Page 31 of Money Reigns

“I wasn’t aware there’d beactuallunch,” I murmur. “I thought—”

“There is now,” he says, lifting the lid.

Grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, jasmine rice, simple, warm, fragrant. Plated like it belongs in a five-star suite.

“Eat.”

I lift the fork, unsure why I’m even following his commands.

This man won’t even let me finish a sentence.

I eat in silence, the only sound, the soft clink of silverware.

It could almost feel normal, if I didn’t feel him watching me chew like he’s grading my performance.

Is it how I hold the fork?

How fast I eat?

I can’t even taste the food.

I put the fork down.

“Can we go over what I sent you now?”

His lips twitch, so slight, I wouldn’t have noticed if I weren’t watching him as closely as he’s watching me.

“In a moment,” he drawls, eyes scanning my face. “You’re nervous.”

“No,” I lie.

He leans in, voice low. “Your hands are shaking.”

I fold them in my lap. “You’re watching too closely.”

“I always watch closely,” he says. “That’s how I built this empire.”

“I’m not an empire,” I mutter, too quiet to stop myself.

His lips twitch again. “You could be, Olivia.”

My name sounds like a secret when he says it.

Like a leash he’s tightening.

“I don’t like being scrutinized,” I say, straightening in my seat. “You make me feel like I’m under a microscope.”

His eyes narrow, deliberate. “Good. That’s where you belong. Every move measured. Every flaw magnified. That’s how I know who tokeep… and who tobreak.”

My stomach flips. I should stop there. But I don’t.

“Then why?” I press, softer. “If I’m here because youtrustme… why the microscope?”

His answer is quiet.

Cutting.

“Because you make me feel something I don’t have a name for.”