Page 80 of Money Reigns

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“And Olivia?”

I swallow hard. “Yes?”

“That lipstick shade from the gala.”

His eyes flick to my mouth.

“Wear it again.”

The door clicks behind him, and I sit there, watch wrapped tight around my wrist, coffee gone cold on my desk, heart thundering like I just survived a car crash.

Only I didn’t survive.

I surrendered.

Chapter seventeen

Olivia

This is the moment.

His meeting is over, War’s in his office.

Perfect.

Now I’ll talk to him.

Now I’ll say it out loud: we kissed, but I didn’t say yes to dating you or being in a relationship. This…us,it’s not anything.

I step into his office, nerves twisted so tight I can barely breathe. He’s standing at the window, back to me, phone to his ear.

“Yes.”

A pause.

Another.

And then he laughs.

The sound is rare enough to make my breath hitch.

“Send the confirmation to my email and Olivia Baker’s. Yes. I want the crew mobilized by next week.”

He hangs up, turns around, and smiles.

Smiles.

And I feel it like a punch to the sternum. That rare, easy joy on his face. That lightness. It softens something brutal in him and slices something fragile in me.

“What happened?” I ask.

“The Parker Building,” he says, voice rich and warm. “It’s back on. Your summary notice… it worked.”

I blink. “Wait. Really?”

My heart leaps.

I did it.

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