Chapter 35: Chapter 35: What I Lack Versus What She Needs

**Olivia POV

“You… what?” I asked. Had Ellis really just asked me to be his girlfriend.

When I told him I wanted to give him a gift, that wasn’t what I’d had in mind. I thought I could get him a rare bottle of wine or cigars or something.

Could I really date Ellis? Could I publicly be with him and have that kind of attention? Being his girlfriend meant the world would find out about us. It was more than that, though. Carl would find out about us.

I had no lingering feelings for Carl, but I doubted it would make life easier once he found out I was involved with his dad.

Ellis had been good to me. He’d helped me out, protected me, lavished me with fine things. Through it all, I’d had my own insecurities. He was good at flashing money around to get what he wanted and now I was what he wanted.