Page 40 of Chance of Romance
Chapter Ten
Sabrina drove like a woman on a mission, stopping only once on the six-hour drive to San Francisco. She had it all planned out. She’d say she had to speak to Olivia about a large donation on behalf of Claire Jordan, yup, she went there, dropping her friend’s famous name, and then she’d get into Olivia’s office and have a calm rational talk. She’d tell her Logan had been her friend for quite some time and that she was also close with his sister, Mad. She’d tell her all the gossip surrounding Sabrina and Logan was just that and her lawyer was on it. She’d tell her to give Logan a second chance because he deserved it. He was a great guy.
Everything went very smoothly on the drive, which reassured Sabrina she was following the right path. She hit very little traffic, and she found a parking garage not far from the Slater Foundation.
Once in the building, she took the elevator to the fourth floor, went into the waiting area, and announced the purpose of her visit to the receptionist, a woman in her fifties with her black hair in a bob. The woman told her Olivia was in a meeting and she’d need to wait.
Sabrina took a seat, flipping through a magazine, hyperaware of sounds from the nearby main office. Half an hour passed. It was four thirty. This seemed like the kind of job where people left at five, especially on a Friday.
Sabrina called over to the receptionist. “Could you please tell Olivia I need to see her? I can’t stay much longer.” Not true, she had nowhere to go, but she had to talk to Oliviatoday. Logan had said he was meeting Olivia for dinner tonight, and Sabrina wanted the problem to be fixed for him before then.
The receptionist checked her computer and looked up. “I’m sorry. Ms. Slater has the afternoon blocked off now. I could take a message, or we could arrange for something on Monday.”
“I’m only in town until Sunday morning. I’ll wait. Please let me know as soon as she’s available.”
She returned to her magazine, her only plan to catch Olivia on her way out, though she’d really prefer the privacy of Olivia’s office for this conversation. She knew what Olivia looked like from the Slater Foundation website. She was beautiful with glossy long black hair, blue eyes, and flawless creamy skin. Just the kind of gorgeous woman Logan would want. As much as Sabrina wished it weren’t true, her experience was that men were attracted first and foremost to looks. The biological underpinnings of the attraction for a fertile mate put aside, Sabrina thought it sucked. There were many wonderful intelligent loving women who would make excellent partners that were just passed by. Not that she was bitter. Much.
She pulled out her phone. No news from the lawyer or Claire, a few more voicemail messages on her office line. She was almost afraid to listen. If she lost more clients…nope, not going there. She’d wait to check on work after she finished here. One crisis at a time.
The receptionist left the front desk, grabbed a large plastic tag with a key, probably the key to the ladies’ room out in the hallway, and left the office.
Sabrina shot out of her seat and dashed through the door to the main office. She slowed down a little, striding through like she belonged there, passing lots of offices along the periphery and rows of cubicles in the center. She figured Olivia, as the director, had the big corner office.
She could hardly believe it when she reached the corner office with Olivia’s nameplate in gold outside it. Not a single person had batted an eye at her. The door was shut. Should she knock or just walk in? She glanced around at the busy staff. If she knocked, it might draw attention to the fact that she didn’t belong. On the other hand, if she didn’t knock, Olivia might be startled and loudly ask, “Who are you?”
She knocked softly. No answer.
Now or never. She quietly opened the door and shut it behind her, stepping into a large office with a modern light-toned wood and metal desk with a white leather executive chair, two white leather guest chairs, and, in the far corner, a round table with more chairs, but no Olivia. Hmm…maybe she was in a meeting room somewhere.
Sabrina took a seat in one of the chairs across from Olivia’s desk. Eventually, she’d have to return here. No way Sabrina was walking into a crowded meeting room.
A bump and a soft laugh alerted her she was not alone. She looked around, spotting an adjacent door. Maybe Olivia had a private bathroom in her office. Nice perk.
The door sprang open. Olivia walked out laughing, her color high, her black hair mussed. She was busy tucking in her pink blouse, looking up at a man, a handsome Indian man, whose white shirt was completely unbuttoned. His belt hung open, the top button of his dress pants undone. Holy shit!
He buttoned his pants and did the belt. His eyes collided with Sabrina’s. “Uh, we have company,” the man said with a thick accent to Olivia.
Olivia finally noticed her and shrieked, “Who are you, and what’re you doing in my office?”
Sabrina leapt out of her seat. “I’m Sabrina, Logan Campbell’s friend. Who’s that?”
“Logan sent you to barge in and spy on me?” Olivia barked.
Sabrina stared at the man. He buttoned his shirt as he walked toward the door, where he stopped to put his dress shoes on. “Later, Livvie,” he said and made a quick exit.
Sabrina turned back to Olivia, righteous indignation filling her. “Logan doesn’t know I’m here. I came here today to ask you to forgive him, to tell you we really are just friends, and you shouldn’t listen to the gossip, but now…I can hardly believe what I’m seeing here.”
Olivia scowled. “You can’t just barge into my office. I’m calling security.” She rushed toward her desk.
“Wait! I just came here to help. I’ll go.”
“Hold on.” Olivia studied Sabrina for a moment before wagging her finger. “I remember you now from all those gossip sites. The Hollywood Love Guru. Go find your own man.”
Sabrina clenched her teeth. Should she tell Logan what she’d seen? It would break his heart. But she couldn’t just let him move cross-country for a woman who didn’t deserve him!
Olivia pulled a brush from her desk drawer and brushed out her hair. “I’m seeing Logan for dinner tonight, so you didn’t need to come by after all. Goodbye.”
“Do you want to be with Logan or with that man?” She gestured toward the door where the guy had just left.
