Page 58 of Rivals Next Door

Her eyes bulged. “What? Since when?”

“I sort of live here. I own an apartment in this building. It’s more convenient than hotels since I’m in New York often. What are you doing here?”

Her sigh rang with frustration. “I’m staying here for a few days.”

I shared in her frustration with a sigh of my own because… what the fuck? I couldn’t escape her. It was fine. Surely, we could avoid each other. It was a big building. However, my relief vanished when I noticed that she didn’t press the button for a floor other than mine. Olivia watched the indicator with furrowed eyebrows as if she was thinking the same thing I was.

“So, where’s Jessica?” she asked.

I glanced at her with raised eyebrows. “Is it me or do you sound super pressed about Jessica?”

“It’s just you,” she grumbled. “I’m curious, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well, mind your business, Liv.”

She gave me a seething look and returned her attention to the floor indicator. I stared at it with mounting dread too. There was no way she was on my floor. When the elevator dinged, and the doors opened, we glanced at each with mirrored expressions of horror.

We both stepped out, and she groaned, “Oh, come on.”

I looked skyward, wondering if I was being punished for my petty revenge scheme. I really didn’t want to be this close to her. It was just too dangerous. To my further chagrin, she stopped at the door right beside mine.

“What the hell?” I frowned at the closed door. “What happened to Ms. Preston? The judgy lady with the scowling cat?”

Olivia snorted, but I wasn’t sure if it was from amusement or not. I’d been running into Ms. Preston, a middle-aged woman, for the better part of two years when I was here. She always greeted me politely but gave me that judgemental look whenever she spotted me with female company. Her cat always glared at me, as if it was judging too, which was amusing.

“She’s in Maine visiting her daughter,” Olivia said. “She told me I could stay here for a while.” When I stared at her with disbelief, she shrugged and added, “She and my mother are friends. Mom arranged the whole thing when I told her I’d be visiting Manhattan for a few days.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face and murmured, “It’s like I’m stuck with you or something.”

Her outraged scoff echoed in the hallway. “More like I’m stuck with you. You’ve become a thorn in my side, for heaven’s sake.”

Yeah… like she was a thorn in my heart for the longest… no, make that a dagger, honed and precise, made to inflict the maximum amount of pain. Every encounter with her seemed to twist it deeper, reopening old wounds. I guess that was my fault because had I not set out for revenge, another nine years could have passed without us crossing paths…

Olivia huffed as she fished in her handbag. She came away with a key. Opening the door, she said, “It doesn’t matter if we’re neighbors for a few days. There’s a nice sturdy wall between us.” She stepped inside and turned to give me her ice princess smile. “Good night, Alex.” With that, she closed the door in my face, leaving me to glower at the piece of wood.

A disbelieving snort escaped me. That Princess Olivia sass used to turn me on… I guess it still did. I’d let her have the last word and her smug moment. She would soon be sorely disappointed.

21

OLIVIA

“What do you mean he’s made an offer to buy the company?” I screeched.

“Now, Livy, calm down. You’ve hit that high note… The one where I always worry that your brain is going to explode.”

I clutched my forehead because Elena might be right about my brain getting ready to erupt. It was incredible how my day had been shot to hell before noon. I woke up feeling great… hopeful. Finally, things were looking up. I was on my way to beating Alex Knight… so I’d thought.

He wasn’t the only one who could get a little information or who had friends in high places. If there was one thing I could count on my best friend for, it was to have my back. She was always firmly in my corner, and she used her resources to help me out plenty of times.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath. “Run that by me again please.”

Elena hesitated as if she was afraid to continue.

Clutching my cell tighter, I said, “I’m fine, Elena. Really…”

“Alright, so I got it from a credible source that Alex made an offer to Don Weaver to either buy Syn-Genix or become a major shareholder. Word on the synthetic biology streets is that Weaver is impressed with Alex’s offer and is considering it. It must be a hefty offer to get a man like Weaver’s attention.”

“Very,” I said.

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