Love Like Her (Against All Odds #3) - Claudia Y. Burgoa Page 0,23

Olivia. “Call if you need me. I’ll be in the waiting room.”

Olivia’s phone rings. She bites her lip. “It’s the office.”

“Answer. I’ll stay with your dad.”

Otto and I stare at each other. Suddenly, he asks, “Why are you here?”

“Olivia mentioned she was at the hospital and I wanted to be here for her.”

He nods. “So, you came all the way from New York because you heard I’m in the hospital?”

“No. I live in Colorado, but I had a job interview here in San Francisco,” I explain. “We were going to go out tonight.”

He narrows his gaze. “What do you do for a living?”

I snort. “Currently? Nothing.”

“That’s reassuring. You don’t understand how well it feels to learn that your little girl’s boyfriend is unemployed.”

I laugh. “We’re just friends. As I said, I came to San Francisco to interview with a financial firm.”

Unamused, he asks, “What were you doing before that?”

Does he understand that I am not his daughter’s boyfriend? What’s with the twenty questions? Yet, for some reason, I feel obligated to answer. “I tried to start up a few businesses, but none of them took off.”

“When you set up a business, you have to be passionate about it. You can’t just say, I’ll start a chocolate factory because it pays well. You have to know all about chocolate. Love chocolate. Your heart has to be in what you’re doing or it won’t do well.”

Is it crazy that he makes sense? None of what I’ve done in the past three years has been exciting for me. I was just doing it for the profits.

“I wish someone had told me that before I burned through my savings.”

“It was an expensive lesson, wasn’t it?” I nod. “I’ll give you a free tip. When I decided to start my construction company, I was broke. I tried to get a loan, but there wasn’t any bank that would take a chance on me. Dan had just received an advanced payment for one of his books. He offered it to me. He trusted me and believed in me. He knew building was my passion, and I wanted to do more than just build a house. I wanted to develop neighborhoods, cities… the sky was the limit. Find your passion and then find someone who believes in you. It’s that simple.”

“What are you two talking about?” Olivia enters.

“What was that call about?” her father inquires.

“It’s Lulu, your assistant. She postponed all your meetings for next week. I’ll be taking over while you recover.”

“Thank you for doing it. Why don’t you head home?” he suggests.

“I want to stay for the night.”

“Go home, Liv,” Dan says, as he enters the room. “You can be here tomorrow morning. The surgery is scheduled at nine. They’re taking him at eight to prep him. There’s no point in being here.”

“They are right. Why don’t I take you home?”

She stares at her dad. Olivia’s shoulders slump slightly. “Fine, but you guys promise to call me if you need me?”

As we’re heading toward the exit, she says, “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Why don’t you come with me to pick up my things? I need my suit for tomorrow’s interview,” I suggest.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to do it, Liv,” I insist. “Unless you’re the San Francisco cutie serial killer.”

She snorts. “I can’t believe you still remember that.”

“It’s not every day that you come across a woman who might be attacked by a yeti, accuses you of being the hottie serial killer, and cooks you a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. All in the same night.”

“She sounds like fun.”

“She’s the best,” I agree, guiding her hand to my mouth and placing a kiss on the back of it.

Chapter Twelve

Eros

Liv’s apartment is like her. Small, cute, and welcoming.

“Everything you own is tiny,” I joke.

She glares at me. “Are you telling me you drive a big truck, own a mansion, and your furniture is for people over six feet tall?”

I roll my eyes. “I own a small SUV—which is a hybrid. My house isn’t that big, and I’m sure there’s no such thing as furniture for tall people.” I pick up a frame that’s on a bookshelf. “I love this picture of the three of you.”

She stands between Dan and Otto. “The ears are very mousy,” I joke.

She nods. “That’s the day they took me to Disneyland before I left for Canada to stay with Mom.”

“It must’ve been hard.”

Olivia shrugs. “I got used to it. We talked every night. One thing I wish we