Adam looked at the money, then up at Alec, then returned his attention to his book. "No."

Alec had made clear that he was going to get paid, but that formal negotiation hadn't happened yet, and Adam wasn't going to accept money outside of the fair agreement relating to that negotiation.

He pretended to resume studying, but now he was much too alert of Alec at his side, wondering whether Alec would accept the rejection or if he'd try to get around it somehow. Adam turned over the problem in his mind, finding a solution that would work for him and his pride, but not for Alec's stubbornness. He considered that solution anyway, making his own quiet calculations as he waited to see how Alec would try to solve the problem.