OLIVIA
I was woken up by the thrill of my phone.
I flailed out an arm from under the sheets and grabbed my phone, squinting at the screen. Timothy Spencer. My father's oldest board member. Practically his right-hand man.
I blinked at the time—7:24 AM.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand before answering.
"Hello?"
"Olivia," Timothy's gravelly voice came through the line.
"Good morning, I hope I did not wake you."
"No, you did not," I mumbled. "What is wrong?"
"There is a board meeting scheduled this morning. It is important and we would like you to come in."
"A board meeting? I…Timothy, I can't. I'm dealing with my father's legal mess. There is so much going on, I don't even…"
"I understand," he cut in gently, "but this is something we need to do. We wouldn't call you if it wasn't necessary."
I opened my mouth to argue but… stopped.
"Alright," I said, exhaling. "I will be there."
"Good," he replied. "We will see you soon."
He hung up.
I swung my legs off the bed and stood up. My head still felt heavy from last night—too many emotions, too little sleep.
I padded out of my room, barefoot, yawning as I rubbed the side of my neck.
Then stopped dead in the center of the living room.
Enrique was in the kitchen and he was cooking judging by the smell of eggs, bacon, and something buttery floating through the air. I walked into the kitchen to see him barefoot, sleeves rolled up, and somehow still managed to look like he walked off a magazine cover.
He turned just as I stepped in and gave me that crooked half-smile. The one that always disarmed me more than I cared to admit.
"Morning," he said. "Did you sleep well?"
I gave him a look.
"Right. Dumb question," he said, laughing under his breath. Then his eyes swept up to my head. "Your hair says it all."
I reached up, mortified, and ran both hands through my mess of tangled curls. "Oh God, I must look like a raccoon dragged me out of a trash can."
He flipped a pancake. "A beautiful raccoon."
I flushed, brushing my fingers through my hair and trying to pat it down as subtly as I could.
"You are up early," I said, trying to change the subject.
"Couldn't sleep much either," he said, placing two plates on the table. "I figured we both could use something warm before today's madness starts again."
"Thanks," I said softly, walking over and sitting down.
He sat across from me, sliding a mug of coffee my way. "So, what's the agenda today? Do you have to be anywhere?"
I hesitated, wrapping my fingers around the warm mug. "Actually… yeah. I just got off a call with Timothy. The board wants to meet."
His brows rose just a little. "The board?"
I nodded. "Apparently it's urgent. I wasn't going to go, but Timothy insisted."
Enrique studied me for a moment. "Want me to come?"
"I was going to ask," I admitted. "I need the backup. It feels like too much right now. I can't do it alone."
His expression softened. "Then I would be honored to go with you."
I gave him a small, grateful smile. "Thank you."
We ate in quiet for a few minutes. My stomach did not exactly welcome the food, but I knew I had to eat something or I would fall apart halfway through the meeting.
After breakfast, I dressed quickly, twisting my hair up and forcing my face to look halfway human. Enrique waited for me by the front door, black suit and tie already in place, looking like he was about to walk into a war.
The ride to my father's office building was also silent. I knew he was leaving me to my thoughts. As soon as we pulled up, a crowd of reporters swarmed the entrance.
I froze in the passenger seat.
"There is more of them than yesterday," I murmured.
"They will be there every day," Enrique said calmly, already unbuckling his seatbelt. "But you are not going to deal with them. I will."
Before I could argue, he was out of the car and coming around to my side. The moment I stepped out, the flash of cameras and shouting voices hit me like a wave. Enrique wrapped one arm around my shoulder and leaned in close.
"Head down. Keep walking. Let me handle it."
He moved like a shield, blocking their mics and bodies from touching me. Not once did he flinch. Not once did he let them close.
By the time we got through the doors, I felt like I could finally breathe again.
"Thanks," I whispered.
He didn't say anything, just nodded once and rested a hand lightly on the small of my back as we stepped into the elevator.
When we reached the boardroom, I stepped in first.
Liam was already seated.
He looked up, startled. "Olivia? You got called in too?"
He frowned. "Yeah. I thought it was just me."
I walked further into the room and took a seat near the head of the table. "Well, apparently this is urgent enough that I need to leave my father's legal crisis behind to be here, so let us get to it."
There were murmurs of agreement. Tension was high in the room. The men and women around the long table looked tense, weary, uncertain.
Enrique stood by the wall behind me.
Timothy, seated beside me, cleared his throat.
Then his eyes flicked toward Enrique.
"I am sorry, but we will need Mr. Garcia to wait outside," he said stiffly. "He is a competitor. This is a private matter."
I could feel the way Enrique's posture shifted behind me.
He didn't say a word, but I turned slightly in my chair and caught it—the sharp, cold arch of his eyebrow. The faint tension in his jaw. He was about to make Timothy regret speaking.
So I cut in fast.
"He stays," I said firmly.
"Olivia—"
"I asked him to be here. I trust him."
The room went silent.
Timothy exhaled, clearly displeased, but relented. "Very well."
He looked around the table, then adjusted his glasses.
"Your father," he began, "took some necessary steps in the past few months. After the… complications with Liam."
All heads turned to Liam, who looked deeply uncomfortable as Timothy glared at him.
"Following those issues," Timothy continued, "he made arrangements in the event that anything happened to take him out of the picture. His instructions were specific. Should anything occur that threatened his position or the company, all operational authority would pass to one person."
He turned to me fully now.
"You, Olivia."
The room blurred for a second.
"What?" I whispered.
"You are now in charge. Until your father's situation is resolved and however that may unfold, you have full authority over the company."
I felt the air leave my lungs. "He—he didn't tell me…"
"He was hoping…," Timothy said. "Hoping it would not come to this. But he trusted you. Completely."
I turned slightly, glancing at Enrique behind me. I caught the shift in his expression, the flicker of surprise. The grit of his teeth.
But in a blink, his face smoothed out again, calm and unreadable.
Did I imagine it?
Maybe.
Or maybe he did not like surprises any more than I did.
Liam shifted in his seat beside Timothy, and the silence didn't last long.
"You can't be serious," he said, letting out a dry laugh. "With all due respect—this is absurd."
All eyes snapped to him.
"Olivia has never handled company operations," Liam continued. "She is not trained for this. She doesn't understand board dynamics, corporate negotiations—there is a legal scandal at play here and no offense, but you are putting the company at risk."
I felt the heat crawl up my neck. Whether it was anger or humiliation, I wasn't sure yet.
But then Timothy's voice cut through the room like a whip.
"You're lucky you are even in this boardroom," Timothy said coldly. "You think we have forgotten the mess you caused?"
Liam's jaw twitched but he said nothing.
"Your opinion on leadership is about as valuable as your loyalty—nonexistent."
Liam stood slowly, his chair scraping backward. "You are all making a mistake. No offense, Olivia."
I looked up at him then.
He was angry and his face was contorted with rage. How had I not seen him like this… the real him
He let out a huff and shook his head. "Call me when the walls start shaking. I will be outside watching them fall."
Then he turned and walked out without another word.
The door clicked behind him and Timothy turned to me.
"Olivia." Timothy's voice gentled again as he turned to me. "This is happening. Your father's instructions were clear. You don't need to do everything on your own, but the authority is yours."
I swallowed.
"This is… unbelievable," I whispered.
But it was real. I could feel the weight of it settling on my shoulders.
I had walked in here expecting to sit silently while the board handled whatever disaster had surfaced today and now I was being handed control of a company.
"I will do my best for the company as my father would want" I spoke.
There was a round of applause around the table and when I turned to Enrique again, he had a smile on his face, clapping alongside everyone.
He threw me a wink and I smiled at him
How did I think he was being weird?