Watch Me Win, Alpha

Chapter 14

Olivia’s POV

Alexander was standing under the shade of a big tree, talking on the phone. His face was calm, but his eyes flickered when he noticed me standing a few feet away.

I pressed my fingers to my forehead, feeling like a complete fool. What was I even doing here?

When he ended the call, I forced a smile and took a slow step forward. “Mr. Green,” I said, my voice small, “you’re right. I underperformed in some situations, and I probably wasn’t ready for this. I apologize for bothering you.”

Alexander raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “Are you following me just to prove you don’t fit in?” he asked, his tone calm but his words cutting.

His words got me. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My face felt hot. I ended up giving him a weak, awk- ward smile and dropped the act. “Honestly? I did come over to try and convince you,” I said. “But I know I’ve made a bad impression. Today was… not my best. Since you’ve already decided not to hire me, I’ll leave early so I don’t em- barrass myself again.”

Alexander studied me for a long moment, his eyes cool. “Do you really think I rejected you just because of what hap- pened today?” he asked.

I blinked. “What else could it be?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and said, “Look at what you’re wearing, Olivia. If I agreed to hire you now, everyone would think I’m shallow.”

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, almost amused tone. “And even if I am shallow,” he murmured, “I don’t want the whole world to know it.”

I felt my face go red. My ears were burning. I didn’t even bother defending myself. “Thank you for telling me,” I said quickly. “I’ll leave now. Goodbye.”

Before he could say another word, I turned on my heel and all but ran out of those trees.

When I got home, I stripped off the golf outfit and tossed it into the laundry basket. My reflection in the mirror looked tired and hollow. Am I really nothing without the Hawthrone Group? Without Ethan? The question sat heavy in my chest.

I let out a shaky breath, then sat down at my dresser. For a minute, I just sat there, staring at my reflection, then I picked up my phone, ready to text Rose an apology.

That’s when I saw the missed calls. A bunch from Ethan. A few from Rose. I ignored Ethan’s calls and tapped on Rose’s number instead,

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Chapter 14

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she picked up, I said softly, “I’m sorry, Rose. I wasn’t feeling well. My blood sugar crashed or something, and

be sorry. I dragged you into that. You

shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “It’s okay, Rose. You’ve done

Alexander,” she said. “About the outfit, the job. But he didn’t

Paul for Alexander’s phone number. If you want to try

I don’t think

didn’t push back. “Alright,” she said softly. “I respect

put the phone down and just sat in the quiet of my room. My head hurt from all the running around and pretending.

up to my chin. I didn’t want to think about jobs or Ethan

wanted to

I heard the door open. I rolled over, half-opening my eyes, and caught the familiar scent of cedar and spice. Ethan was here. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking

spoke softly. “Have you

care now? He’d been gone for days, busy with Chole or his so-called

cleared his throat. “I thought I saw you at the golf course earlier. A woman there… her back looked

a mo- ment,

said nothing. Just

leaned closer, pulling back the blanket a little to look at my neck. His eyes searched for something—maybe a mark, maybe a clue. When he found

I said flatly. “I cleaned up the yard this afternoon. Now I’m tired, and I want to go

near him made my skin crawl. I wanted him out of my life. Out

was convinced with my response and left soon after that. And even if he wasn’t, I was done trying to convince him of anything.

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and willed myself to sleep. Let Ethan play his games with Chole. I didn’t care