to stop. I never drive this fast, preferring instead to drive safe and planned, like everything else in my life, but I’m more than willing to change all of my plans when it comes to Olive.
“Stop!” Olive screams as I accelerate again, getting far too close for her comfort to the car in front of us.
I slam on the brakes, immediately slowing us down to a more reasonable speed.
I glance over at her panicked expression on her face.
“What are you doing? Trying to get us killed?”
I frown. “No. Just trying to get you to actually speak up for yourself with some confidence.”
She glares at me. “You did this on purpose to try to get me to yell at you? You could have killed us!”
“You should have told me to stop.”
She runs her hand through her hair, her hand shaking a little as it combs through her long strands. “I was trying to be nice. This is your car. I don’t like telling people how to drive or what to do.”
My frown deepens, and my grip on the steering wheel tightens. “Then, why did you apply for the manager job? All it is, is telling people what to do.”
She opens her mouth and then quickly closes it again. “I meant, in my personal life.”
I shake my head as I pull over in front of the restaurant. “You don’t get a personal life. If you are going to keep working for me, everything is about business.”
The valet opens her door, and I open my own. I step out before walking around to her side of the car to wait for her. I flip the valet the keys and resist the urge to hold my arm out to her. I take a step forward, but Olive is no longer by my side.
“You coming?” I ask.
Olive scurries forward and then whispers in my ear, “I think we should go somewhere else. This place is really nice, and I’m not really dressed that nicely.”
I look up and down her body that is covered in my coat as she wraps it even tighter around her body.
“I’m wearing slacks and a button-down shirt. Do you think I’m dressed nicely enough for this restaurant?”
She pauses a second, studying my clothing. “Yes. You look great. I mean, hot. I mean…”
I grin when she says I look hot. “And why do you think I’m dressed nicely enough to eat at this restaurant?”
She studies me a minute and then shrugs.
I sigh. “Because of the way I carry myself. I don’t give anyone the option to even think that I don’t belong in here. I’m going to eat here because it is one of the best restaurants in the city. I like splurging on the finer things in life. And I’m freezing my butt off. You can join me or not.”
I turn and walk inside, hoping to God that she follows me because, more than anything, I want to torture this woman all through dinner. And then I want to torture her in my bed.
6
Olive
I survived the death trap that was the car ride over here, only to learn it was a test. A stupid test. And it all could have ended if I had just said stop.
That’s how Sean is going to play it. He’s going to throw test after test at me and hope that I give up and quit. This is all just a fun game to him.
A game he isn’t going to win.
Now that I know his game, he no longer has the upper hand. I’m prepared for anything now.
I’m just not prepared for the stares as I walk into the most expensive restaurant that I have ever walked into. I’m wearing the dressiest clothes I own, but it still doesn’t feel like enough to be inside this restaurant.
“Can I take your coat?” a man asks as soon as I enter the restaurant.