How can a man be this beautiful? Olivia thought, still staring at the man's face.
After a while, she heard the man clear his throat, and this jolted Olivia back from her static position.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in front of my house?" the man's masculine voice sounded, in stark contrast with his beautiful face.
Hearing the two questions the man asked, Olivia didn't know how to reply. Should she say she was the wife of the second Bradford, or that she'd accidentally lost track of the way and found herself here?
Still thinking of how to reply, she heard the man's voice once again.
"Are you the woman she sent to me this time?" he asked, his voice emotionless, and without waiting for her to reply, he continued, looking as if he were deep in thought. "But if you're the woman she sent to me, why would you dress so shabbily, like you're going for a walk? Very tacky," he said, looking Olivia over from head to toe.
At this point, Olivia was confused and a little annoyed. What does he mean by "a woman sent to him"? Do I look like a woman eager to get under a man's pants? Olivia rolled her eyes, annoyed.
"Is this the new tactic she taught you to get my attention? If it is, tell her I'm not interested. She can send you to her son and pick someone better next time — maybe I'll be a little more enticed. Also, when you're sent on this kind of errand next time, make sure you dress appropriately," the man said, closing the door to his house. But Olivia could still hear him mutter, "At least the other ladies sent before her still looked attractive."
After the string of words the man had said, Olivia felt her brain shut down.
Meee… tacky?! Olivia exclaimed inwardly. And what does he mean, dress better next time? I'm not even interested in you, even though you have a beautiful face, Olivia shouted at the door, waiting for the man to step out once again so she can vent her anger.
Seeing that the man had no intention of opening the door, which left her with no outlet for her anger, Olivia headed back toward the Bradford mansion calling the man various names in her head.
On getting back, she realized she'd spent close to two hours walking around. She saw Vivian and Skyler seated in the dining hall, ready to eat breakfast.
"Good morning, Mother," she greeted Skyler through the partition, since she couldn't enter the dining hall in her current sweaty state.
After Skyler returned her greeting with a nod, Olivia quickly went to her room to freshen up. On the way, she realized how hungry she was, which reminded her that she hadn't had dinner the night before.
An hour later, Olivia got back to the dining hall and found that Skyler and Vivian had already finished eating. She hurried through her own breakfast, since she had a lot of questions for Skyler and didn't know her schedule for the day.
On finishing her meal, she went straight to the living room, where Skyler was seated, giving instructions to her personal assistant over the phone, with Vivian missing as usual. She had noticed that nowadays after breakfast, Vivian suddenly goes missing and by the time she comes back it is always with a new hairstyle or a permed nails or different kind of shopping bags.
The call took about thirty minutes before it ended, and during that time, Olivia finished up the banquet draft she'd started the night before.
Seeing that Skyler was done with her call, Olivia decided to ask her questions.
"Madam, I need to ask some questions regarding the banquet," Olivia said.
"Go ahead," Skyler replied.
"I want to know how many people will be coming," Olivia asked.
"Plan for at least a hundred," Skyler responded.
"Okay, madam," Olivia said, wondering how a hundred guests could possibly be coming to a family banquet. Was the Bradford family really that large?
As if sensing the need to explain, Skyler said, "Even though it's called a family banquet in the usual sense, a lot of prominent businessmen with close ties to the Bradfords will also be attending."
Ohh… that's it, Olivia thought, nodding along to Skyler's words. This strengthened her resolve about the banquet being perfect.
After asking a series of questions — like where the decorations could be sourced and how to organize the food — Skyler excused herself for a business meeting. With a lot of clarity now on what needed to be done, Olivia got to work immediately, since the banquet was just a week away and everything had to be perfect.
The first thing she did was check the location of the hall that would be used. It was located within the Bradford family's living quarters and was reserved exclusively for the Bradfords — as wide as the hall of a five-star hotel. After confirming the size and location of the hall, Olivia moved on to the decorations. She had to plan the decoration style and figure out who would handle it for the banquet. With the housekeeper's help, she contacted a well-known designer who regularly helped the Bradfords with their event decor. She also chose the theme. Since the banquet was for the second Bradford's homecoming, she decided to keep the decoration calm and welcoming.
By the time she was done with all of this, it was already mid-afternoon. Seeing that she had nothing else to do that day, since she wasn't planning on going to college, she decided to take a short nap.
As soon as she got to her room, she dove into bed and drifted off to sleep.
Still sleeping, she heard the maids' voices greeting someone respectfully. Not interested in knowing who it was, Olivia decided to keep sleeping — until she heard the voice of the person, and what they asked.
Oh my God… Olivia thought, jumping out of bed in fear.