Olivia’s POV
I stared at Kira in complete disbelief, my mouth hanging open. "Please tell me you’re joking."
"I’m not," she said matter-of-factly, "I’m going to be working for Damien Wellington."
What the fuck! "Are you out of your goddamn mind?"
Kira’s eyebrows raised at my reaction. "Liv, what’s wrong with you? It’s just a job."
"Just a job? Kira, this is ridiculous! What if we both end up in jail? What if Maxwell recognizes you from today?"
She rolled her eyes, "Olivia, calm down. I’m protecting Damien, not Maxwell. And I seriously doubt Maxwell will pay much attention to his brother’s bodyguard. Rich people like that barely notice the help."
"But what does Damien even need protection from anyway?" I asked, sitting down. "He’s not as evil as his brother, right? So why would anyone want to hurt him?"
Kira shrugged. "According to the rumors I heard, it was actually Maxwell who convinced his brother to get security because of some assault he faced recently. Apparently, someone tried to attack him, and now the whole family is paranoid."
Shit. The blood drained from my face as I realized what was happening. I’d successfully dug the grave for both me and my best friend. My mysterious stranger was going after Maxwell, and now Kira was going to be caught in the middle of whatever he was planning.
"Kira, listen to me," I said urgently, grabbing her hands. "You can’t take this job. You can bodyguard someone else - anyone else - but not Damien Wellington."
She studied my face for a long moment, already looking concerned. "Liv, what aren’t you telling me? You’re acting really weird about this."
I wanted to tell her everything - about my stranger, about what I’d asked him to do - and the fact that I hadn’t encountered him since then. But I couldn’t.
"I just... I have a bad feeling about it, okay? Please, trust me on this."
Kira squeezed my hands gently. "Okay," she said simply. "If it means that much to you, I won’t take the job."
Relief flooded through me so intensely. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
*******
I woke up the next morning feeling better. Despite my emotional exhaustion yesterday, I’d gotten the most beautiful night’s rest I’d had in weeks.
I checked my phone groggily. 12 PM. Holy shit. That was the longest I’d ever slept in my entire life. Maxwell was really something - he’d managed to drain every ounce of energy from my body and soul.
I stretched lazily, feeling energized despite the fact that I was starving as hell. My stomach was practically eating itself.
Walking out to the kitchen, I noticed that the apartment was eerily empty and quiet. "Kira?" I called out, but got no response.
That’s when I spotted the note on the kitchen counter, written in Kira’s handwriting:
Gone to work. Wish me luck on my first day! - K
I squeezed the paper hard and let out a long, frustrated sigh. I should’ve known Kira wouldn’t listen. She’d given in so easily last night, I should’ve suspected something. Now she’d gone ahead with the Wellington job?
We were absolutely doomed. Utterly, totally, and completely doomed.
I got down to preparing breakfast - well, lunch really. Food first, then Kira’s situation later.
Just as I was buttering my bread, my phone buzzed with a notification. It was from Alex. The message contained a digital invitation card for his engagement party that evening, complete with venue details and address. Underneath was a personal note from Alex: See you there 😉
I sighed again, deeper this time. It seemed like I was locked in for the night whether I wanted to be or not. The last thing I wanted was to be at that party, but I’d already given my word. And this invitation meant Maxwell hadn’t circulated my criminal act yet.
Before I could even set the phone down, another text came through. This one was from David, and just seeing his name made my skin crawl.
Hey beautiful! I’m back in town and can’t wait to meet up with you. When are you free? I have so many things planned for us... 😘
My stomach turned. The thought of spending a second with that dougebag made me want to crawl back into bed and never emerge. But then I rememberd I’d not returned his money from yesterday.
Shit! How did I forget something so important? Now David will think he owned me because he bailed me out.
I quickly typed back: Sorry, I had to travel to my hometown to recuperate from the whole jail drama. I’m unavailable for the foreseeable future. Please send me your account number so I can refund your money.
There. Clean and simple. I wasn’t meeting up with that man. Not for anything. Not if he was the last man on earth and the survival of humanity depended on it.
*******
By evening, I’d managed to pull myself together enough to start getting ready for Alex’s event. I’d chosen a simple black suit. It was one of the cheap corporate wears I’d gotten for work - but who would notice? Definitely no one.
As I stared at myself in the mirror, a wave of anxiety hit me. What if something happens at the party and someone sees through my disguise? Was the disguise even strong enough. Will it last through the night?
God, I really hope Julian would be present. His presence would mean a lot to me.
Just then, an idea struck me.
I locked up the apartment immediately, and headed downstairs to hail a cab. Twenty minutes later, I was standing outside Nikita’s salon - where it’d all started.
The bell chimed as I pushed through the door, and Nikita looked up from her station with a surprised smile.
"Olivia! What a pleasant surprise, darling. What brings you back to my little sanctuary?"
I took a deep breath. "I need your help again, Nikita. I have an event tonight, and I’m going to be meeting a lot of people. I need my disguise to be perfect - I want to look every bit like a man."
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Say no more, darling. I’m going to make you the most handsome man at whatever event you’re attending tonight."