Page 24 of Wife By Accident

“Thanks for giving me a chance and coming with me,” Leo replied. “I’ll try to be back by seven, eight at the latest.”

With that, he went back down the hallway, leaving Olivia alone in the expansive guest room. She stood frozen for a long moment, until she heard the whir of the elevator.

“Well, okay then,” she said quietly. Coffee and rest on the flight had helped her hangover, but she was still hungry. The pretzels she’d eaten hadn’t been filling, and she’d opted against the tuna sandwich. Maybe it was time to check out the kitchen Leo had mentioned.

Olivia went down the hallway, managing to spare only a glance at Leo’s room. The kitchen was easy to find. It was filled with gleaming appliances that must have cost a king’s ransom. She ran her hand across one shiny countertop before going to the fridge.

It was well-stocked with what looked like containers of meal prep. There were boxes of rice with vegetables and chicken, containers of pasta, and small bags of snacks like grapes and cheese. She found something that looked like stir-fry and popped the container into the microwave to heat it up. While it spun, she looked around the kitchen more.

The view out the window was spectacular. Olivia found herself staring at the skyline and wondering how Leo could afford a place like this. She gave almost half of her salary for a tiny studio in a far-flung neighborhood of Seattle that could be most generously described as “up-and-coming.” This was clearly prime real estate in the heart of New York City and must have cost a fortune.

The microwave beeped, and Olivia got her food out. She went to find somewhere to sit and eat and passed the living room. There, she spotted a few framed photos of Leo with a man who looked a lot like him. They were both smiling in all the photos, whether they were dressed in hiking gear or formal suits. This must be a brother, or a cousin.

Olivia found a table on the balcony and sat. The air was cooler now, but enjoyable, and she dug into her food with gusto. It was surprisingly tasty. When she’d finished, she went back to her room and took a shower. The water was hot, the shower was filled with sweet-smelling soaps and shampoos, and Olivia took a while to rinse off the day she’d had.

She changed into her one remaining clean outfit, making a mental note to find a washing machine (and possibly more clothes). With that done, she was at a loss. She was tempted to call Rachel, but was unsure of how to explain her current situation. Rachel would have a lot of questions about how Olivia had ended up married and who her new husband was. Questions Olivia didn’t know how to answer.

Maybe it was time for her to answer a few of those questions for herself.

Olivia wandered back into the living room and sank onto the soft white couch, tucking her legs beneath her. She pulled out her phone, which was still charged — a small miracle after the last few days. Then, feeling oddly apprehensive, she opened a search engine and typed in Leo Barclay.

The small screen filled with results. At the top were images of Leo, looking just as he had today with his sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. In all the photos, he wore a blazer or a button-down, and he was smiling.

Just below the first photo was a Wikipedia biography, which Olivia clicked on. Leo must be very famous if he had his own Wikipedia entry. In the first paragraph, there was the logo of the tree Olivia had seen on the plane, and her eyes widened. Leo was the CEO of Palasa. Even Olivia, who wasn’t very tech-savvy, had heard of Palasa. They were an enormous tech conglomerate that worked in everything from databases to AI to cloud computing.

At Palasa, we find the solution to your technical difficulties, no matter how unique, specialized, or complicated one line read. Apparently, Palasa had an answer for everything in the tech world. They’d developed custom solutions for huge companies, including online marketplaces, streaming platforms, and even rideshare apps.

And Leo was the CEO.

No wonder he could afford such a fancy place. No wonder he had a private jet. No wonder he moved with the effortless confidence of someone who had never had to doubt their place in the world.

Olivia’s chest clenched, and she quickly closed the browser. Even though this was all public knowledge, she couldn’t help feeling she was violating Leo’s privacy. He’d brought her back to New York so that they could get to know each other while sorting out their divorce. Surely the fact that Leo was a huge tech CEO would have come out eventually. Maybe he’d even told her last night, and she just didn’t remember. It wasn’t as if he’d been hiding it… Right?

Olivia chewed on her lip uncertainly. She suddenly felt very… unsophisticated. Leo was a rich, powerful, attractive man who had founded his own tech company. Olivia was a failed photographer who was currently unemployed.

Her stomach clenched as she wondered if Leo had looked her up, too. But he wouldn’t have had to. She’d told him all about her lack of a job and her forgotten photography dreams.

If Rachel were here, she would have said that none of that mattered. Olivia had chosen Leo last night for a reason, and he’d clearly chosen her for a reason, too. Yet Olivia couldn’t help feeling less-than, even though Leo had never done anything to make her feel that way.

Maybe the best way to feel better was to get back to work. Olivia fetched her laptop and opened a job portal website. She’d planned to spend the afternoon panic-applying for jobs. She might as well do that now, from this very comfortable living room with its very impressive view. When Leo got back, they would talk. Until then, she might as well keep busy.

Olivia spent the next several hours applying for as many jobs as she could find. This wasn’t exactly in-keeping with Leo’s suggestion of taking some time to plan her next steps, but at least, if she landed a job, she wouldn’t have to worry about where next month’s rent was coming from while trying to figure out her unexpected marriage.

That would help.

Wouldn’t it?

CHAPTER 12

LEO

Leo felt strange leaving Olivia in his apartment. He couldn’t help feeling it was impolite to leave her alone when he’d all but begged her to come to New York, but he couldn’t cancel this meeting. Along with his CTO, Jake McKinley, he was meeting with a major streaming platform that was looking to optimize video quality with less loading time.

It was the kind of project Kyle would have loved.

Leo got to his office with a few minutes to spare and quickly changed into his spare set of clothes, which he kept in the office for those times he ended up pulling an all-nighter. He freshened up in his private bathroom before exiting into his main office.

While he’d been gone, the office staff had removed Kyle’s desk. Leo had asked for them to do so, but it still made his heart ache to see the imprint on the carpet where the desk had been.