You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 70

Oliver slipped off his suit jacket and draped it over Patricia’s shoulders. “Ms. Martin, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, thank you. But what 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, 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. Padilla 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.”

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 villa. They watched as the bodyguards tossed the unconscious man into the trunk.

Glancing back at the house, 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.

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’t come home. Aiden 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 his computer. “He’s an adult. Where else would he go? He’s probably out drinking with his buddies.”

“Things feel risky lately. I’m worried something’s happened to him.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”