Working directly with Oliver? This had to be some kind of cosmic joke. "Yes, of course. Anything you need."
Oliver grinned at me. “Well, we’re nothing if not team players.
Livy’s smile was relieved.. "I’m glad to hear that. Up until this morning, I had a different plan for the two of you, but then Bridge had this bright idea, so we’re going to go with it.”
Ollie smiled at me. "I will show Rian the ropes and get her all caught up to speed on the client. "
I gave him a tight smile, vowing to murder him long before the New York event would happen.
But you're too good of a person to murder.
Normally, I was. I was that person who gives friendship mugs to my new coworkers. I was that person who planned birthdays and such. I was that person who made sure that if you had a rough day, you'd find a bar of chocolate on your desk to brighten it just a little bit. But God, with Ollie Wexler, instead of birthday surprises, I was hatching murder plans.
"Right, what criteria will we be evaluated on?"
Olivia smiled at that. "I'm so glad you asked. Obviously, teamwork, client satisfaction, timeliness. You'll be evaluated by your teams as well. All the tasks that you're going to be working on and touching. Obviously, Oliver, you will need to catch Rian up a little bit. Rian, let me assure you, Oliver is one of the best."
I shifted in my seat, crisscrossing my legs, and I swore I could feel the heat of him.
Olivia continued. "I'm so glad you guys are so willing. Most of what you need is in your inboxes. You have a kick-off meeting with the Kensingtons this afternoon, so make sure that goes well. Remember, the Kensingtons are all about old-world charm and opulence. You want to make sure you give them that. They have boutique properties under the London Lords name and brand that we need to reflect their brand with our modern touches, right?"
The good news was, I was somewhat familiar with the Kensington brand. I’d worked as an assistant on that brand back in New York. But Ollie likely knew them like the back of his hand. I’d have to catch up. Luckily, I knew how to fight this battle.
When Olivia dismissed us, I marched to my desk and Ollie watched me. I knew I couldn’t show weakness. I needed to be firm, direct. Get what I needed, ninja style. "Oliver, I’d like a chance—"
He lifted a brow. "Did you have a question for me?"
My gaze narrowed. "You heard Olivia."
"Oh, I did. Everything you need is in the Kensington file. And like she said, we have a client meeting. So you should familiarize yourself with them."
He was going to leave me adrift, knowing that it might make the both of us look bad?
"So you're not going to give me a rundown?"
"You know, there's no point in giving someone a rundown if they haven't done the initial work themselves. Research for yourself first. If you have any questions, I'm more than happy to answer. I'm not going to waste both our time with me walking you through everything that you can figure out for yourself."
I pressed my lips firmly together to keep from telling him to fuck himself. "So, it's like that?"
"Oh, you better believe it. You made it clear you won’t leave on your own. You and I, we're not friends. We don't know each other. And right now, it's every man for himself."
Rian
On the drive to see Lila Kensington, I drank in the sights of London. Made a note of what had changed since I was last here. There were restaurants I'd never even heard of. Advertisements and billboards for stores that were unfamiliar. I’d have killed for a full week to explore.
While the driver wove through London Traffic, Ollie and I didn't speak. Which honestly suited me fine. After all, what was I going to say to him, I can still feel your lips on mine?
No, of course not. How about trying to build a professional rapport.
I wasn’t sure which was worse. That my brain hoped it would work to ease the tension, or that my inner brat wanted to never speak to him again.
Besides, I was still salty about his lack of help during my research. He could have cut the time down exponentially. I’d spent the morning hunting down files and trying to turn my sluggish brain into a sponge.
It was he who spoke first.
"Bridge said you came from the New York office?"
I blinked in surprise. "What, so you know me now?" I tried to bite back the flare of temper.
He sighed. "You're still pissed about that kiss."
"How am I supposed to feel Oliver?"
He shook his head and buried himself back into his phone. "You know what? Never mind."
"Yeah, better if we don't speak." Besides, this was my game face. I would not be cowed by the likes of Ollie Wexler. I didn't need his approval, and I wasn't looking for it. I’d had quite enough of that, thank you very much.
We arrived at the Shard in the midst of all the London traffic. The Kensington Group was on the fourth floor. Once Ollie showed his identification and indicated I was with him, we were waved in by the security guard at the desk.
I couldn’t help but take everything in. The women in their Chanel and Armani suits, rocking their Louboutins and Blahniks. The steel and glass and chrome of the building. "You'll get used to it," he muttered.
I turned to him. "Get used to what?"
"This. The first time I came here, my mouth hung open too. But I guess at some point, it becomes blasé."
On the fourth floor, the elevator dinged and opened, and I led the way down to Lila Kensington’s office. Her receptionist stood when she saw us, giving Oliver a wide smile. "Hi Ollie... er, Mr. Wexler. Who is your guest?"
He flashed her a dimpled grin and I had to resist the urge to punch her face in. "This is Rian Beaumont. She's new to London Lords."
Lila's assistant nodded. "Have a seat. I'll let her know you're here."
I sat on the edge of the seat while Ollie sat back and pulled out his phone. “Get used to waiting. She likes to do that to gain the upper hand.”
“Are you kidding? Does she do that to Olivia?”
"Oh yeah. You see, she'll never be late for Bridge, or Ben, or East. Olivia and Jessa though? Always. Olivia understands how important of a client she is. It's a good strategic partnership for us, so she doesn't kick a fuss too much. But she will send me in her stead."
"That's bullshit. Is she always late?"
His laugh was warm and rich and hit me low in the belly. "Again, not for the London Lords. For anyone else, yes."
"It's so rude."
He gave a nonchalant shrug as if he was used to doing this.. "Yeah, welcome to my world."
Another twenty minutes and we were finally seated in front of Lila. She gave us both a wan smile. "All right, let's see your projections. If you tell me our operations budget is out of control, I promise you, I'm not going to be happy about it."
Well tough titties for her because it was from what I’d seen. But when he started speaking, Ollie’s voice was cajoling. Almost placating. "Miss Kensington, I understand you have some reservations. And like I told you the last time, we can absolutely discuss your budget concerns with Mr. Edgerton, Mr. Covington, or Mr. Hale. While we're here, I'm just trying to make sure that we have all the information we need so we can keep moving on without having to start and stop so often."