“We’re on the town council,” Amber continues, following him.“We know everyone worth knowing.”She pauses, then adds with false sweetness, “Of course, Olivia probably didn’t have the chance to introduce you to anyone important.She’s been away so long, and her family...”She trails off meaningfully.“Well, they’re more the working-class type.Very salt of the earth.But they’re family so we’re generous towards them.”The condescension in her voice makes my blood boil.
“My parents would love to have you over for dinner,” Amber presses on.“We have connections throughout the region—business leaders, real estate developers.The kind of people who could actually be useful for someone in your position.”Another pause.“Much more your caliber than, well...”She glances around the shop again with barely concealed disdain.
Alexander finally looks at her, and I watch his eyebrow raise slightly—not impressed, just mildly curious, like he’s examining an interesting but ultimately insignificant specimen.
“I have to say,” Amber adds, her voice dripping with false concern, “I’m surprised someone as handsome and well-off as you would go for Olivia.I mean, she’s ambitious, I’ll give her that, but she always had to work so hard for everything.Some of us just...have it naturally, you know?”My stomach drops.Mom clicks her tongue angrily.
Alexander goes very still, then slowly turns to face her fully, his expression cooling several degrees.“Someone like Olivia?”
The shop bell chimes again.Chase walks in, looking uncomfortable in his veterinary scrubs.Why isn’t he at the clinic?It’s barely noon.
Amber’s smirk widens, emboldened by his presence.“Chase told me that Olivia is like a dead fish in bed.”
The words hit me like a slap.My face burns with humiliation and fury.Beside me, Mom gasps softly, her hand flying to her mouth.
“Amber, I didn’t—” Chase starts, his face flushing red.
But before I can step forward, before I can defend myself, Alexander’s lips curve into a smile that makes my blood run cold and hot all at once.“Really?”His voice is deadly soft, with an edge that makes me tremble despite my mortification.“That hasn’t been my experience at all.”
Amber’s smirk falters.Chase goes rigid, his face transitioning from red to white in the span of a heartbeat.
Alexander takes a step forward, and I watch both Amber and Chase instinctively retreat.“In fact, I’ve found Olivia to be quite responsive.”The pause is deliberate, loaded.“Remarkably passionate, actually.Intensely so.”His eyes cut to Chase with something dark and mocking.“Perhaps the issue wasn’t Olivia’s capacity for passion, but rather a failure of inspiration on the part of her previous partner.”
My heart stops.Mom’s hand grips mine so tight it almost hurts.
Chase’s face turns an ugly shade of red again, his jaw clenching, hands balling into fists at his sides.His entire body language screams humiliation and barely-contained rage.
Alexander continues, his voice carrying that same controlled edge.“A woman of Olivia’s intelligence and spirit requires someone who can match her.Who understands that passion isn’t something you take—It’s something you inspire.”He pauses, his gaze sweeping over Chase with obvious disdain.“Some men simply lack the necessary...skill.”The implication hangs in the air, devastating and unmistakable.Chase looks like he wants to disappear into the floor.Or punch something.Possibly both.
“But beyond that…” Alexander’s voice shifts, becoming clearer, more absolute, “Olivia runs my entire company—a multi-billion dollar empire that would collapse without her competence and intelligence.How could I not be attracted to a woman who has both beauty and brains?”
My heart is pounding so hard I can barely breathe.
Amber’s face twists.“Women belong at home, not out doing men’s jobs.”The petulance in her voice is obvious, desperate.
Chase puffs out his chest slightly, and I feel a wave of disgust.Of course he agrees.Even after being utterly humiliated, he still needs to cling to his fragile masculinity.
Alexander’s smile sharpens into something dangerous.“If Olivia ever decides to stay home, I won’t mind.I can certainly provide for her.”He pauses, letting that sink in.“But my woman has too much spirit, too much drive.I like watching her in action.I like knowing she could run circles around most CEOs I know.”
His gaze sweeps over Amber with obvious assessment.“The two of you are hardly alike.You could learn from her.”
“Excuse me?”Amber’s voice rises, shrill.
“I don’t mean anything by it,” Alexander says pleasantly, though we all know he means every word.“Just that I’m with Olivia because she’s my equal in every way that matters.”
“Her father fixes toilets for a living!”Amber hisses, and I feel Mom flinch beside me.
Alexander’s entire demeanor shifts.The temperature in the room seems to drop ten degrees, and I watch his expression go cold.“I used to do that when I started out.”
Amber goes pale.
“I didn’t get to this point using my family’s money.I built everything from nothing, including cleaning toilets and laying pipe when I had to.”He takes another step forward.“And it doesn’t matter what a man does as long as it’s honest work.Anybody can sell a car.It takes a particular skillset to do what Olivia’s father does.”His voice drops, becoming quieter and somehow more dangerous.“So you should think twice before insulting him in my presence.”
The silence stretches for a long moment.
Amber’s face flushes an angry red, her composure finally cracking.“She’s just with you for your money,” she spits out, her voice shrill and desperate.“That’s all Olivia cares about.She’s always been a gold digger, climbing her way up?—”
Alexander’s smile widens, but there’s nothing warm about it.“Good,” he interrupts smoothly.“I have plenty of it.”The casual dismissal in his tone makes Amber’s mouth snap shut.
