Olivia

I was nervous. We landed in Richmond and waited for Mr. Hills to pick us up from the airport. I was dressed for a business meeting. Kate kept staring at me like I had a wardrobe malfunction.

"What?" I frowned.

"Why again did you dress like that?" she asked, obviously unimpressed.

"You told me that he'd have to get me started on the job as early as tomorrow," I reminded her. "I need to look good. If I'm going for a secretary position."

"Yeah, why not." She rolled her eyes.

I scoffed and mimicked her action. Staring at my surroundings, I was relieved that I was no longer in Chicago anymore. The city had already done enough for me, and not in a good way.

"There she is," a man said as he made his way toward us.

When I made eye contact with him, I started to panic. He looked exactly like the stranger from two years ago. But as he got closer, I noticed some differences. For one, he was shorter than I remembered. Secondly, he had a lot more grey hair and a dad body. The man I saw that night didn't seem like the type who would let himself go that easily.

He embraced Kate before getting into a kiss that I felt was too intimate for the public to see. As they pulled away, I saw my friend stare at this man with love beaming from her eyes. The recipient, however, didn't seem to reciprocate the gaze.

Men express love differently, after all.

"So, James, this is Olivia, the one I told you about that would be coming with me," Kate introduced me to the man.

I grinned and shook his hand. "Mr. Hills, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure as well," he said, slowly stroking the back of my palm with his thumb. I pulled my hand away and gave a forced smile.

"Kate told me you'd need a job," he eyed my outfit. "You might want to change how you're dressed."

He advised, "Nothing wrong with it. But you should know hospitals would normally have you wearing scrubs or dresses as you're just a secretary."

"Also, it makes you look better and increases your chances. You aren't going there to discuss stocks with him?"

"No, sir," I responded. I felt my respect for him increase only slightly.

"Well, I'll drop you off at the hotel and talk to him; you'll start tomorrow," he said. "He came in a few days ago, so I haven't properly talked to him. But just get there tomorrow."

Maybe I'm actually wrong about him.He doesn't seem so bad after all.Maybe he was the man from the bar or a relative.

"Is there anything else?" he inquired. "You've been staring at me blankly."

"I just thought you looked familiar," I explained.

"I get that a lot," he chuckled. "You've probably seen me on the news or something. I have been on a lot of them lately and even the past year."

"I see." He wasn't the one.

"I'm thirsty," Kate sighed as she made her way to the car. He had arrived with, "Please tell me there's something to drink in there."

"There is; go quench your thirst, my lady." he gave a polite bow, watching her leave.

I tightened my grip on my travel bag's handle as he turned to look at me with a mischievous smirk.

"Kate told me that you used to be involved in the business," he started to say.

"Two years," I added. "Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just a shame that I didn't meet you when you were still in the business," he explained. "I think the roles between you and Kate would have been switched."