You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 211

Night settled over the city.

Patricia turned just enough to meet Oliver’s eyes, her chin lifted.

“Are you giving in?” she asked quietly.

“There’s no giving in between husband and wife,” Oliver said, pulling her close as they headed inside. “A marriage only lasts if both people are willing to see things from each other’s side. Pattie, I mean it—I’m really trying with you.”

He stopped and looked right at her. His gaze was so full of love it made her breath catch.

Patricia felt the weight of it—there was nowhere to hide.

She couldn’t love like Oliver did. Deep down, she knew he’d never done anything wrong.

All this distance between them was her own doing, her own selfishness.

Revenge filled her thoughts, and she knew she’d never given Oliver as much of herself as he gave her.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ll try to keep up with you.”

She took a breath. “I just need you to be patient with me a while longer. I know I’ve been distracted, and I know it’s been hard for you. But I can’t let go of this grudge yet. Just… wait for me, okay?”

Oliver nodded, slow and steady. “Okay.”

He pulled her into his arms, fingers threading gently through her hair. “Okay,” he said again, softer now.

He’d always known about the anger she carried. From the very start, he understood. How could he ever blame her?

He’d been holding back, waiting for her to come back to him.

Now that Ruby was out of the way, it was the Phipps family’s turn. The very thought of Patricia having to see Theo so often drove Oliver crazy with jealousy, but he kept it hidden. He was scared to push too hard, scared he might lose her.

That night, Oliver was relentless.

Patricia felt like she was being swept away by a storm, completely lost in him. Older men really did know how to spoil a woman, she thought dizzily. He coaxed her again and again, never letting up.

She was starting to recognize his moods. When he wasn't happy, he always took it out in bed—there was a wildness to it, a desperate need she was learning to read.

***

“Nice,” he said, snapping his fingers.

“Sara, you go with Jackson. Aiden, stay in the car.”

At seven, the officials headed up for the conference.

Jackson led the team, sealing off every fire exit along the way. Sara helped, and when she got back to the car she found Aiden monitoring the cameras on his tablet.

Upstairs, Theo and his crew were lugging heavy files, sweating as they climbed flight after flight. When they finally reached the thirty-second floor and tried the fire door, it wouldn’t budge.

They went back down to thirty-one. Still locked.

They kept going, door after door, but every one was shut tight.

“Mr. Newton, what do we do? It’s about to start!”

“Have someone upstairs break the door down,” Theo said, not missing a beat. “We have to get those files in, or we’re screwed.”