You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 718

“Miss, should I make those special dishes again today?”

“No, not today,” Patricia replied, already up, dressed, and downstairs. Oliver had taken a few days off, but now he was back into his workout routine. When she got downstairs, he was still jogging laps in the yard. Patricia settled at the table and asked for a coffee.

Marian chatted with her as she set the cup down. “You’ve had those dishes for days. I figured you must like them.”

“I don’t, really. I just needed them for someone else.”

“For who?” Oliver asked, wiping sweat from his face with the towel Johns handed over as he walked into the dining room, catching the tail end of their conversation.

“A business partner’s wife,” Patricia replied, coming up with a quick excuse. If Oliver ever found out she’d been eating those dishes for days just to figure out the recipe before giving it to Brandon, he’d get jealous all over again.

“Shouldn’t you shower first? Where’s Roger? I thought he was with you.”

“He’s slow,” Oliver said. He didn’t push Patricia about her evasive answer, even though he could tell she was hiding something. He decided to let it go. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but that he was afraid to push. They’d just gotten back on good terms. If Patricia pulled away again because he was too controlling, he honestly didn’t think he could take it.

By the end of October, the shake-up at Martin Group was halfway done, and the auditors were slowly finishing up. That morning, Patricia had barely arrived at the office when Ann showed up. Colby stood by the door, looking nervous.

Patricia laughed. “I just got here and she’s already waiting. There must be a mole in the secretarial office.”

“Colby, isn’t that kind of a slip-up on your part?”

Colby broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to respond. Before Patricia had even said anything, she’d made Colby check how long it took to drive from Ann’s house. Forty minutes. Patricia had been in her office for forty-three minutes, including the time it took to make a coffee. Colby’s heart was pounding. It was obvious someone had tipped Ann off the moment Patricia walked in, or else she wouldn’t have gotten there so quickly.

“I’m sorry. I’ll figure out who it was.”

Patricia shot an annoyed look at Ann. “Take her to the conference room.”

At ten-thirty, after sending Mr. Moss off, Patricia finally went to the conference room. Ann was pacing restlessly. Just a few days ago, her son had gotten into trouble in Golden Bay and was taken away. She’d tried everything, but nothing worked. When she ran out of options, someone told her to contact Patricia. Supposedly, Patricia was on good terms with Oliver from Pacific Capital, and since the Padilla family was one of Golden Bay’s big eight, getting someone released should be easy.

Ann had been trying to find Patricia for days with no luck. Today, finally, she got her chance.

When the door opened, Ann spun around and rushed over. “Mr. Martin…”

Patricia didn’t really know Ann. In fact, at the last board meeting, they’d practically been at each other’s throats. Seeing Ann coming closer, Patricia instinctively stepped back, dodging her attempt to touch her. “Ann?”

Ann stopped short, a little embarrassed. “Mr. Martin, I’m sorry.”

Patricia didn’t respond. Instead, she walked over and sat on the sofa across from her. Colby brought in two cups of tea.

“So, what did you want to talk about, Ann?”

Ann rarely looked so unsettled, but she was asking for a favor and it showed. She’d always been a big supporter of Tina, and Patricia still remembered the way she voted at the shareholder meeting. If she hadn’t been forced to come here, she might have had more pride. But now, with her son in trouble, it felt like her backbone was being pressed into the ground. If Patricia had been the one forcing her, at least she could be angry. But this was all her own doing.

“Mr. Martin, I know I have no right to ask you for anything, but I really don’t have anyone else to turn to. My son messed up in Golden Bay and got taken away. I heard you’re close with Mr. Padilla. I was wondering if you could please help me, just this once.”

Patricia nodded. “Good idea. Just not yet.”

“We don’t need to rush,” she said. No one even knew the details of Ann’s son’s situation in Golden Bay. If it wasn’t that bad, Ann wouldn’t give up her shares so easily. And even if she did, she might still try to make things difficult. But if it was really serious, and she came begging on her knees? That would be a whole different story.

Patricia didn’t think about it anymore. When she finished up for the day, she called Jackson to leave with her. As she walked to the secretarial office, she spotted Jackson struggling with document formatting. She felt a rush of frustration. Knocking on the doorframe, she waited as Jackson looked up, seeing her standing there silently.

“You can head home first,” she said.

“How am I supposed to get home?”

“Drive,” Jackson replied.

Patricia just stared. She hadn’t driven in forever. Ever since her injury, she could count on one hand the number of times she’d been behind the wheel. And he wanted her to drive that giant SUV home by herself?

“Or… do you want Aiden to come pick you up?” Jackson asked.

“We’re leaving now,” she said.

Jackson glanced at his computer. “But…”

“I’m in a hurry,” Patricia cut him off, her patience running thin.