by Iona Rose
“It’s been so long hasn’t it?” I say smiling.
He gives me nothing but that amused look in return. Somehow, this is worse than being yelled at or ignored, both of which were potential scenarios I had prepared for. This cocky demeanour was something I hadn’t even considered. It’s so not the Sebastian I remember. The Sebastian I remember would have done anything for me, at least until I broke his heart. But this new Sebastian? I have no idea how to handle him.
“I’ve managed to catch up with Matt and Chance since I’ve been back, and it’s good to finally get a chance to catch up with you,” I say.
I see Sebastian’s face change slightly although he tries to hide it. Is that why he’s pissed and acting like this? Because I’ve seen his brothers and not him? How can he not know why that was? How can he not know that I contacted his brothers because they were the safe options? And surely he knows that I was hoping they’d tell him about our catch ups and that maybe, just maybe, he’d call me and we could just forget about the past and move on.
Now I’ve seen this side to him though, I’m not sure I’d have wanted him to call me. I really don’t have time in my life for this petty nonsense and quite frankly, I’m done trying to play nice with Sebastian if he’s just going to stand there looking at me like I’m some animal in a circus doing tricks for him.
“For God’s sake Sebastian, are you broken or something?” I snap.
“Or something,” he says.
He turns to walk away from me and I am at once pleased that he’s finally responded to me and pissed off that he thinks he can just dismiss me this way. He wouldn’t act like this around Joe or Gary and I’m as much a part of this damned merger as they are. And Sebastian is either going to have to learn to deal with that, or stand aside and let someone else handle it.
I reach out and touch his upper arm, stopping him from turning away from me. The second I touch him, I feel a spark fly up my arm. Even through his suit jacket I can feel the chemistry sizzling between us. I pull my hand away quickly and clear my throat to cover my sharp intake of air. I don’t know if Sebastian felt what I felt when I touched him, but he’s stopped trying to walk away which is something.
“Look Sebastian I’ve tried to meet you half way but you clearly don’t want to be friends or whatever and I’m cool with that. But let’s get one thing clear here. This is business and I expect you to treat me with the same courtesy as you’d treat any other potential client or partner. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” he responds, that amused expression back on his face.
Is this just the way he looks now? No. He didn’t look like this in the meeting. In fact, until the end when he made the kill shot on the discussion, he looked every bit as thrown as I felt.
“We both work on the finance side of our businesses and I can’t see any scenario where we won’t be working on this merger together. And I’m cool with that. I just want to make sure you are too,” I say.
“Of course. It’s business Kimberley. I do this shit every day,” he says.
He turns and walks away from me again, and this time, I make no move to stop him. I can’t help but admire his toned ass as he walks and I instantly reprimand myself and force myself to look away.
Sebastian has made it quite clear I am nothing to him. Nothing except an obstacle to getting the deal he wants out of the merger. I’ve tried to be friendly and clearly, he doesn’t want that. So screw how fucking sexy he is. If he wants the gloves to come off, then mine are well and truly off and we’ll do this the hard way.
I’ve already won this battle. Sebastian might have stopped when I called after him, but he’s still given himself away. Instead of heading out of the building like he tried to imply he was doing when he spotted me, he’s headed straight back to the elevator.
I’m the one wearing the cocky smile as I move across the lobby and out of the building.
Chapter Six
Sebastian
It’s been another long day to say the least. First the meeting from hell, and then the conversation with Kimberley in the lobby. I know I played that awfully, but when it comes to Kimberley I seem to have only two modes. Lose my shit or turn into a complete jerk. I went with the complete jerk option. I stood there looking at her like she was just a side show in the deal and I know that’s not fair. But as I discovered at eighteen, life isn’t fucking fair.
What I should have done was calmly explained to Kimberley that it hurt me a bit to know she’d contacted my brothers and not me, but that it was water under the bridge and I would work with her and be courteous and professional. Instead, I stood staring at her with a cocky grin and ignored her attempts to extend the olive branch until I finally made it sound like I thought she was the one acting crazy by telling her I do these kinds of deals all day.
Let’s just say it was far from my finest hour, but it served a purpose. It convinced me I was doing the right thing handing this over and taking a step back from the negotiations.
I spent the rest of the day holed up in my office craving a cigarette and going back over Bradley’s report with a fine tooth comb. I needed to make sure every single number was right, because while I can bluff my way through questions I don’t necessarily have the answers to, I would never expect Bradley to do that and Bradley is going into that meeting tomorrow. Him and Kimberley can spend the time going through each other’s books. I trust Bradley to spot any anomalies in theirs, and I have no intention of subjecting myself to another couple of hours in a room with Kimberley.
It’s after eleven when I finally leave the office and I want nothing more than to go home and crash, but I know no matter how tired I am, I won’t be able to sleep until I’ve had this out with Matt. If I drop the Bradley thing on him in the morning, he’ll only argue with me and it won’t do to have the whole company seeing us go toe to toe with each other. And I still want some answers as to why he thought not mentioning that Kimberley was a part of this merger was a good idea.
I head out to Matt’s apartment building and get out of my car. His doorman recognises me and doesn’t question why I am there. I ride up to Matt’s floor and storm into his apartment. Matt is sitting on the couch, his laptop open on his knee and a glass of wine on the coffee table beside him. There’s no sign of Callie and I figure that’s a good thing. She doesn’t need to get pulled into this shit.
Matt looks up and frowns as I storm into his apartment.
“What the hell are you doing here Seb? It’s gone one o’clock in the morning.”
“I’ve just finished work and we have some things to discuss,” I say.
“I’m kind of tired and I was just finishing up here and going to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow,” he says.
“No we won’t. We’ll talk now. Or are you plotting some other fun little game behind my back that you want to spring on me at work in front of everyone?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Matt snaps.
“Oh come on Matt. Why didn’t you tell me Benton’s CFO was Kimberley? Did you think it would be fun to drop that little fucking bomb in the middle of a meeting the way you did?”
“I didn’t think you’d care. Since when have you ever cared who’s on the other side of the fence? What is it you say? Oh that’s right. One face inside of a suit is the same as the next one.”
“This is different and you know it,” I say.
Matt just shrugs.
“Whatever. I should have told you. I’m sorry. Now is that it? Because like I said, I want to go to bed. I’ve got an early start in the morning.”
“Oh I’m sorry the most important merger our company has ever worked on is inconveniencing your beauty sleep,” I say.
Matt rolls his eyes. I ignore the gesture.
“Unlike you, I happen to think there are some things that should be done behind closed doors rather than in front of the people who work for us. Which is why I’m here to tell you in person behind closed doors that I won’t be in the finance meeting tomorrow. Or any of
the other Benton meetings. I’ve showed my face; Joe Benton knows I’m on board. Bradley will be handling all the financial stuff from here on in.”
Matt jumps to his feet.
“Are you out of your fucking mind Seb?” he shouts.
His face is rapidly going red and the vein in his head that stands out when he’s particularly stressed is coming up fast. I was expecting an argument, but I didn’t expect this level of a one. I actually thought he would get it, and that he would be relieved to have the loose cannon out of the way.
“Not at all. I just trust Bradley to handle this,” I say.
It’s not a complete lie. I do trust Bradley, but Matt and I both know I would never pass something so important off to someone else, not even someone I trust, under any normal circumstances. But nothing about these circumstances are normal.
Matt sits back down and sighs loudly.
“Look I trust Bradley too. But not with this. You said it yourself Seb. The Benton merger is the whale. We can’t afford to screw this up. You will be in that meeting tomorrow and you will not only go through those books like your life depends on it, but you’ll answer any questions Kimberley has about our books properly.”
“Wait. Did dad die and no one told me? Because unless that happened, I’m pretty sure you’re not the boss and you don’t get to call the shots.”
“You really want to bring dad into this? You really want me to call him and tell him you can’t handle the fucking heat on this thing so you’re palming it off to one of our accountants?”
I don’t. I should never have mentioned dad. I dread to think what his reaction would be if he knew the extremely thin line I’m walking with Kimberley. I’m not ready to concede yet though.
“Sure. Call him. Why don’t you tell him I pulled your pigtails as well?” I rant, pacing up and down in front of Matt where he still sits looking up at me like I’m some animal that needs reigning in.
“Look just take a moment to calm down Seb. I’m not going to call dad and you know it. Just think about this rationally for a moment.”
It irritates me no end how Matt can sit there so calmly. It irritates me even more when he tells me to calm down.
“Are you crazy Matt? You seriously think me and Kimberley can work together? After everything that happened between us? Or is there something else you’re not telling me?”
“Like what?”
“Oh I don’t know. Like you want this merger to fail for some reason and you want someone to blame for it if it does.”
“If I wanted the merger to fail, I would have suggested sending Bradley to the meeting instead of you,” Matt says quietly.
Touché.
“So what is it then? Do you want everyone to be as miserable as you are?”
Matt actually laughs.
“What makes you think I’m miserable? I’ve never been happier than I am right now.”
“I don’t know Matt. I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but you know as well as I do that this is a bad idea, and yet you’re pushing for it anyway. So come on. Tell me what I’m missing here.”
“You want the truth? This is the biggest deal we’ll ever make or break. And no one knows the figures like you do Seb. The point you’re missing is the part where you act like a grown up and separate our business from your personal drama.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” I say. “Your personal drama almost allowed a criminal to walk free.”
Matt gets to his feet again. He looks pretty angry now too.
“Yeah you’re right. It did. I fucked up and I’m not afraid to admit it. But you were the one who had my life about it. You were the one who insisted that I should have been able to control myself and get the job done.”
“So that’s what this is. You’re punishing me for telling you that you screwed up?”
“What? No. This isn’t any sort of punishment or twisted game. You want to know why I didn’t tell you Kimberley was the Benton CFO? Because I knew you would over react like this. I thought if we kept it from you until the merger was underway, you’d see that it was too late to back out and that you’d man up and get on with it. Seb we need you on this and you know it.”
“I’m not over reacting. I’m taking myself out of a volatile situation that you and Chance created. This isn’t just about me Matt. It’s about Kimberley as well. Do you honestly think we’re the right people to negotiate any sort of deal?”
“Yes,” Matt says. “Because Kimberley has assured me she will be professional about this. Benton wants the merger and Kimberley knows her whole career is riding on getting this right. She’s not going to risk messing it up over some shit from the past. I honestly thought you would be able to do the same.”
If Matt had come to me and told me all of this before I encountered Kimberley, I would have thought the same. I would have honestly believed I could keep it professional and not let a bunch of old feelings and resentments affect me. But now I’m not so sure I can. How can I get Matt to let this go without admitting that though, because there’s no way in hell I’m telling him the truth; that even after all of this time, seeing Kimberley again has thrown me so far off my game I’m afraid I’ll never get back on it again.
I sit down heavily on the couch and run my hands over my face. Matt sits down in the chair opposite me. We fall silent for a moment and then Matt breaks the silence.
“Ok, you win. But Bradley is not handling that meeting. Come to my office first thing in the morning and talk me through everything and I’ll take the meeting. Clearly you’re still as frazzled by Kimberley as you always were and I won’t have the fact you’re still in love with your high school girlfriend ruin this deal.”
“I’m not still in love with Kimberley. That’s ridiculous. And I don’t get frazzled over any fucking woman. I’m the one who leaves them wanting more, not the other way around.”
I am so fucking angry that Matt could even suggest such a thing. As if I’m still in love with a girl who left me four years ago. I mean don’t get me wrong, I can admit that she’s fucking gorgeous and I could fuck her all night long, but that doesn’t mean I’m in love with her. It means that she’s nice to look at and nothing more.
Matt raises an eyebrow and watches me as I fight to swallow down my anger. If I bite now, then he’ll know he’s hit a nerve. I know exactly what he’s doing. He’s playing to my ego and he’s backed me into a corner.
He’s left me with two choices. I can suck it up and work with Kimberley, or I can back out and have him think I’m still in love with my ex and that her very presence is enough to throw me off my game.
“Well played bro,” I say, smiling despite myself. “I see you’ve been taking in some of my tricks after all.”
Matt smiles and gives me a single nod.
“Nothing like playing to someone’s ego is there,” he grins.
“You know what? I have nothing to prove here, but if you’re so determined to have me work on this merger that you’re willing to start using the tricks you claim to disapprove of so much, then screw it. I’m in.”
“Perfect,” Matt says with a smug smile that tells me he knew this would be the outcome from the moment we started to have this conversation.
“But know this Matt. If this deal ends up fucked up because Kimberley feels like she has something to prove and tries to play hard ball with me, then that’s on you.”
“Noted. But if you screw this up because you disrespect Kimberley and act like a dick to her to the point where she pulls the plug on the whole thing, then that’s very much on you.”
Chapter Seven
Sebastian
I glance at my watch. It’s fifteen minutes before Kimberley is due to arrive and my heart is racing and my palms are sweating. I jump to my feet and go into my bathroom. I run my hands and wrists under the cold water tap for a few minutes until I feel calmer.
This is starting to really piss me off now. I feel like I’m starring in some rom-com where the prom king asks th
e geek girl on a date. I’m the teenage girl in this scenario. Like her, I know something will go wrong, but like her, I cling onto the hope it’ll all turn out ok in the end. She’ll get the guy at the end. And I’ll get the merger. Hopefully.
I examine my face in the mirror for a moment. I expect to see bags underneath my eyes, my cheeks sunken in and a grey tinge to my skin. But I look normal. Like Kimberley isn’t having any effect on me. That’s something I suppose. I loosen my tie a little bit and nod my head in satisfaction. The slightly more casual look will let her know I’m not in the least bit worried about this.
“Don’t you dare fuck this up,” I say to myself in the mirror.
I leave the bathroom to find Bernie coming into my office.
“Everything ok?” I ask her.
I want her to say no. Something major has come up. Something only you can fix, and you have to leave right now. Of course she doesn’t.
“Yeah. I just popped in to tell you Kimberley Montgomery is here for your meeting,” she says.
Of course Kimberley is early. As if Little Miss Corporate would be anything but efficient.
“Thanks Bernie. Let her in. And can you grab us some coffee?”
“Sure,” she says. She smirks. “She’s very pretty.”
I need to nip any ideas Bernie has of acting as my wing man in the bud right now.
“Been there done that Bernie, and it was nothing special,” I say.
Bernie’s jaw drops and then she gives a low whistle.
“Oh my God. You’re in love with her aren’t you? Is that why you’ve been acting so strange lately?”
“What? I’m not in love with her,” I say. “I wish everyone would stop saying that. And I haven’t been acting strange.”
“Whatever you say,” she grins as she walks away from me.
