10 Endless Loop

"Excuse me, sir. Are you attacking me?" Olivia asked, her voice laced with a hint of hostility towards Wyatt, the platoon commander, who shifted in his seat by the sudden chill in the air.

Wyatt could not explain why he got easily riled up when Olivia said what she said. He completely forgot that she basically grew up in a foreign country and her British accent alone was a dead giveaway. But his love for the country got the best of him, momentarily clouding his judgment, therefore, offending a new friend.

"Nobody's attacking you, Livi," Emily said as she rubbed Olivia's arms. And as if it was not enough buttering her up, she snapped her head toward Wyatt and said, "Hey! Don't attack her, Honey!"

After the words left Emily's mouth, it was now Oliver's turn to make a scene. Wyatt squinted his eye as if he stubbed his toe, and tilted his head away from Oliver. Wyatt's head started to spin when he felt his friend's menacing aura reach him. Can't these siblings give him a break, please!

"We promised that there will be no dating in our group!" Oliver whined like a child. He knew they were adults now and that blood pact was made when they still had their diapers on but he really wanted for them to keep it that way especially now that he's married to Ava. And now that Wyatt and Emily crossed the line, he could see the barrage of questions from his wife, one of which would be asking him endlessly whether he had dated Emily too.

"Is that why you're here, huh? To claim your territory?" Oliver asked with gritted teeth. But before the lovers could explain themselves, Olivia uttered while sipping water from a goblet, "I haven't met this Maxen but I don't like him anymore."

Switching from vexed to cool as a cucumber, Oliver faced his sister and said, "He's a nobody, really. Just some playboy you don't want to hang around with." His hand swept through his hair when he felt a sweat form on his hair as he remembered the awkward situation earlier. Although Oliver and Maxen were inseparable growing up, he would never let his precious sister date that guy for they share too many secrets together.

"How could you say that about your friend?"

"Why? It's true. I just saw him leave with Fiona."

The three friends' conversation felt like an endless loop that Olivia can't seem to wrap her head around.

Maxen. Playboy. Fiona. Who is Fiona? Wait, why do I even care? Sometimes, having too many friends could bring in a lot of drama. Now she was thinking whether or not to hang out with her brother's friends anymore. But she really liked Emily though…

A soft voice disrupted Olivia's train of thought which she was thankful for. She saw a waitress holding out a black velvet check presenter, smiling brightly at her as if she was calculating mentally the tip she'd be receiving from their table. Olivia smiled back, making the waitress blush.

"Lunch is on me," Olivia said as she pulled out her wallet from her bag. The waitress stood with bated breath and almost fainted when she saw the card. Out of all the diners in this restaurant, she only saw this card once and she didn't even have the chance to touch it. Her eyes glimmer in anticipation as Olivia clipped the diamond-encrusted black royal credit card with a real gold wrapping on the sides. Once the waitress was far from the diners' sight, she opened the check presenter and sniffed the card. She also traced her fingers along the gold wrapping before closing the check presenter with a snap. Today is a good day to be alive, the waitress thought.

"Livi, how did you get that card?" Oliver probed. That card was an invite-only card and most cardholders were from either a royal family member or people of ultra-high-net-worth status. Oliver raised a brow in suspicion when he realized that not even their father was granted an application.

"Oh thaaat… I slept with a prince," Olivia said jokingly. It was only a whisper but it felt like she said it through a megaphone. Wyatt almost spew the water in his mouth onto Oliver's face. Seeing the faces of the three, Olivia cackled, one hand on her stomach while the other covered her mouth. "Look at your faces," she wiped the happy tear at the corner of her eye and clarified, "I am good friends with a Saudi princess. I'm personally handling her accounts. That's how I got invited." However, Oliver didn't buy what his sister said but he still left her off the hook.

"What's his name again?" Olivia asked, her fingers hovered over her phone.

"Maxen Victor Eton Sui."

"Wow. He must've had a hard time writing his name in preschool," Olivia commented, locking her phone screen after her web search showed the results. "Ok, I'll check it again later so our commander over here can give me a quiz the next time we meet."

Olivia walked back to Rockaway Tower and entered the lift. Swiping her keycard, the elevator beeped and Olivia leaned on the opposite side of the elevator which she should not be doing because this was a double door elevator and it could open on either sides. A few seconds later, she was startled when she fell on her back once it reached the penthouse floor. Two security details, armed and ready, pointed their guns on her like she was a trespasser. Realizing that she entered the wrong penthouse suite, she stood up and motioned for the guards to press the call button on the intercom.

"Front desk, how may I help you?"

"Please open the door to penthouse 1."

"Just a second," the front desk replied. She replayed the elevator footage and instantly paled when she saw Olivia fall back and out of the lift. "Sorry about the trouble, Miss Lin. I will send a new keycard to your place right away. I sincerely apologize…."

Silence. Olivia heard nothing but silence. She hated it when people make excuses. It was as if her ears would go on auto-mute the moment she hears bullsh*t. The opposite door to her penthouse suite opened and she left without even saying a word of thanks to the voice on the intercom.

Once she entered her suite, she called Secretary Gail and told her to find a new place for her. She doesn't like sharing space, more so, that elevator that opens both ways was dangerous for her security.

"Oliviiiia, is that you?" a familiar sing-songy voice made Olivia smile. She suddenly forgot about her elevator mishap and replied in a sing-songy voice too.

"Are you smiliiing?" A man wearing a white polo shirt and grey pants ensemble asked. He could count on his fingers how many times he saw Olivia smile growing up that he could not believe his eyes when he saw her smiling on a random day.

"Eliiiii!" Olivia squealed and took hurried steps before crashing into the arms of her cousin. Growing up, Auntie Martha would bring Eli with her during her visits to England. And ever since they first met, the cousins were inseparable. Eli even went to Central Saint Martins so he could be closer to her.

"Let's go. I'm gonna show you something." Eli said as he pulled Olivia to the living room where she found herself awestruck by a dress on a mannequin.

"This is beautiful, Eli."

"Of course, after all you are my muse! Are you ready for the auction?"