Chapter 7

• CHAPTER 7
• OLIVIA POV.
• “I can't promise that for sure,” he said. “I mean, I haven't seen you in ages, and you expect me to be professional?”
• “Come on, Livie,” he urged in a low tone, but once he looked at my face and noticed I wasn't feeling his jokes, he sat up.
• “Okay, fine. I promise I will try my best to be very, very professional,” he said. I nodded and released a sigh. That was all I wanted to hear.
• I just needed to know that he wouldn't try to ruin this internship for me. This is my career, and even Alessandro doesn't know about it. I didn't bother to tell him that he has a lot on his plate already.
• “Is that all you want?” Williams asked out of the blue, and I nodded.
• Yes, that was all I wanted from him. I needed him to stay far away from me, and I hoped he would be able to keep this very professional so people wouldn't start to talk.
• In this line of work, it's easier to tear down than to build up. Any little link-up, and I'm sure everyone will attribute my hard work to him. I can already hear them saying I got the internship because I was sleeping with him.
• I really don't want tales like that hovering around my name.
• After a few minutes, we were done signing the papers. Picking up my copy of the agreement, I said, “I'm sorry, but I have to go now.” Without waiting for him to respond, I quietly turned and left his office.
• As I walked out, I exhaled slowly. Since I had been sitting there, I hadn't felt comfortable at all.
• Who would have known the nobody I slept with that night was the almighty Williams Jerkins?
• Once I left the firm, I drove straight home. Well, not really home; we were staying at a hotel nearby for the meantime until the realtor finished the kind of interior I had asked for in the house.
• Back at the hotel, I was in a daze, but once I got in, I was relieved that Jaden and Jane weren't there at the moment. I'm sure they must be at the playground now.
• I still couldn't believe what had just happened. I couldn't wrap my head around it. How did it happen? I asked myself.
• How did he find me again after five years, and how did that nobody from that night turn out to be Williams Jerkins? What kind of stupid coincidence was that? I contemplated changing firms, but that wouldn't be easy, and the Jerkins firm is the best in the States.
• I thought about working hand in hand with him, and I shook my head.
• Dammit, I can't stay there. His large influence weighed on me, and I remembered I needed to move out of the hotel as soon as possible. Even after I moved into the new house, I still needed to be very discreet about everything I was doing.
• This is his city, and he is like a king here. What if he tells someone to trail me?
• What if they trail me and notice Jaden? And what if they realize, with one glance, that Jaden is his child?
• No fucking way!
• I can't let that happen. I have to watch my back from now on. Sitting on the bed and looking around, I began to panic so badly that I picked up my phone and dialed Jane's number.
• I need her to bring back Jaden. That playground isn't far from the firm. I can't risk it.
• Pacing around the room, I thought about maybe moving away from the city entirely.
• Maybe that would be best—then I could commute to work every day from there. But that just didn't make any sense. I have to pursue my dreams. My support system with Alessandro could expire at any time when he becomes the boss of his mafia family.
• I can't risk letting him claim my son, too.
• Once Jane picked up, I ordered, “Bring Jaden back to the hotel immediately!”
• I want a career for myself, but at what cost? I thought about the risk of staying when he could easily discover my son's existence.
• And once he does, that automatically makes me an enemy of the Bianchi mafia family for lying to them all along. Or perhaps there’s a way to convince him that Jaden isn't his, and he wouldn’t try to do his own research.
• I envisioned Williams's face and quickly paired it with Jaden's. I could see the resemblance, no matter how slight it was.
• Minutes later, I dressed in a casual sweatshirt and sweatpants and headed to the hotel lobby downstairs to pick up some wine. I needed something to distract me.
• Taking the stairs, I arrived downstairs in no time and quickly requested what I wanted. I waved my card playfully, waiting for them to slot it in when I felt a hand tap my shoulder.
• “Olivia?” the voice called, and once I turned, I froze.
• I guess I should have never come here in the first place. What is the essence of hiding?