BAD REPUTATION

Olivia Carter sat in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly, her coffee forgotten in the cupholder. The parking lot was quiet, save for the occasional squeak of tires on asphalt and the distant hum of the city. Her friend, Tessa's voice came through the speaker, sharp and teasing as always.

“I still can’t believe Jack canceled again last night,” Olivia said, shaking her head. Her eyes scanned the row of sedans and SUVs, but she wasn’t really looking.

“I can believe it,” Tessa shot back. “Honestly, Liv, I’ve hated that guy from day one and you know it. What the hell do you see in him… Well, apart from his money? You deserve better than—”

“He had a rough night,” Liv interrupted gently, laughing despite herself. “He didn’t mean it. You know how busy he is…”

“Busy? Sure. Busy being shady. Too busy to remember the one thing that actually matters… showing up for the woman he supposedly loves?” Tessa groaned. “You know what, I'm sick of this, I and Izzy have been talking, and we might have to stage an intervention.”

Olivia chuckled, shaking her head. “Jokes on you, Tess. I’m about to meet up with Izzy right now.” She tapped the phone lightly against her ear for emphasis. “I'm showing her the houses this afternoon, so… mission accomplished before your intervention even starts.”

“You are?” Tessa’s laugh carried a mix of disbelief and amusement. “Well, that sucks. I was really looking forward to her and I talking some sense into you.”

“Yes,” Olivia replied, a grin tugging at her lips. “And that means I get to see her before you talk her into your bloody intervention.”

Tessa snorted. “Wouldn’t stop us, though. Just… slow us down a little.”

“Yeah, yeah. Intervention or not,” Olivia said with a laugh. “I’ll survive.”

The line went quiet for a beat before Tessa’s voice softened. “Alright, Liv. Good luck with your client. Don’t let her pick a dump just to mess with me.”

“Copy that. Love you, Tess.”

“Love you too. And remember… intervention pending.”

With that, Olivia ended the call and tucked her phone into her bag. She exhaled, letting the tension in her shoulders ease as she opened the car door. The late-afternoon sun spilled over the lot, glinting off the polished SUVs and giving everything a warm, golden glow. She stepped out, smoothing the front of her suit and grabbing the folder of listings she’d been preparing. Today was about showcasing homes, not obsessing over Jack.

But even as she clicked the car door shut behind her, a small, nagging thought lingered—maybe Tess was right. It did hurt when Jack had cancelled on their date yet again. She’d spent forty minutes picking that dress last night. Forty minutes for a text that said Rain check? She'd tried to understand but if she was being honest with herself, she'd been very disappointed. 

Tessa could be right. Maybe some interventions were unavoidable… maybe even necessary. And she and Jack had to have a serious conversation about their relationship. 

____________

“Easy, little sister,” Derek said into his phone as he pressed the button for the lift to her floor. “I’m here now,”

“Less of the little,” his sister, Isabella snapped, her irritation making him grin. 

He gave a mock shudder. “Quit the strop, then.” Someone swept up behind him, a scent wrapping around him, vanilla twisted up in something so enticing he was damned if he could place it, and his eyes swerved of their own accord.

“Strop!” Isabella continued on the other end, “You were supposed to be here half an…” 

His sister’s voice trailed away into the distance, his sight landing on the woman whose interesting scent had nothing on the visual. He felt his mouth quirk, his interest instant.

She was beautiful. So not his type, a definite ‘no’ on paper, but when presented with the physical, she was all kinds of yes. Usually, the women he went for looked very different. Slim, tall, models even but this woman looked nothing like that.

 She was the opposite in fact. She was short, but in a way that made her even cuter, still quite short despite the heels she wore and she was… Chubby. Curvy. Literally carrying all the right fat in the right places.

She faced the lift, waiting just as he was, one purple stiletto tapping impatiently, her body encased in a fitted black trouser suit, a folder hooked under one arm, all quite usual but— 

“Are you listening to me, Derek?”

“Sure, I’ll be right up,” he said distractedly, cutting the call and pocketing the device.

It was her hair that fascinated him. The reddish-brown mass was parted high to one side, windswept almost. And then there was her make-up, neutral save for the liner around her eyes and the bold lip colour… was that purple?

His gaze narrowed over it and she must have sensed his attention, her eyes flickering in his direction. “You know, it’s rude to stare.”

 Her voice was husky, a crisp edge that rasped along his spine and sealed her appeal. Derek was hooked. Her eyes were back on the doors, her lack of interest obvious. He should’ve taken it as a sign, but since when had he backed off from anything he fancied? In truth, her lack of interest only added to the appeal.

“Rude?” he said, raising his brow. “I’ve been called many things before— arrogant, reckless, even an asshole—but rude, not had that one yet.” 

Her mouth twitched but she didn’t turn to look at him, the ping of the lift arriving serving as a temporary interruption.

The doors opened and he gestured for her to precede him. “See, I’m not entirely rude.”

She looked at him then, her grey eyes sparkling and those bold-coloured lips lifting into a smile that momentarily gutted him. Jesus, she was hot. The bow-like shape stretched and still her lower lip was full— swollen, even—almost as though it had just been thoroughly devoured. Maybe she’d had to reapply that colour after it had been rubbed clean away. Oh, to be the cause of that little misdemeanour.

“Thank you.”

It took a second to realise she had spoken, to realise he was staring all over again, and then sanity returned. “You’re welcome—which floor?” 

He pressed the number for his sister and her thick black lashes lowered to trace his move. “The same.” she replied. 

He nodded and came to stand beside her. The lift closed and together they stood, the silence heavy and loaded… at least to him.