He doesn’t sound bitter or angry. He sounds hurt. Am I imagining this, or is Sebastian still hurt because I left him? Is he acting out because I hurt him and he doesn’t know how to act around me?
Surely not. Surely after all of these years he’s over it. We were just kids. Kids with dreams and talk of the future. And when we talked of the future, we were always together in it. But things change. How many people actually stay with their childhood sweetheart?
I look into Sebastian’s eyes, searching for the answers, but the moment of vulnerability is gone and his eyes are as cold as ice as he looks back at me. Maybe I imagined it after all. Yes, that’s what happened. He’s just trying to manipulate me, to make me feel bad for him so I excuse his behaviour. And I almost fell for it.
“Look Sebastian, I have no idea what’s going on with you or why you’re being so hostile towards me, but listen up. It ends right here, right now. I’m as invested in this merger as Joe and Gary. Hell it was my damned proposal. So if you think you can push me aside because you think we’re done here, then you’re wrong.”
“I get it. It’s not nice to be pushed aside is it?” Sebastian says.
There’s no hurt in his voice this time. There’s not even anger. He’s back to that look and tone of amusement. He’s fucking taunting me, trying to make me bite. Well I’m not going to. I ignore his comment and go on.
“I’m going to be in that meeting Sebastian and you know it. Unless of course you want to explain to Joe that you think I should be excluded from it because I was mean to you in high school. I mean I don’t fancy your chances of getting him to take you seriously with that one, but if you want to give it a shot, knock yourself out.”
I don’t wait for a reply or even a reaction. I just turn and walk out, slamming the door behind me.
“Is everything alright Ms Montgomery?” Sebastian’s secretary says as I breeze past her.
“Everything is just perfect,” I say.
I am barely out of sight of her desk when I hear Sebastian’s office door open. His secretary going in to make his booboo go away? Who knows, who cares. I just hope she can get him to act like a grown up for the rest of this merger which I am regretting more and more every damned day I am here.
Chapter Nine
Sebastian
The restaurant is too hot and stuffy. No it isn’t. The restaurant is perfect. Just I am too hot and I feel like I’m trapped in a cage with a wild animal. It’s the first time I’ve spoken to Kimberley since her low parting shot yesterday and quite frankly, she’s the last person I want to spend my Friday evening with. She did have a point though. It was never my call who Joe Benton wanted to bring to this meeting, and I would have needed a damned good reason if I insisted on him leaving Kimberley behind. As much as I hate her for what she said, she was right. The reason would have had to been a bit more sophisticated than saying I don’t like her because of something that happened when we were kids.
The starters are done and Sasha brings us our main courses, pausing for a moment to exchange pleasantries with me before fading back into the background.
“I have to say the food here is excellent,” Gary says as he tucks into his steak.
“So it should be. This place is Matt’s baby,” I explain.
“He owns it?” Gary asks.
“We own it. But the restaurant side of the business is Matt’s area. He’s always loved food and the social side of eating,” I say. “La Trattoria is our flagship restaurant.”
“Throw in a couple of free dinners at this place and it’s a done deal,” Joe laughs.
“Done,” I reply with a grin.
The formalities are mostly out of the way now and this dinner is about more than discussing the finer points of the deal. It’s about getting to know each other in a less formal setting, to see if we can gel enough to work alongside each other. I decide it’s time to have a little fun. I might not have been able to insist Kimberley got left behind, but I can make her squirm a little.
I turn to her now with an innocent smile, ignoring the way her hair shines, the way her blue dress brings out the beauty of her eyes making them look more intense than ever.
“Do you remember the first time you met my parents Kimberley? Matt cooked dinner for us all,” I say.
She smiles and nods, throwing me a warning look.
“I remember,” she says guardedly.
I turn to Joe and Gary.
“Kimberley was going through her vegetarian phase,” I say. “So she had Matt make her something different to what the rest of us were eating. Ever the gracious host, Matt rose to the challenge.”
“Sebastian, they don’t want to hear this,” Kimberley says through gritted teeth.
“Sure we do,” Joe says.
“She was a little nervous about meeting my dad. She wanted to quiz him about getting started in finance, but she was so scared to talk to him. She thought a bit of Dutch courage was in order. Now bear in mind we were like what? Fifteen?”
Kimberley nods, begging me with her eyes not to do this.
“So a couple of beers had quite the effect on her. She slurred her way through her questions and then promptly threw up after eating. She couldn’t admit that she’d been drinking, so she said the sauce must have been off. Poor Matt was mortified,” I laugh.
Joe and Gary laugh along with me. Kimberley’s face is beaming red, but she fakes a laugh.
“I did tell Matt the truth later on that night and he saw the funny side,”
