"Olivia, that literarily means you are obsessed with him," Hannah, one of Olivia's friends said and others including Olivia laughed, she met Hannah on a red carpet two years back and because of how beautiful she is, and how much their personality befitted each other, they immediately became friends. Olivia believes in one thing; she should never make connections with people in the industry who wouldn't help her career and all of her friends who were sitting at the table made one impact or another on her life
After spending the entire day working her ass off to make sure she earns her daily income, she felt like she had come out of her shed that night to have fun with her friends and when she made the call and they came running to her, she felt happy she has them and above all, she was happy that they could make her forget about the pending contract renewal issues that she was having with one of the cosmetics companies she's working with.
Yes, she is a hot shot influencer who's wanted by many brands but then some brand managers always want the best at a cheaper rate and she is currently in the favor of one of them, a favor she so much wants to be rid of but couldn't as it's one of the jobs that keeps money flowing in and even if the money seemed like it's reducing, it's still one of the best incomes she has
"How is that obsession Hannah, all I want to do is see his face and hear his voice, I'm not obsessed man" she replied as she took a sip of her juice while the others chuckled, Olivia is a bad drinker, she has the lowest alcohol tolerance ever and she hated it, having her type of life, she should be able to drink champagne without getting tipsy right? Or take one of those good scented red wines and still be able to end a party in a good shape but nope, if she tries it, she would be the trending star of the next day but in a bad way, that is a lesson she learned a very hard way
It was not easy for her to make a come-back from a drunk scandal and she vowed she would never repeat that mistake ever again
"Not just that Oli, you want to keep hearing his voice, you visit his page about ten thousand times a day, you replay his voice notes and above all, you tell him about your day every day, how is that not an obsession?" her other friend Natalie said as she twirled her drink before sipping on it
What drew Olivia into Natalie was her doe eyes and red hair, especially the fact that she has naturally bright strawberry blonde hair, it was one of the most beautiful things she would ever see, she knew that. Natalie had wealth in store for her, she was given birth with a diamond spoon in her mouth which gave her the chance to pursue what she wanted, a career as a model and brand influencer, and that is one of the things Olivia envied about her friend, that being the most.
"You say it as if it's a bad thing, Nat," Olivia said and before she could continue, Nat took the talk wheel from her
"It is Oli, if you feel this much for someone who you can't see, how heartbroken would you be if he turns out to be way below your expectation"
"For starters, Natalie, I only visit his page because it is beautiful, I love nature, which is known by everyone by now and his page is full of that and also he has nice quotes too, you can testify to that Hannah," Oli said as she looked to Hannah who looked away almost immediately but not before giving a shy grin
"Yes, he does but then," Hannah started but Olivia hijacked her speech
"There are no buts Hannah, and also Natalie, he can't be way below my expectations," Olivia said with a smirk as she turned her attention back to Natalie who was busy refilling her cup
"And how can you be so sure?" Natalie asked with raised eyebrows as she lifted the glass to her lips
"Have you heard his voice? Bro, there is no way he would look way below my imagination, and also don't forget I tend to expect less most times, especially when it comes to blind dates"
"And by expecting less, you mean imagine everyone to look like Kim Taehyung, right?" Hannah said and Olivia could hold her scoff, 'this bitch' she thought as she eyes Hannah up and down before rolling her eyes, 'bringing up my crazy imagination skills once again, it's not my fault I tend to see any man in the idol's light, right?'
"I don't do that" Olivia lied and used the opportunity to dismiss Hannah's claim by sipping on her juice once again "but seriously speaking, I don't really have a high expectations, remember that time I told him to describe himself and he said his tall enough but not handsome enough?" she asked Natalie who nodded her head in a way to say yes and Olivia continued "well since then I reduced my expectations, I just want to see him even if it's once" she completed before heaving a sigh
She knows she has to admit it though, she is getting obsessed with this man, not that she has seen him or she knows him well or anything but her thoughts have been clouded with him too much recently for her to lie to herself and say she isn't getting obsessed with him, with Dave
"I want you to know that I'm only saying this because of how much I care about you Oli, don't forget you have a deal to pursue, it wouldn't be nice if words go out that you're pinning for an unknown man, romance writers may love the idea but your sponsors wouldn't and also if he turns out to be out of normal standard, you know it's going to hurt a lot of things, I just don't want you to be too into him that you'll find it hard to turn him down if he isn't going to add to your current value"
"In fact, I feel like he wouldn't be Olivia, I mean, how else do I explain the fact that he doesn't want to show you his face? At first, we were all thinking he is too handsome, right?" Hannah said looking from Olivia to Natalie with a small smile on her face
"Or that he is too popular and is scared you're going to tell everyone about your relationship," Natalie said chuckling at whatever it is that was going on in her head that irritated Olivia but she couldn't express herself, not in public, and not when they are only speaking the truth that they know
"But now even those thought doesn't match his behavior; how many times have you invited him over now?" Hannah asked and Olivia didn't want to speak, not that she lost her speech or anything but because she felt embarrassed that they were scrutinizing everything about her
"A bunch?" Olivia said more like asked and Hannah rolled her eyes in reply
"He doesn't even pick up your facetime calls, Olimi, I love you and I know you do too and I care too much about you, you know that, right?" Hannah said and before Olivia could reply she continued "don't get too attached to a feeling, that shit fluctuates, you know that more than anyone, just don't forget it, and also, I think it would be in the best interest of everyone if you would pressure him into meeting you so we would know if this ship is sailing or not" Hannah said and immediately she finished her speech, she downed her drink in one go causing Olivia to get jealous of her
At this point, there is nothing better to relieve her pain than alcohol, she didn't want to feel bad but the reality check was too much and she hated it. The moment was turning into one of those times when she wished she hadn't struggled to move up the ladder too fast but she didn't have a choice, it was either to become rich or stay poor, that was the only choice being an orphan gave her and she would rather die than be poor, there was no way she was going to cope with that so she kissed up to the rich ones, built her life from the scratch and stayed with the people on the very top of the food chain
She also knows Hannah is right, she has to know what the situation had in stock for her, it is either proceeds with her vague relationship with Dave which would be a good option since it would avoid any form of disappointment but then would serve as a huge rock delaying her progress, or she faces life and demand that he shows his face which could bring disappointments or goodwill and she is most certainly going with the latter, good riddance to bad shots, right? The earlier the better they say, don't they?
So Olivia closed her eyes, heaved a heavy sigh, reached for Natalie's cup as she was distracted by her phone, and downed the alcohol in one go, and yes, she is going to regret it but she was sure her friends wouldn't allow her to be publicly embarrassed
But little did she know that was going to be the least of this she would regret