Still holding onto some of my anger at Oliver, I glared at him. I opened my mouth—having no idea what I would say but knowing that I couldn’t let Oliver have the last word—when Charlie stepped forward, holding his hand out towards Oliver.
‘It’s great to meet you, Mr Blake. I’m a huge fan.’
I suppressed a bark of laughter. Charliehatedfootball. He preferred cricket… if that didn’t tell you everything you needed to know about him, I don’t know what would.
Oliver took the offered hand, but I noticed the subtleclench of his jaw as he gave Charlie a stiff nod of acknowledgement.
‘The last season has been rough. They could really use you back.’ Charlie clasped his hands behind his back, nodding intently at his own words.
I might as well have been a part of the wall for all the attention Charlie was paying me. Even Oliver was barely-
My train of thought came crashing to a halt when Oliver reached a hand around me and rested a palm on my lower back.
‘I should be back for next season if everything goes according to plan.’ He turned his head and winked down at me.
My stomach did not flutter.Absolutely not.Oliver-motherfucking-Blake was an arsehole. A prick of giant proportions if our last meeting was anything to go on, so by all accounts, I should be shoving his hand off me and giving him the full force of my glare. So, why, oh, why did I lean into the touch? It was the barest millimetre, but Oliver caught it. I heard him take a sharp breath when my shoulder brushed his chest.
Sensing Charlie’s eyes on us, I looked up. He looked at me with nothing short of disdain in his brown eyes. I used to think he had the most beautiful soulful brown eyes, but now I saw how barren they were. Unfeeling. So different from Oliver's sea-blue eyes.
‘I’m surprised you two know each other. I can’t see you running in the same circles.’ Charlie raised his eyebrows, a fake smile plastered back on his face.
I held my breath, praying to every god in the world that Oliver kept his damn mouth shut on how we actually met.
To my surprise, Oliver let out a throaty chuckle. ‘Life certainly has a way of making things happen.’
The cryptic sentence clearly didn’t satisfy Charlie. He frowned but covered his annoyance with another faux smile.
Charlie turned his attention back to me. ‘I am a little confused as to why you’re here. Belinda didn’t mention you’d be attending this meeting.’
I felt Oliver’s entire body stiffen. He lowered his hand, and God help me; I missed the warmth of his touch. He’d probably only put his hand there in the first place because he was afraid I would embarrass myself again.
Did no one think of me as a functioning adult? I wasn’t giving the best representation of one right now, but seriously? Having several people waiting with bated breath for me to fail was beginning to wear me down. Lowering my head, I twirled one of the rings on my finger.
‘I’m the one writing the biography.’
Charlie’s eyes widened in surprise, then sparkled with a cruel glint. ‘I don’t recall you having any interest in football.’
Irritation crackled under my skin. Lifting my head and meeting his stare, I said, ’I have about as much as you do. Last I remember, you called it a sport for emotionally repressed wankers.’ I cocked an eyebrow in challenge. My dignity was on a knife’s edge, but I would be damned if this man took any more of it from me.
Oliver surpassed a laugh, coughing into his fist. Charlie had gone a rather satisfying shade of red.
I smiled serenely. ‘As lovely as this catch-up has been, I think we should head into the meeting, don’t you?’ Without giving him a second to consider, I pushed past him and headed down the hallway, making an educated guess as to which conference room we would be using.
The biggest one at the end had full amenities. Heaven forbid one of their biggest clients gets thirsty, and there’s no fully stocked mini-bar in grabbing distance.
Oliver’s soft chuckle echoed behind me.
I pulled open the glass door. Inside were two men in expensive suits I vaguely recognised from the financedivision, and… sitting with his back to the door was Tony. He turned his head when the door opened; seeing me, he gave a brief smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Charlie waltzed past me, striding to the other side of the room.
Oliver came up behind me, so close his breath tickled my ear.
‘You keep surprising me, Pooh.’ He pulled away enough that I saw a wicked gleam in his eyes. ‘I like it.’
24
OLIVER
