“Killed it, huh?” I did love the smell of unexpected success in the afternoon. “Is that your professional analysis or your friendly take as my wife?”
“Both.” Olivia placed her cloth napkin in her lap. “Lachlan, you were charming and charismatic, and you made both your movie and your company sound phenomenal. The vice president of marketing at Vortex Studios called me herself, and she could not stop singing your praises.”
I was just glad the interview was over. That was the longest four minutes and forty-five seconds of my life, and I needed to express my relief by way of food consumption. “Wouldn’t have pulled it off without you.”
Olivia lifted her water glass. “To many years of success for you and Star Gazer.”
“And to happiness.” I touched my goblet to hers. “May we both find it and let it lead us where we need to go.”
“That’s fromMars Wars,” she said. “The planetary motto, I believe?”
“Has Olivia Sutton been playing video games?”
“No.” She rested her napkin in her lap and smiled. “But I did some research.”
“I’ll convert you yet.”
“We’ll see about that.” Olivia set her fork to her left, her expression steady and serious again. “I know you’re being modest, but you have to be proud of your performance today, right?”
Was I? Had I ever allowed myself that luxury? I’d spent my entire life just trying to prove myself and rarely had time to sit back and absorb the win. “As long as I don’t have to do that again for a while, I’m happy.”
“You absolutely deserve a break.” Olivia took a delicate sip of her water. “At least until next week, when you do theBella Porter Morning Show.” She held up her phone where a text screamed the news. “Celeste just forwarded the invitation. Face it, Lachlan. You’re a big deal.”
“That’s two national morning news programs for you in a matter of weeks,” I said, enjoying the radiant glow on Olivia’s face. “Is Celeste showering you in praise yet?”
“She’s certainly riding high on the coup for Flair, but I just learned Morgan’s client will be included in a Netflix documentary on modern-day matchmaking, so no coasting for me. I need to level up even more.”
That Morgan was no match for my Livvy. “I could try to schedule one of those rich dude space flights.”
“No.”
“Challenge Morgan’s client to a lightsaber duel?”
“Also no,” Olivia said.
“Find a cure for cancer and stop global warming?”
“Perfect.” Olivia consulted her menu, but not before gifting me with a smile. “If you could accomplish both by end of business next week, that would be fabulous.”
“Anything for you, babe.”
This newly minted big deal and his wife ordered from the limited menu. I decided on the New York strip, and Olivia tried the salmon. Ten minutes into our meal, we’d shared them both like an old married couple. Conversation turned to Olivia’s woes with another account she managed, my renovation of the corporate office for Star Gazer, and her grandmother’s latest antics, which had been questionable on the legal spectrum—if one respected that sort of thing.
Olivia had just rehashed the highlight reel of my interview, capped off by a round of praise for my dining manners when I saw him.
The man who’d once made my life a living hell.
The man who would now lose the most when my company released its new technology.
I couldn’t wait to watch him go under.
ChapterThirty-Six
LACHLAN
“Hello, Hayes.”
I set down my fork before my fantasy of throwing it like a ninja star took over. Benjamin Emmerich, seventy-one with shoulders like a linebacker, possessed a crop of thick white hair on his large, angry head, and wore shoes so shiny he could look down and see his own scowl reflected. And the man seized every chance to look down.
