The Other CEO: EXTRAS

Pierce's POV - Chapter 9

It was a normal day at work. I had done some financial overview of the company's standing from last month's operations. The work load had gotten heavier as the year progressed and I still had a lot to learn. I was concentrating on the figures shown on the graph when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I raised my voice a bit so the person on the other side would hear me.

"Mr. Alexander?" I heard Olivia called out my attention. I looked up and saw her enter rather cautiously. I then noticed that she was already holding her coat, purse and some flowers? Was someone from the office had taken interest on her? I suddenly felt a pang of jealousy that someone would make a move on Olivia. I couldn't seem to get her off my mind lately. There was this invisible pull that would keep letting me come back. Somehow, I admittedly wanted her to be mine.

"What's with the flowers? Do you have a date?" I asked a little too eager.

I caught her chuckling at my question. It was rather odd that she would react that way. I raised an eyebrow at her, making her quickly clear her throat, "No sir, I'm actually here to ask you if I could leave earlier..."

"To meet with your date," I cut her off, assuming that it was the real reason. I clenched my jaw, thinking that I might say something stupid that would hurt her feelings. I was usually not the type of person to say things that I was bluntly feeling instead I use this kind of defense mechanism to say the opposite. I wanted to spare my feelings and show that I wasn't weak.

"Um no...I'm actually going to visit you father's grave. It has already been a month."

"Oh," I instantly felt relieved but at the same time I felt bad. How could I be so rash? I just couldn't stand the fact that she was with another man. What was even happening to me?

She then continued, "I also wanted to ask if you would like to come with me."

I was taken aback by her invitation. I debated with myself if I should go since I wasn't prepared to face my father. Yet, a part of me wanted to. Olivia took a few steps forward until she reached my table. On her hand was a folded paper. She slid it on my table and said, "If ever you change your mind."

She smiled softly as if reassuring me that everything would be okay. When she left, I was conflicted on a decision whether it was probably time to visit my father. I had no idea on what I was supposed to do. Opening Olivia's note, written on that piece of paper was the address of the cemetery and the location where my father's grave lay.

Without putting too much into it, I stood and went to get my car to drive myself to the cemetery. I noticed that Olivia hadn't arrived yet when I got there. I had been walking awhile when I saw what I had been looking for, my father's grave. I didn't have the courage to go near his grave alone. I sat on a bench a few meters away from it. There was a huge tree behind me. I assumed that it was a little over a hundred years old. Still standing to this day, protecting the spirits of the dead. I looked over the vast property of the cemetery questioning why I was here, why I needed to be here. It was too late to want answers from my father. Even I couldn't bring him back.

I heard footsteps behind me. It made me turn around to look, it was Olivia. She didn't notice me yet. Her eyes were so focused on something as she walked towards my father's grave. She then sat herself in front of the grave and put the flowers that she had brought with her. I could see that she had a smile on her face to see my father but her eyes looked sad. She really did care for him, I realized.

Olivia started to speak to my father, "Hey old man."

"I've missed you. The office isn't the same without you. Your lame jokes would have been useful by now. You know, to cheer me up."

She had thanked my father when I heard that he had given her some financial aid for whatever reason she had needed with it. It was hard to listen to her as she cried, grieving for a loved one.

Why couldn't I feel anything?

However, I felt a different emotion flicker across my chest. Something was tugging at my heart. I knew she was different ever since that night at the club but looking at her right now felt like discovering something genuine comparable to a rare diamond. It dawned on me that she didn't work for my father to get her hands on his money. Somehow, my father just wanted to help her. He saw something in her. With that, she had returned her kindness and hard work to my father. Her loyalty was something really to be proud of.

I started taking a few steps after I gave Olivia her moment. A lot of questions were plaguing my mind. I wanted answers but somehow I was scared to find out.

She had sensed my presence, swiftly turning around with a surprised look on her face.

"W-what are you doing here? How much did you hear?" She snapped, noticing the tears she just wiped from her face before looking at me.

I chuckled at her fuming reaction. She probably didn't want anyone to hear the personal conversation she had with my father but I just couldn't help myself. I was already there before she was, she just didn't notice me. I gave her a smile, a real one, gesturing that I came in peace.

"You gave me directions to my father's grave. I changed my mind so I came," I shrugged.

"Right," she said, embarrassed. I carefully took a few steps towards her. Not really sure what to say to her. I just felt the urge to kiss her tinted pink lips but I shook that inappropriate thought from my head. I looked straight ahead and queried the thing that I wanted to ask first.

"How did he die?" I couldn't look at her as I stared at a distant, clearing my thoughts.

"Heart problem...died in his sleep. He overworked himself too much." She replied, carefully choosing her words. I closed my eyes and thought about him. Recalling any memory I had of him but I couldn't come up with one as of the moment. All the memories of my father were just stories told by my mother since I was just a child at that time. I could only remember the story when my father came home early from work and we had dinner together as a family. We were happy at that time since he made an effort to show himself to dinner and talk about his day. He also played with me after that.

"Did he ever talk about us?" I questioned another query that I was scared of asking.

"He always did." A small smile played on her lips as if recalling all the times my father had talked about me.

I suddenly felt something warm wrap around my waist. When I opened my eyes, Olivia was hugging me. I could smell her vanilla scent as she pressed herself against me. My initial reaction made me rigid at the simple act that she was doing to comfort me. It immediately made me feel at ease with my father's absence and loss.

I hugged her back.

At that moment, our hearts did the talking. I took everything in. How her smell made me relax. How her body mended well with mine. How the soft beating of her heart made me feel something that I hadn't felt before. I wanted her. I wanted her to be mine.

"I'm sorry," I whispered after the long silence. Everything felt right and apologizing to her seemed like the right moment to do this. She pulled away slightly. I could see that her eyes were bewildered with what I just said. She probably had waited for me to say it.

"That night at the club, I told you things that I didn't mean. It was wrong of me to judge you without getting the chance to know you first. I'm really sorry." I continued.

Unexpectedly, she beamed at me. "You know, pizzas make a good compensation."

I raised an eyebrow at her, sounding adorable at her playfulness. "Are you trying to lure me into buying you pizza?"

"Maybe," she shrugged.

It was hard to refuse. Seeing that we were okay had lifted my mood. "Okay, let's go get pizza then." I quickly agreed to her bait.

I had started walking then, waiting for her to catch up.

"Wait, really? It was that easy to convince you?"

I turned to look at her with a huge smile on my face, "Are you coming or not?"

***

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