Page 59 of Perfect Night

He didn’t have time to respond to her, as she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Charlie was at a loss for whatto do. Should he call Sebastian? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to come between the siblings. If it came down to a choice, Sebastian would always choose his family, just like Charlie would if his mum asked him to choose between her and Sebastian. The difference was that Charlie’s family would never ask him to make that choice.

CHAPTER 16

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian didn’t know why Bex had called him in for this meeting. Deacon was all over it and surprised to see him, although luckily he wasn’t fazed like others would be if their boss rocked up unannounced. Bex was nowhere to be seen and ignoring his calls.

The meeting ended at ten o’clock. Sebastian intended to head straight back to Charlie, but people wanted his opinion on a deal, or an idea they had. It was the downside of being an accessible CEO, although a small price to pay for the positive culture they’d created.

By the time he could extricate himself, it was already midday. He shot a text to Charlie, apologising for being late. He was about to leave when he saw Bex in her office. The door was open, so he just walked in.

“Where have you been?”

He’d startled her, so he smiled. Her eyes narrowed. They were still like kids sometimes.

“I had some business to take care of.”

“Why did you insist I come in for that meeting? I didn’t need to be here.”

“It’s an important client, and I didn’t want Deacon handling it on his own.”

“It’s lucky Deacon wasn’t put out. The last thing I want to do is piss him off right now. He needs to know I trust him.”

“What are you talking about?”

Sebastian closed the door before sitting down in front of Bex’s desk.

“How would you feel about making Deacon the GM of the New York office?”

“We don’t need a GM. You’re here.”

“I know, but I’m thinking of heading up the London office instead.”

“What? I knew he was going to do this. You’ve only known him two minutes and you’re going to upend your life and move thousands of miles for some bit of trade.”

Sebastian was taken aback by her rant. He mulled over her words for a second. He knew she wasn’t keen on Charlie, but he hadn’t heard her speak about him with this much vitriol. There was no way he was introducing them if she was going to act like this.

“First, this has nothing to do with Charlie. I’ve been bored for a while and need a new challenge. We’re having no luck with a GM for London, and with me over there, the European expansion would happen a lot quicker. Yes or no?”

“Yes, but –”

“Still talking. The US operation runs itself. LA, Miami, Chicago, and Seattle are all doing well.”

“But New York is our HQ. Clients expect to see the CEO here.”

“Look, it’s just an idea at the moment. I want to discuss it with Charlie first.”

“See, I knew it was about him.”

“No. I was thinking about this before I even met him, but we’ve only just started dating properly. I don’t want to overwhelm him.”

“Oh, that one can hold his own, no problem. Put me in my place without blinking.”

“What?”

Bex looked shaken by her slip-up.

“Bex . . . what have you done?”

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