Page 71 of Save Me
“I’m not sure, but I think I might have it?” It sounds more like a question than a statement, and it’s the first time I’ve actually said it, not just out loud buteven in my head. Almost like a test to see what that sounds like, if uttering the words causes panic. Would it be so crazy? I’ve been making choices—what I eat, what I drink—as if I’ve already decided, even if I haven’t yet admitted it to myself.
And even if Ronan doesn’t want this, I’m thirty-one years old. I have a home and a business. I can do this on my own, if I have to.
I don’t want to, but I can.
Raucous laughter sounds from the stairs as Jeremy’s group begins their descent.
“I guess that’s my cue.”
“Yeah, see you out there.”
He pauses before stepping onto the dock. “For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a terrific mom.” With that said, he hops out and greets the incoming group with a dramatic bow and flourish.
18.Ronan
“So, Ronan.” Olivia McEowan studies me through thick black frames from across the table of the Coral Cafe like a detective assessing a criminal, deciding how they can best pin a crime on them. “How many years did you say you’ve worked for Wolf Hotels?”
I didn’t. “Close to five.” Rounding up, graciously. “At four locations.”
“Four locations,” she echoes in a soft Texan accent, scanning my bruised knuckles. Her dossier says she’s forty-four. Her platinum-blond hair is freshly colored and styled in a chin-length bob that highlights her angular jaw. She’s wearing navy pants and a white silk sleeveless blouse that accentuates her thin, lean figure. She’s far from a knockout, but she’s spent plenty of money filling and smoothing her face into her ideal image. “In this capacity?”
“Various capacities.”
She hums, but her pursed lips reveal her skepticism.
I hide my smirk behind a long sip of coffee—my second this afternoon, thanks to this stupid schedule. Olivia may have stepped into the role of Black Titan’s CEO due to her father’s untimely demise, but she seems sharp and far from underqualified to hold the position.
Unlike me in my role, I sense she’s digging to prove.
Olivia is nothing like Shelby Singer, my first coffee “date.” That woman was more than thrilled to educate me on all things duck herding the second I brought it up. I even have an invitation to join her next weekend, but given how many times she stroked my arm, I’m pretty sure she’s hoping it’ll end with less herding and more fucking.
When I broached the subject of a large-scale event here, Shelby laughed.
Do you know how much that would cost?
My constituents would skin me alive if they found out!
Why I’m entertaining these silly meetings is beyond me. I’d rather be at my desk, going over budget updates. Words I never thought I’d say.
But I’m here, and I’m on thin ice with Henry, so I might as well make the best of it. “I hear you have a future Olympian.”
Olivia’s eyes soften for a split second. “Maisy. Of all three of my girls, she is the most passionate and skilled.”
“Show jumping, right?”
“Right.” She pauses. “Are you familiar?”
I could lie. I could regurgitate the crap I learned watching YouTube videos. But something tells me this woman would see right through me, so I decide to be myself. With pants on, per Belinda’s advice. “Honestly,I had no fucking clue that was a thing until two days ago.”
The corners of Olivia’s mouth twitch. She takes a long, leisurely sip of her coffee—pinky up—before setting the cup down. “Belinda loves her dossiers, doesn’t she?”
I chuckle. This is unexpected. “So it’s not a well-kept secret.”
“What else did she prep you for? Oh, wait, let me see if I remember from the last grand opening.” She leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her small chest. “I was a competitive swimmer in college, I’m divorced, I have three daughters, and my father, the previous CEO of Black Titan, died in a tragic skydiving accident. My brother fought me for the company and even accused me of sabotaging Dad’s parachute. I loved my father very much.” Pain cuts like a lightning bolt across her face before it’s gone, as if it never made an appearance. “I won the company and fired my brother. Does that about cover it?”
“You missed your husband’s affair with your nanny.”
“Oh, right, we mustn’t forget that.” Unlike the mention of her father, she seems unbothered by her unfaithful husband. “I know why I was invited here, Ronan. It’s the same reason I was invited to the Alaska opening. Henry Wolf wants to wine and dine me and convince me to spend exorbitant amounts of company money at his hotels.”
