Chapter 33: Engaged

Abigail woke up and stretched. This morning was a milestone for her. It had been two weeks since she’d gotten the job at her father’s company, and if she was perfectly honest with herself, she was really starting to love it.

Olivia had driven her everyday for the two weeks, and though Abigail wouldn’t exactly call them having bonded, Olivia did open up more to Abigail. She spoke about some of her hopes for the company, some of her hopes for herself.

As much as Olivia was driven, she also had hoped to start her own family one day. She told Abigail she’d always imagined a home of her own, like their father’s, but with four or five kids. She imagined being able to work from home sometimes, and going into the office at her leisure.

Abigail shared in equal amounts that Olivia shared with her. And though Abigail hadn’t really thought of a family yet, she didn’t entirely discount the idea. She confessed to Olivia that while she really enjoyed working in the company, she was still trying to find her footing properly. Olivia had told her to give it time, that she would settle into the role eventually.

That had been their routine for nearly two weeks. But this morning would be different. This morning, her driver had reported in for work, and her father had had one of her cars brought from one of her own properties, and she would be using that to get to work from this morning on.

Abigail was aware enough to admit that she might miss her shared mornings with Olivia. But she also very much welcomed the independence.

So she followed her normal routine, and found Adam sitting alone for breakfast.

“Olivia not here today?” Abigail asked her father, after greeting him.

“She’s already at the office,” Adam answered his daughter. “She’s normally at the office very early. But she knew that was unfair to expect you to go there so early, so she agreed to wait.”

“Oh,” Abigail said, reaching for a bagel and some smoked salmon. She hadn’t realized her sister had been specifically waiting for her.

“If you don’t mind, Abigail, though I’m sure you won’t,” Adam began, placing his newspaper down to speak to his daughter. “Lyall has asked me if I could have you help him on one of his current projects,” Adam took the file next to his plate and handed it to Abigail. “It’s very similar to the assignment I had you do a few weeks back, so I already told him you wouldn’t mind. If that’s alright?”

Abigail took the file from her father and flipped through it as he spoke. “It’s no trouble at all.” Abigail said, reading the details of the case.

Adam was right, it was very similar to what she had worked through with Mark. It wouldn’t be much of a problem. Abigail just wished her father had spoken to her first, before simply agreeing that she would have worked with him. Though, she didn’t find that it was anything she needed to make too big of a fuss over.

“And one more thing,” Adam said, as he gathered his things and prepared to leave. “Will you please come and see me in my office before you leave work this evening, there’s another thing I want to discuss with you.”

Abigail nodded absentmindedly, still flipping through the file as she had her breakfast. There was always new deals and projects in their company, though she found she quite liked it.

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Lyall sent the files ahead to her office around nine in the morning, and only arrived himself after lunch. Which Abigail found very kind of him having given her enough time to peruse through all the documents and see where they stood.

Abigail thought she had a bit of an idea of everything, and some possible plans for the future, but she wasn’t very sure where she wanted to start with everything. So she thought they could discuss the facts, she had. A few questions to run by him, and then they could come up with a solution.

She anticipated that it would take no longer than two hours, two and a half at the absolute most.

She hadn’t counted on Lyall dragging every question and conversation out longer than ever needed to be.

And the longer Lyall spoke and the more she worked with him, the more Abigail realized how much she didn’t like him. And the more she was sure that this absolutely had to be the last project they worked on together.

It wasn’t anything that she hated about him, there was just nothing she found she liked or even respected. Lyall was very cold when it came to business, and he made his decisions based entirely on numbers and profits. And Abigail knew, even without her own feeling, that logically, that just wasn’t the way to do business. Even in their corporate world, they were still working with people.

And his manner around her had been just a little upsetting. She had felt uncomfortable enough that she had to leave her office door open, and that she had even wished her glass walls hadn’t been frosted, though she wondered if that would have deterred his behaviour at all.

There was nothing, outright wrong with the way he behaved. He just took too many liberties. He sat on the same sofa as she was, reclining against the backrest, and his arm stretching almost all the way over to her side.

He also stared at her often, and she’d had to call his attention back to the files more than a few times.

Lyall had suggested ordering dinner, and working just a little late, but Abigail had politely refused. She had been determined that they would finish this by the evening. She wouldn’t want to spend any more time with him, even if it was for work.


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By the end of the day, Abigail was utterly and entirely exhausted. But her father had asked to see her, so she was obliged to go to him, regardless of how tired she was.

So, at six the evening, she found herself standing outside her father’s office, wishing more than anything she could just be back in her bed.

“Abigail!” Her father greeted her excitedly as she entered.

And more than anything, Abigail wanted to know how he managed to have so much energy after working such long hours.

“You wanted to see me, dad?” Abigail asked wearily, she collapsed into the armchair in front of his desk.

“I can see you’re tired,” her dad began. “So I won’t keep you, but I just wanted to be the first of no doubt many congratulations.”

Huh? Abigail couldn’t think what she had done in the fast few hours necessitated that. She’d been doing wonderfully for the company, no question, but nothing that needed congratulations.

“Excuse me?” Abigail asked her father.

“Lyall told me about the engagement today, though I hardly think it would have been a surprise,” Adam said. “What with you two spending so much time together, and today, right at the office too.”

Abigail blinked. Lyall had told her father about an engagement? And her father, for some reason, thought it was to her? Abigail would laugh, if she wasn’t so tired.

Did her father really not see Olivia and Lyall together at all? Not even once?

“Father, I think you must be confused,” Abigail began, trying to sit up. “But Olivia . . .”

“Yes, yes,” Adam waved his hand like he wasn’t really listening to her. “I can’t begin to tell you how valuable this will be for the company. Lyall is, of course you know all about him, but not from money or influence. But his work has been so invaluable its like he comes with five Fortune companies all on his own. People that will back him wherever he goes. And it definitely doesn’t send any stronger message of where he is than marriage!”

Marriage. Abigail still hadn’t even thought of that as a prospect for herself at all yet. And here her father was, deluded beyond measure, Abigail wondered how he’d come to that conclusion, too.

“Dad,” Abigail said. “If you don’t mind, what exactly did Lyall tell you?”

“Oh, just the basics, I’m sure,” Adam told her, “How much time you two have been spending together, how that blossomed into something. And in all honesty, it did make sense, what with all the time Charlotte’s been telling me you’ve disappeared for.”

Abigail was now beyond tired. All feelings of heaviness, of listlessness, washed out of her body entirely. Like it had never been there in the first place.

“I see,” Abigail said, struggling to control her voice. “And just to be absolutely sure, Lyall told you, explicitly, that him and I are engaged to be married?”

Adam nodded enthusiastically, like he couldn’t be happier if the plan was all his idea all along.

And Abigail seethed.