The Rented Husband (Southern Nights Series)

Chapter 7

**Edited by Adelina Clonts aka Seawriter**

“The Rented Husband”

2011 © All Rights Reserved

Chapter 7

Brody couldn’t help but notice Olivia’s peculiar expression when she hung up the phone.Her eyes fearfully squinted together and her small mouth curved into a frown as she stared down at the receiver like she was trying to figure out some sort of puzzle.

“Is there something wrong?” he finally asked after several seconds had passed, seeing she wasn't very forthcoming.

She glanced up and shook her head back and forth giving off a nervous chuckle.“No, it’s just some stupid kids making prank calls again," she told him distantly, but disturbingly added, "It’s the second one that I have had today and I was just wondering how in the world they could have gotten my number."

Brody chewed on that bit of information for a moment before speaking again.“So....you said... you received two calls today?” Brody questioned her, only wanting to confirm he heard her correctly.He didn’t like the implications of two prank calls in one day; especially, with the type of work they were involved in.

Olivia nodded and then shrugged her shoulders.“It’s summer, the kids are out of school and you know kids, Brody,they get bored and they do stupid stuff.Heck, even I did it when I was younger with my sisters just to see how many people we could get riled up.It was a game, I admit a stupid one,now that I am on the receiving end of the calls,but it's a game nonetheless.”

Sighing loudly, Olivia sat back down at her desk and mumbled, “I just wish they would lose my number and bug the hell out of someone else though.”

Brody still wasn’t comfortable with just putting it off on some kids that were bored.Stepping up to her desk, he bent over it and rested his palms on the edge of the cherry wood.He needed to be close to her so that he could try and get across to her how serious this could be if not checked out.“Liv, why don’t you have someone in security trace the calls?In our line of work you can never be too careful,” he said insistently.“God knows that we deal with an awful lot of crazies.”

Leaning back in her chair Olivia crossed her hands over her chest and stared back at Brody.Fifteen minutes.He had only been in there for fifteen minutes and he was already starting to get under her skin.How the heck was she going to deal being around him practically twenty four seven for an entire week in Hawaii?“I told you that it was just some kids, Brody; nothing more.Drop it, okay?” she said to him, sounding both tired and exasperated at the same time.

“One call is all it would take, Liv, to clear this up,” he firmly replied, sounding more serious than she had ever seen him outside of the court room.Reaching down he picked up her desk phone and held it out to her, “Go on and just to be on the safe side, make the damn call.It will only take a minute of your precious time.”

Brody's face was tight as he continued to stare at Olivia, willing her to take the phone from him.She could easily read the determination on his face.He was not going to let this matter go until she made the call to security and had them trace the calls.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered, snatching the phone roughly out of his hand.“This is nothing but a waste of their time as well as mine,” she seethed while punching the numbers in for the security desk and periodically, she would glance up only to glare hard back at Brody while she relayed the information about the call.

This was partly the reason that Olivia had never had any use for a husband before.At times, men could be too overbearing and at other times,they were just plain out incorrigible.Regardless, men were something Olivia could definitely live without.She enjoyed her independence and had no intentions whatsoever of giving it up.