Page 30 of Brick Wall
“I do, don’t I, darling,” says a nasally voice I didn’t expect, although I should have. The hyena. Her long fingernails dig into my shoulders but she quickly moves them to pin herself closer to me.
The hyena is tall and thin with dark hair but with lighter highlights mixed in. She has long ice-white fingernails to match her ice-cold heart, most likely. She drags her nails over my chest, and I just want this whole encounter to stop.
“Athena,” I say with little emotion.
“Sebastian! It’s been too long!” She burrows herself closer.
I say nothing, but I glance over at Annie quickly, and the hyena notices.
“Oh, I’m being so rude! I’m Athena! I’m assuming you are his assistant?”
“Oh no,” Annie politely responds. “I know him through my brothers,” she simply says. It’s wise not to feed the hyena too much information.Good job, Annie.
“Oh, isn’t that cute! Sebastian…” She immediately turns away and focuses all her attention on me. “I cannot wait to introduce you to this client of mine. You will love him.” She starts to tug me along. “Bye, honey,” she says to Annie with a weird hand-clasping wave.
The hyena links her arm with mine and steals me away before I can even process anything.
This round goes to the hyena.
Chapter Fourteen
Annie
Fuck. I can’t read men at all.
Apparently, men can read me because Finn comes up beside me with a shot and a glass of white wine.
“You’ll have to take the shot quickly. I had to bribe the bartender forthissince shots are apparently frowned upon at fancy events,” he says with a grin.
No problem on that front.
I take the shot of vodka and chase it with a bigger sip of the wine than I probably should. Some may define it as a gulp, but I define it as a necessity.
“Thanks,” I say, placing the empty shot glass down on the high-top next to me.
“No problem. Want to tell me why it looks like you lost your favorite recruit to a rival college?”
“Not especially.”
I don’t have a favorite brother, but if I did…Finn would be in that top spot. We are Irish twins, born exactly eleven months apart, and we have always been close. If I were to open up to any of my brothers about Sebastian, it would be to Finn.
But there’s nothing to talk about, is there? Nothing even happened to warrant my sadness. Am I disappointed?
A little.
Do I like Sebastian?
Sure. He’s funny, smart, talented, super hot, and he can rock a pink margarita so well. Everything on my checklist is marked off, and then some.
His checklist, though? I have no idea.
I thought maybe he could be interested in me, but after meeting Athena, I’m not so sure.
Athena and I are total opposites. I am nothing like his…ex-girlfriend? Current girlfriend? Soon-to-be girlfriend? Who knows?
She’s gorgeous with perfect…well, everything. Whereas I almost tripped and fell on my butt wearing stilettos that Goldie insisted I wear. I can barely walk in a straight line and she’s gliding beautifully. If that’s the type of woman Sebastian is interested in, then so be it.
I’m not going to chase after someone that will never be mine.
