Chapter 137: You’re Staring

The rear grounds were quiet. Liam walked the tree line without hurry. Most of the day shift had already rotated inside.

Only one figure remained near the old service path, checking the motion line.

Renee.

She heard him coming, straightened, and turned. Darker skin, quiet eyes, hair pulled tight. The fitted pants made her ass phat and hard to not look at. When she shifted her weight, the movement was slow and solid.

"Liam."Her voice was low. Steady."The line working?" he asked."It’s clean. No false triggers since this morning."

She said it and stopped. No attempt to fill the silence. But unlike Jessica, she didn’t look past him while she spoke. Her eyes stayed on his face a second longer.

Liam stepped closer to the path and looked down at the thin wire running along the base of the wall. Renee didn’t move away.

The space between them stayed small enough that he could catch the faint scent of her skin under the outdoor air.

"You walked this sector yesterday with Jessica," he said. Yes."She speak much?"

The corner of Renee’s mouth moved. "She speaks when there’s something worth saying."

"And you?" I speak when I’m spoken to. Liam looked at her. Renee held the eye contact without challenge and without dropping it.

A breeze moved through the trees and pushed the fabric of her pants against the heavy curve of her ass. She didn’t adjust her stance. She simply waited.

"You’ve done residential work before," he said.

"Yes." Long-term placements?"Some." Any of them end badly? Renee’s eyes narrowed a fraction. "A few. That’s the job."

She crouched to check the connection point on the motion line. The position pulled the pants even tighter across her backside. Liam watched the thick shape shift as she worked, then watched her hands.

Steady. No rush. When she stood again she was closer than before, close enough that her shoulder almost lined up with his.

"You’re staring," she said. Liam didn’t deny it. "You’re simply hard to miss."

Renee looked at him for a long moment. Something moved behind her eyes.Then she exhaled through her nose and glanced toward the villa.

"Is there a problem with my work?"

"No."Then is there a reason you’re out here? "I wanted to see you work."

The words sat between them. Renee’s shoulders stayed relaxed, but her fingers flexed once at her side.

She looked at the motion line again, then back at him. The silence stretched.

"Most employers don’t," she said finally. I’m not most employers.She gave a short, quiet breath that might have been a laugh. "I’m starting to see that."

Footsteps approached from the direction of the house. Cole appeared at the edge of the trees, saw them standing close, and slowed.

Renee took a single step back. The professional distance returned like a switch had been flipped, clean and immediate.

"I’ll finish the loop," she said.Liam nodded once.Renee turned and walked away along the tree line. Cole waited until she passed, gave Liam a short nod, and continued her own route in the opposite direction.

Liam stood there a while longer, watching the space where Renee had disappeared into the trees. Then he headed back toward the villa.

Jack was in the kitchen when he came in, eating leftover chicken straight from the container. He looked up, chewed, and raised an eyebrow.

"You’re smiling." No I’m not.

"Yes you are. It’s small, but it’s there. Creepy." Jack stabbed another piece of chicken with a fork. "Which one was it this time?

Liam opened the fridge and took out water. "Renee."Jack stopped chewing. "The thick one."

"They are all thick but yes."

Jack set the container down and wiped his fingers on a towel. He studied Liam’s face for a second longer than usual, something shifting behind his eyes that hadn’t been there in the earlier conversations about the women.

"And?" he asked. She’s different from Jessica. Meaning..... Liam drank from the bottle and said she was tough you blockhead.

Jack leaned against the counter, arms folded. The usual grin was there, but it sat differently now thinner, more thoughtful.

He glanced toward the window that looked out onto the grounds, then back at Liam.

"You’re really doing this," he said.

I don’t think I know what you are talking about."

Jack was quiet for a moment. He picked up the container again, took another bite, and chewed slowly. When he spoke next, the teasing edge was still present, but underneath it was something closer to measurement.

"How many of them are you planning on?" he asked. "Just curious. For logistics. Fridge space. That kind of thing."

Liam capped the water bottle. "We’ll see."Jack snorted, but the sound lacked its usual full weight. He pushed off the counter and headed for the side door.

At the threshold he paused, looking back over his shoulder.

"Just so we’re clear," he said, "if you’re keeping score, I’m not losing to a man who spends half his day looking at monitors."

The words were delivered like a joke. The look that came with them wasn’t entirely joking.

He left. A moment later the heavy bag started up again, the rhythm harder and more irregular than usual.

Liam stood alone in the kitchen, the taste of the conversation with Renee still sitting in his head alongside the new note in Jack’s voice.

She had called him out for staring which was a green flag for Lima. And she had stepped back only when someone else appeared.

Outside, the bag kept its steady, slightly angry rhythm. Jack was hitting harder than normal. Something had shifted in the kitchen small, almost nothing, but real.

The man who had spent days mocking Liam’s staring was now asking about numbers and scorekeeping.

Liam left the water bottle on the counter and walked toward the study.

Multi Claim remained ready.Jessica was still the long game.but renee felt like a door that might open sooner.