Olivia, Striking Back - Danielle Norman Page 0,38

to live the rest of her life afraid to walk around her own home.

Olivia would do this for her and for all women everywhere in similar situations. One kiss, and then she would push Dr. Bannon away and feign some kind of panic attack to get her out of his office. One kiss, which he asked her for without prompting or baiting from her, would be enough to serve as proof that he was cheating on Lila.

“Really?” she gasped, batting her eyelashes with bashfulness. “Why me?”

“Well, because you’re so sexy,” crooned Drake. “Will you let me kiss you? I really think you’d like it, Olivia.”

Come on, Adeline. Get a good shot. For the love of God, please get a good shot with that overpriced camera lens we purchased.

“I’m not sure.” She was toeing a delicate line. One wrong move and Olivia could blow everything.

“Well, I’ll make you feel sure, how about that?”

Drake tilted his face toward hers, and Olivia responded in kind, but she wasn’t too eager. She still wanted to come across as timid. The character that she was playing would naturally respond to affection from any man because she was needy and sad. Drake approached slowly, studying her face carefully as he moved closer.

Olivia’s eyes drifted shut and she braced herself for the inevitable touch of his lips to hers. She really, really didn’t want to do this, but there was no way that she could break character now. Drake needed to believe that he had ensnared her like a pathetic fly in his sticky spider web and she was helpless to resist. Given their current proximity to each other and the angle of their bodies through the frame of the office window, Adeline probably already had plenty of incriminating shots. However, Olivia had to see it through.

Just as she felt the slightest puff of Drake’s breath on her lips as he hovered a mere centimeter away from her, the room exploded with a loud bang as the door was flung open violently. Drake jumped back from Olivia, both of them whirling to face the open doorway.

Standing there, his eyes wild with rage and his fists clenched, was Rhys.

Rhys

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Rhys roared, rushing into the room.

Drake jumped up from the chaise and spun to face his brother. They were both tall, broad, and visibly angry. Olivia stared, not entirely sure if she should jump in between them to split them apart or sit back and let this play out.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t get enough on your own, so you have to go after my girlfriend? Jesus Christ, you have a wife, don’t you?” Rhys shouted. “A woman who I know is sitting patiently at home, probably thumbing through baby magazines.”

This was not part of the plan. Rhys knew she had her regularly scheduled visit with Drake that morning, but he wasn’t supposed to intervene.

Still, as it stood, it wasn’t technically ruining the case.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Drake scoffed. “Olivia was the one who came to me, you idiot.”

He shot her a sideways glance, but Olivia continued the shy charade and glanced down at the floor.

“Rhys, please don’t do this right now,” she whispered, hoping that he would play along and know that her pleading wasn’t genuine. “Drake was just trying to help me. This is how he helps all of his clients, right?”

Drake smirked at Rhys. “See? My special treatments are valued and appreciated, so get out of here and let me continue my work.”

“Yes, Dr. Bannon only sleeps with his clients because it helps them get better, right?” Olivia pressed, hoping for a recorded confession in the heat of the moment.

“Yes, exactly.” Drake grinned at her warmly. “My methods are extremely effective.”

Rhys scoffed. “Well, screw you, then. Screw both of you. This is ridiculous.”

“Rhys, wait!” she called out. “Rhys, wait!” she called again as he flung his leg over his motorcycle, jaw set in anger. “Please, for the love of God, can you just wait a goddamn minute?”

Rhys sighed and glared at her. “I stopped by because I wanted to check on you. I knew you were here, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. I saw Adeline in the car, so I sat with her and had to watch him get closer and closer to you. I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t mean to intervene, but I really couldn’t stand the sight of you letting him kiss you.”

“I didn’t,”