You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 821

“She’s got talent. I’m just lending a hand,” Oliver said.

He honestly hadn’t expected it either. Chelsea always acted so nonchalant, but when it came to work, she was all in. The last few times he’d swung by the research institute to chat with the dean, Chelsea’s name would come up, and the dean always sounded regretful. Basically, if her mentor hadn’t messed things up, Chelsea would’ve already made a name for herself in the field.

So, since he was already investing in the institute, why not help out where he could?

Patricia knew businesspeople, especially someone like Oliver. Even with family ties, if he thought someone was hopeless, he wouldn’t waste his time or energy. That just wasn’t him.

“Thank you,” she said.

Mr. Padilla’s fingertips trailed slowly down from the ends of her hair. His voice was soft. “You’re always so polite with me.”

Before Patricia could answer, Oliver spoke up again. “Jaxon’s promotion dinner is this weekend. We need to head back to Golden Bay.”

“He got promoted?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Patricia let out a quiet breath. “That was quick.” It really hadn’t been that long. She’d thought things would drag out, but apparently, it was all wrapped up in record time.

“Everything changes so fast. When you get a chance, you have to act, or things get complicated. Every extra day just adds more uncertainty.”

She nodded, agreeing.

As the New Year approached, Riverdale was getting colder by the day. Patricia bundled up every time she left the house.

On Friday, she left the office and went straight to the airport.

The black Bentley was warm, almost stifling. Heat blasted from the vents, making her back sweat. She straightened up and started to take off her coat.

Mr. Padilla helped her pull her arms free. “Put it back on before we get out,” he reminded her.

“Okay.”

That shut him up completely. He had nothing to say after that.

He just leaned his head on his hand, looked at her, and finally gave in. “Once a day, no more. Even if you don’t care about the baby, you need to take care of yourself.”

Patricia agreed, her voice soft. That was the end of it.

The car felt stuffy and cramped with the heat on. Patricia pushed her sweater sleeves up, showing her pale arms. She tried to fix her hair, which was sticking to the back of her neck.

“Too hot?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah. Can you turn the heat down?”

“We’ll be there in five minutes.” Patricia knew what that meant. If he didn’t say yes right away, it was basically a no.

She pressed her head against the window, hoping the glass would cool her down. Her long hair fell around her shoulders, static making it cling to her sweater. She looked relaxed, but there was a trace of frustration in her expression.