“Savage.” There was the Olivia I knew.
Her words became a soft plea. “Don’t screw me over, Hayes.”
My thoughts returned to our inevitable end and the growing certainty I would be slightly wrecked. “Right back at you, Sutton.”
“Lachlan?” Olivia draped her hand on my leg, earning my complete attention.
“Yes?”
She moved toward me, so close our lips were only a breath apart. “Take me to your office.”
ChapterTwenty-Five
OLIVIA
“Now I can seewhy you’ve kept me out of your office.” I walked across the threshold of Lachlan’s workspace and immediately wanted to start tidying up.
His office wasn’t overly stylized, almost as if he’d told his decorator to leave it alone. Framed prints of his video game characters hung on one wall like family photos, while techie gizmos occupied space on the opposite side. In front of a large window sat a mammoth steel desk holding three monitors and a funky looking keyboard probably designed for gamers. But it was the office chair that was the eyesore and unfortunate focal point.
The chair looked like some invention that Sylvie and Frannie might’ve encountered in a CIA lab. Positioned on a base, the red chair seemed to be a leather recliner with a pox of gadgets sticking up here and there. An enormous metal arm hugged the back and extended overhead, where a curved screen the width of my refrigerator hung. “Is that a footrest?”
Lachlan looked more than proud. “Heated.”
This had been where he’d given the interview. “The gaming chair has to go.”
Lachlan took a defiant stance, crossing his arms over his Armani shirt. “That gaming chair is a five-thousand-dollar piece of art that massages my back and contours my muscular tush like a cloud.”
“When you sat in it for your interview, I thought you were about to get eaten by a Transformer.”
“I can get you one, if this is just your jealousy talking.”
How did he think taking a video call from this chair was a good idea? “You can’t use this for interviews anymore. It swallows you whole, and it forces you to look up at the camera, which is a very odd angle.”
“I’m offended on the gaming chair’s behalf, but I will concede.”
Trying to ignore the scent of Lachlan’s citrusy shampoo tickling my nose, I studied the design of the room again. He’d have a lot of remote interviews in the next few months, and we desperately needed to create a decent backdrop. “Is the office where you’re most comfortable for interviews?”
“I’m most comfortable submitting my responses by way of email,” Lachlan said.
“I’ll be sure and tell that toGood Morning America.”
“Fine. Yes.” He sighed. “I guess this is my favorite spot.”
“I’ll work up a sketch for some changes I’d like to make, but I want to see a bookshelf behind your desk, some photos of actual humans, and maybe some art.”
He pointed to the far wall. “How about—”
“Your framed print of Yoda does not count. Let’s get started.” I walked to a small seating area, removed aWIREDmagazine from one chair, and sat down. “Let me have the questions the Gamer Channel sent you before your interview.”
Lachlan’s big body barely fit in the matching barrel chair beside me. “I didn’t get any.”
“Didn’t you ask for them in advance?”
“No.”
Good heavens. Was he daft? “Never go on cold. You always want to know what you’ll be asked so you can prepare. Sowecan prepare.”
“I don’t want to sound like I’m reading from a script,” he said. “I like to wing it.”
