Page 15 of Reckless Intentions
Chapter Eight
It didn’t take Olivia long to get used to waking up to the sun streaming in through the window. She woke earlier than she would in North Ridge and took a short stroll along the beach, before buying fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, and then settling down to work. Despite Caro and Eva’s best efforts at getting her to take some time out, she still found herself checking up on things.
The first awkward meeting with Brody Fox had played on her mind ever since she’d left the club the previous afternoon. Finding him in that compromising position prompted thoughts of her and Nic, not that they’d ever done anything that daring. The split had her questioning what she’d done wrong, and why Nic hadn’t made more of an effort. She had to believe that it was really over, otherwise why wouldn’t he have tried to contact her since Eva and Richey’s party? As she’d sat working, her heart had sunk as occasional glances out the window showed happy couples on the beach enjoying themselves.
She stood at the balcony now, looking down on the bay and wished she had someone to share the glorious view with. A message pinged on her phone and reluctantly, she pulled herself away from the seascape.
Be good if you could meet to discuss the progress on the bar. Can you come over this afternoon?
Brody. Olivia stared at the message. Caro had been right about his attitude; he had displayed an arrogance she hadn’t seen in anyone before. Not to mention really cute buns. The corner of her mouth quirked. It wouldn’t hurt to pop over to the bar for a while. Then she could pick up something interesting for dinner on the way home, before another Netflix binge. Quickly, she typed a reply saying she’d be over within the hour. She glanced down at her denim cut-offs and old band t-shirt. It didn’t exactly scream business attire, so she headed into the bedroom to change. A cute patterned sundress that reached her knees and a pair of flat, jewelled sandals wasn’t much better but at least she felt more professional. As Olivia looked at her reflection while she applied some basic make-up, she noticed she was starting to tan already and her skin looked better as a result. It was amazing what a couple of days in the sun could do. Maybe she ought to post some pictures on social media to remind Nic of what he was missing. Her hand stopped in mid-air. Did she want him back after all? She shook the thought away and finished applying her lip gloss.
The walk to the bar didn’t take long. As she approached, she heard the sound of men working before she saw them. Olivia stepped through the door and was pleased to see changes in the place already. There was dust everywhere. She carefully picked her way through the mess to get to the office, as the image of Brody’s bare arse floated through her mind. A tiny part of her hoped she might catch sight of it again. Though next time, she didn’t need to see another woman as well.
“Hello?” She thought it was best to make her presence known, just in case.
“Olivia? Is that you?” Brody’s voice lifted through the air, as sexy as she remembered.
“Unless you are expecting Valentina?” Olivia stifled a smile as she walked through the door.
Brody was sitting behind the desk, a mess of paperwork strewn out around him. “Ha ha. Very funny.” He gestured to the chair at the side of the table. “Take a seat.”
Olivia did so, and instinctively crossed her legs. She didn’t miss Brody’s appraising gaze, lingering on her legs. To distract herself from his scrutiny she busied herself with finding a notebook from her bag.
“As you can see, there’s work going on today. Your report to Caro should be much easier this time. I employed a couple more men to help. It means the wages will be higher in the short term, but we should be done that bit quicker. Eventually it should all even itself out.” He pushed a spreadsheet towards her.
The numbers swan around in front of her. Maths had never been her strong point, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Brody—or anyone.
“Right.” She nodded, not really sure what she was meant to do with the information.
“There should be enough in the budget to cover it. You might want to tell Caro that too.” He raised an eyebrow.
She was grateful that if he sensed her wobble, he chose to ignore it and help her out with the pertinent information. Project managing a social media campaign was so much easier compared to this. “That’s good to know, thanks.” She tucked the sheet into the back of her book.
“Which means we’ll be back on track for the grand reopening. Has Caro told you about her plans?”
She knew that the plan was to have Blood Stone Riot play. If anyone from Numb Records would ever confirm it, that was. “I believe she’s got a band booked.”
“That’s right. She’s got me looking for villas.”
“Villas?”
“To accommodate the band, their manager, and us of course.”
Olivia’s head snapped up at the mention of ‘us’. “That would have to be some place.”
Brody nodded in agreement. “Four band members, their plus ones, the manager and his family, then you and me. At least seven bedrooms. Unless you want to share?” He winked at her.
It had been such a long time since someone had actually flirted with her, Olivia didn’t have a clue what to do. What if he wasn’t flirting? Instead, she laughed, and tried to cover up the face she didn’t know how to respond.
“How are you enjoying Alcudia so far?” he asked, changing the subject. “Is it your first time here?”
“I came here a few times when Caro lived out here. That’s how I met my boyfriend.” She noticed a dark shadow flit across Brody’s handsome features when she mentioned the word boyfriend. “I mean my ex-boyfriend,” she added, hastily. “I know what to expect. Although, I have to say the restaurants look a lot more inviting now. I was more interested in clubbing back then.”
“You’re right about the restaurants. Have you been to any since you’ve been here?”
Olivia shook her head. “I feel uncomfortable going on my own.”
“What are you doing tonight?”
She hesitated. It would be easy to tell him that she had plans, but she’d be lying. What would she be doing that night apart from chatting to the woman on the fish counter in the supermarket and then going home to drink a bottle of wine on her own? She may as well have company if she was going to be drinking.
Brody appeared to take her silence as disinterest and tried again. “I know this fantastic restaurant. It’s one of the ones I go to regularly when I’m out here. Why don’t you have dinner with me?”
A million reasons why she shouldn’t flit through Olivia’s head, fighting with the one massive one why she should. She found Brody attractive and dinner be a great opportunity to get to know him better. “Sure, why not?”
