Olivia’s POV
*I can’t drive. I literally cannot drive a car to save my life. Oh, why didn’t I just stay put and let Dad teach .*
I stood there frozen, staring at Maxwell who was waiting for my response with those cold, unforgiving eyes.
Think, Olivia. Think of sothing. Anything.
"Sir," I started desperately, "are you sure that’s wise? I an, with the attack and everything... shouldn’t you have strong security driving you ho? Soone trained to handle dangerous situations?"
Maxwell’s expression didn’t change, but sothing flickered in his eyes. "What are you suggesting, Mr. Hopton?"
"Well, you said you were hiring bodyguards and security personnel," I continued, grasping at straws. "Wouldn’t it make more sense for one of them to drive you? Soone who can actually protect you if that hooded man tries to attack again?"
For a mont, I thought I had him. Maxwell tilted his head slightly, considering my words.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Mr. Hopton," he said in a deadly calm voice that made my blood freeze, "are you complaining about your job responsibilities?"
"No, sir, I just..."
"Because if you don’t want this position," he interrupted, rising slowly from his chair with slight pain, "if you find my requests too demanding or inconvenient, you’re welco to say so right now."
The threat in his words sounded so dead serious I almost shivered.
*I needed this job. I needed this insane, life-ruining job.*
"I’m not complaining, sir," I said quickly, "I’ll be happy to drive you ho."
"Excellent. Then let’s go."
I hurried to gather his briefcase, laptop bag, and jacket while he slowly made his way toward the door. When I moved to help support his injured arm, he jerked away from so violently that he nearly lost his balance.
"Don’t touch ," he snapped.
*Well, excuse for trying to help after you literally asked to unzip your pants three hours ago.*
But I kept my mouth shut and followed behind him as he limped down the hallway.
As I walked behind him, I suddenly started feeling guilty.
*Did I do the right thing?*
Maxwell was clearly in pain. Real, physical pain from whatever my mysterious stranger had done to him. And instead of making my life easier, his injuries were making everything infinitely worse.
Now I had to feed him lunch every day like he was a toddler. Now I had to help him with basic tasks he couldn’t manage with one arm. Now I had to drive him places when I literally didn’t know how to operate a vehicle without killing us both.
*Fuck. I really should not have asked my stranger to hurt him. Because Instead of making my life easier, it’s making it much more worse. It’s like I intentionally set a trap for myself. Shit!*
We entered the elevator, and I found myself sohow pressed against the far wall, trying to give Maxwell as much space as possible since he clearly couldn’t stand to be near .
*How the hell am I going to drive a car? And not just any car, but his, which will obviously be more expensive and exotic.*
Panic was starting to set in as we descended toward the parking garage. I’d never even sat in the driver’s seat of a car before, let alone actually operated one.
*I’m going to kill us both. I’m literally going to murder Maxwell Wellington with my complete inability to drive.*
The elevator dinged as we reached the parking garage level. Maxwell limped out ahead of , and I followed behind carrying all his things like a pack mule.
Suddenly, I rembered that Kira was a really good driver, and an idea struck.
Pulling out my phone with shaking fingers, I quickly typed a desperate ssage to Kira:
*ERGENCY. Need to drive Maxwell ho RIGHT NOW and I can’t drive. HELP.*
My phone buzzed imdiately:
*Kira: WHAT?? Olivia, you can’t drive! You’ve never driven anything in your life!*
*: I KNOW. I’M PANICKING. What do I do???*
*Kira: Okay, okay, calm down. Take a deep breath. What kind of car is it?*
We’d reached Maxwell’s parking space, and I watched in horror as he pulled out his keys and clicked the remote. The lights flashed on a sleek black rcedes that probably cost more than my five years salary at Harry and associates.
*Of course it’s a rcedes. He just had to prove right.*
Maxwell tossed the keys at without even looking at . They hit my chest and fell to the ground.
"Try not to scratch it, Hopton," he said dryly, already making his way to the passenger side.
I bent to pick up the keys with trembling hands, then quickly typed to Kira:
*: Black rcedes. Looks very expensive and complicated.*
Maxwell had opened the passenger door and was slowly, carefully lowering himself into the seat. Even from across the car, I could see him wince as he tried to position his injured arm comfortably.
My phone buzzed:
*Kira: Okay, I can help you through this. Do you have earbuds?*
*: Yes*
*Kira: Put them in RIGHT NOW and call . I’ll talk you through everything step by step. We can do this.*
I quickly plugged in my earbuds and called Kira while walking around to the driver’s side of the rcedes.
"Olivia?" Kira’s voice ca in through the earbuds. "Are you there?"
"Yes," I whispered, opening the driver’s door and staring at the complicated array of controls inside. "Kira, I’m so scared. There are like a million buttons in here."
"It’s going to be okay," Kira said in a soothing voice. "Just get in the car and close the door. Don’t touch anything yet."
I slid into the driver’s seat, my hands shaking as I closed the door behind . The interior slled like expensive leather and Maxwell’s cologne. He was sitting rigidly in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead through the windshield.
"Mr. Hopton," Maxwell said without looking at , "is there a problem?"
"No problem, sir," I squeaked, then cleared my throat and tried again in my Oliver voice. "Just... familiarizing myself with the controls."
Maxwell finally turned to look at , and I saw sothing shift in his expression.
"You do know how to drive, don’t you, Mr. Hopton?" he asked slowly.
*Oh God. Oh God, he’s onto .*
"Of course I can drive," I lied smoothly, hoping he couldn’t hear my heart hamring. "I’m just being cautious with your vehicle, sir."
In my ear, Kira’s voice was urgent: "Olivia, what’s happening? Are you okay?"
I couldn’t respond to her without Maxwell hearing, so I just gripped the steering wheel tighter and tried to look confident.
"Alright," Kira continued, apparently realizing I couldn’t talk freely, "I’m going to walk you through this step by step. First, put your foot on the brake pedal - that’s the wide pedal on the left if it’s an automatic, or the middle pedal if it’s a manual. Press down on it firmly."
*Please be automatic, please be automatic, please be automatic...*
I looked down at the floor of the car and saw two pedals. Thank God. Automatic transmission.
I pressed my foot down on the brake pedal, probably harder than necessary.
"Good," Kira’s voice continued. "Now, put the key in the ignition. It should be a slot to the right of the steering wheel."
I found the ignition and slid the key in, my hands still trembling slightly.
"Now turn the key clockwise until the engine starts."
The rcedes purred to life, but the sound only made more nervous.
Maxwell was watching intently now, his green eyes tracking my every movent.
"Everything alright, Mr. Hopton?" he asked. "You’re acting very sluggishly."
"I just want to make sure I do everything perfectly, sir," I replied. "Your safety is my top priority."
*If he only knew how unsafe he actually is right now.*
In my ear, Kira continued: "Okay, the engine’s running. Now you need to put the car in drive. Look for the gear shift - it might be a lever between the seats or buttons on the dashboard."
I spotted the gear shift between the front seats. It currently showed ’P’ for Park.
"Found it," I whispered so quietly I hoped Maxwell couldn’t hear.
"Great! Move it from P to D for Drive. You might need to press the brake while you do this."
I kept my foot firmly on the brake and moved the gear shift to D. The car made a soft sound, and I felt it want to move forward slightly.
"Perfect!" Kira’s voice was encouraging. "Now cos the tricky part. You’re going to slowly - and I an SLOWLY - lift your foot off the brake. The car will start to roll forward on its own. Don’t press the gas pedal yet, just let it roll."
"Mr. Hopton," Maxwell’s voice cut through my concentration. "Are you planning to sit here all day, or are we actually going sowhere?"
"Just performing final safety checks, sir," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead.
I slowly lifted my foot off the brake pedal, and the rcedes began to move forward at a crawl.
"It’s moving." I whispered quietly to Kira.
"Excellent!" Kira cheered in my ear. "You’re driving! Now, to go faster, gently press the gas pedal - that’s the smaller pedal on the right. But be super gentle. These expensive cars are sensitive."
*Gently press the gas pedal. I can do this.*
I pressed down on the gas pedal as lightly as possible. The car lurched forward suddenly, and I imdiately slamd on the brakes, causing both Maxwell and to jerk forward in our seats.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Maxwell shouted, bracing himself with his good arm against the dashboard. "What was that?"
"Sorry, sir!" I said frantically. "Just... adjusting to the vehicle’s responsiveness."
In my earbuds, Kira was talking rapidly: "Okay, that’s normal for your first ti. You just pressed too hard. These cars have a lot of power. Try again, but this ti barely touch the gas pedal. Like you’re touching a soap bubble."
Maxwell was staring at with growing alarm. "Hopton! Are you certain you can drive this car?!"
This is your chance. Tell him the truth. it’s now or never.
"Yes, sir. I’m a very good driver. Just a little rusty, but I know what I’m doing."
*Shoot. Shit. Shoot. Olivia, what was that!*
"Then drive us the hell out of here, and stop wasting my ti! I’m running very thin on patience here! "
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