Suspicious Minds (Fate #3) (19 page)

“Liv,” Lorenzo said, sitting up suddenly, and reached for her arm,
but he seemed more concerned than annoyed. “Why are you getting so nervous?”

“I’m not,” she said, failing miserably at sounding convincing.

“It’s okay,” he said, slipping his fingers through hers on the
table. “So you had lunch with the guy. It’s not a big deal. I’m glad you told
me. I just don’t like how nervous it made you. I hope this isn’t because of my
warnings about me not wanting to deal with your ex. I mean, yeah, I don’t want
to deal with
any
guy trying to pull a fast one on my girl. But business
is business. I know all about business lunches. I’m not gonna flip out over
something so—”

“My brothers hate him.”

The words flew out without thought. Or maybe not, because saying
it made her feel an enormous relief. Maybe deep inside she’d known all along
she should just tell him the truth. From the beginning when he’d made his
stance on the other men in her life so clear, the thought of Elton ever being
an issue had buzzed around her brain like an annoying mosquito. If she was
going to tell him about the guy, she was telling him
everything
.

Lorenzo’s brows were already slightly pinched, but he didn’t look
mad, just curious. “Yeah, I sort of got that from Isaiah today. Why is that?”

Not wanting to take too deep of a breath and show him how much
she was dreading this, she inhaled and exhaled softly and began.

“Elton is older but not as old as you would think since he owns
such a big company that’s been in business for so many years.”

Olivia paused to take another small spoonful of her yogurt.
Mostly she needed a moment to study his expression to decide if it was a good
idea to tell him
everything
or maybe she should give him a watered down
version instead. He didn’t appear to be angry yet, so she went on.

“He inherited the business from his mom. I don’t know for sure,
but I’d say he’s in his mid-to-late thirties?” She shrugged. “Anyway, most of
his clients start off by taking the grooming course at his main grooming store.
Once you’re certified, it’s up to you to go get as much experience as you can, and
then when you’re ready, you could go anywhere really. Many options are
available, but if you’re gonna go the mobile route, then your best bet is to go
through him because he’s the best deal out there. Trust me. I did my research.”

Lorenzo sat forward, bringing his elbows to the table, lacing his
own fingers together in front of him, and resting his chin on his hands. Either
he was finding this
fascinating
or he wanted to make sure he didn’t
misunderstand a single thing. Of course, this only unnerved her further, but
she stood her ground, speaking confidently without doing the blurting thing
again.

She explained that Elton wasn’t a groomer and doesn’t know much
about pets or even dealing with customers—clients. When his mom was alive, he
just handled all the back end stuff: the accounting, payroll, inventory, taxes,
etc.

“So when he’d come in to check on the trainees, it was kind of
creepy. She lifted and dropped a shoulder. “I didn’t understand what he was
doing in there, and since he didn’t actually do any grooming himself, what
could he be checking up on? At first, it was just once or twice a week, but
after a while, it was more like three to four times. And he always came by my
training area to chat. It made me uncomfortable, and I happened to mention this
to my brothers. Then one day Elton called me into his office.”

Lorenzo’s brow was suddenly up, but Olivia refused to start
fumbling her words or start speed talking. So she took in what she hoped was an
unnoticed deep breath and went on.

“I’d only paid my down payment on the tuition at that point, so I
still owed a big chunk. He said he could work out a deal where I wouldn’t have
to pay the whole amount or he could even sponsor the rest of the amount.”

The curiosity in Lorenzo’s eyes was replaced with that deep
intensity, and he sat back a little but not all the way, crossing his arms in
front of him. Still he said nothing. He just waited, his heavy silence
foreboding.

“Basically, he invited me to do things with him. He has a yacht
he said he wanted to take me out on, and a cozy mountain cabin by a lake he mentioned
was almost three hours away, so it’d likely be an overnight trip. He said he
didn’t have many friends and he’d be willing to overlook my fees in exchange
for—”

“Sex.”

It was the first word Lorenzo had said in a while, and it felt
like an unexpected gush of cold air to the face.

“That’s not what he said,” Olivia responded immediately,
realizing how naïve that sounded, but she went on. “I know what he was
implying. I’m not stupid. Yes, he wanted more than just a friendship, but he
never said it outright, nor was he rude, disrespectful, or even pushy about it.
And for the record, I never once considered taking him up on the offer. But
Nathan overheard me telling Margie about it on the phone one night. Predictably
and why I never planned on telling them in the first place, he was livid.”

“Did he have reason to be, Liv?” Lorenzo asked in a strange tone.

Quiet for a moment she thought about her answer before just
responding, “I can see why he would be.” She stared him down but continued with
resolve. “But my brothers know me. I’d never agree to something like that. They
just think Elton is full of shit with his subtle invitations, and that’s what
irritates them, but they know he’s harmless.”

She went on to explain about the money her father left them. How
Isaiah and Nathan were both adamant that she use the money to pay off the van
in full so she’d be rid of Elton and how upset they were when she took the loan
instead. But she also explained
why
it was important to her that she
didn’t use all the money.

“In the meantime, he
is
technically part owner. So I do
have a business relationship with him. I’ll be done paying him in about a year,
and then I’ll be done with him for good.”

There. She told him everything, and just like her brothers,
Lorenzo would just have to accept that she was a grown woman entitled to make
her own decisions and he’d have to respect them.

The brow was still up and admittedly it made her nervous, not
because she was threatened by him in any way nor because she didn’t think she’d
have it in her to stand her ground if she had to. Olivia just didn’t want this
to become an argument. They’d had such a nice evening tonight, and she’d hate
for it to be ruined because of
Elton
.

“So let me get this straight,” he said in an ominous tone that
immediately made her tense. “This guy, who’s made you uncomfortable since day
one, basically offered to overlook your tuition in exchange for sex.” She began
to stupidly protest when he went on, his voice a touch more potent. “He never
said it outright because he’d be stupid to, Liv. It’s a form of sexual
harassment, and the guy has to know it. Our trainers are required to watch
training videos regarding sexual harassment because that’s some touchy shit,
and this guy probably knows it better than anyone. It’s exactly what he did,
and if he’s still showing up unannounced, acting like he has every right . . .”
He stopped as his brows pinched further together. “I take it he doesn’t call beforehand
to ask if it’s okay, does he?”

“No,” she said immediately. “If he did, I’d likely say anything
to avoid him stopping by.”

“So he makes you
that
uncomfortable, yet you still insist
he’s harmless?”

“It’s not that I feel threatened in any way. I’d just prefer not
to hang out with him.”

“You don’t have to, babe.” Lorenzo sat up. “See that shit right
there is what sexual harassment is all about. You think you have to in order to
keep things cordial. Your brothers are absolutely right. This
is
bullshit. It’s not right and I don’t like it.”

Before he could get further worked up—she could already hear it
in the slow but undeniable rise in his voice—she reached out and touched his
arm.

“It is bullshit,” she agreed without arguing not just to soothe
him but because he
was
absolutely right. “And I don’t like it either. I’d
been thinking about it anyway, but now that you and my brothers are aware of
his dropping by occasionally, I will be talking to Elton about it.”

“I can talk to him for you,” he said as serious as ever.

Even though he was staring at her with his signature sexy but
intense stare and didn’t so much as crack a smile, Olivia smirked. “No need for
that. Trust me. Nathan offered to do the same, but it doesn’t have to be that
big a thing. I won’t wait for him to drop by again. I’ll just shoot him a text
or something maybe tomorrow.”

For a moment, that seemed to satisfy Lorenzo, but then he noted
her phone on the table. “Why tomorrow? Why not now?”

She had no answer for that except that it made her nervous that
Elton might respond with something that might piss Lorenzo off, but she had the
presence of mind to know her admitting that might only cause further suspicion.
Because he was still scrutinizing her as if he were trying to read her
thoughts, she picked up her phone.

“Okay,” she said, tapping her phone to unlock it.

As indifferent as she pretended to be, inwardly she was praying
Elton wouldn’t be an idiot about this. No way would she be doing this if this
were Jay she was texting. He’d purposely lay it on thick, especially if he
suspected her new boyfriend might be nearby.

Staring at her screen, she thought about what she could say. It
felt so out of the blue. She looked up at Lorenzo, who was still staring at
her. “Outside of training and when he stops by I’ve never initiated any kind of
contact with him,” she explained. “Even when I contacted him after over a year
of being done with the initial training to ask about getting the mobile
business started, I called the business line and spoke to a salesperson. It
wasn’t even until I was locked into the loan and I guess he realized I was back
that he called me to welcome me into the business.”

“Oh, well, if you feel weird about it,” he began, and for a
nanosecond she actually thought he might say forget about it. That is until she
saw him pull out his phone. “I don’t have a problem telling him myself. What’s
his number?”

“No!” She laughed nervously as she began her text. “I got this. I’m
just saying it feels so random.”

“Not really,” he said, putting his phone down on the table. “He
just dropped by the other day, right? It’s not like he hasn’t in a long time
and now you’re telling him not to.”

Olivia pressed her lips together as she concentrated on wording
her text. When she was finally somewhat satisfied, she hit send. As random as
this was, she was almost glad now about how obvious Elton was about the way he leered
and smiled at her. He couldn’t deny that his visits weren’t completely business
inspired.

Hey, Elton, this is a little awkward, so I’ll get straight
to the point. Your unannounced visits to “check on me” at work feel a little inappropriate.
They always have actually. After your latest visit, I spoke with my brothers
and my boyfriend to get their opinion, and we’re all in agreement. I think it’s
best and would appreciate if you understand my not wanting this to continue to
happen.

Setting her phone down as naturally as ever, Olivia smiled at
Lorenzo, doing her best to not appear as unnerved as this whole situation made
her. “Done,” she said almost smugly.

Lorenzo had just begun to ask her what she’d said in the text
when her phone rang. Instantly, she felt a chill in her spine when she saw the
name on the screen. No way could she send Elton’s call to voicemail, not with
Lorenzo watching her the way he was. So she answered as casually as possible.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” he said his voice full of concern. “I just read your text.
I was going to text back but then thought it’d be better if I talked to you.
Did I do or say anything to offend you?”

“No, no,” she said, feeling bad now. “Not at all. It’s just that,
well, I don’t think it’s necessary for you to stop by. I spoke with a few of
the other girls who are still paying their vans off, and they all said you’d
never stopped by to check on them, so I just got to thinking that given . . .
you know . . . your previous proposition and, um”—she glanced up at Lorenzo,
whose eyes were glued to her, then back down at her yogurt—“your interest in
more than just a business relationship, it’s better if the visits stop.”

Her speaking to the girls’ comment was kind of a bluff. She’d
asked
one
girl whose route wasn’t too far from Elton and she’d said “no.”
But that was it: no
few others
as she claimed.

Elton was silent, and it felt like the moment of truth. Either he
took the high road and agreed to respect her wishes, or he said something
inappropriate, disrespectful, or even rude. Whatever it was Lorenzo would know
about it. There’d be no hiding or pretending for the sake of avoiding an argument.
Hoping Lorenzo didn’t notice, Olivia held her breath.

“I see,” Elton said without dispute. “I thought maybe you enjoyed
our chats as much as I did.”

“It’s not that I
don’t
,” Olivia explained cautiously. “But
I’d hate for you to get the wrong idea. I
am
in a relationship now, and
since your visits aren’t necessary, I’d prefer to avoid any future conflict
with my boyfriend. He knows all about the, uh, proposal you previously offered
me.”

Elton said he understood, and rather than prolonging the
conversation like she thought he might, it almost felt as if he couldn’t get
off the line with her fast enough. Glad that it was over, she hung up and gave
Lorenzo her best
“You see?”
look as if she knew all along how smoothly
that would go, when in fact she’d never had such an awkward conversation in her
life.