His Dangerous Love On Ice (Olivia and Zane) novel Chapter 34

Olive’s POV

The door slid open on its own, smooth and silent. I stepped inside.

Grayson sat at the round table with three board members, all of them turning to look at me like I’d interrupted something sacred. Their faces were tight, eyes sharp. Judging.

“You can leave,” Grayson said to them, his voice calm. Too calm. need to speak with my stepdaughter.”

They stood, filing out past me, each one giving me that same look-the one I’d been getting all day. The one that made me want to scream

The door closed. Silence.

“Hello, Grayson-”

“Why.”

He didn’t let me finish.

“When. How. Why.” He stood, hands braced on the table. “I don’t even know what question to ask first.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice came out steadier than I felt. “You all told me to move on. Mom practically shoved it in my face. So I did. Shouldn’t you be happy?”

“Happy?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You’re with someone I consider an enemy.”

“And I don’t care.” The words came faster now, heat climbing up my chest. “I don’t care who your enemies are when you won’t even tell me why. You wanted me at that game. You wanted me to move on from Cole. I did. I chose someone in front of everyone, and yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have been so public about it, but it was complicated and I didn’t know what else to do. So don’t you dare blame me for being with Zane Mercer.”

The room went quiet except for my breathing. My chest was hearing, hands clenched into fists. I expected him to yell. To fire me. To throw me out.

Instead, he walked to his desk, grabbed his glasses, and put them on.

“So you finally left Cole,” he said.

That threw me. “Yes.”

“And went straight to Zane Mercer.”

“Are you seriously going to be one of those people?” My voice cracked. “One of the people who makes me feel like shit for trying to move on?”

“No.” He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw something other than anger. “I would never do that, Olive. You’re my daughter-step or not. I want to protect you. And Zane Mercer is dangerous.”

“Dangerous. I laughed, bitter. “That’s rich coming from you. We breathe danger every day, remember? That’s what you told me when you took me on my first skydive. When we went to the insane water slide in Vegas. Danger is part of living, you said.”

“This is different.”

“I’ve been more of a father to you than that piece of shit who walked out ever was,” Grayson said behind me. “But if you don’t see me as your father, then you don’t get to live in my house.”

I froze.

The world tilted, everything going fuzzy at the edges. For a second, I thought I’d heard him wrong. That I’d imagined it. But his reflection in the glass door was still, solid, waiting.

He meant it.

“Fine,” I whispered, and walked out without looking back.

The hallway was too bright, too loud. Miranda said something as I passed but I didn’t hear it. My legs moved on autopilot, carrying me to the elevator, down to the lobby, out onto the street.

My phone buzzed. Probably Brenda. Probably Zane. Probably someone else who wanted something from me.

I didn’t look.

I just stood there on the sidewalk, people rushing past, and wondered if losing my home was worth everything. If this was really about Zane, or if my life was just destined to be this complicated forever.

Either way, I couldn’t go back now.