A soft smile touched Nina’s lips as she nodded. “I’d love to.” Her revenge wasplete. There was nothing left for her in Hirica.

“Good. We’ll get your records transferred,” Olivia said, getting to her feet and nudging Sean with her toe. “You’re going to school too, and you’re going to behave. Understood?”

Sean rubbed his backside with a theatrical pout, clutched his te, and scampered out of the room.

Grace beamed, her smile wide enough to split her face.

Nina alsoughed, but her mind was elsewhere, heavy with unspoken thoughts. The truth was, she had no desire to return to a traditional school. What she craved was to learn from Olivia, to acquire the kind of real- world skills she’d seen from Olivia.

Another three years in a ssroom seemed like a waste when she could be at Olivia’s side now, learning how to truly help her. But voicing these thoughts felt far too presumptuous.

An hourter, fresh out of the shower, Olivia had just settled into bed to stream a movie when her phone buzzed with a WhatsApp call from a certain someone.

It was only then that she noticed the dozen–plus messages from Andrew that she’dpletely ignored. A nce at the time told her it was well past 11 p.m.

“Hey,” Olivia said, clearing her throat. “Sorry, today was busy. I meant to text you back.”

“Mmm.” Andrew’s voice was a low, maic hum, soft and intimate. “Jenny filled me in. They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?” fndfdb This text is hosted at fin?novel/fndfdb

“Nope, all good,” she said, her tone light and breezy. The day had its stresses, but running into Dubhe because of it had made the whole ordeal worth it.

“Wish I could’ve been there,” Andrew said, his voice dropping, a chill creeping into it. If he had been, he would have handled it differently.

“It wasn’t necessary,” Olivia dismissed instinctively. “I had it under control.” The idea of waiting around for some knight in shining armor was absurd to her.

Andrew was silent for a beat. “Right. I forgot. The formidable Olivia,” he said, a tinge of wistfulness and unmistakable petnce coloring his tone. “Doesn’t need anyone’s help, least of all mine.”

‘God, a grown man pouting like that. So tedious.‘ Olivia had zero bandwidth to coddle his ego. She was busy picking a movie.

When Olivia didn’t rise to the bait, Andrew shelved the sulking and switched gears. “So. I hear you’re starting that SAT prep ss tomorrow.”

“You seem to know an awful lot about my schedule.” Olivia mused. her attention still mostly on her movie

selection.

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b94 /b

55 Vouchers

“Of course. Sean is very cooperative. I find him quite agreeable,” Andrew said, a glint in his dark eyes.

“Sean?” Olivia’s finger stilled over the remote, her expression darkening. “How much did it cost to buy his intel? That little traitor has a bottomless pit for a stomach.”

“It was Jenny’s idea, Andrew rified, the ghost of a smile ying on his lips. “I just provided the funding. A minor investment. 30 thousand grand is a small price for quality intelligence.”

“I see,” Olivia said tly.

‘Oh, that little weasel, Sean. Building a secret nest egg off my back. Just wait till I empty his pockets tomorrow, she decided.

“My point is,” Andrew said, his features schooled into neutrality though the moonlight sculpted them elegantly, his voice a quiet murmur, “if you have trouble, you can ask me. I’m an excellent tutor.”

“I have a lot of it,” Olivia replied.

“Really.” Andrew’s lips quirked in amusement. “You strike me as someone with a capable mind. I find it hard to believe someone with your grasp of medicine struggles with studying.”

“I have more important things to do than study,” Olivia stated, finallynding on a movie and dropping the remote. It wasn’t a lie. Formal study was a pedestrian waste of her time.

“Never mind. I can teach you,” Andrew said, his voice softening despite the miles between them. He could only imagine her face, but the tenderness in his eyes was real.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll keep it in mind,” Olivia relented.

“You sound impatient,” Andrew observed. His gaze, when it flicked to his assistant, Ethan, was ice. “I want results tonight.” His voice lost its warmth.

“I’m indeed impatient,” Olivia drawled, loungingzily against her pillows, her eyes glued to the screen. “You’re killing my movie buzz.”

“My deepest apologies for disturbing your cinematic immersion,” Andrew replied, his tone dripping with mock formality.

Strangely, she heard a genuine thread of disappointment slip into his sarcastic tone. ‘He hadn’t actually done anything wrong,‘ she thought, a twinge of guilt surprising her.

“I mean…,” she paused. “Do you… maybe want to watch it with me?” The words were out before she could stop them, her voice softer than she’d intended, almost gentle.

Beep! The call disconnected abruptly.

Before she could even process the hang–up, her screen lit up with an iing video call from him.

It was impulsive, but Olivia hit ‘ept‘ anyway. ‘Well, I did offer,‘ she reasoned. ‘Backing out now would make

10:16 Sat, bOct /bb4 /b

me look ky.‘

65 vouchers

Andrew’s annoyingly handsome face filled her screen quickly. He was in a sharp gray suit and gold–rimmed sses, apparently still at the office even at this hour.

She hadn’t adjusted her camera angle yet, and the feed inadvertently broadcast a few seconds of her movie- right as a horde of decaying zombies lurched into close–up, giving Andrew a full–frontal jump scare.

A loud THUD echoed from his end, followed by the sound of ttering. Then, his feed went ck.

“Boss, are you okay?” Ethan’s voice,ced with panic, came through the speakers. “Don’t you die on me! Not before you approve my bonus.”

Olivia’s brow furrowed. ‘Did he just have a heart attack? That was fast. A more pressing concern surfaced. ‘Well, there goes my biggest client.‘

“I’m fine,” Andrew’s voice came through, strained. “Just hand me the phone, Ethan.

After a moment, his video feed flickered back to life. His face was still ridiculously perfect, just several shades paler than before.

Olivia had righted her camera by then. One eyebrow arched. “Don’t tell me the great Andrew Shea got scared by a little zombie movie?”

“I’m fine.” Andrew coughed, a faint blush creeping up his neck. His eyes darted to her image on the screen, then instantly away, as if burned.

Olivia frowned, not following. “What’s wrong?”

“Your, uh… pajamas,” he managed, his voice rough as his Adam’s apple bobbed. He was visibly struggling to maintain hisposure.

Olivia nced down and finally noticed the top button of her pajamas hade undone, offering a rather generous view of her corbone and then some.

She snagged a throw nket from a nearby chair and draped it loosely over her shoulders. The soft light highlighted the porcin quality of her skin and the captivating contrast of the small beauty mark near her

eye.

Through it all, Andrew pointedly kept his face turned away from the camera, a study in forced nonchnce. Yet Ethan, still in the room, could practically feel the shift in his boss‘ aura–a strange mix of tension, embarrassment, and something else he couldn’t name.

“Okay, all good.” Olivia blinked her limpid eyes.

Only after her assurance did Andrew cautiously nce back at the screen. Taking in her now–covered state, he seemed to regain his footing. A faint, teasing smile touched his lips. “So. Horror movies are a particr taste, Ms. Summers.” olliTUb. /b/li/ol

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