The more personal aspects of their arrangement struck him the next morning.
Oliver stepped on the balcony to salute the sun, as per usual, only to find Chloe in her camisole and sleep shorts, apparently lost in thoughts. She had wrapped a comforter around her shoulders to fight the morning chill, meaning she'd probably been there a while.
He'd intentionally kept the conversation light the previous evening. They'd exchanged tidbits about favorite foods, books, his day job and hers. But here in the early morning light, he couldn't ignore the paper-thin quality of the skin on her expose limbs, or how her eyes were shadowed by the lack of sleep.
Oliver intentionally shuffled his feet to alert her of his presence before he cleared his throat. "Morning…"
Despite his effort, she jumped at the sound of his voice. Then her cheeks regained a more healthy color when she saw he was shirtless.
"Hi… Hum, sorry. I'll be out of your hair…"
"I don't mind. I can't do much more than pranayama, basic breathing exercises, at the moment. Have you heard about Yoga Nidra? It's excellent for relaxation and to lower stress levels."
Her grimace said what she didn't dare voice out loud. 'You're not subtle'.
Oliver lowered himself onto the mat. Taking the easy Sukhasana pose rather than his favorite handstand, he crossed ankles under his shins. The stretch brought his lower back to the edge of painful.
"How injured are you, really?
Chloe imitated him but winced at the twisting feeling in her fragile joints.
"I've had worse. You don't have to seat like me if you're not comfortable. Actually, it'll probably be better if you start lying on your back with your hands on your belly to rhyt—"
"I've done respiration exercises before, Oliver," she chastised him. "Chronic anxiety disorder, remember?" she wriggled her hips until she found the right posture for her. "Define "worse"."
Oliver grinned at her. The slip of the comforter left her shoulders bare for the sun to kiss.
"This time, I didn't break any bone?"
Chloe made a face. Oliver inhaled by the nose, eyes closed. He held his breath while he tried to relax the tendons connected to his bone tail. The pull made the piercing feeling so acute he released his air quickly, then tried again. When his fifth attempt failed, he allowed his knees up to wrap this arms around them. The new position immediately eased the worst of the strain. He sighed.
"Barbara is right, you know. You don't understand the words "limited effort"."
The lure was too pretty to resist. Oliver caught her gaze and held it captive.
"Depends on the prize, Princess. Some efforts can be extremely rewarding."
He drawled on the adverb.
Chloe's jaw hit the floor. Her cheeks and throat turned a delicate shade of crimson. For a second, he wondered what she saw in his eyes that ignite so many sparks in hers. Then she started to laugh and the moment passed. "Oliver!"
He flashed an impish grin. "Not my fault if your mind went right into the gutter."
"Yes it is! So I am going to leave you to your half-naked yoga and your sleazy jokes and head inside for breakfast."
Chloe unfolded from her sitting position. Oliver closed his eyes, inhaling once more and tried to relax. Her choice of sleepwear took central stage in his meditation.
He made a point to attend all his meetings and answered all his emails. Knowing their CEO was looking after the company, even remotely, reassured both employees and investors. Also, since he had disconnected the alternate server, he had nothing else to distract him. He trusted Chloe not to snoop—she seemed to come out of her shell only when he pushed the teasing to outrageous— but he didn't trust himself not to be careless, especially while on painkillers. When he had to read the same accounting update report twice to be able to remember a mere fraction of it, Oliver took a mental note to tell Emil to reduce the dosage next time.
Oliver also made a point to give his guest her space. His protective nature screamed at him to wrap her up in a bubble and never, ever let go. But sheltering her to the point of hovering was the wrong answer. He'd gotten glimpses of the vivacious girl—woman that she was inside. What he needed to do was help her regain some sort of balance. Ideally a better tipping point that the one he pushed her over twice. So that brilliant, happy Chloe could come out and play.
"Oliver?"
The young man stopped doodling intricate alphabets on his notepad. The object of his musing stood on the threshold. "What's up?"
"I think there's someone in the elevator."
He sprang to his feet so fast his back seized up. Oliver pressed both palms on the desk for a spell. "I locked it."
A few people had the code to enter the elevator, the house cleaning service, his head of security, very few others he trusted, but no one save Half—who preferred to use the balcony— and Emil could enter the penthouse when the elevator was locked-down. "It's Barbara."
Chloe slowly released the death grip she had on the back of his chair. Oliver brushed one hand over her arm. "You can stay here if you want. I'll go see what—"
"It's all right."
Her tight smile was so self-mocking it unleashed something dark and unpleasant inside him. Oliver punched the authorization code to allow the door to open. His mind ran a mile a minute. The "no-lie" policy Barbara enforced came with a tacit agreement she accepted his word at face value. He had said he was to help a friend for a few days, explained his idea of a cover-story, it should have stopped there. The petite blonde currently straightening the cushions on his sofa was off-limit. If—
"Oliver. Chloe…"
His lungs froze. Oliver instinctively angled his body to block Chloe from view. Barbara raised an eyebrow. Undeterred, she addressed Chloe over his shoulder.
"How is this one treating you?"
"I think his pills mellow him. He's yet to complain about house arrest."
Oliver twisted his neck to look at the petite blonde over his shoulder and winced in pain at the pull on his lower back. A teasing smile haunted her lips. He relaxed his stance a fraction, still puzzled about Barbara's presence and knowledge. The older woman took the opening to come further into the room.
"Good. I have some things for you."
"What's going on?"
When the only answer he got was another frown from Barbara, and an equally amused smile from Chloe, Oliver decided the best course of action was to keep his mouth shut. He moved to the minibar, one ear strained to the conversation in his back.
Barbara placed an envelope on the table. "First, your keys."
"Keys?" asked Chloe.
"Car keys. Oliver is not locking you up in this tower, is he? It's a rental, white Prius or something. As ordinary as they come. It's parked in the private floor of the garage. I trust you have the code?"
Chloe looked as flabbergast as he felt. Barbara pressed a second, larger envelope into her hands. "And this is your reading material."
"What reading material, Barbara?" Oliver offered her a glass, placed one in front of Chloe and took a seat next to her on the couch.
"I asked Chloe to consider writing a piece on the Oasis."
"I see…"
He didn't see at all. A thousand questions raced through his head. How did Barbara get Chloe's real name? Why was his charge not panicking? Had she told her? What had she told her? Why did she need a car? Well that one was actually a good idea, his were too recognizable. But what was Barbara plotting about the Oasis? Was it about that stupid Masquerade again?
Oliver caught the hint of a smirk on the shrewd woman's mouth when he finally added two and two. Barbara answered his glare with a tilt of the head. Chloe was blissfully unaware of their silent exchange as she leafed through the documents about the foundation.
Barbara drained her glass before she set it down.
"My card is in here if you have any questions. Or you can ask Oliver. The Oasis is his baby after all."
Darn meddling woman. Her smirk grated on his nerves.
"Thanks for stopping by, Barbara," Oliver grounded out.
"It was no trouble. I am glad to see you're feeling better, Oliver. Don't run that girl rag."
The message was as subtle as his dismissal. 'She looks exhausted. Do something about it.' This one he fully agreed on. "I'll be on my best behavior."
That earned it a nod of approval this time. "That's all I wanted to hear. I'll see myself out."
