Chapter 37 - Oliver

**OLIVER**

“I screwed up, didn’t I?” Oliver stood in the room and looked at Susanne with a questioning look, his nervousness reflected in his stiff shoulders.
“What do you mean?” Susanne sank contentedly into her desk chair and looked at him with an expression he immediately disliked.
“Emily Saron made you tear up the contract, didn’t she?” He couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling in his chest that he had irrevocably lost something valuable.
Susanne glanced at the folder in front of her. Does this look like torn documents? She smiled smugly. “The lady wants the contract emailed to her so she can review it. But I’ll tell you what...” Susanne leaned conspiratorially over her computer and whispered so loudly that it bordered on sarcasm. “...she’ll agree to the contract. Dating the boss, especially a billionaire? What woman doesn’t dream of that?”
Oliver raised an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically. “You, maybe?”
Susanne laughed out loud and relaxed. “Me? Sure! Of course I dream about it too! But, you know, I don’t have a billionaire for a boss.” She gave him a mischievous look, as if she enjoyed the situation. “Well, Mr. Saron - oh, I’m sorry, I meant Mr. Daron, of course.”
Her grin made him sigh. “Ha, ha,” he murmured, making a face. “Very funny.”
Susanne went even further, as she continued to sneer, beaming all over her face: “Yes, absolutely! How about you marry her? Oliver Daron and Emily Saron - the perfect Daron-Saron family!”
Annoyed, Oliver stood up and energetically pushed back his chair. “That’s enough. I’m going to take my lunch break.” Susanne watched him with that unbearable, obnoxious grin he was trying to hide. “A client is coming after. Send him directly to conference room two. I’ll have everything ready for him there.” He took one last look at her before turning abruptly and leaving the office as quickly as possible, as if fleeing from an annoying ghost.
As he walked down the hallway, an unpleasant realization hit him: he had once acted spontaneously on a gut feeling, and now it would probably haunt him for days, weeks, and - with bad luck - maybe even months. This mistake stuck to him like a shadow he couldn’t shake. Susanne was a changed person and seemed to enjoy his misfortune.
“Marrying Emily, what nonsense!” Oliver growled softly as he considered how to make the first move. The thought of bringing her into his house seemed ridiculous. “I want her in my bed, not at the altar,” he muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Although he found the almost icy woman from earlier extremely attractive. Emily would look wonderful next to him in that business attire - they could be the perfect couple!
“Nonsense,” he growled. He had no time for wedding bells. But time was running out if he was going to win Emily over for his sexual pleasure. Alexander Fitzpatrick, the arrogant designer, had one crucial advantage: he was a sought-after billionaire. Oliver was wealthy too, but he couldn’t match the designer’s wealth. His agency was doing quite well, but Fitzpatrick Designs was a giant - a name that exerted an almost magical attraction on women. Oliver had no desire to be outdone by someone like Alexander.
But he still had an ace up his sleeve. The small but subtle difference was that he wasn’t really Emily’s boss. The escort service she had started with him was more of a sideline. She was Alexander Fitzpatrick’s bookkeeper. That was her day job. The fact that she had been booked as an escort for a long time could only be seen as a sideline. The DarEnd-Agency paid a beginner so little that Emily would have refused to sign if she had known the amount.
He had to somehow convince Emily that it was absolutely inappropriate for her to start something with her boss - Alexander. And then he could really go to town. Who knew, if she was good in bed, maybe he would start a long-term relationship with her. She looked damn hot and had exquisite taste when it came to her professional wardrobe. He could see himself fucking her more than once or twice.
Oliver took the elevator down to the parking garage to have lunch in the city, but Susanne’s words kept running through his mind. *Emily didn’t send you a message because she lost your business card.* That was the key! Maybe he could use this as an excuse to take the next step with Emily. His eyes began to sparkle as a plan came to him. No woman could resist this idea - at least not if she was remotely attracted to men like him.
As he slammed the car door behind him, he reached for his cell phone and dialed the number of his favorite florist. He was lucky because Lea, who had helped him so many times, answered the phone immediately. “Hello, Lea. I need some flowers - a huge bouquet that will knock any woman’s socks off. Even the most sober accountant should melt. And a handwritten note, too.” Lea laughed softly. “Someone must have made quite an impression, huh? I’m thinking of a mixture of roses, lilies and carnations. What about the colors?”
“Not red, that would be too bold. But it shouldn’t look dull either.” Oliver thought about it. “What about different shades of pink? Not too obtrusive in the office, but inviting.”
“Perfect, I already have an idea. What should be on the card?”
Oliver thought for a moment. “Write: ‘To the woman who stumbled into my heart. Will you take me to dinner? Oliver Daron’. And then my number.”
“That sounds like something out of a romance novel,” Lea teased. “When does the bouquet arrive?”
“Today, to the accounting department at Fitzpatrick Designs.” Oliver could feel the tension in his voice as he continued. “Emily Saron should get it before the end of the day.”
“All right, I’ll find out when they can be delivered. Should I send you a message if everything works out?”
“Yes, please, Lea. Thank you.” Oliver hung up and sank back into the driver’s seat, a smile playing on his lips. Emily would see the bouquet in a few hours - and then?
He imagined how she would react: surprised, maybe even confused. But that would be good. It would show her that he wasn’t giving up, that he wanted to fight for her. Maybe she would agree to a meeting, maybe even tomorrow. Then he would have his chance one day before the billionaire. And one thing was clear to Oliver - he would have to use all his charm to successfully outdo Alexander.