A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks (best english novels to read .TXT) 📕

all right.” Katherine chuckled. “To be perfectly honest I was ready half an hour ago. I was so excited, I couldn’t help myself.”

Oh, thank God. “Katherine, you are a legend.”

Her mother-in-law laughed loudly. “Hardly. Giddy as a schoolgirl is all. But yes, I can come now. Will you be sending a car?”

“I know that’s what was supposed to happen, but I’m sorry, there’s just no time to reorganize that. I hate to ask, but could you just get a cab?”

“Of course. I’ll ask the doorman to flag me one down. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“You are a lifesaver, Mrs. Sinclair.”

Katherine chuckled once more, said goodbye, and Olivia hung up.

“Olivia?” the barista called.

Olivia turned back to the counter, grabbed the tray of coffees, and moved as fast as she could to the exit.

Chapter 22

Jenny had picked up on some tension between Olivia and Chrissy earlier that afternoon but hadn’t had much time to dwell on it. Now, however, an hour before the show started, she found herself with some unexpected downtime and took a moment to lean against a wall to the right of the stage and ponder her teammates’ situations.

Maxwell, she knew, was happily ensconced out back and wouldn’t come to the main floor at all during the evening. She herself had finished all she needed to in the greenroom and dressing rooms. The designers and sports stars had arrived and had been escorted backstage by the meet-and-greet team, as had the singing stars who would grace the stage through the evening.

The main room itself was filling up with the audience who’d paid a cool fifteen hundred dollars each to be seated at the tables surrounding the stage and runway. She recognized a few faces from the world of entertainment and business, people who regularly graced the covers of magazines and newspapers. Despite having worked with major stars for a few years now, this level of famous all in one room was a little overwhelming.

Olivia, who looked oh so good in her tight-fitting pants with a silky shirt, was in discussion with Derek on the other side of the stage.

He looked grim and barely glanced at her as they spoke.

Jenny had never seen him so rude to Olivia, and the sight shocked her. Then Chrissy sidled up to them from somewhere on the darkened, far left of the room. The smile on her face could only be described as smug, and Jenny’s senses went on full alert.

Chrissy had been perfectly civil to Olivia ever since Jenny had asked her that day they’d had coffee away from the office. Well, mostly civil. The last few days had been strained, but then they’d been difficult for everyone. But Chrissy had also been overly sweet with Jenny, and with Tamara’s warnings ringing in her ears, Jenny had been more than a little suspicious of Chrissy.

She watched as Chrissy finally approached Derek and laid a gentle hand on the small of his back to get his attention. Unseen by anyone but Jenny, Olivia scowled briefly, then set her face in a mask of calm poise. When Derek dismissed her with a short wave of his hand, she strode away toward backstage, her entire posture rigid with tension.

Before she could overthink it, Jenny moved, walking behind the stage along the small gap left for them to cut from one side of the stage to the other without going around the runway and tables. She caught up with Olivia just as she headed for the exit that led to the cold December air outside. “Olivia.” She kept her voice low, not wanting to attract anyone else’s attention.

Olivia stopped with her hand on the door lever, paused for a moment, her head bowed, then faced Jenny, her face a picture of casual serenity. “Yes?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine,” Olivia said through tight lips.

“I couldn’t help but see Derek was being pretty shitty to you.” Jenny dipped her head to meet Olivia’s eyes; she seemed reluctant to have the contact. “There is something going on, I can tell.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Olivia sounded deflated. She turned back to the door and yanked it open.

A blast of cold air scurried into the space they shared.

“Jesus, you can’t go out there!” Jenny placed a hand on Olivia’s shoulder and tugged her back. “You’ll freeze.” She looked pointedly at Olivia’s gold, thin, silky shirt. “At least get your coat on if you’re going.”

“Yes, Mom,” Olivia said in an exaggeratedly American accent.

Jenny shook her head but laughed. “Okay, yeah, maybe that was a bit of a mom voice. But seriously, it’s bitter cold out there.” She hesitated, then thumbed over her shoulder. “Come on, I know a quiet spot where you can still get away from things without freezing your ass off.”

Olivia quirked one eyebrow but didn’t refuse when Jenny motioned for her to follow.

Jenny led Olivia down the hallway, past the greenroom and dressing rooms, and finally to a small empty room around a corner.

“The tech guys have been using this as their break room. There’s even snacks.” Jenny waggled her eyebrows.

Olivia chewed on her bottom lip and walked over to one of the chairs arranged along the longest wall. After she’d sat, she huffed out a long breath, leaned her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes.

While she still looked immaculate as ever, and her hair and light makeup were as fresh as at seven-thirty that morning, the hints of dark circles beneath her eyes gave away her tiredness. As did her posture; her body slumped pretty ungracefully in the chair. “This is such a long day.” Her voice was quiet.

“It sure is.” Jenny sat in a chair a couple away from Olivia, reluctant to crowd her, though she longed to pull Olivia into a soft hug and comfort away whatever had put that sadness into Olivia’s tone. She shifted in her seat, unsettled with where her thoughts had led.

“Derek isn’t very impressed with me today.” Olivia looked directly at Jenny. “And I