Page 97 of See You Maybe
“Not necessarily. If I’m going to make a change…” She shrugged and then bit her lip. “Chris, I appreciate this offer. It’s extremely generous… But to be clear, I don’t expect any special favors.”
“Because my fiancée drugged you?” Chris grimaced. “It’s not that. I like you, Olivia, and I think you are going to do big things.” He grinned. “Networking is a bigger part of my job than you’d imagine.”
“You aren’t responsible for what Courtney did,” Olivia reiterated.
Chris sighed. “Our relationship has essentially been over for a while, but I didn’t want to end it while she was having a hard time. She’s at a spa getting some much-needed rest.” He made air quotes around the word.
Olivia wasn’t sure if spa was code for rehab or a mental health facility, and as curious as she was, it was none of her business.
“I hope she gets whatever help she needs.”
Chris set his fork down with a sigh. “I should have known it was getting bad when she had that damn necklace made.”
“Necklace?”
“Courtney sent the ashes of her husband and sons to one of those companies that make faux diamonds.” Chris made a face. “She said she wanted to carry them with her all the time. She’s saving the rest of the ashes to have made into earrings at some point.”
Olivia winced. “That’s…”
“Macabre? I agree. I might understand if it was only her children, but David? Theirs wasn’t an epic love story. They were married less than a year.”
“I’ve never lost anyone close to me, so I don’t know how I’d react,” Olivia said diplomatically. “If it helps with her grief, and it’s not hurting anyone...”
Chris stared at her for a beat. “That’s incredibly generous of you… considering. I sound harsh, don’t I?” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’m just worn out from the last year… all the gossip. Courtney and I got involved soon after David died, and then life seemed to snowball from there.”
Olivia hid her expression with her wine glass. Why was he sharing this with her? They weren’t friends.
Chris’s sad expression suddenly shifted as he watched something behind her. Her back to the entrance, Olivia twisted to look as the hostess walked past them, leading an extremely tall man who looked vaguely familiar, followed by a heavily-pregnant, redhead. However, it was the couple in their wake who made her stomach drop.
The air changed around her, almost as if it were manipulated by the angry energy emanating from the two men as Declan walked past Chris. Olivia swallowed hard at the black fury in Declan’s face when his eyes met hers.
Chris blew out a breath, bringing Olivia’s attention back to him, as Declan sat at his table across the room. She could see Declan’s glower out of the corner of her eye. “I hope he doesn’t take this out on you,” Chris muttered.
Olivia shrugged, burying the emotions crashing through her. “Why should he?”
“Declan has an unreasonable hatred of me.”
Chris adopted a sorrowful expression, but Olivia saw through it. Her years with Kyle taught her to always be conscious of body language, because it was more honest than anything else. Olivia immediately clocked the trembling fist on the table.
“I’m not sure when it changed,” Chris said. “I told you before how I had distanced myself from Declan. When I started having my own success, I wasn’t his sidekick anymore, and he didn’t like it.”
Olivia shouldn’t ask. She couldn’t trust Chris’s rendition of what happened between the men, but she was curious to learn more about Declan’s life in the years they were apart. “Did you have a falling out over something specific?”
Chris twirled the stem of his glass between his fingers. “No. Declan changed when he became the president of Bloom Communications. He was young, too young in a lot of people’s opinions, but David wanted Declan there as his bulldog. But Declan didn’t want to work with his father.”
Chris huffed a quiet laugh. “Declan doesn’t work with anyone. Declan does what Declan wants and expects the rest of us to tug our forelocks and say thank you. Things didn’t turn into what they are now until we began competing over Armstrong. Well, that and the Bloom Communications’ board chose me over him.”
Chris didn’t hide his self-satisfaction as well as he thought. Olivia reached for the wine bottle to refill her glass, but Chris beat her to it, lifting the bottle. To her shock, one of his hands covered her fingers where she held her glass as he poured the wine.
“I was worried I might spill it,” he said by way of explanation.
Olivia managed a tight smile, but almost like a sunburn, the back of her neck heated, and her chest grew tight. She didn’t need to look to know Declan was watching her.
“It’s sad really,” Chris mused. “He destroys all of his relationships. Declan battled with his father over the company, and when David stepped down as CEO, there was no one to check Declan’s ego.”
He sipped his own wine. “It surprised me to see his siblings in New York with him. He hasn’t managed to maintain those relationships either.”
Olivia frowned. “I met his sister, Cara, in New York. They seemed like they were getting along.”