Page 150 of See You Maybe
Declan: You are my entire life. Landing soon. Love you.
Olivia shrugged into her coat and clipped Oscar’s leash on, letting him drag her to the front door. She saw Rhodes’s outline, on duty in his SUV, keeping watch in the freezing air.
Oscar sniffed all over the front yard, but apparently, the best spot eluded him. His brown nose suddenly lifted in the air, and then he was tugging her around the side of the house to the backyard. The lights from her family room cast out through the windows, illuminating a few feet beyond the deck above her.
Oscar let out a low puppy growl, and Olivia felt goosebumps rise that had nothing to do with the winter night. The fur on the back of Oscar’s neck rose, and he let out a small bark before growling again.
Suddenly, there was a crashing sound from the thin stretch of trees separating the grass from the banks of the river. Olivia opened her mouth to scream, but closed it again when three deer darted across her yard, sending Oscar into a frenzy of barks. Yanking against his leash, he tried to give chase.
“Ms. Adler?” Rhodes called before the sandy-haired man came around the corner of the house at a full run, gun drawn.
“I’m fine,” Olivia exclaimed, her hand pressed to her chest as if it would calm her heart rate. “Deer.”
Rhodes scanned the trees with a frown. “I’ll walk you to the door, clear the house, and do another perimeter check.”
Olivia wanted to object that it was overkill, that the disturbance had been her overzealous puppy, but she kept her mouth closed, because honestly, she felt better with him making sure.
A warm kiss against her ear woke her as Declan slipped into bed and tugged the blanket over their shoulders. He wrapped his heavy arm under her breasts and pulled her tight, pressing her back firmly against his hard chest. He nuzzled into her hair. “What happened to Oscar’s crate?”
“He was lonely,” she whispered back.
Declan grunted and sat up. He flipped a thick throw blanket until it draped over the dog sleeping on the chaise at the foot of her bed. Olivia relaxed into his warmth as Declan lay down again, her heart swelling.
This was the side of Declan very few got to see. The world saw the ruthless billionaire, and she got the handsome man who worried whether a sleeping puppy was warm enough.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Atlanta—Present Day
“As you can see, by manufacturing XEROS in house, we not only save a tremendous amount in expansion costs—based on the tech grant the state will award us—but also realize significant tax savings on next year’s bottom line.”
Declan kept his face neutral, aware that as many eyes were on him as on her. Cecile had informed him that he and Olivia hadn’t been as discreet as they thought. Getting caught making out against the refrigerator in the second-floor kitchen was most likely what had given them away, he thought with a smirk.
He wasn’t sorry. Declan wanted the entire world to know Olivia was his.
“In addition,” Olivia continued her presentation. “As you are all aware, this technology is poised to change the way streaming services operate. While there are a handful of other products in development, XEROS is the only one market-ready. Which means, it is a prime target for intellectual property theft.
“By keeping our designs in-house, we can virtually guarantee the intellectual property stays safeguarded.” Olivia beamed at the Armstrong engineers and technicians she’d invited to the meeting. “I know I can trust every member of this company.”
Declan steepled his fingers in front of his mouth to hide his smile. Olivia thought he didn’t know about the next step in her restructuring plan—to offer stock options to all current employees. He might have glimpsed her notes while he was waiting for her to get ready for work the other morning.
“Look, your charts and things look pretty and all,” Frank Townshend’s voice dripped with condescension. Declan stifled the urge to strangle the man with his tie.
There was no reason for Townshend to have come, but as a significant shareholder in Bloom Capital, he had the right. Declan knew it wasn’t a coincidence that Alan Carrol’s good friend had flown to Atlanta specifically for this meeting. Though he would like to know how the two men even knew it was taking place. The other few board members left operating decisions to Declan’s discretion. They were more than happy to simply collect their share of the profits he brought in.
When the man began making snide comments to Olivia, Declan immediately recognized what was happening.
“You are young for a CFO. Do you have these agreements in writing from each of the government agencies? In my experience, you can’t make decisions based on someone’s cocktail party promise.” Townshend tapped his pen on the page in front of them that detailed the grant and tax cuts.
Declan stayed silent. Olivia had this. He watched with pride as she lifted one eyebrow at the older man, her expression calm.
“I do,” she said simply.
Townshend gaped at her, and Declan couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his face.
“Well, then,” Declan said, sitting straighter in his seat. “If there are no other questions?”
He met Townshend’s eyes. The man frowned, but clearly had no further legitimate concerns. “Excellent.” Declan brought his hands together. “I’ll review it and let you know by the close of business today.”