Page 35 of Hold My Heart

Her eyes popped open and she turned to face him. “Oh, gosh. Yeah. What was his name? Bower?”

“Marvin Bower.”

“That’s the one. What did he want?”

“He said there was some paperwork you didn’t sign or he didn’t file or something. The state is getting involved.” Cutting straight to the heart of the matter without sidestepping.

She bolted upright. “Excuse me?”

“Calm down, I have it handled.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And how exactly do youhave it handled?”

“I knew there was no way you forgot to sign the paperwork, so I went through your office and found it.”

Olympia wasn’t amused. Harlan noticed she was no longer exhausted, but sullen. The claws coming out. “You went through my office?”

“I’m helping you. Taking care of things for you.” He tried to focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

“Taking. Care. Of. Things. For. Me.” She said each word slowly, as if chewing them before spitting them out. “Harlan, surely I don’t need to tell you how this is fifty shades ofwrong. You donotgo through my personal papers.”

“I was trying—”

“It’s not in your job description. You don’t fight my battles for me. You letmehandle this because this is my life. I should have been made aware of the situation before you took it upon yourself tohelp.”

Now it was his turn to narrow his eyes. “If you recall, I did try to talk to you about it. And you told me to get things done because you were too busy to be bothered.”

Her mouth snapped shut. There was a slight pause before she barked out, “We are not having this conversation. There has to be some kind of mistake.” She got to her feet, pausing for a moment to stare down at him. “Next time, stay out of my business. It isn’t your place.”

“Wow. What a horrible thing to say to me.” He followed her down the hallway, taking a sharp left into her study near the front door. “Not my place? I’m sorry, maybe you’d care to enlighten me.” He watched her root through her desk, not yet ready to tell her he’d already found the papers and faxed them over to the lawyer’s office. “What exactlyismy place, Olympia?”

“You’re here to watch Renee. Maybe do some light cooking, some light cleaning. Period.” She jerked open a drawer and then slammed it shut seconds later.

“And fuck you when you have an itch?”

She winced at his tone. Good, he thought. “How vulgar.”

“It’s true though, isn’t it? That’s really all I am to you. A fill-in when you need something, easily expendable and pushed aside when you don’t.” He reached out to take hold of her when she kept her back to him. “You need to listen to me.”

“I have, and I am. I’ve considered everything you’ve said to me and now that I have a better handle on what’s going on, I can make an informed decision.”

“What I have to say doesn’t matter at all?”

“I already told you,” she said slowly. “I’ve considered your opinion.”

“But it doesn’t make a difference?”

“If I’m being honest, no. It doesn’t make a difference, because in the end I need to do what I feel is right.”

“That’s rich. Is this how you treated your husband?”

Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated. “There’s a big difference in these situations.”

“Why?”

“Because you aren’t my husband! You’re not even my boyfriend. Occasional lover and...and...employee.”

His gaze hardened. “You’re really bringing money into this?”

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