Loving My Best Friend

Ch 10 - Vacations

Oliver barged inside Emily’s office and slapped a few files on her table.

Emily got startled and looked at him in surprise. “Oliver? What’s happening?”

“These are our previous clients and I think we should get in touch with them for further business,” Oliver said and Emily got confused. Was he really taking an interest in her company or was it just a show?

“Great idea, Oliver. But we don’t want to seem eager. I mean we have business, it’s not like we’re out of business,” Emily said and Oliver shook his head, leaning on her table.

“And who said there’s a limit to how many clients we can take at a time?” Oliver asked and she shook her head.

“But we don’t have enough workforce to manage several multiple projects at the same time,” Emily argued back.

“We can hire temporary workers. There are plenty of them in the market. Just get these done and we are good,” Oliver said and walked back to the door, leaving her office.

Emily, still stunned, stared at his back blankly when he turned around.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Oliver said, this time with a smirk on his face. “Don’t forget about Vermont.”

Hearing him mention Vermont, Emily groaned and Oliver chuckled, leaving her office. She was notified a week ago that she and Oliver were expected to accompany Bernard Hansen on vacation in Vermont.

Unable to deny it, Emily had agreed and she was regretting it. Not that she wasn’t looking forward to the vacation, but that the constant presence of Oliver around her wouldn’t do anything good to her mind and body. She was already avoiding him as much as she could at the office, but there in one home, how much would she avoid him?

It was bound to be a disaster.

~~~~~~~~

The day came sooner than she had anticipated when they had to leave for Vermont. She was dressed in a white shirt and blue pants with sunglasses perched on her nose.

She was, as usual, waiting for Oliver so that they could board the private jet of the Hansens. Their other siblings also accompanied them since it was a family vacation. Emily’s brother was also Oliver’s brother’s friend, so he also came, while Matthew, Oliver’s youngest brother, brought his girlfriend and his best friend.

Seeing Matthew, Emily felt envious. He had a best friend who was just a best friend and not like Emily, who had a best friend, but her feelings were not letting her be friends with him again.

Sighing to herself, she greeted everyone and saw Oliver finally coming towards them. He was dressed in a gray button-down shirt and white pants while his hair was brushed back except for a few strands teasing his forehead. His eyes were obscured by a pair of sunglasses and then Emily’s gaze fell on his lips. She could swear they were the most delicious pair of lips she had ever seen. The smirk on those lips got Emily’s attention and she looked away. She was grateful for wearing glasses while she was checking out Oliver. He would have a field day if he knew.

Oliver came to stop beside her and said greetings to everyone. Together they began to move towards the plane when Oliver sidled up close to Emily, making her look up at him.

“I can feel your gaze all over me,” Oliver said. “You seemed like you wanted to do much more than look.”

Emily’s mouth fell open and her brows furrowed together and she pressed the glasses on her nose, wondering how on earth he knew that she was ogling him like a love-sick puppy. However, the damage was done.

“You are delusional to think that I want anything like that from you,” Emily said and walked faster to leave him behind. She knew he would continue to press if she didn’t get away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They reached Vermont after a long flight and, despite it being comfortable, Emily just wanted the comfort of a bed and a good sleep. After reaching the mansion, Emily was not surprised by the sheer beauty and enormity of it, since she had been in Vermont a few times before.

After settling into her room, she freshened up and changed into a comfortable dress. Upon getting out of her room, Emily was greeted with the sight of Oliver flirting with a pretty woman who appeared unfazed by his advances. That was a first for Emily to see a woman who wasn’t falling at Oliver’s feet, but she couldn’t say that for Oliver. He was, as usual, flirting despite being ignored.

Feeling annoyed, Emily kept observing the exchange between them and then Oliver turned to Emily.

“Eleanor, meet Emily. A family friend as well as my boss,” Oliver said, and Emily saw the woman’s eyes widening and her eyebrows shot up. Emily was curious as to who this woman actually was. Emily had never seen her in any gathering before.

“Oh, so you’re Emily. Mr. Hansen is very impressed with your work. So am I,” the woman said to Emily with a smile, and Emily smiled back.

“And Emily meet Eleanor. Dad’s executive assistant and Rickard’s---”Oliver was saying, but the woman named Eleanor interrupted him.

“Just Mr. Hansen’s executive assistant,” she finished for Oliver and forced a smile on her face. Emily could tell Eleanor was uncomfortable with the name Rickard mentioned.

“What happened to Rickard?” Oliver asked. Emily had gotten the hint but looked like Oliver hadn’t and he continued to pry.

Eleanor was glaring at Oliver now. “How about we leave it alone and talk about something that matters?”

Emily knew Oliver’s curiosity wasn’t gone just like that. He would continue to pry unless she stepped in. “Oliver has a knack for making people awkward. Ignore him. Do you want to grab a coffee, Eleanor?” Emily asked and Eleanor nodded eagerly.

“Yes, definitely,” Eleanor said and together they went downstairs to get coffee while they talked.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Days passed in a blur and Emily kept herself drowned in work even during the vacation. She couldn’t deny that she was enjoying her time with everyone else, but for her, work was important and it kept her distracted from the advances of Oliver. It was only sometimes that Eleanor dragged her to spend some time away from work and have a little fun.

Emily had introduced Eleanor to Kate, Matthew’s girlfriend, and Chloe, Matthew’s best friend. Kate and Chloe were sweet girls and always looked ahead to having fun, but Emily and Eleanor, on the other hand, were also busy with work. After sharing a heart to heart conversation with Eleanor, Emily found out that she had been hurt by Oliver’s elder brother, Rickard Hansen, and Emily realized that both brothers were assholes. But at the same time, there was a connection between Eleanor and Rickard, unlike Emily and Oliver who had no connection, just physical attraction, at least for Oliver.

It was at night when Emily was working on her laptop when she felt the urge to eat something. She wasn’t hungry but was craving something sweet. Glancing at the date on her phone, she wondered if her period was coming sooner than anticipated.

Looking at the time, she realized it wasn’t too late at night and she could check out the kitchen to find something to munch on. Placing her laptop on the bed, she got out of bed and went out of her room.

She reached the kitchen after crossing the stairs and saw that the lights were on. Grateful for the light, she stepped into the kitchen and raided the fridge first. She saw a jar of nutella and her mouth watered. However, she also checked the cabinets first and then after not finding anything that was mouthwatering, she settled for nutella.

Taking out the nutella jar, she opened it and dipped a spoon in it, then took out a spoonful of the creamy chocolate spread. She placed the spoon into her mouth and moaned, reveling in the taste.

She swore she wanted to kiss the hands of the person who invented nutella. It was that delicious.

Emily was lost in the delicious sweet taste of chocolate when she heard someone clear their throat and almost jumped in the air in surprise. She turned around and was not much surprised to find Oliver standing not very far from her with a frown on his face. However, the sight of him shirtless made her mouth fall open and she quickly averted her eyes before he realized she was affected by it.

“What are you doing?” He asked, taking a look at the nutella jar.

Emily moved in front of him and blocked his view. “I am hungry so I came here to eat. What are you doing here?”

Oliver walked closer and stopped right in front of her, making her tilt her head to look up at him since he was taller than her. His blue eyes raked over her body and she suddenly felt exposed and realized what she was wearing.

She wore a spaghetti strap top accompanied with a pair of shorts. Looking down at her night dress she hoped it wasn’t revealing a lot of her skin but the look on Oliver’s face said otherwise. His eyes were taking in every inch of her body, taking their sweet time and Emily felt hot as his gaze traveled.

“I am hungry too… but not for food,” Oliver said, moving closer, and Emily's eyes widened. Ever since she had threatened him with a lawsuit, Oliver had never bothered her inside the office and she barely saw him outside the office. But in Vermont, she was around him 24/7. There was no official workplace here and definitely nothing to keep Oliver away. For the past few days, he hadn’t shown any interest in her besides a few remarks and Emily was beginning to think that he had stopped thinking of her that way but she was mistaken. What she saw right then made her think that he was only waiting for the right time to corner her. He was the predator and Emily was a prey.

She had no idea what to reply to him. Her mouth had gone dry and gone was the craving for chocolate. It was replaced by an ache deep within her, yearning to be filled.

“Oliver, move away from me,” Emily whispered and closed her eyes in embarrassment of sounding weak. If he wasn’t going to move away, then she could and she stepped away from him, creating distance between them.

“What if I don’t?” Oliver said, his voice sounding hoarse.

Emily looked up in alarm at his audacity and shook her head. However, Oliver stepped closer, making Emily back up in a corner.

“This is not appropriate. I am your boss, Oliver.” Emily argued, and his eyes only darkened hearing her. She hoped he would come to his senses and stop acting like that.

“Say that again,” he said, and Emily felt her back touch the wall, making her eyes widen.

She pressed her hands against his chest and she felt the sparks right away. Her hands itched to move around and explore his body, but she willed herself to not. She would only get hurt in the future if she let herself follow her heart.

“What’s wrong with you,Oliver? You are again acting like this. We can’t do this. You can’t do this."

Oliver put both of his hands on each side of her on the wall, caging her. “Why? We’re not in the office.”

Emily frowned lightly and bit her lip. “But I am still your boss—”

Her words were swallowed when Oliver closed his mouth over hers, and silenced her protest.