Page 44 of Late Nights & Love Lines
Well, if I still have a job in the morning. Where will Sebastian and I go from here? Where will I go from here?
11
BAND OF MERRY FUCKING MEDDLERS
SEBASTIAN
The sound of a chair scraping along the floor has me lifting my blurry gaze from the conference table we’ve set up in Beck’s home, and I find three sets of eyes staring at me.
Well, two staring and one glaring. I’ve learned that Beck Hayes has two modes, laid-back family man and takes-no-prisoners businessman.
I can’t say I blame him. It’s probably what people say about me. But lately, my mind has been stuck in the infirmary with Rowan last week, and this is not the time for my focus to splinter.
“You’ve taken care of the Nick problem in Boston, at least for now,” Elijah says to the group, wearing a toothy grin that’s a little too happy for my liking.
“And we’re working on the public image issue he’s attempting to create,” Beck grumbles.
“I also have most of the investors recommitted to moving forward once those image issues are resolved,” Alexei says. The shit-eating grin on his face makes me believe he can tell exactly where my mind has gone. “The recording of that douchebag was a nice touch.”
“I haven’t seen any issues with the merger.” Elijah’s face nearly splits in two when his clownish smile takes over his entire face. “But I have seen this sullen, pissed-off expression before. Recently actually. Does it look familiar to you, Beck?”
Beck tosses his pen onto the table. “I don’t play games, so here’s the deal. I’ve been where you are before, so if you’re in love with your nanny, tell us what you did wrong, and we’ll help you fix it before things spiral out of control.”
Affronted, I nearly leap from my chair, and then begin pacing like a caged tiger. “I’m not in love with my nanny, she hasn’t been here that long, and I didn’t do anything. It’s…complicated.”
“It usually is.” Beck sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in what I assume is annoyance. “Tell us what’s going on so we can get back to work.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he points a finger at me and shakes his head.
“I know firsthand how fucked up messy love can make a man. We’re in this together now, Sebastian, because if you go down, we go down. That means if there’s a crisis in your home life, there’s a crisis in ours.”
“I’m not in crisis. Rowan is a temporary nanny?—”
“Who you’ve had feelings for since you were twelve years old.” Alexei chuckles.
“You”—I point my own finger at him—“stay out of this.”
He holds up his hands in mock surrender, but it’s obvious that he has absolutely no intention of staying out of it.
“Come on, Seb. Tell us your story,” Elijah urges, then reclines in his seat and runs his thumbs under the bright yellow suspenders he’s wearing today. Even at the beach, this guy is wearing suspenders. I’m not sure if I should laugh or get him an appointment with a personal stylist.
Since we’re not going to move on from this until I tell them something, a shortened version of how we met as kids isprobably the way to go. But once I open my mouth, it all spills out, every memory I have of her right up until the sexually charged night in the infirmary.
When I’ve finished, everyone’s faces have glazed over. They’re not even blinking. Did I bore them to sleep?
Beck is the first to come to. When he clears his throat, the other two blink as though they have sand in their eyes.
“Okay, well that’s…” He shakes his head. “That’s quite the history. And you haven’t seen or heard from her since you were a teenager?”
“No. Well, Pappy always gives me updates, but I’m not a fucking pervert or a stalker. We were kids—friends, and I didn’t feel this way about her then, at least I don’t think I did. She was always fucking sad. It made my stomach hurt to see her that way, even when I was just a kid myself.”
“And how do you feel about her now?” Alexei asks with a serious tone he doesn’t use often.
Tugging on the ends of my hair, I shake my head and fall back into my chair. “I don’t know.”
“You’re not going to get anywhere until you figure out what you fucking want,” Beck says harshly.
“Do you want her?” Elijah asks.
