Olivia felt at ease whilst she patiently waited for Scott to arrive. She had already explained the entire situation to him and also explained the things he should and shouldn't do in her parent's presence.
She looked at herself in the mirror one more time to make sure she looked perfect and ready to go.
One of the things Olivia did whenever she felt stressed or worried about any situation was apply bold makeup just to help her mask her nervousness. That was her best way of fooling people around her and appearing more confident than she actually was.
"Sorry to bother you ma'am but Mr Richardson had arrived," Martha informed her and she heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she heard that he was finally here.
"That's great. Let him know I'd join him in a bit," she said to Martha who bowed slightly before walking out of the room.
Olivia walked into the living room a few minutes after Martha had left. She straightened her outfit before moving closer to him and the moment he saw her, his face creased in confusion.
"What's with the look?" she questioned frantically, suddenly feeling self conscious about how she looked.
"It's your outfit," he blurted out, pinching the bridge of his nose as he got up from his seat and walked towards where she stood.
"What's wrong with it? Is it that bad?" she asked uncomfortably as she looked back at her outfit once again.
"You know if you want to make this relationship believable, you should at least dress in a way that's more, how do I put this? You should wear something that'll make you seem like you're actually in love and happy. I mean, no offence but, take a look at yourself right now," he said, staring at her from head to toe.
"What's wrong with how I'm dressed? Don't I look decent enough?" Olivia asked, not exactly sure how to take his unsatisfied gaze.
"You don't look horrible or anything Olivia but I'd say you're dressed a little too seriously. I mean, the outfit looks way too formal for the occasion. You look like you are headed for a meeting," he told honestly and Olivia's face fell in disappointment.
"How in the world do I look like I'm headed for a meeting? I literally put so much effort into looking this good and now you're telling me I look too formal?" she hissed in frustration, hating the fact that he did not appreciate her effort. She wasn't one to take criticism very well.
Scott let out a tired sigh as he mentally rolled his eyes. He'd be lying if he said he was surprised by her reaction but as far as he was concerned, he wasn't doing it for his sake but for hers. He knew Mr Octavos well enough to know how smart he was and if Olivia and he met up with him with Olivia dressed like a typical business woman, he'd immediately figure out that it was a lie.
He stood in front of her calmly with both his hands in his pants pocket and his feet tapping lightly on the floor.
"If memory serves me right, you said I have to act like I'm deeply in love with you and you are also to act like you love and care about me, right? No offense miss Olivia but I doubt you're looking anything like a woman in love," he said, trying as best as he could not to sound offensive.
He knew how sensitive Olivia was and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her and ruin his once in a lifetime opportunity to actually be close to her.
Olivia could feel her cheek heating up in embarrassment as soon those escaped Scott's lips. It's not his words that annoyed her, she just felt slightly embarrassed by the fact that he just indirectly or unknowingly told her that she looked unhappy and that her clothes weren't exactly helping her look any better, or at least that's what she thought.
"Be clearer with your words Scott. What exactly are you trying to say?" she asked, genuinely curious to know if what she thought was right or if he had something else in mind.
"If we are to make your parents believe us, you will have to put a little more effort into your appearance, Miss Olivia. I don't mean to sound judgemental but if anyone saw you, they wouldn't believe you were actually on your way to introduce your boyfriend to your parents and since you already have a reputation of being quite closed off, you'll have to make an effort to make your parents see something different about you so that will allow them to believe you're actually in love and happy," he explained.
"Oh," Olivia muttered in realization as she slowly started to understand what he actually meant.
"Well then, I guess I should change the outfit," she said.
"Well, not only the outfit, I think you should also make the makeup lighter cause this is way too bold and intimidating," he added and Olivia could not believe she was getting advice on how to present herself from a man.
"By the way, Miss Olivia, you do know how exactly you're dressed, right?" he asked.
Olivia blinked her eyes rapidly as it actually dawned on her that she had absolutely no idea what to actually change into. She had never been someone's girlfriend before and she didn't think that dressing up actually had any role to play in a relationship.
"Okay, do you perhaps own any casual outfits like maybe jeans?" he asked.
"Don't insult me Scott," she replied with an eye roll.
"Good then. So how about you wear an outfit that's slightly similar to mine? It doesn't have to be the same thing though, I'm just giving you an idea of. What to wear and I know it's going to seem weird to you that I'm suggesting we match but then, the moment your parents see us, it's gonna be like the first step we take in convincing them about our relationship," he explained to a confused Olivia.
"Okay, I'll try my best," she replied before turning towards the stairway and hurrying upstairs to find a similar outfit and change into them before her parents arrived.
Olivia came back downstairs wearing a denim jean and an oversize sweater which was the closest she could find to match Scott's out and like he had advised, she had switched her makeup to a lighter one and she even packed her hair differently to look as bright as she could.
She realised she had more formal outfits than casual one and she mentally cursed herself when she realised she literally had no life outside her work life although she couldn't exactly complain.
Even though she was dressed in a simple and casual outfit, Scott still found Olivia very attractive.
Everything about Olivia fascinated him. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he watched her walk towards him with a somewhat nervous look on her face.
"I swear to God, this is the closest thing I had in my wardrobe. Don't judge me," she told him and Scott chuckled.
"You look fine miss Olivia, this will do," he assured her, moving closer to her.
"Can I?" he asked.
"Do what?" she questioned confusedly.
Scott swiftly used his thumb to wipe a little bit of Olivia's lipstick from her lips.
"This is better," he said to a completely stunned Olivia.
She felt a jolt of electricity down her spine the moment his finger came in contact with her lips. Almost immediately she moved away from him.
"You...you should have just told me," she stuttered uncomfortably and Scott could tell.
It was the first time Scott was hearing Olivia stutter like that and it kind of amused him.
"Apologies for the interruption ma'am," Martha spoke from behind.
"What is it?" Olivia asked.
"You parents have arrived," she informed with a bow before walking back out.
"They came earlier than I expected," she muttered nervously.
"Remember what we agreed on and I'd appreciate no mistake, okay?" Olivia said sternly.
Scott was amused by how her mood had suddenly just changed in split seconds. Earlier, she looked a lot nicer but as soon as her parents arrived, she's back to being the Olivia he knew.
"Understood ma'am," he teased.
"Mom, Dad, I know you both already know who he is but I'd like to reintroduce him to you as the man I'm in love with, Scott Richardson," Olivia introduced to her parents when they had finally settled around the dining table.
She entwined her fingers with Scott's instinctively, watching for her parent's reaction to him.
The moment Olivia's parents saw Scott with their daughter, they were beyond surprised as they never expected him to be the man that Olivia had talked about. Olivia's father was more than pleased as he knew Scott was a reliable and capable man but Ariella still maintained a blank expression as she observed the supposed lovers carefully.
An amused smile formed on her father's lips when he saw his daughter's hands entwined with Scott.
"Scott Richardson. Who would have thought you would be the one to finally steal the heart of my precious daughter? I can't say I'm not pleased though," Ariella spoke, still wearing an unreadable expression.
"When Olivia said she had a man, I honestly doubted her because I know how obsessed she is with her work. I'm genuinely curious to know how this happened," her father chimed in curiously.
Scott looked back at Olivia briefly before looking back at her parents. Himself and Olivia had not exactly made plans on what they'd both say but he already knew how he'd go about it.
"To be honest Mr Octavos, I sometimes still can't believe that she and I are together," he said with a shy smile that would fool absolutely anyone.
"We honestly can't believe it too soon," Mr Octavos blurted out and both he and Scott chuckled.
"The truth is, Olivia and I had originally met when we were in college but because of the difference in our levels, we weren't exactly friends or anything. We met again when she started working here and that was when I found out she was your daughter. To be honest, I have found her very attractive for a very long time now but as you know, your daughter is such a workaholic, she wouldn't pay attention to anything else asides her work and since I didn't want to seem too daring or impudent, I decided against pushing forward with my feelings,"
"All of that actually changed a few months ago when I ran into her at the restaurant across our office building and took a seat at her table. She at first got mad at me, as expected and even threatened to leave but one thing led to another and she finally warmed up to my presence and we both just got talking and realised that we had a lot more in common than we thought. Fast forward to a few months later and here we are," Scott narrated and even Olivia could not believe her ears.
She could not help but be impressed by how quickly he had cooked up a perfect story and judging by the sentimental look on her parent's faces they were most definitely satisfied with what they heard.
"Young man, I am impressed. Any other man in your place would have probably being irritated by my daughter's rudeness but the fact that you still persisted even when you could have just given up, is very impressive and I'm genuinely thankful for your patience with her," Ariella said with a small smile and Olivia mentally rolled her eyes.
"You're being way too dramatic mom. I'm not that horrible. Anyways, now that you know about us, can you never bring up Thomas's name around me?" Olivia hissed.
"Of course we wouldn't dear. We now know that you have a trustworthy man by your side," her father replied, wearing a satisfied smile on his face.
"Thank you both so much," she said to both her parents.
"No dear, we should be the one thanking you for finally making us happy. Now, let's keep the small talk aside and eat up before the food gets cold," Ariella responded and they all smiled happily before proceeding to enjoy their lunch.