A Heart to Trust A.L. Brooks (romantic story to read .txt) 📖

have the lovely Chrissy to thank for that.” There was almost a challenge in her tone, as if she dared Jenny to defend Chrissy. Yet her eyes said something different. They said, “I need you to trust me, believe me, and support me.”

Somehow, despite the distance that had crept between them—that Olivia had put between them—in the last few weeks, Jenny had no doubt that what Olivia was about to tell her would one hundred percent be the truth. And she would have to accept it, even if it did paint Chrissy in a very bad light. “What did she do?” Jenny held Olivia’s gaze.

Olivia swallowed. “Told Derek I’d said something I hadn’t. He updated the master schedule, then ripped into me when I didn’t do the thing that the updated schedule said I would.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “Luckily for me, my mother-in-law was super keen today and could come in at a moment’s notice. She was therefore only fifteen minutes later than the new schedule proposed. The sound guys she was to work with fell under her charms within five minutes and the problem was forgotten. But not by Derek.” She laughed bitterly. “Chrissy made sure of that.”

“I noticed they’d been spending a lot of time together.” Jenny sighed, and the final strands of trust she’d had for Chrissy snapped. “I thought I could trust her. Especially after I spoke to her. But it looks like I might have been trusting the wrong person.” She looked up at Olivia. “I’m sorry. For not believing you before.”

Olivia waved her hand. “Why would you? She was super nice to you, from the get-go. But she seems to be excellent at the fine art of manipulation…”

“Yeah, a friend of mine said that too.” Jenny rubbed a hand across the back of her neck. To her surprise, Olivia’s gaze tracked the movement.

“She did?” Olivia’s voice was low, almost a whisper, her gaze still locked on Jenny’s hand as it moved back and forth over her neck.

Goose bumps erupted up and down Jenny’s arms at the sound of Olivia’s voice; she dropped her hand. “Uh-huh. She said she’s seen enough office politics and games to know a manipulator when she sees one.” Jenny forced herself to break Olivia’s gaze. “I’ve been trying to step back a little from Chrissy, watch her as if I’d not known her before. I’ve seen a few things that, well, make me realize I was a bit naive to trust her so much to begin with.”

“I’m sorry.” Olivia pursed her lips. “Like I said to you once before, I didn’t want to come between the two of you. You can choose your own friends. But I think she’s working very hard to make sure one of us, probably me, gets fired by Derek before he has to make a choice as to which three of us he keeps. I can only assume that’s because she’s scared that, on performance alone, she’d be the one heading out the door.”

“It’s funny, I’ve been thinking it’s Maxwell at risk. He’s just not motivated enough to do what C&V does.”

“True, but if you’re as insecure as Chrissy is, you don’t see that. You only see your own failings and you work hard to deflect attention away from them.” Olivia tipped her head back, gazing at the murky ceiling. “I wonder if she even realizes what she’s doing. It’s quite sad, in a way. Nasty, but sad nonetheless.” She looked at Jenny.

“What a crappy situation we’re all in.” Jenny’s annoyance at the whole mess came to the surface. “Fuck Derek and his dumb idea to make us all play off each other. I mean, seriously, what the hell did he think would happen? Asshole.”

Olivia blinked, then moved onto the empty chair between them.

The move was so sudden yet graceful, it left Jenny breathless.

Olivia was now only inches from Jenny, and her hazel eyes studied Jenny with an intensity that made something throb low in Jenny’s abdomen. “Your eyes go this incredible color when you’re angry,” Olivia whispered. “It’s literally like the darkness of a storm cloud brewing on the horizon. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”

Jenny swallowed, and a part of her brain thought she should move or back away. But she was glued to her seat, her limbs frozen, her entire being yearning for—

She’s married, a voice in the back of her head whispered. A voice that sounded a lot like Tamara.

“Olivia.” It was all Jenny got out before Olivia’s lips pressed against hers and kissed her with both softness and heat that, together, sent shockwaves coursing through Jenny’s limbs. She froze for a millisecond. Then she returned the kiss, unable to fight the desire that swept over her at Olivia’s touch. It had been over a year since she’d been kissed, and she hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed it until this moment, right here.

Olivia increased the pressure of her mouth and parted her lips.

Jenny moaned, soft and low, as Olivia swept her tongue delicately over Jenny’s top lip and sought permission to enter her mouth. She gave it, alarms screaming in her mind while she simultaneously craved the hot wetness and the sensual feel of Olivia’s mouth claiming hers.

Olivia kissed her with a strength that was as surprising as it was arousing, and Jenny moaned again. At the sound, Olivia clutched at the waistband of Jenny’s pants and pushed even closer.

“Olivia?” a woman’s voice called. “Are you back here? I thought I saw you walk this way.”

Olivia pulled back so fast Jenny very nearly ended up on the floor. In the next second Olivia stood and brushed at her clothes. She rushed toward the door.

Jenny stared after her, her mind taking forever to catch up to what had just happened.

Katherine Sinclair appeared at the doorway just as Olivia reached it. “Oh, there you are, darling.” She leaned in and kissed Olivia’s cheek. “I just wanted to catch up with you before I go on stage. Isn’t this tremendously exciting!”

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