Page 89 of The Sebastian Guarantee
“You know what happened with Phoebe?” he asked, unable to conceal the pain in his voice.
“I talked to Rowen earlier. He said you two had a falling out. He didn’t have much more information. He added that Phoebe was tight-lipped about it, even with Penny.”
“Did he tell you how Phoebe’s doing? Is she okay? Or does her uncle want to . . .” Sebastian trailed off.
“Does he want to strangle you?” his father supplied with a cheeky smirk.
Sebastian shrugged. “I’d deserve it. She won’t answer my calls or reply to my texts. I went with her to this event and cocked it all up.”
“LETIS, right?” his father tossed out.
“Yeah.”
“Briggs told me about it. The invitation-only shindig matching investors and innovators.”
“Phoebe got invited, too. We agreed to go together. She wanted to put her best foot forward and be more business savvy and . . .” He paused. He wasn’t about to drop the man-eater sex-machine bomb. “She wanted to be more confident professionally and in her personal life.”
His father raised an eyebrow, reading between the lines.
“I told her I’d help her,” Sebastian continued. “I promised I’d coach her through the event using everything I’d learned about business and success. I even gave it a name: the Sebastian Guarantee.”
“The Sebastian Guarantee,” his dad repeated. “It’s catchy.”
“That’s all it is. I thought I had it figured out. I met with some investors before we left for LETIS. They were interested in working with me, but they asked for data on my life-coaching protocols. I didn’t have any, and then Phoebe asked me to help her change. So I decided to use her as a case study.”
“And you didn’t tell her,” his dad supplied, connecting the dots.
“She saw my notes. I wrote some brutal things—not because I thought there was anything wrong with her, but because I needed to show a shift from ineffective practices to successful performance. But it wasn’t just that. She thought I was directing her toward another opportunity to get a quick success, not keeping her best interests at heart. She accused me of putting my prospects above hers.”
His father met his gaze. “Was she right, lad?”
A crushing weight returned to Sebastian’s chest. “She was. I got carried away. I lost focus. But the one thing I’m crystal clear about is that I love her. I love her, Dad. I ruined everything, and I don’t know how to make it right.”
“You blurred the lines in your relationship with her?” his father asked.
“Yes.”
A knowing grin graced the man’s lips. “I know a thing or two about that.”
Sebastian waited for his father to dole out a nugget of wisdom.
Instead, the man checked his watch. “Are you hungry, lad?”
“What?” Had his dad not heard him? Did the man not realize the magnitude of the situation and how badly he needed advice?
“Let’s walk. We’re meeting your sister and Mibby at the sports fields next to the Baxter Park Community Center. There’s supposed to be food.”
Flustered at his father’s cavalier response, Sebastian followed him toward the exit. “We?”
“Yeah, Tula saw your stuff in your room. She went through your pack, nosing around. She’s worried about you and wants to see you. She’s like Mibby. They just know things. It drives me bloody bonkers sometimes, but they’re usually right.”
“What about my dilemma? What should I do? I’m in a world of shit, Dad,” he said, locking up the studio. He pocketed the keys and jogged to catch up with his father. “When I say that I love Phoebe, I don’t mean as a friend. I want to be with her. I want . . . I want to marry her.” The words tumbled out of his mouth. But he meant it. He absolutely meant it.
“It’s crazy when it hits you like that, isn’t it? Beautifully brutal, yeah?” his father replied, glancing over at him as that slight hint of a grin returned. But his features grew pensive. “I need to ask you a question. And I’d like you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.”
“What made you miss your mum’s birthday?”
