Chapter 233

The words got stuck in his throat like a fishbone—too sharp to swallow, impossible to spit out. So that's what "liking" someone means to him? Letting another woman ride shotgun in his car, then coming over and saying he likes her? Lauren felt like her chest was being crushed. It hurt, and she just wanted to get away from Oliver. Forcing herself to act calm, she pulled her gaze back and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Oliver, it's late. I'm heading back. I've thought it through about quitting—please approve it soon." Once she said that, she turned around without even sparing him another glance. She'd misread him, clearly. Oliver hadn't expected her to be so resolute. The air between them, which had just started to ease, tensed up again like a stretched bowstring. "Why." His voice snapped, emotions finally boiling over. "You want to quit, at least give me a real reason." He instinctively reached out to grab her. Gentlemanly behavior? Yeah, out the window. When someone you've liked for