Page 271 of Money Reigns

“I already did,”Wesley mutters, then eyes me. “Keep her out of my servers, or I swear to God, War—”

I raise both hands. “No promises.”

Wesley turns to go, tossing one last look over his shoulder. “Oh, and for the record? I like the second desk. Makes it harder for her to disappear.”

Then he’s gone.

Olivia slumps back into her chair, cheeks flushed.

I smirk across the desk at her. “So. You got praised, threatened, and almost rehired all in one visit. Impressive.”

She grins back, a little breathless. “What can I say? I multitask.”

“And apparently commit multiple felonies before lunch.”

Her smile softens. “I just wanted to help. To give something back to Noah. To you.”

My throat tightens.

She has no idea what it does to me, to be seen like this.Chosenlike this.

I stand again, walking around the desk until I’m in front of her. She looks up, blinking.

“Come here,” I murmur.

She rises. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close. She fits against me like she was always meant to be here.

“I’m proud of you,” I say softly, brushing my lips to her forehead. “Grateful you got the building back. Even if you did scare the hell out of me.”

She smiles, that wide, teasing smile I crave. “If I’m being honest, getting scolded by Wesley I think means I need another punishment,” she muses. “Just to be effective, you know?”

I bark out a laugh, that full-bodied kind that only she can pull out of me.

And right there, with her in my arms and a future in our hands, I know I’ve never been more certain.

I’m tying this woman to my name.

Chapter sixty-one

War

Four Months Later

The scissors are heavier than I expected. All gold and ceremonial, probably unused since the mayor’s last press event.

It’s just a ribbon,I tell myself.

But it’s not.

It’s every memory I’ve locked behind this building’s walls.

Every mistake I swore I’d never repeat.

Every dream Olivia made feel possible.

Cameras flash. Applause rings out.

I take it in; the polished suits, the eager city officials, the whispers of legacy.