Page 6 of Reckless Intentions
Chapter Three
Olivia came to hearing her phone ping incessantly. She tried to lift her head off the pillow but couldn’t. As she winced and muttered under her breath, she took in her surroundings. She wasn’t in bed at all, but instead wedged into the sofa in her living room. The TV was showing some perky and blonde American woman stretching in lycra going through a morning exercise routine.
Olivia was in no fit state to do anything that energetic.
A groan escaped her lips as she tried to open her eyes and focus. An empty wine bottle lay on its side next to the sofa, an equally empty glass on the table. She shifted into a sitting position and blinked. Still wearing the crumpled clothes from the previous evening, they rucked up around her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone to sleep fully dressed. Her phone pinged again, and she reached for it, tired eyes focusing on the screen.
“Shit!”
It was after ten o’clock. Olivia never slept that late, not even on a weekend. Crystal clear memories of the previous evening returned as she scrolled through her messages.
Despite her claims she was fine, Olivia had returned home on the darker side of despondent. She’d started to watch a trashy romance movie, sobbed her heart out, and then begun drinking. A bottle and a half of Chardonnay later, she was comatose.
She squinted at the messages: Poppy, Eva, Caro, a couple of clients.
The one name that was missing was Nic’s.
Their conversation the previous evening came back to her. He clearly didn’t care enough to check that she was okay. Her finger hovered over his details. Half of her wanted to call him, the other half wanted to delete him.
Instead, Eva’s name flashed up as the phone started to ring. Olivia stabbed the accept button and tried to stand up. A wave of light-headedness and nausea hit her, and she sat straight back down.
“Hey, Eva, what’s up?” She tried to sound as perky as the woman she could see still jumping in lycra on the television show.
“Are you okay?”
For a moment, Olivia thought about pretending everything was peachy, and that she was only running late because of a problem at home. Eva knew her better though and would see straight through the excuse. Before she had time to think of a something else, Eva spoke again.
“Poppy told me what happened with you and Nic last night. I’m so sorry, Olivia.” She paused. “And I know you probably won’t want to come in to work today, so I rescheduled the meetings we had this morning. Caro can’t move the one we had with her this afternoon.”
“I should be okay by then.” Olivia crossed her fingers as she said the words.
“We’ll come to you instead. It will give you chance to get sorted out and take it easy this morning.” Eva paused. “I’ve been telling people you’ve got food poisoning. Nothing serious, easier for you to be at home today. If you can fire off a couple of emails to make it look genuine, that would be great.”
Had Eva been closer, Olivia would have hugged her. The excuse she had some up with was totally believable and gave her the opportunity to have a long bath and clear her head, or at least make it hurt a little less. “Sure, I can do that. Thanks, Eva.”
“Let me know if you want me to pick anything up for you on the way over later.”
“I will. You’re the best.” A smile that Eva wouldn’t be able to see crept across Olivia’s face as they ended the call.
The smell of stale wine suddenly hit her, and her stomach heaved. She rushed to the bathroom, dry retching over the toilet, until the contents of her stomach reappeared. Afterwards, she sat on the bathroom floor, tears streaming down her face again as she tried to catch her breath.
The fact Nic hadn’t tried to contact her was hugely telling.
It truly was over.
The strange feeling of relief she’d experienced the previous evening was replaced by a heavy fist in the pit of her stomach. What the hell was she going to do?
The first thing was to clean up.
Olivia ran a bath and poured in a healthy amount of Champney’s Heavenly Days bubbles. She stripped off her clothes, then immersed herself into the soothing water, the warmth alleviating her pain. She held her breath and submerged herself, letting herself stay underneath the water until it started to get uncomfortable.
As she resurfaced, she knew what she needed to do.
Fifteen minutes later, dressed in skinny jeans, a bright red fitted t-shirt, and matching red espadrilles, she looked a lot more determined than she felt. Getting a roll of black bin liners from the kitchen, she methodically worked her way through the rooms in the flat, seeking out everything that belonged to Nic.
The fist in her stomach began to loosen its hold as she dumped the bags by the front door. Although it was replaced by a gnawing grumble which told her she ought to eat something. It was almost midday and she rarely missed breakfast. She hummed to herself as she made to toast and tea, then switched on her laptop.
It was time to get back to work.
