You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 158

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“Are you in some kind of secret club or what? Why do we have to delete our chat history?”

Patricia was still trying to figure out how to reply when she heard footsteps on the stairs. There was an elevator in the house, but Oliver never used it. As Sara always joked, he was just too old-school for that. Everything about him—how he acted, even his daily routines—was perfectly proper.

Patricia locked her phone and looked up. “You heading to the office?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Patricia didn’t bother to hide how uninterested she was.

Oliver caught her mood right away. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just asking.” She hesitated, then, thinking of Sara, added, “I’ve got the day off. Was hoping Sara could come out shopping with me. Is that okay?”

Oliver frowned, giving Patricia a long look, like he was trying to read her mind.

“Did Sara ask you to cover for her?” He was pretty sure all three of them were working late last night. And he was only heading in today to check how their projects were coming along.

“Why would you think that?” Patricia shot his question right back at him.

“Sara’s in charge of the monthly report. I told you all yesterday that I’d be reviewing the results today. Now, the minute I’m out the door, you want to take her shopping. I’m guessing she put you up to this, right?”

Patricia’s face must have given something away, because Oliver just laughed and stepped closer. “Let me see your phone.”

“That’s private, you know.”

“I’m not checking up on you. I just want to see how Sara’s been complaining about me behind my back.”

That’s when Patricia finally understood why Sara told her to delete their messages. She guessed Oliver would want to check her phone.

Patricia handed it over.

Oliver scrolled through her messages. No Sara. He looked up at Patricia, saw how calm she was, and handed the phone back.

“Convinced now? Satisfied?”

“Sorry,” Oliver said quietly, his hand settling gently at her waist as he tried to explain. “Sara’s a handful. Her mind’s everywhere. It’s hard not to keep an eye on her.”

“You’re supposed to be the grown-up. Why are you always playing games with them?”