Page 98 of The Sebastian Guarantee
The woman didn’t answer. Instead, she flashed her coy twist of a grin, plucked a Hank dog from the tray, and took a bite.
“What are you guys talking about?” Tula asked, choosing a Hank dog for herself.
“We’re talking about how much I love Phoebe and how I’m going to prove to her that I’m her match. But I’ll need your help to do it, T.”
“I’m all in,” the child replied.
All in.
There it was—another sign.
“One question remains, Sebastian Cress,” Claudette said, sharpening her gaze.
“And what question is that?”
“Do you have case study data to share with us?”
It was a very apt question and one he could easily answer.
It was time to make his mark on this world. He surveyed the grounds, taking in the Tech Tweens—the future innovators of tomorrow. He glanced at the item cradled in silver foil, then molded it back into a ball.
“T?”
“Yeah, Sebby?”
“Tell your new Tech Tween friends to hold on to the cookies we just bought. I have a use for them.”
“You bet,” she answered, wiggling off his lap.
“Enjoy the hot dogs,” Hank said and turned to leave.
But Sebastian couldn’t let him go. He stood and rested his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Hank, I need you to stay a moment longer.”
He watched his sister waddle away in her costume, knowing what his mother would want him to do. He met Claudette’s gaze straight on. “I don’t have any data to share, but I do have a doozy of a new proposal, and Iguarantee, everyone at this table will want in.”
Chapter20
PHOEBE
You have not been matched with an investor. Please join us at LETIS Live. Be prepared to pitch your idea. The event starts in two hours and is being held at the Denver Amphitheater.
Phoebe stared at the text, turned over her phone, and slumped into the diner’s booth. She traced the handle of her coffee mug and peered into the half-empty cup, feeling completely and utterly stuck.
How could LETIS Live be today? It didn’t feel like days had gone by since she’d left Glenn Pines. Then again, nothing had seemed real from the moment she’d kissed Sebastian’s cheek and spoken the words that shattered her heart. She’d floated through the hours, going through the motions, spacing out in front of her laptop, and asking herself the same question over and over.
What was she supposed to do? What path did she take—and would she be walking it alone?
In two hours, there was a very good chance many innovators’ lives would be changed, and the picturesque Denver Amphitheater was an apt location for new beginnings. She knew the spot well. The open-air venue wasn’t far from her aunt and uncle’s place in Denver’s Crystal Creek neighborhood. Situated next to a large swath of open space with the Rocky Mountains in the background, this time of year, the foliage would be bursting in the autumn hues of gold, red, and orange. The mid-sized amphitheater would certainly be a quintessential mountain-chic setting for a live event.
Did she plan on attending?
It didn’t seem likely. This wasn’t because investors didn’t want to get their hands on the Munch Match app. No, they wanted it. A stack of green envelopes had made it clear that many were chomping at the bit to get their greedy little hands on her source code. But whether she got from point A to point B within two hours was purely a logistical issue. Her point A was currently one hundred miles east of Denver.
She hadn’t expected to wander so far from home. Not long after she’d awoken today, her uncle and aunt had stopped by with a hot dog delivery—her favorite. But she’d taken one look at it, wrapped in tinfoil, and another piece of her heart had shattered. Mustering a grin, she’d thanked them for thinking of her, but told them she didn’t have an appetite. She should have come up with another excuse. She could see the concern in their eyes. Since she’d returned from Glenn Pines, she’d only had a few conversations and text exchanges with them. They knew something was up and guessed her current semi-zombie demeanor had to do with her relationship with Sebastian. She affirmed their assumption but didn’t go into it, and fortunately, they didn’t push for more information.
It hadn’t helped that her phone had pinged and dinged during their brief visit. She didn’t have to look to know who was texting and calling. Sebastian had been trying to reach her nonstop. But there was nothing he could say to heal the hole in her heart. She loved the man. She’d loved him for nearly her entire life, but she’d have to figure out how to live without him. How could she look at him the same way, knowing he’d lied and used her? He didn’t believe in Go Girl, which was tantamount to not believing in her. She couldn’t figure out a way to fix them, to get them back to what they were before. Sebastian was right about one thing, though. He’d banished the word friend from her mind—just not in the way she’d thought he would.
But her problems weren’t limited to matters of a broken heart.
