You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 396

The man stopped in his tracks, clearly surprised to see her. “Patricia.”

“Mr. McKee.”

They exchanged a polite nod. Hector looked at her like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get the words out.

He hesitated, then opened his mouth—just as Oliver called out from behind, his tone impatient. “Aren’t you supposed to be heading back to the meeting?”

Hector let out a sigh and finally walked away.

Once he was gone, Patricia turned to Oliver, her voice gentle. “Did you two have a falling out?”

“No,” Oliver answered, walking over to her. “Did you just come in from the garden? Are you cold?”

“I’m good. Honestly, Mr. McKee just seemed a little helpless.”

Oliver didn’t respond to that. Instead, he poured her a glass of warm water and handed it over. “Here, drink some water.”

Patricia took the glass and gave him a suspicious look. “Are you dodging my question?”

“Being with you is my downtime. Talking about Hector is work, and I don’t want to mix the two.”

Patricia had always thought dating an older guy had its perks. At least with Oliver, he was direct—no playing games, no making her guess what he was really thinking like some moody teenager.

If he didn’t want to talk about it, she’d let it go.

Patricia took a sip of water.

Oliver stood close, his long fingers absentmindedly tracing slow circles on her lower back.

When Patricia stayed in, she always favored those soft, fitted knit tops—super comfy, hugging her waist just right. Oliver loved it, even if he’d never say it out loud. He just liked having her within reach.

In the living room, he looked down, quiet for a moment before finally saying, “I’m heading back to Golden Bay this afternoon. If anything comes up, get in touch with Hector.”

“Relax,” Patricia told him. “I’ll be fine.”

“No matter how gutsy Theo is, he can’t do anything to me. Besides, you’ve already set everything up, haven’t you?”

“I just worry about the unexpected,” Oliver said, his voice trailing off.

Patricia reached up and covered his mouth with her hand, smiling. “No surprises. I’ve got this—I’m definitely going to win.”

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