Oliver slipped off his suit jacket and draped it over Patricia’s shoulders. “Ms. Martin, are you okay?”
“I’m
fine, thank you. But <b>what </b>are you doing here?” Patricia tried to keep her panic out of her voice.
“Your uncle told me you might be running into some trouble. He asked me to bring you a few people you could trust.”
This was only the third time Patricia had seen Oliver, but tonight, for the first time, she really looked at him. His features were sharp, his eyes steady and deep–eyes that had clearly seen a lot. In that moment, Patricia realized something: Oliver might look calm and polished<b>, </b>but there was something dangerous beneath the surface.
“Thanks, but I don’t need extra people right now. What I do need is for Mr. Padi to help me with a little problem.”
Once Patricia had steadied herself, Oliver took a step back. “What do you need, Ms. Martin?”
“Tomorrow at eight in the morning, I want him stripped and dumped at the front gates of Newton Enterprises.” <!--
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Oliver’s eyes narrowed just a bit at her words. He found himself suddenly curious about the woman hiding behind that icy front. She was young, but her heart was anything but soft.
“Alright. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
Colton followed Oliver out of the vi. They watched as the bodyguards tossed the unconscious man
Into the trunk.
ncing back at the house<b>, </b>Colton muttered, “She’s got a real dark side, doesn’t she?”
“I heard her parents groomed her to take over the family business. Then everything fell apart and she lost her legs. People say she just gave up after that. But honestly, her body might be broken, but her mind? Definitely not…”
Colton stopped rambling when he caught Oliver shooting him a cold look. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re not catching feelings for her, are you?”
“Uncle Oliver, seriously? She’s been married twice! Even if she hadn’t, the two of you are almost a generation apart.”
One of the bodyguards shot Oliver a curious look. “Boss, she doesn’t look much older than a college
kid.”
“Three years is a generation. You wouldn’t get it,” Oliver replied.
The bodyguard just kept quiet.
Colton, still curious, asked, “What do you think she’s going to do tonight?”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to dump the guy right now, while he’s still out cold? What if he wakes <fn23dc> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? ?ovelFind</fn23dc>
up?”
13:29
Chapter /u
“If he wakes up, just knock him out again,” Oliver said, barely ncing up from the tablet in his hand.
“How many times are you supposed to do that? What if you hit him too hard and he ends up brain–dead?”
“If you care so much, why don’t you take him to the hospital yourself?”
Colton caught Oliver’s warning look and finally shut up, muttering under his breath.
Halfway through the drive, Colton piped up again, “Seriously, what do you think she’s up to tonight?”
Oliver replied, “She’s <b>calling </b>the press<b>.” </b>
Wasn’t it obvious? Her ex had already embarrassed himself–why wouldn’t she take the chance to ruin himpletely?
And Oliver was right.
Patricia was already on the phone, not just with local reporters but international ones too. She had twenty–four hours to turn this whole mess upside down.
The countdown had started: twenty–four hours left.
That night, Theo didn’te home. Alden couldn’t reach him, so he called the Newtons, only to find out Theo hadn’t been home at all.
“Where do you think Theo went?” Kelly asked.
Howard was back in the country, still stuck at his desk with paperwork from the overseas branch when it was almost eleven at night. He barely looked up from hisputer. “He’s an adult. Where else would he go? He’s probably out drinking with his buddies.”
“Things feel riskytely. I’m worried something’s happened to him.”
“What could possibly go wrong?”