Olivia could not make out how she should disclose her secret. Of all people, she wanted Gregory to know. But she so apprehended his reaction, that for the time being she preferred to procrastinate and await the right moment to announce one of the most thrilling news she had ever had the chance to wear up her sleeve. One other reason for her postponing the big information was that Gregory was going through a very harsh trial involving nasty and merciless individuals and what he really needed right now was to stay focused on his job. She knew him well enough to discern that the Unexpected had never been in his good books. "Well, I should bide my time then," Olivia reflected. She was rummaging in all those thoughts when the door bell of her beach house tolled its soft melody.
"Hello Olivia. I was walking in the neighbourhood and incidentally came to your door. May I come in?," Gregory sensitively uttered. By all accounts, he truly was in a rather distressed mood.
"Of course, of course, come on in. What's the matter? What's bothering you?," Olivia inquired, gesturing him towards the sofa. "Please sit down."
"Hum, well… I need to talk to you. I really need to talk to you. You know, about the trial. It's been a mess and I've got the feeling someone wants to set me up."
"Wait. Why? I mean, you're just a lawyer, not the victim or the defendant. So why do you think someone is setting you up?"
"Sorry I didn't make myself clear. This has nothing to do with the victim of the defendant in themselves. It's just that I think I've got some proof that someone has given information to the plaintiff, in order to make me fall and reschedule the trial."
"Gregory, aren't you a bit paranoid here? I mean, I've never seen you like that. You've always been so confident about trials, so positive that nothing could get in your way. So why should it change now, why Darling?"
Gregory did not know what or how to answer. He was very much aware that all this damn stuff looked preposterous. But he had a feeling, a feeling that somehow someone somewhere was trying to get the hell out of him, up to the point of no return. "Look Olivia, I know I'm probably overreacting but the thing is, these last few months, we've been such great friends you and me. I was there for you when this bird of passage of AJ Deschanel took off and you were there for me when I needed some advice as to how to get Sean forgive me for treating him so badly. My point is," Gregory said out of breath, "that these last few months, I've been unable to see without your eyes. I need you to help me figure out what's wrong with me."
Olivia was utterly taken aback by Gregory's reaction. She knew he had known better days but tonight he really seemed to be overwhelmed by self doubts. Nonetheless, she was convinced the answer to his plea was just a couple of houses away. She was thinking about Annie, fearing that this woman was planning something below the belt, especially since she had been married to Gregory for more than one year now. As a result, she had gained control over all her stocks at the Liberty Corporation. Olivia was thinking aloud when she uttered "Why don't you ask Annie about her whereabouts?"
Gregory did not immediately answer Olivia's question but when he did his response was clear-cut, albeit unanticipated: "I'm glad you feel the same way about my wife as I do, Liv. Ever since she gained control of her damned stocks, she has been behaving rather strangely, as though she was looking for some good reason to divorce me and drag me into the mud."
"Well that certainly won't happen, dear. Not if I can prevent it," Olivia bluntly retorted.
"But what could you do? How?"
"Well, Gregory, I wasn't planning to talk to you about my secret yet, but hell, after what you've just told me, you deserve to know…"
"Which secret, Olivia?"
She truthfully did not know how to put it mildly, so she decided to go it head first: "Alex Mitchum called me the other day, to talk about the Liberty Corporation. She's feeling much better now, doctors say her cancer is in remission. But she also feels she can't beaver away as she used to. She wants to get on with her personal life now and take the most of it. This includes resigning from the Liberty Corporation. Now please Gregory, I see the look on your face but let me finish. She didn't want to talk to you about it because she wished to ask me something first. So she called me to know whether I would like to buy her stocks and become a partner at the LibCorp. She had heard about how and why Annie married you. She said she had always smelled a rat with her and that I could get my revenge by becoming a powerful member of the corporation. Of course, she also heard that you and I had become friends. So please don't take her resignation personally. She loves you dearly, you know. She's always been such a great friend to both of us. So yes, I agreed. I've got to meet her tomorrow, before the board meeting. Are you okay with that?"
Gregory was speechless, and this for several reasons. Reason number 1 was that he never suspected that Alex would survive her illness. The last time they had talked together, she seemed very much down and hopeless. So he was presently walking on air: Alex would make it. Reason number 2 was that he did not exactly resent Alex, but he would have preferred to know about her resignation from her own lips. Reason number 3 was Alex's decision to sell her stocks to Olivia. Although Gregory understood why Alex had decided to put her working life behind her, he would never have thought she would appeal to Olivia. After all, his ex-wife knew next to nothing about his own corporation. This having been said, Gregory was also speechless because the idea of Olivia as a businesswoman was very enticing. Not only would they be each other's confidant, they would also become partners. Olivia knew a lot about the world and society and she would make a marvellous PR. So he simply answered: "Welcome on board, my dear. I'm sure you'll not only be surprised yourself by how this business works, you will also surprise all of us! Warm welcome, I mean it!"
"Are you serious? Well, you look very much serious actually. I'm glad you like the idea. There's so much I want to do, so much I need to do, for myself but also for you. But I hope you don't only welcome me because of my feelings for Annie…"
"I must interrupt you there, Liv. You're going to be a wonderful partner. And when we hold the meeting tomorrow, I want Ben, Annie and AJ to be flabbergasted. And I'm sure they will. You truly will be a brilliant partner, especially a breathtaking PR! And God knows I need good publicity these days."
"Don't worry Gregory. Please don't worry about your trial. It will be fine. I promise you nothing bad will happen to you. I can start an investigation of my own if you wish it. Anything to make my friend happy again," she joyfully declared. "Now you should go home and have some rest. You'll have a busy day tomorrow and some sleep could do you no wrong!"
"You're right of course," Gregory gleefully rejoined. "Can't wait for tomorrow. Thank you for making my self-doubts vanish tonight. Thank you very much. I just hope they will not be assailing me when I wake up in the morning. Thank you also for listening." He kissed her gently on the cheek and then disappeared through the door which had kept so many secrets locked inside the walls and inside its inhabitants' hearts.
Half an hour later, Olivia still could not sleep. There was something else she wanted to tell him, to remind him he had nothing to fear about, not when they could count on each other. She took her mobile phone and dialled his number. Apparently he had followed her advice and gone to bed, for his own cell phone was switched off. So she decided to leave a message on his voice mail:
"Hello, it's me again, I just wanted to tell you not to worry Gregory, remember there is this sing-dance charity party next week, organised by YOUR Liberty Corporation, don't forget about it. There will be plenty of dancing and plenty of associates-to-be. I believe this will be the perfect time for my coming-out as the new PR for your LibCorp. That will be a surprise for the assembly of course, but you should also keep in mind we both are outstanding dancers… And we will bring sparkles into their eyes, I can guarantee you that. We both can admirably play with people, can't we? The only difference now is that we won't play with each other, but together. This will be our success, our revenge on both Annie and AJ, and the rest of them who have never believed in me, and in us. They will realise who the masters are. We'll show them all that we're going to be first-rate business partners, you and I. But I should wish you goodnight now. Take care, Gregory."