Chapter 5
Obsession
Sebastian paced as he thought about Andi. Ariel’s new notice was in his hands. The stalker had been found dead, but for some reason, his concern for the woman didn’t diminish. Ariel hadn’t answered his questions to his satisfaction, but for some reason, he just knew the answer. His Andi, er, that woman was the one the stalker had been after.
The why was just one more unanswered question. His need to see her almost overwhelmed him. No answers, just more questions. At least he had an excuse to see her. All he had to do was order someone flowers. Hadn’t he just promoted his PA? Truly deserved some recognition so flowers sent for congratulations would do nicely. Once he was sitting in his SUV, he was ready to head to town.
Andi’s store was larger than he expected for a flower shop. It made him wonder if she lived upstairs since the second story seemed to be as large as the first. Upon entering, he saw a large gift store in one corner of the store. There was room on the shelves for more. The items in that part had variety including jewelry as well as small items on furniture like a table with a checker board painted on it. Two stools seemed to go with it.
He’d always liked games and the table was tall which he also liked. A young man was behind the counter so he approached him. “Do the stools go with the checker board table?”
“They do and the price is inclusive. It includes the checkers as well as chess pieces,” the young man explained.
Sebastian thought it was a good deal. “I’ll take it. I also need to talk to Andi about some flowers I need to order.”
“She’s upstairs eating lunch, but she should be down soon. If you want to look around a bit, or I could ring up your purchase then help you load it while you wait?”
“I’ll look around. I’d like to pay for all my items at once,” he explained.
Sebastian wasn’t much of a shopper, but her store had interesting things. There was a small music box with a lion on the lid. When he opened it, the figure inside was lion cub and the box played The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It was an expensive item, but it was a masterpiece as far as he was concerned. Picking it up, he carried it so no one else would try to buy it. It’s possible he would have bought more, but Andi came downstairs.
He turned to her as she approached. “Harry said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes, I needed something for my personal assistant. She just got promoted, which needs to be celebrated.”
“Ah, so a congratulations arrangement. How much do you wish to spend?”
“I don’t know, I guess a hundred?”
“That will make a nice gift. Anything specific you want included?”
“Just the usual, she handles most of these things.” He knew he probably had a lost look on his face.
“Okay, I can take care of that. Just check out with Harry. Give him her name, address to send it to, plus any message you want to send with it. Do you want it sent today?”
“Today or tomorrow will be fine,” Seb replied just before Andi turned walking away. He’d intended to ask for a date but he’d not said anything about it. She’d been in a hurry, busy as business owners often were.
This visit to her store had accomplished nothing except helped him find some treasures for the new home he was about to build. His woman, no, this woman had some good taste in gift items. She was gone leaving him clueless as to where she’d disappeared to. Stepping to the cash register, the man tallied up his purchases, handing him a card to write out a message to Truly. She would appreciate the thought behind the gift since he never bought gifts for anyone personally. He liked to be more discreet than that.
Once he paid, he left. To ask to see her again would draw too much attention to him. Now, he was on his way to the house they all stayed at. There would be a meeting later with Steve, a progress report as it were. Seb was an impatient male so he needed regular reports until the progress became obvious. That wouldn’t happen until walls started to get put up. Right now, it was a matter of leveling ground, making holes for plumbing, and getting permits.
The utility companies had set poles nearby so they could hook in water, septic, gas and electric as needed. Electricity was already available, but just on the pole. Progress at this point seemed slow and plodding. It wouldn’t be long, now that a crew had been hired, before things rushed ahead. Steve still had another crew to hire. It wasn’t that he second guessed Steve, no, the man was thorough as well as capable, for a human. Seb just felt the need to be part of the project, most of the projects actually.
Occasionally Steve even found his insights helpful, when they didn’t piss him off. Seb had some experience in construction, especially the paperwork required for permits and loans. Those were probably all done now so the real work could begin. Pulling into the driveway, he noticed both Steve’s and Riley’s vehicles were here. It must be time for the meeting already. He was running late.
Riley, Steve, Truly and a guy he didn’t know sat waiting for him. They all had a drink they sipped on that they set down in front of them as he entered. Truly had a drink waiting on him too. He was going to miss having her as his assistant, hell, he missed her already.
“Hello, everyone.” He made no reference to the fact he was late, sure no one else would either. “Is everyone ready to begin?” Seb caught a scent of wolf. Hm, interesting.
“Yes, I’ll start if no one objects?” Riley looked around then when no one said anything, he began. First, let me thank you for the arrangement. It was a conversation starter. The opening event went off without a hitch. We now have customers. It seems Tyne has been busy lately so he left us some scraps we can sink our teeth in.”
“That sounds good. Any large customers?” Seb asked.
“There’s a new bank coming in that’s ask for a quote. We’ll see what happens. Other than that, just our own businesses and homeowners,” Riley concluded.
“That’s about what I expected. Who is next?”
“I’ll go,” Steve volunteered. He went through the permits as well as the utilities. It was dry information. “The foundation will be poured Monday.” That was what Seb had been waiting for. In his mind, that was the beginning of real construction. “I also want to introduce you to my foreman, Julio. He’ll run the team working on the compound. He’s from Blake’s pack.”
Julio held out his hand which Seb shook. They exchanged greetings before moving on. “Truly, it’s your turn.”
“I’ve met with Moe to get everything started. Your brother has an offer in on the property we discussed. Right now, it’s just a waiting game,” Truly noted.
Seb made a face, but Truly didn’t let it bother her. She knew waiting was hard on a male like Seb who liked action. “Anyone have any problems they need help with?” Seb asked. No one said anything. They all just looked at him. “Okay, then everyone is dismissed.”
Everyone left, but Truly. “I heard you were at the flower shop today. Putting in more orders?” She asked teasingly.
“She has a great gift shop. Want to see what I found?” Seb asked.
Truly looked stunned. Why was she finding it so hard to believe he went shopping? “Sure?”
She followed him out to his SUV where he showed her the tall table with the checker board on it matched with the two stools covered in black vinyl. “This is nice for a game room or waiting area.”
“That’s what I thought. Now look at this.” He pulled out the music box. Truly took it in her hands gasping at the picture on the outside. When she opened it, he could see she was really impressed.
“This is gorgeous,” Truly whispered. “This was in her gift shop?”
“Yes, but I bought the best stuff,” Seb declared proudly.
“I never even went in there,” She admitted.
“The store was bigger than I expected.” They talked a little more but then they both had to get back to work.
After Truly left, he looked up to see Franz in the doorway. “Hello, Franz. It’s good to see you. How are things going?”
“Ha, young male. As if you can’t see I’m on my last leg. Let me sit down before I fall done and we’ll discuss some things,” Franz said. He dropped into a seat across from where Seb reseated himself behind his desk.
“It’s always a nice surprise to see you. Have things been going well?”
“Depends on what you call well. I’ve managed to send out a missive to each of my male offspring. My daughter Sefia would make one hell of an alpha, she keeps everything going, you know? My kind just isn’t ready for an unmated female leader. We’ve searched the laws extensively, if no male relative steps forward, Sefia can lead if she takes a mate. It would only be until her first male offspring is old enough to lead in his own.”
“You believe it will come to that? You had many males, more than I’ve ever heard of a male tiger having. Will none of them step forward to lead?” Seb asked.
“I fear several of the older ones may have met their end in Africa. The natural beasts take exception to the shifters and challenge them at every turn. It’s those five birthed in this country I have hope in. One will surely step forward once word reaches them. If not, there is still Sefia. She’s my favorite, you know? Too bad the two of you were more like siblings than anything else. A liger ruling both kinds someday would have been interesting,” Franz speculated.
“You’d have them all hunting my head, old friend.”
“At least things would be shaken up around here. I’ve not much time left, nor do I want more time. We’ve got nearly five hundred acres. Truly says she’s working a deal with the wolves to get jobs for some of our kind. Mostly females and cubs. A dozen males plus Sefia are working hard to establish things for the others. My Hetty would have loved it here. I’d best go before I tire so much you have to carry me home,” Franz said.
“I would be honored to if it became necessary,” Seb admitted. He liked the old guy which made him hope whoever took his place was at least half the tiger the old male was.
As he watched Franz stumble out the door, he wondered why all his children but Sefia had run away as soon as they were old enough. None wanted to rule their kind, even though it was an honor to serve their people. Where his males all just selfish or greedy? He could only hope if one made it here to claim the position, he would at least be the best of them. Seb feared even the best wouldn’t be very good.
Was it any wonder with the sad way the other groups of cats were organized that he was feeling the strain? Every time he did, that lovely woman, Andi, came to mind. It was so bad, he was beginning to get obsessed. The sooner he did something to get her out of his head, the better off he’d be. The only thing he could come up with was to bed her. The release would not only kill the obsession that was developing, it would give him some stress relief. Two birds as the saying was.
The problem was, he’d just been to her store allowing himself to get so distracted, he’d forgotten to ask her out until she’d left him standing there alone. The whole thing made him feel like a cub still wet behind the ears. He was grateful no one was aware of what he’d done, or rather not done. Now, the whole problem still needed to be dealt with. He would make her business successful all by himself if he kept calling or visiting to place orders without getting to the real reason he was contacting her.
Giving it a great deal of thought, he decided to just call her to ask her out to dinner. He decided he needed to call now before she closed her store since he didn’t have her cell phone number. Seb felt confident because he’d never been turned down. After dialing her number, he waited for someone to answer. A woman answered.
“Andi’s Flower Shop and Gifts, Mary speaking.”
“Hello, Mary. I needed to talk to Andi,” Seb said putting just a little alpha demand into it.
”Kay. I’ll get her,” Mary said.
A second later, he heard someone breathing fast as if they’d rushed to the phone. “Andi speaking.”
“Hello, Andi. This is Sebastian Hunter. I wanted to take you out to supper at Sara’s tonight.”
“What?” She sounded confused.
“Supper, you do eat, right?”
“I do eat, but I don’t date. Thanks for asking, but I just can’t. You have a nice day.”
Sebastian was the one that was stunned now. She’d turned him down cold. It wasn’t the maybe some other time he’d heard males say they got sometimes. This was thanks, but no thanks. His fingers pushed a number all on their own.
“Hello, Ariel speaking.”
What had he done? “Hi, Ariel. This is Sebastian.”
“Hey lion king. What’s happening?”
“Nothing good. I need some advice.”
“I’m sorry to hear things aren’t going well. I live to give advice.”
“I just spoke to Andi. I asked her out but she said she doesn’t date.”
“That’s true. She has a schedule. She plans to date in about two years.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“No, she has other priorities right now. Some people can work constantly but still slip in sex, it’s meaningless, used more as a stress buster. Andi isn’t like that. She’d rather do without until she can have a relationship.”
“What’s wrong with meaningless sex?”
“Nothing, if that’s what you want.”
“How do I change her mind?”
“I doubt that you can. It’s best just to leave her be.”
“Thank you for your advice,” he said before he hung up. It was advice he had no intention of taking.
What would Andi do if he went to her house to talk to her? Would she refuse to open the door? If she was smart, because she didn’t know him. That seemed like a desperate move to make so soon. Not yet, but if he couldn’t get her to spend time with him, he would be desperate soon. Seb tried to figure out what it all meant, but it was beyond him. All he knew was he had a powerful need for the woman, a need that wouldn’t be put aside.
At least he had enough work to keep a dozen lions busy. The purchase of the mall was going through. Jeffers had begun the demolition of the buildings on the land he was building the gym on. That was where he needed to be. Ripping or tearing something apart would help ease his stress. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? This building was close to the security store. It was just past it as one left town. He headed that way.
Vehicles sat around a flat area right next to an old falling down house. There were several sheds, even an old barn on the grounds. He parked before approaching his males. “Hey, Seb. You come to help?” Jeffers asked.
Seb shot him a toothy predator’s smile. “Why not?’
The other males had sledge hammers or axes they were swinging against walls. Jeffers tossed him a sledge hammer. “Those work best.”
He could see it was true because the axes kept getting stuck in the wood. The males using those had to take the time to pull them loose. Seb took hold of the handle, then stepped back letting a mighty swing loose against the only wall remaining upright near him. It fell over as soon as he struck it. That was a satisfying swing. It was the first of many which left the area around him reduced to splintered pieces of wood.
By the time he and his males had finished, they were covered in wood particles. Dirt as well as dust from drywall or plastered also covered them. Sometimes it just felt good to get dirty from a hard day’s work. Now he headed home, ready for a shower then a good meal. Tonight, he was certain he would sleep better than he had in a while.
Pulling onto the road, a car came up behind him going fast. It pulled around him without slowing down. It reminded him of some of the crazy drivers from New York. There were always a few on any long drive that stood out as if they were trying to kill themselves and take others with them. Seb made it to his driveway. Once he headed into the house, he was ready for a shower.
He considered finding some relief, but it didn’t appeal to him. Seb wanted her, not his hand. Once in the shower, he enjoyed the hot water washing himself clean. After drying off, he dressed in something comfortable. It was late in the day now, so he got on his computer, checking emails which he answered as needed. His sister Sindy’s email was one of those. She had some money to buy her own house. It was her intention to do so now with him representing her. How did he manage to get into these things?
Ariel had recommended a real estate agent. His name was Roger. She’d given him the male’s email so he sent him a message with Sindy’s requirements and a price range. Now, he would just sit back waiting for him to find the perfect place.
It was boring sitting here now that he was clean with all his tasks done. His stomach growled making him think of the good food at the diner. Maybe that was where the others had gone since they weren’t here. Seb went out to his SUV taking it to town. The place was busy with most tables full. None of his pride seemed to be here, but he saw a lovely, familiar face. Andi was here sitting with two other ladies.
An empty table was right next to them, so he claimed it quickly before someone else did. Seb wasn’t trying to listen in, but shifter hearing made it impossible not to her every word said. Candi and Sandi were her sisters. They were going to fill in on Saturday for her so she could buy supplies for the gift shop area of her store.
“Andi, I didn’t see you sitting there. Who are the lovely ladies with you?” Seb asked. He had a feeling he might get some support from her sisters.
“Sebastian? These are my sisters, Sandi and Candi.” She said. Her face flushed a deep red.
“Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Andi’s?” Candi asked.
“I’m an acquaintance, but I’d like to be more. Andi has a no dating policy. Hearing something like that is hard on a guy,” Sebastian confided.
“Andi? You won’t give the guy a break?” Sandi questioned. “He seems like such a nice guy.”
“You guys know how hard it is to find the time to keep the business going,” Andi explained.
“Didn’t you tell Mom you wouldn’t give up on your personal life?” Candi asked. “Does she know you refuse to date?”
“Come on guys. It’s just for a little while,” Andi observed.
“What? Two years?” Sandi asked. Andi flushed a deep red. Apparently, everyone knew her business plan.
“Why don’t you let me take you out next Saturday?” He asked.
“I’m sorry. I’m going on a buying trip out of town that day,” Andi explained triumphantly.
“Really? What are you buying?” He asked.
“I’m looking for items for my gift shop,” she admitted.
“I could take you shopping. I’m building a new house right now. I’ll need all kinds of things. We could eat lunch together too. I’d take you wherever you need to go,” Seb offered. Both her sisters turned to look at her. Defeat was obvious on her face. Victory was his.
“Let him take you, Andi. It won’t take anything away from your work plus you’ll have a guy to carry stuff for you,” Sandi suggested.
“Shopping is more fun with someone else along,” Candi agreed.
“Alright, already. You need to be at my shop at seven in the morning. We’ll stop to eat breakfast at Sara’s. It will be an all-day trip,” Andi explained.
Seb couldn’t hide his smile. She would be his soon. There was no way to resist him when he was determined. He’d just proven that. Andi was now ripe for the picking, after next Saturday. They continued to eat while talking about all kinds of things. Sandi was a forest ranger. Candi had a salvage yard. Neither was a typically female field like Andi worked in. They were both passionate about the fields they were in which was something the three women had in common.
Once they were finished eating, they left. His meal came right after that. Seb enjoyed his meal more knowing he would soon get his way. Nothing would stop him now. He had a week to get through but he would be busy so it wouldn’t be so hard.
Once he got back to the house, Truly jumped on him hugging him. She’d received her arrangement which made her happy. “I loved it. How did you know I loved orchids?”
“Just a lucky guess.” Maybe he shouldn’t take the credit but it felt nice that Truly thought he’d been observant.
“Thank you. I guess we’d better get to sleep.” She hurried off with a sappy smile on her face.
The week was challenging starting with personal assistant trials. Truly was looking for someone to take her place. It wasn’t working out too well. The job was hard which meant several just walked out on them. One cried constantly until Truly had to send her home. Another one passed out, they had to call an ambulance for her.
“Where are you finding these people?” He asked.
“I just ran an ad in the local paper. It’s how we find most of the employees in New York,” Truly declared.
“No, we run an ad in the shifter paper,” Seb pointed out.
“There isn’t one down here.” Truly complained.
“I think you need to call Ariel. You’ve run out of applicants anyway,” Seb observed.
“I think you’re right,” Truly agreed. It was Tuesday. She called Ariel who promised to send someone over in the morning.
First thing in the morning, a young lady knocked on the door. Truly let her in. “Am I in the right place?” She asked looking around.
“Are you here about a job?” Truly asked. She nodded. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Tera. Ariel sent me.”
“Great. Why don’t we get started?” Truly asked.
Seb settled into his work wondering if the girl would still be there at lunch. When lunch rolled around, Truly brought pizza into his office then sat with him to talk. “Is she still here?” He asked.
“She is. I think she may actually be a good fit. Tera is calm, letting nothing get her upset. The girl knows what she’s doing to the point that I think you’ll be pleased. Even the guys can’t get her riled.”
“Have they hit on her?” Seb asked.
“What do you think?” Truly asked with a snort.
“That’s unladylike,” he commented.
“So? I’m a manager now which means I don’t have to act like a lady.”
“Not true. You have to set an example now,” Seb corrected.
“Like you do?”
“I’m not a lady,” he noted with a smirk.
“You’ve been in an exceptionally good mood this week. What’s going on?” Truly questioned.
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m always in a good mood.”
“Either you got lucky or you think you’re going to.”
“Truly, that’s no way for you to talk.”
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I might have plans for Saturday, but it’s nothing so vulgar,” Seb admitted.
“Who is it? Is it a lioness or a wolf?”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“You’ve already kissed?”
“Well, no. Not yet.”
“I’ll just wait. You’ll tell me when you get back. I’m going to have Tera work directly with you after lunch.”
“Bring it on,” Seb said. He honestly hoped this girl would work out. Truly would need to hire an assistant for herself too.
They finished eating in silence. It wasn’t awkward, they were old friends. Once they were done, they cleaned up with Truly heading to the other side of the porch so she could sit at her desk. When Tera came back after lunch, she sent her to Seb. He’d seen no problems with the girl, but how experienced could she be when she looked like a teenager?
He gave her a pile of paperwork to go through. Truly would double check everything and ensure it was all done correctly. The girl took it without a word. She moved to a small desk nearby so she could get to work. Seb admired the way she worked without interruption or complaint until she was done. She took the stack of work to Truly so she could check on everything.
Truly paged through it all. “Good job, Tera.”
It looked like they had a winner. Tera would work with Truly a couple weeks to make sure she was up to speed on everything before they looked for Truly’s assistant. When the day was done, he was relieved. One more day to get through before the day his date was on. It surprised him how excited he was about it.
Finally, the day had arrived. He was up early, his lion purring like a damn kitty cat. He’d pushed down his excitement for a week, but now it was breaking free. Seb paced, fully ready but it was too early to go. Andi would think he was overanxious like a virgin cub ready for a hot date if he showed up now. That wasn’t something he’d been in a long time.
When the clock finally got to a quarter till seven, it was time to leave. He’d get there perfectly on time. He did. Andi came out locking the door just as he arrived. She carried a reusable shopping bag stuffed full of things. Seb got out and walked around opening the door for her. After she got in, he closed it carefully. They drove to Sara’s parking near the door since the place wasn’t that busy this early.
Andi hopped out, so he couldn’t get the door for her so he got the door to the diner instead. She headed to a table at the front with him right behind her. Sara didn’t take their order, she just brought them their food. Seb raised his brow at Andi, but he dug in anyway. Maybe she had known what he would like. The meal was good, he had to admit it.
They were finished quickly, he paid, and then they took coffee to go. He opened her door for her, being a gentleman. It felt good to be with her. His lion was in full agreement, but this was just for fun. This could never go anywhere. She gave him instructions so he headed out following them carefully.
They stopped at several flea markets and yard sales along the way. He was surprised by some of the things she managed to find. Some of her purchases surprised him too, but she assured him she would make them look good.
Once they hit Springfield, they were in and out of one store or garage sale after another. Andi was like a tornado as she moved from one place to another. It was amazing to watch her search the piles of items before she found something where she would begin to make a deal.
“So where to next?” Seb asked.
“It’s lunch time. Just drive down this road to the stoplight. There’s a great steak house. We’ll eat lunch there.”
“As you command, Sweetheart,” Seb agreed.
He pulled into the parking lot pulling up near the door when someone left. The place was busy, but there was seating available. The hostess took them to a table handing them menus. A waitress came quickly so they could order. Seb was getting really hungry with the smell of good food in the air.
“I’m going to take the number three, medium rare, with a side salad topped with ranch.”
“Got it,” the waitress said before she turned to Seb.
“I’ll take the number six, rare, French fries, but loaded.”
“Got it. What do you want to drink?”
They both took tea so the waitress hurried to get their drinks. The place was nice and he could see it becoming a favorite when he came to the big city.