Page 31 of Money Reigns
“I wasn’t aware there’d beactuallunch,” I murmur. “I thought—”
“There is now,” he says, lifting the lid.
Grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, jasmine rice, simple, warm, fragrant. Plated like it belongs in a five-star suite.
“Eat.”
I lift the fork, unsure why I’m even following his commands.
This man won’t even let me finish a sentence.
I eat in silence, the only sound, the soft clink of silverware.
It could almost feel normal, if I didn’t feel him watching me chew like he’s grading my performance.
Is it how I hold the fork?
How fast I eat?
I can’t even taste the food.
I put the fork down.
“Can we go over what I sent you now?”
His lips twitch, so slight, I wouldn’t have noticed if I weren’t watching him as closely as he’s watching me.
“In a moment,” he drawls, eyes scanning my face. “You’re nervous.”
“No,” I lie.
He leans in, voice low. “Your hands are shaking.”
I fold them in my lap. “You’re watching too closely.”
“I always watch closely,” he says. “That’s how I built this empire.”
“I’m not an empire,” I mutter, too quiet to stop myself.
His lips twitch again. “You could be, Olivia.”
My name sounds like a secret when he says it.
Like a leash he’s tightening.
“I don’t like being scrutinized,” I say, straightening in my seat. “You make me feel like I’m under a microscope.”
His eyes narrow, deliberate. “Good. That’s where you belong. Every move measured. Every flaw magnified. That’s how I know who tokeep… and who tobreak.”
My stomach flips. I should stop there. But I don’t.
“Then why?” I press, softer. “If I’m here because youtrustme… why the microscope?”
His answer is quiet.
Cutting.
“Because you make me feel something I don’t have a name for.”
