Olivia, Striking Back - Danielle Norman Page 0,1

respond other than to nod at the next target, which was farther away and would be difficult for any skilled shooter to get a good shot at. Olivia was determined to knock that smug expression right off his face. She considered shooting him instead of the target to accomplish that, but violence wasn’t really her thing. It was her dad’s thing.

Forcing back thoughts of her father, she raised the gun again. Her grip was as steady as a surgeon’s hand.

“Sometime today, baby,” the man taunted. She could sense the agitation in his tone. He was proud—he didn’t like to be proved wrong. Olivia glanced over her shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow.

“I have a name,” she said calmly. “It’s right there on the clipboard in your hand. If you can’t read, I can sound it out for you.”

The crowd of observers fell quiet, their attention captured by the tension. Olivia’s cheeks flushed. She was gutsy, but that didn’t mean she liked having a dozen pairs of eyes trained on her at once.

“Damn, calm down,” the guy said and chuckled, backtracking immediately to make her seem like she was overreacting to his rudeness. Olivia recognized it as a classic move of master manipulators. “Take a Midol and shoot the gun.”

Olivia turned away from him, figuring that her actions would speak louder than any words that she could throw at him. She raised the gun to her shoulder.

Once again, the paintball struck the center of the target. Cheers and applause erupted as Olivia beamed in triumph, twirling the gun with a flourish.

“Not bad,” he acquiesced. “But there’s still one more round.”

Olivia nodded, the anticipation of victory humming within her. She noticed her friends grinning from the front of the crowd, always there to encourage her no matter what. For example, even though Adeline was whispering something in the ear of a boy in a leather jacket, her eyes were on Olivia. She nodded subtly as she caught Olivia’s eye, letting her know that she believed in her abilities.

Everything had built up to this moment. Olivia wanted to win the competition. Not only because it was important to her but also to show that impudent guy that it was ill-advised to underestimate her just because she was a woman.

Olivia closed her eyes and concentrated on the cold steel against her fingers. She zoned in until she could no longer hear the impatient tapping of the guy’s foot or the whispers of the people around her.

The gun jerked in her hand as she released the last ball. It landed with sharp thud in the center of the target. The crowd cheered loudly, but the rumble of voices sounded like a distant echo as Olivia lowered the gun.

She turned, and her eyes immediately landed on the nameless man. He pursed his lips, appearing physically pained at her victory. Flicking the safety in place, she shoved the gun into his arms and winked.

“I think there might be a bake sale with your name on it.” Olivia smirked. Without waiting for his comeback, she strode past him to claim her medal and the hundred dollar gift card to the best restaurant in town.

“Holy shit, lady!” Adeline shouted, grinning as she jogged over to Olivia. Her tight blouse clung to her body in a way that had pretty much every man in the vicinity staring at her. “You showed him up. Ugh, what a douchebag.”

“Yeah, that was ridiculous,” Sunday chimed in beside Adeline. She tucked her long blonde hair up into a ponytail. “I hate when men talk to women like that.”

“Me too,” Melanie agreed, popping up between the two others. “Which is exactly why we’re forming the Iron Ladies, right?”

Olivia narrowed her eyes as the guy wrapped his arm around a girl on the other side of the room without invitation. The poor girl flinched, but she didn’t step away from him. A guy like that knew most women wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to smack him away and they took advantage of it. It turned Olivia’s stomach.

“Absolutely,” Olivia replied to her friend. “Someday, we’re going to be defending women from men just like him.”

Olivia

Olivia Vinning was not happy.

Firstly, she swore that her three best friends, who were also her business partners, had rigged the straws. Literally. Perhaps it was a bit elementary, but they always drew straws to determine which one of them would take the lead on a case, and this time, Olivia had drawn the short straw. Hence why she was currently sitting in