Page 41 of Damaged Enemy Next Door

CHAPTER 20

ADRIAN

Forthepastfortnight,Olivia has been sleeping over at mine. We feel a little bit like children, really. She stays over for dinner, where either she or I cook. Emily helps out, and we declare her head chef, which is the cutest.

Then, she sneaks out at sunrise after every night of sleeping in my bed. We haven't as yet gotten around to having a serious conversation with my daughter. But we plan to, soon, together, after we meet her father.

I softly twirl Olivia's hair through my fingers.

"So, you think he'd like me?" I ask.

"I'm not too sure," she teases. "You still want to meet him?"

I smile at her, "Of course, I want to meet the man who helped create my beautiful girlfriend."

She chuckles, "Well, let's hope he likes you then."

I nod, "Me too."

The truth is, I'm nervous to meet him. I want him to approve of Olivia being with me, and I want him to trust me with her. I know that Emily likes Olivia and I'm sure she'll be over the moon when she finds out about us. But Olivia's father - that's a different ball game altogether.

"I will tell you though," says Olivia, "that he's meeting you blindsided. I haven't mentioned much about you. I thought it better to let him get to know you first before giving him a chance to make a judgment."

I sit up, and frown. "Why would he make a judgment?"

"I'm telling you Adrian, my father is very anti-big business. Especially in construction and development."

"Well," I sigh. "The odds are stacked against me. But what must be done, must be done."

"I better get going," says Olivia. "I'll see you tonight. At his place? You have the address, don't you?"

"Wait," I protest, pulling her back into bed as she tries to get out. "I'll see you at work too, right?"

"Oh yes, work," she groans.

I frown and shake my head at her, playfully.

She puts on her clothes and leaves.

As I lie in bed, I feel a sense of unease creeping up on me. The doubts begin to gnaw at me. I wonder if I am good enough for Olivia. I question whether I can keep up with her pace, and I worry about whether her father's disapproval will come between us.

Determined to shake off these thoughts, I get up and start preparing for the evening. I put on my best suit and pick out and pack a bottle of her father's favorite scotch. I wear the suit and place the bottle in the car since I'll be heading there straight from an after-work meeting. I want to impress her father and show him that I am serious about his daughter.

The workday is uneventful, but I can hardly focus on it. My mind keeps wandering back to the meeting with Olivia's father. I keep trying to think of ways to make a good impression on him, but my mind keeps coming up empty. As soon as the workday is over, I head straight to his address.

Just when I think I'm nervous enough already, I find a curveball thrown my way.

My phone rings - it's my ex-wife Veronica.

What the fuck does she want?

I don't want to, but I pick up. After all, we do share a daughter together, and I always need to make sure it's not related to Emily. Emily's day-care, school, and doctor all have both the parents’ numbers on file.

"Veronica," I bark into the phone. "What do you want?"

"Adrian, don't be like that. I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing. How's work?" Veronica asks, her voice is syrupy sweet.

I roll my eyes. Veronica always wants something when she calls. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. Is there something specific you wanted to talk about?"

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