No ring.
So he’s not married.
“Perhaps we should go over those,” Oliver says with that sweet, decadent voice of his.
“And then what?” I ask, my mood suddenly lifting.
Oliver raises an eyebrow at me. “I don’t know, Sir. You tell me.”
His words settle on me. It’s not what he says, buthowhe says it.
Like a brat.
Like a petulant little fucking brat who wants to push my buttons.
I have to shove the thought away immediately, because I know that he doesn’t mean them likethat.Clearly, I am out of sorts this morning.
“Has Chickadee given you the tour?” I ask.
“No, Sir. She has not,” he says, and I notice his fingers twitching. He squeezes his hands, the only giveaway that he seems to be nervous.
Normally I’d find such things annoying, but on Oliver, it is less annoying.
It is almostcute.
“I was hoping you would show me around?” he asks, cocking his head to the side. The motion draws attention to his slender, pale neck. To the way his golden hair falls over his ears.
The expanse of his throat calls to me, and my own fingers twitch, aching to feel his pulse against my palm. I sip my coffee.
“A busy man like me? What makes you think I have time to show you around, Oliver?”
His eyebrows furrow, and I realize as he schools his expression, I’ve thrown him off guard, which makes me smile.
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
“Relax. I’m just fucking with you,” I say with a smirk. His shoulders loosen.
“Oh, of course.”
“Now, let’s get you into the system.” I turn around and head for my computer.
“The system?” he asks, sounding confused.
“Yes. If you are to assist me properly, you will need to be integrated into all of Veil’s servers, plus I will need to sync you with my clouds and—”
I start tapping away, bringing up what I need. I’m well aware he’s watching me, which isn’t anythingnew.People watch me all the time, but this…
This feels different; perhaps even dangerous.
But how dangerous can he be?
“I’ll need your phone, of course.” I swivel in my chair, leaning over and holding out my hand, palm side up for him to give it to me. “So I can install Veil and make sure your personal information is protected, of course.”
He looks at my hand, almost as if he is afraid it will turn into a snake and bite him.
“Phone, please,” I say sternly.
Oliver swallows nervously.
