s father and then to him, as though silently asking if he was okay.

His father turned at the sound and smirked at Olivia.
 
Turning back to face Alex, he said quietly, “I’m surprised to see you in this hallway, Alexander.
 
I thought I made myself clear before.”

“I’m not a child anymore,” Alex snarled, intense fury washing over him at the smugness in his father’s face.
 
Black hate overwhelmed him.
 
His throat tightened, his face flushed, his heart beat at a fierce, unsteady pace.
 
He felt like he had when he was a child, enduring his father’s punishments.

Something became glaringly clear.
 
His father didn’t love him.
 
How could he when he brought up such dark memories?
 
How could he when he obviously reveled in them?

His father continued passed them without a second glance at either Alex or Olivia.
 
His blatant disregard for her angered him even further and he felt the walls closing in.

“Alex,” Olivia whispered.

No, no, no, no, no.

He couldn’t breathe.
 
He felt her soft touch on his arm and he tried to focus on that.

“Alex,” she said more urgently.

I thought I made myself clear before
.

He tried to draw in deep breaths but all he did was gasp for air as memories overwhelmed him.
 
The terror, the stale air of the basement, that cigar smell, the darkness.
 
Alex felt Olivia stroking his face.
 
Her mouth was moving, but he heard no words.
 
Blood was rushing in his ears making it impossible to focus.

He was being pulled and he stumbled before regaining his footing.
 
Olivia drew him into the bathroom and shut the door.
 
She shut the toilet seat with a loud clang and pushed him down to a sitting position.
 
His heart thundered in his chest and he concentrated on breathing through his nose.

She went to the sink and grabbed the hand towel off the rack, running it under the clear stream of water before ringing it out.

“Hang your head between your legs,” she ordered clearly and he did as she asked, trying to calm down.
 
She tugged the collar of his dress shirt down before pressing the cool rag against his neck.
 
He briefly registered that she began stroking his hair and he concentrated on the sensation, bringing the side of his face to rest against her stomach.

“I hate him,” he gasped softly, staring at the bathroom floor tile.
 
“I hate him so much.”

“Shhh,” she shushed.
 
“Just calm down, Alex.”