Page 56 of The Sebastian Guarantee
“It was a terrible misunderstanding,” his best friend explained. “Sebastian was being hounded at the airport. He sprinted away from people filming him and jumped into the first cab he could find. He feels awful about the whole situation and plans on apologizing in person after LETIS. Isn’t that right, Seb?” Phoebe eyeball-ordered him to agree.
And he did—wholeheartedly. But this was no small matter. Phoebe had just vouched for him to a heavyweight in her field. Her reputation was as much on the line as his. Not to mention, she’d done the same thing with Tula and Ivy. He couldn’t ask for a better friend. But he couldn’t have her fighting his battles without backup.
He turned to face Carla’s wrath. “That’s what happened,” he replied. “I have a little sister. I would never intentionally leave children out in the rain.”
“The video that’s been trending makes it look like you were enamored with yourself, snapping selfies, and that you completely ignored the girls,” Carla countered.
“Being women in tech,” Phoebe said gently, “we both know that there are usually two or even more sides to any video that goes viral. It’s easy to find a clip that paints someone in an unfortunate light. But I can promise you, it was truly a misunderstanding. Sebastian would never knowingly hurt anyone.”
His throat thickened with gratitude. But was there a touch of shame sprinkled into the mix?
The Techy Times’ editor’s expression softened. “That does make more sense,” the woman conceded. “The community center I went to back in Chicago when I was growing up was funded by a Cress Family Grant. Your family’s philanthropic efforts have helped many kids and teens—me included. I doubt people like your parents could raise a giant douchebag.”
His father may have begged to differ, but Sebastian would take whatever goodwill he could get from this woman.
Phoebe squeezed his arm. “I guarantee that Sebastian Cress is one of the good guys.”
He smiled appreciatively, but he couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling inside and the little voice in the back of his head.Was he one of the good guys?
A chime cut through the air as Carla’s assistant slipped her cell from her clutch. The woman stared at her phone. “We need to get back. They’re supposed to start the LETIS welcome spiel in five minutes.”
“Sponsor duties call,” Carla said, sounding a lot less like she wanted to toss his ass into the nearby lake. “Good luck to you both.”
“And you might want to be careful,” Tracey added and glanced at his trousers.
“Careful?” he asked.
“Your notebook is about to fall out of your pocket,” the assistant answered, then followed a step behind Carla as the women made their way toward the boathouse.
He felt Phoebe’s eyes on him. He tucked the slim pad deeper into his front pocket. He couldn’t have her getting a glimpse. “All right,” he said, needing to draw her attention away from the pad. And he knew just how to do it. “It’s go-time. First impressions are what matter now. Close your eyes and listen to what I’m about to tell you. I want you to soak in this message before we step foot in that boathouse.”
She glanced past him, eyeing the spot humming with activity. “Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
She watched him for a beat, exhaled an audible breath, then obeyed the request.
It was time to harness the power of the Sebastian Guarantee. But what did that mean exactly? Sure, he had reams of research, but he’d never broken it down into actionable steps. He’d have to wing it. “You are Phoebe Gale, tech mastermind. You know you’ve got what the investors want. You’re also a man-eater extraordinaire. You’re confident. You’re most comfortable when all eyes are on you.”
The gentle sounds of the lake lapping against the shore tangled with the hum of conversation floating toward them from the boathouse. He watched her. Her eyes were closed. But she wasn’t relaxed.
She nibbled on her lip. “What if nobody takes Go Girl seriously? What if all I ever achieve is a food truck finder app that accidentally helped people meet their significant other? I don’t even know how it works, Seb.”
“With my coaching, I’m certain LETIS is where you’ll become who you are supposed to be,” he assured her.
She opened her eyes. “And who is that?”
The breeze blew a lock of her hair across her face. Without giving it a second thought, he tucked the hair behind her ear. His fingertips grazed her neck, and he cupped her face in his hand. “You’re the brains behind Go Girl. You’ll make that dream a reality.”
“You believe that?” she asked, her breathy voice stirring a longing deep within him.
He traced the line of her jaw with the pad of his thumb. “I do.” He was on the cusp of losing himself in her blue eyes—his friend’s blue eyes.
Friend, friend, friend. Remember that! He could not allow himself to blur that line again.
He forced himself to pull away. “But don’t worry about getting into the weeds with pricing structures or concerning yourself with analyzing website traffic,” he continued. “I guarantee tonight isn’t about pitching ideas. Tonight is about . . .” He paused, worried he was dropping too much information at once. “Tonight is about giving them a whiff,” he said as the pieces of what he wanted the Sebastian Guarantee to look like fell into place.
Phoebe’s jaw dropped, and she teetered back a step. “A whiff, like the sense of smell? Do I smell bad?”
