Chapter 262
Patricia never bothered with pleasantries when it came to people like this. She called it like she saw it–a bunch of sycophants, sniffing around for scraps. Just being in the same room with them felt like breathing in smog.
By the time Sara walked out, Wendy had already slipped away, looking as defeated as ever. Patricia, unfazed, pulled out her card and paid for everything without batting an eye.
Meanwhile, Oliver was about to leave his office when his phone buzzed with a bank alert. He glanced at the screen, saw the string of zeroes, and couldn’t help the slow grin that spread across his face.
He loved it when Patricia spent his money. Financial dependence, he figured, was just another way stay connected.
He shot her a quick message: “Shopping?”
Patricia replied almost immediately: “Yep! Not coming home for dinner tonight.”
Oliver stared at her reply, his brow furrowed. “What about me?”
to
Patricia paused when she saw his message, her fingers hovering over the screen before she started typing a long reply: “You’ve been asking me this a lot lately. We’re married, not joined at the hip, you
know.”
He was getting clingy. That was something new.
Patricia had no idea where Oliver’s insecurity was coming from, but she was starting to notice it more and more. After she sent her message, she waited for a while, but he never wrote back.
While she waited, up on the top floor of Pacific Capital, a storm was brewing.
Lincoln came in with a file, only to freeze at the sight of Oliver’s foul mood. He took a cautious step
back.
“Mr. Padilla, Howard from Newton Enterprises is already in Mr. McKee’s office.”
Oliver looked up, his tone icy. “Tell Mr. McKee not to go easy on him.”
The top floor of Pacific Capital was split right down the middle–half for Hector, half for Oliver. Their assistants kept to their own sides, but the lounge and meeting rooms were shared. Not that Oliver had spent much time here in the past three years.
As Hector liked to joke, Oliver had planned to turn into a family man after getting married. But Patricia was always busy, hardly ever home, barely giving him a chance to play the domesticated husband.
No wonder Oliver’s mood had been getting darker lately.
In the lounge, the kettle was whistling. Hector traced lazy patterns on the tea table before finally setting a cup of Pu’er in front of Howard.
“Please, Mr. Newton.”
“Mr. McKee, your tea skills are impressive,” Howard said, making small talk.
Hector smiled. “Compared to you, I’m still a rookie. Only started drinking tea this year. Before that, it
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Chapter 262
was whiskey and coffee all the way.”
“We all go through phases,” Howard replied, taking a sip.
Hector nodded, settling back in his chair with a casual air–a little too relaxed for the formal setting, like someone who had never really cared about the rules.
They chatted for a bit, but it didn’t take long for Howard to steer things toward his real agenda. “I’ve heard you’re a straight shooter, Mr. McKee, so I’ll just come out and say it.”
“Go ahead, Mr. Newton.”
“This autumn fog has Newton Enterprises a bit lost. I was hoping you could point us in the right
direction.”
Hector’s easy smile never slipped, making him seem approachable–almost like he’d help anyone who asked. But everyone in the room knew what Howard really wanted: to find out how he’d managed to upset the Padilla family.
As if Hector could just spill that kind of information. If he did, Oliver would never let him hear the end
of it.
