Page 16 of Reckless Intentions
Chapter Nine
Adinner date? What the hell was he thinking? He didn’t go to dinner. He was lucky to have a few drinks and some banter before falling into bed with someone. So why did Olivia’s acceptance make Brody’s heart jump?
He hadn’t been this excited about a date since, well, he couldn’t actually remember ever feeling like this.
It was a novel sensation.
He didn’t usually plan his hook ups, they just happened. And if he met up with the woman again afterwards, it came easily with minimal effort. His work took him all over the place and he didn’t really have anywhere he called home. There was a tiny flat in London that housed all the possessions he had, and acted as his base when he was in the UK. He was never in the same place long enough to start anything serious, and that was how he liked it. Or so he thought. There was something about Olivia that intrigued him. He wanted to get to know more about her. She’d alluded to some wild times here in Mallorca when she was visiting Caro. Despite her somewhat straight-laced demeanour, he was sure there was more to her. And he was looking forward to finding out. Right now, however, he had to focus on the rest of a business meeting. Or try to.
“Can I get you a drink? It’s rather stuffy in here this afternoon.” Brody stood up and went towards the tiny refrigerator in the corner of the room.
As he reached into the fridge for a couple of bottles of water, he noticed Olivia surreptitiously trying to look at the project plan probably trying to see if he was telling the truth. He tried to stifle a smile. She really did take her responsibilities seriously.
She took the bottle he held out to her and twisted the cap off. “Thank you.” Her gaze scanned the area and Brody guessed what she was looking for.
“Sorry, we don’t run to glasses here, or ice.” He took a swig and observed Olivia’s more delicate approach, tilting her chin back as she sipped directly from the bottle. “Apart from babysitting construction projects, what else do you do?”
Olivia coughed as if taken off guard, spluttering water all over the desk in front of her. Her cheeks darkened to a furious pink and Brody almost ran around the other side of the table to help her. “How embarrassing!”
Brody found it rather endearing. She clearly wasn’t at ease in his company. He didn’t want to read too much into it, but perhaps it was because she liked him?
She composed herself, dabbing at her mouth with a tissue she rummaged for in her bag. “I work in PR and have my own consultancy business. I have a number of clients and do things like social media campaigns, brand redesigns for them, such as the ones I’m doing for Caro. I also help the odd reality star with their platforms.”
“Really? Who’s the most famous person you’ve worked with?” Brody was intrigued. He hadn’t pegged that as her career at all.
“Client confidentiality. I can’t reveal their identity to you, sorry.” She shrugged.
He narrowed his eyes. Surely if she was assisting them to raise their profiles, she’d want more people to know who they were, not less? Then again, what did she know about CDM Regulations? Skilfully, he changed the subject.
“Have you seen the new branding for The Roca Bar and The Indigo Lounge?”
“Oh, are you working on The Indigo Lounge as well?” Her tone registered surprise.
“I am. Did Caro not mention it?” Brody took another slug of his water. “I’ll be heading over to North Ridge in a little while to get a feel for what needs to be done there. I believe we’ll need to work at lot quicker there, because Caro’s got less of a time frame to play with.”
Olivia nodded. “That’s right. The Indigo Lounge is an all year-round venue and they have heaps of live music there, booked out way in advance, so they can’t let the punters down.”
“I’m surprised Caro hasn’t said anything. It’s why the schedule here is so crucial.” Brody rummaged through the paperwork on the desk, trying to find the right document.
While he struggled to locate what he needed, he knew Olivia’s gaze was settled on him. When he looked up, her mouth twitched as if she were repressing a laugh.
“What’s funny?”
“Is this your filing system?” She gestured to the desk, covered in receipts, invoices, spreadsheets and scraps of paper with telephone numbers and quotes written on them.
“I guess it is, yes.” Brody gave up and sat back in his chair.
“No wonder you’re so behind on everything. Maybe when I next come in, I can sort that lot out for you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “If it’s going to make my job easier then I’m all for it. Trust me, it won’t take me long at all.” Her expression dropped to one of resignation. “Organisation is one of the things I’m known for.”
Part of him wanted to throw the paperwork up in the air and tell her there was no need for organisation. That it was okay to be reckless and not have everything in the right place at the right time. However, he suspected she might not respond well to that. And if he was totally honest, having a tidy desk with easy to find information would be an absolute blessing. If Olivia was willing to do it…
“That would be really helpful, thank you.”
“No problem. Shall I come over tomorrow morning then?”
