Cougar Love - Sequel to Cougar Boss

Chapter 4

I stared at the elevator for a period of time long after Olivia left. I wasn't entirely sure I understood everything that had just happened.

I knew she was upset and felt betrayed, to which I'd played a great role by deciding to keep the file which Jonah had found and used to blackmail her, but everything had escalated so quickly, I was still lost in a mist of confusion.

I wanted to go after Olivia, but I had no idea where she could have gone, which worried me. Much as I prided myself in knowing her, I had no idea where to start looking for her. I wanted to call Rex, but my pride wouldn't let me. I didn't want to involve anyone else in the matter.

I spent the night going through our last conversation, wondering at which point I'd made such an error of judgment with Jonah.

He was well aware about how I felt about Olivia, he knew she wasn't to blame for the divorce, he may not have understood the politics revolving around Price Healthcare, but he must have had a clue as to how the whole thing would affect me, and my relationship with him.

I groaned in frustration as Olivia's last words echoed in my mind. Jonah is your son, Amelia. Your family has always been your first priority. Who am I in comparison to that?

She knew she meant everything to me. She was my happily ever after. Sure I was over protective about my immediate family, but she was part of it now. How could she not see that?

My heart ached for her. Maybe I had failed in my attempt to make her feel as special as she made me feel. Maybe I still couldn't express myself in a way that she could sense, or see.

When someone dared to hurt her, they hurt me. And I rather they hurt me before it ever got to her. How could I tell her this... show her this?

I'd failed in past attempts to protect her, which had gotten her brother killed and gotten her shot, but I'd made a vow to myself to make sure nothing like that ever happened again. But here we were, at the mercy of one of my own, so readily and thoughtlessly willing to cause harm to the one person who least deserved it.

Tears started slowly rolling down my eyes at the thought of any more harm coming to Olivia. She'd suffered so much already. I'd rejected her, broken her heart, made her cry, and because of me, she'd lost her only brother and almost died.

I'd caused her so much pain, but she continued to love me, with no question and expecting nothing in return. She loved me in such a pure way, the thought of someone tainting that beautiful emotion upset me.

Morning light met me in an unfavorable mood. I stayed up all night hoping at some point Olivia would come home, but she neither showed up nor called to let me know if she was safe.

After a shower and a change of clothes, I was ready to use all the resources at my disposal to find her. While waiting for the elevator, I saw a file she'd walked in with the previous night and wondered if it was more of what Jonah had used to blackmail her.

Telling myself I needed to know everything he may have used as a weak point to use to his advantage, I opened it and read through. What met my eyes shocked me to the core.

I looked at the details, the numbers. Olivia had managed to do what Isabel and I couldn't. She'd bought out the shareholders.

This must have been the good news she'd wanted to celebrate.

"Oh, my God." This was why she'd sounded so happy on the phone the previous day. This was the news she'd wanted to share.

When the elevator doors opened, I stepped back into the penthouse and went straight to work. Being in charge of Price Healthcare gave Olivia a seat on the board and the power to oversee day-to-day operations.