Page 109 of Blue Gold

“I presume we won’t be having any chicken tonight?” I joked in English when Elliot looked at me, confused.

“What perfume?”

“Presume, not perfume.”

He still seemed baffled, so I switched to French.

“I was trying to make a joke about the chicken. That’s all.”

A faint blush rushed to his cheeks before he looked down. “I-it’s the first time I burned something.”

How cute.

I nudged his chin up. “Nothing worth being sad over.”

“It’s unlike me to burn food⁠—”

“Hey.” Grabbing his arms, my fingers easily wrapped around them. “It happens to the best of us.” I caressed his fair skin as silence lingered between us. “So? How did it go?”

Elliot chewed on his bottom lip, eyes searching mine before he gave me a small nod. “I got the job.”

Excitement crammed with joy rushed through me at the news, and I pulled him into a tight embrace.

“That’s incredible, Elliot. Absolutely amazing.”

He hummed in response, a reaction not as joyful as expected. Confused, I let go of him.

“Are you not happy about it?”

His blue eyes met mine, the stress in his gaze not escaping me.

“Did you have anything to do with it?”

“Of course not.”

“Oh.” His face fell. “So you’re lying to me now.”

The disappointment in his voice was like a stab to the gut, making my body turn cold.

“I’m not lying, Elli⁠—”

He pushed my hand after I attempted to caress his cheek. Getting the message, I stepped back.

“Fine.” I breathed in. “I’ve only had one meeting with Mr. Renieri, and quite frankly, not a very good one. Hence why I didn’t think it was worth mentioning⁠—”

“But it was,” he cut in, eyes fierce and dangerous like blue flames. “I don’t need a sugar daddy.”

His words stung in my ears like an out-of-tune violin, and baffled, I gaped at him.

“That is the last thing I want to be to you.”

“So don’t do things that make you into one.” He moved away from me, going straight to the kitchen.

“Listen, Elliot⁠—”

“Look what you made me do,” he snarled, holding the pan with the burned chicken. “Me? Burning coq au vin?” He tossed it into the garbage bin while hissing more curses in French I couldn’t quite get the hang of.

With the atmosphere getting heated, I loosened my tie a bit. “You got the whole thing wrong, Elliot.”