CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31

Olivia’s POV

I stared at my laptop screen, reading the email for the fifth time in a row, still unable to believe what I was seeing.

*Dear Oliver,*

*After speaking with my brother over the weekend, I’m pleased to inform you that your position at Wellington & Sons has been reinstated effective immediately. Maxwell has agreed to give you another chance, and I trust you won’t waste this opportunity.*

*Please report to the office at 8:30 AM sharp on Monday morning.*

*Best regards,*

*Damien Wellington*

*P.S. - Maxwell mentioned he was really impressed by your dedication to family values. Well done.*

I blinked at the screen. Maxwell was impressed by my dedication to family values? The same Maxwell who had literally screamed at me and fired me on my first day as his assistant?

"What the hell does that even mean?" I muttered, scrolling down to see if there were any other details.

Just then, my bedroom door burst open without warning, and Mom came barreling in, holding a suitcase.

"Olivia, darling!" she announced, "Mission accomplished!"

"Mom!" I quickly slammed my laptop shut, my heart racing. "You can’t just barge in like that! What if I was changing?"

"Oh, please," Mom waved dismissively. "I’ve seen you naked plenty of times. Besides, I have big news!"

"What big news?"

"I’m leaving!" Mom declared triumphantly, as if she’d just announced she’d won the lottery. "My work here is done. You have secured yourself a wonderful man, and now it’s time for me to return to your father before he burns the house down trying to make himself breakfast."

I felt both relieved and panicked the same time. Relief because I could finally breathe freely in my own apartment again, but panicked because Mom was clearly under the impression that Gabriel and I were practically engaged already.

"Mom, it was just one date..."

"One successful date!" she corrected, holding up a finger. "With a second date already planned! At his place, no less! Do you know what that means?"

"That he’s going to cook dinner?" I suggested weakly.

Mom gave me a look that suggested I was deliberately acting naive. "Olivia, when a man invites you to his apartment for the second date, he’s not just planning to cook dinner. He’s planning to..."

"Mom, please don’t finish that sentence," I begged, covering my face with my hands.

"I’m just saying," she continued, completely ignoring my embarrassment, "you need to be prepared. Do you have proper underwears? Something lacy? Something that makes you feel confident and attractive?"

"MOTHER!"

"I’m being practical, Liv! A woman needs to be prepared for all possibilities!"

Just then, Kira appeared in my doorway - having gone to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. "Did someone say something about lacy underwears? Because I have some fantastic recommendations..."

"Not you too!" I groaned.

Mom immediately perked up and turned to Kira. "Oh, speaking of recommendations, Kira dear, you’re next on my list!"

Kira’s face went from amused to terrified in about two seconds. "What do you mean, next on your list?"

"Well, now that Olivia is settled, I need to focus my attention on finding you a suitable husband!" Mom announced cheerfully. "I’ve already been making some calls, and Martha has a nephew who’s also a doctor..."

"Oh no," Kira said, backing away slowly. "Oh no, no, no. Mrs. Hopton, I appreciate the thought, but I’m perfectly fine being single..."

"Nonsense!" Mom dismissed. "No woman is perfectly fine being single. It’s just something we tell ourselves to feel better about our failures in the romance department."

"Mom!" I protested.

But she completely ignored me, her attention still fixed on Kira. "Kira, this nephew is very handsome, very successful, and according to Martha, he has excellent teeth."

"Excellent teeth?" Kira repeated weakly.

"Very important in a husband," Mom nodded. "You’ll be looking at those teeth for the rest of your life."

I watched as Kira’s horrific expression turned to resignation. "Does he know about this alleged setup?"

"Not yet, but Martha is going to speak to him this week. I told her to emphasize your best qualities - you’re intelligent, funny, and you have excellent child-bearing hips."

"CHILD-BEARING HIPS?" Kira shrieked.

"It’s a compliment!" Mom insisted. "In my day, that was considered a very desirable trait!"

"Your day was like twenty years ago!" Kira shot back.

"Exactly! Which is why I know what works!" Mom finished. "Now, I need to catch my train. Olivia, I expect regular updates about Gabriel. Kira, start preparing yourself mentally for Dr. Nephew."

"Does he have a name?" Kira asked desperately.

"Of course he has a name! It’s..." Mom paused, looking confused. "Well, Martha will tell us when she calls him. Names aren’t that important anyway. It’s the character that matters!"

I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. "Mom, you can’t just set people up without knowing their names."

"Ohh but I can." She replied with a wink, as she grabbed her suitcase and headed for the door, then paused dramatically. "Oh, and Olivia? One more thing."

"What now?"

"Hold onto Gabriel. Tight. Men like that don’t come around often, and there are plenty of other women out there who would love to get their claws into him. Don’t let some pretty little thing steal him away from you because you were too shy to claim what’s yours."

With that very serious warning, she swept out of my bedroom, leaving Kira and me staring after her in stunned silence.

"Did she just imply that I need to fight other women for Gabriel’s attention?" I asked after a moment.

"I think she implied that you need to mark your territory," Kira said thoughtfully. "Like a dog."

"That’s... actually kind of accurate."

We heard the front door slam, and then blessed silence filled the apartment.

"Thank God," I breathed, collapsing back onto my bed. "I love her, but I was about to lose my mind."

"Tell me about it. Child-bearing hips? Who says that?" Kira flopped down beside me. "So what was that email you were reading before I went into the kitchen?"

I reopened my laptop and showed her the screen. "I got the job back."

Kira read the email, her eyebrows rising higher with each line. "Wait, Maxwell was impressed by your dedication to family values? What family values? You told them your fake grandmother fell down!"

"I know, right? It makes no sense." I scrolled back up to read it again. "But here’s the thing, Kira. I was up all night thinking about everything, and I’ve made a decision."

"What kind of decision?"

"I’m taking the job."

"Well, yeah, obviously. You need the money..."

"I’m actually glad I’ll be working as his personal assistant." I interrupted, turning to face her.

Kira stared at me like I’d just announced I was planning to wrestle alligators for fun. "I’m sorry, what did you just say?"

"You heard me. I’d love to work directly for Maxwell."

"Olivia, have you completely lost your mind? This is the man who fired you on your first day! The man who spent Saturday night trying to destroy your date with Gabriel! The man who has made your life hell!"

"Exactly!" I said, getting excited about my plans. "Don’t you see? Maxwell Wellington has a personal vendetta against me, and I want to know why."

Kira sat up straighter, her face filled with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

I pulled out my phone and scrolled to my text conversation with Gabriel from two nights before. "Look at this. I asked Gabriel about Maxwell’s behavior on our date, and he said Maxwell spent the entire night after we got home trying to convince him that I wasn’t good enough."

"What exactly did Gabriel say?" Kira asked, leaning closer to read over my shoulder.

I found the specific message and read it aloud: "’Max was relentless. He kept saying you were too dramatic, too emotional, too high-maintenance. He said I was making a mistake getting involved with someone who would bring nothing but chaos into my life. He even suggested that you might be using me to get to Alex, since you apparently had feelings for my brother.’"

"Okay, that’s definitely personal," Kira admitted. "But Liv, what if he’s just being protective of his friend?"

"No, this goes beyond protective," I said firmly. "Think about it, Kira. From the moment I walked into his office as Olivia, he treated me like I was some kind of threat. Then when I showed up as Oliver, he was immediately hostile. And now he’s trying to sabotage my relationship with Gabriel?"

"When you put it like that..." Kira nodded slowly. "It does seem like he has it out for you specifically."

"Right? And the only way I’m going to figure out what his problem is, is if I get close enough to observe him. Really observe him."

Kira was quiet for a moment, processing my plan. Then she shook her head vigorously. "Absolutely not. This is insane, even for you."

"Why is it insane?"

"Because you’re talking about deliberately putting yourself in the line of fire with a man who clearly despises you! What if he figures out who you really are? What if he makes your life even more miserable than it already is?"

"Kira, I didn’t tell you why I’d love to work for him, yet?" I said with a sheepish smile.

" Livvvv, what are you planningggg," Kira drawled dramatically.

"Well... Since he’s so bent on making my life hell, I’m going to show him what true hell feels like. And he’s going to regret ever keeping me close to him."

Standing up, I walked towards my closet, "It’s time to go to work."