Chapter 31
Making Friends
“This better be good, Sebastian,” said Elton as he entered the office. “I don’t appreciate being called here on a Sunday. My wife and kids —”
“Frannie thinks you’re in New York,” Sebastian said, not looking up. He was sitting at his desk, studying a sheaf of photographs in his hand. “Would you care to explain?”
“What my wife thinks I’m doing is none of your business.” The balding, middle-aged man looked around the enormous office, as if to ascertain there was no one else around. “Are you two talking behind my back now?”
“She and I had a long chat this morning. Lovely woman. She feels quite neglected, what with all those late nights at work, and frequent trips out of town.” The pile of photographs fell from his hands to scatter on his desk. “I suppose she doesn’t know anything about this.”
The pictures were of Elton and a very young woman, apparently taken in different days in various locations: holding hands while walking out of hotels, holding hands in restaurants, sipping champagne at an evening party, kissing as they lay on lounge chairs at the beach.
“What’s this?” Elton’s face turned red with indignation. “You spying on my private life, Sebastian? Are your whores not keeping things interesting enough for you?”
“I don’t pay my dates, Elton.” The younger man looked at him in the eyes. “I sure as hell don’t give them confidential information about the activities of officers of this company. Something I’m sure you’re well aware of constitutes a breach of contract.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Elton’s voice was still angry, yet he had turned visibly pale.
“Lindy Mulligan, the young lady whose company you’ve been sharing the past few months or so. Film major at UCLA. Also the first cousin to one Erika Daniels.”
“So?”
“Did you think I could have chalked it all up to sheer coincidence, Elton? All those times Erika just happened to know where I was. Even that trip to Beijing?”
“It could have been—”
“You just don’t see it. The monumental stupidity of what you’ve done. Because you’re still thinking with your cock. You’ve compromised your job — your life — for a girl. Your career is over, Elton. Finished.”
“Listen, boy,” Elton said. He leaned over, his hands curled up in fists pressed down on the desk. “The only reason you’re even here is because your rich daddy owns most of this company. You’re a fucking kid. You don’t know shit. If it weren’t for me, you’d be nothing.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?” Sebastian pulled out a piece of paper from a drawer and dropped it in front of him. “This is your resignation letter. Sign it and I won’t send over every photo my private investigator had been taking of you and your mistress for the past week to your wife’s lawyer. Between your alimony payments to your first wife and another divorce, I’d be surprised if you had any money left to pay for dates with college girls.”
“You’re threatening me?” The quiver in his voice betrayed his bravado, and his eyes looked nervously down at the letter.
“I’m giving you a chance to leave while you still have your dignity.”
Tight-lipped, Elton picked up a pen and signed the letter. “It’s so easy for you, isn’t it?” he muttered. “Dad hands you his company on a silver platter. Sluts throwing themselves at you.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t call them that.”
“You’re not always going to win, you know.” Elton straightened his tie. “One day, you’ll know what it feels like to lose.”
Sebastian didn’t reply, and merely watched as the other man strode out of the room. As soon as the door closed, he reached out and pressed a button on his desk. “Frank, go ahead and send those photos to Mrs. Lowry’s attorney.”
“Right away, sir.”
***
“I really should have taken it as a sign,” said Casey Stewart, before gulping down a shot glass of tequila. His eyes widened with joy as he saw Nicolette and Victoria. “You guys made it! Thank you.”
“Of course, sweetie,” Nicolette said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday.” She handed him a gift wrapped in white paper and silver ribbon. “What sign?”
“Awww, you didn’t have to. But thank you.” He and Victoria air-kissed, and he happily took her present as well. “Thanks, Vic.” He put the presents on the chair beside him. It was nine in the evening, and a good-sized crowd was amassing around them in the 20’s-themed bistro.
“Casey here thinks Bill’s Elena Ferrante obsession meant they couldn’t be together,” said Shane Harlow. Glass of wine in hand, he stood up to kiss Victoria on the cheek.
“No disrespect, but her books read like a B-movie.” Casey put his hands up and shrugged. “Just saying.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with B-movies?” Nicolette demanded.
Casey laughed. “I’ve missed you, lady. And you ...” He wagged a finger at Victoria, who smiled sheepishly. “I haven’t seen you in years.”
“Sorry, I got another job,” Victoria said. “So, did you move out or did Bill?”
“He moved.” Casey picked up another glass of the amber liquid. “Somewhere closer to downtown, I think. Thank God, I can finally put my Pennie Smith photographs back on the wall.”
“Bill didn’t like them?” Victoria said. “But they’re so awesome.”
“I know right?” Casey lifted a hand and waved. “Hey guys, over here!”
Sandi Chang and Oscar Fuentes, who had just entered the bar, waved back, and carefully began making their way through the throng to their table.
“You guys didn’t bring dates?” Casey said, after giving Sandi a peck on the cheek.
“No,” Oscar said. “Nicolette told us — Ow!” he yelped, rubbing the spot on his elbow where Nicolette had pinched him lightly.
“What?” Casey asked, puzzled.
Victoria and Nicolette looked at each other. “Uhm,” Nicolette said. “We thought that since you and Bill just broke up, it was better if we all just went stag tonight.”
“I can’t believe it.” Casey shook his head. “You think I’m such a delicate flower that I can’t take seeing couples being ridiculously happy together on my birthday?” He pouted, then pulled Nicolette in for a hug. “You know me so well.”
“There, there,” Nicolette said, patting his back as they hugged. She looked up at Oscar and mouthed the words, “Sorry about that.”
“Oh God, we’re hugging now?” Sandi said, making a face. “I’m gonna need some tequila first.” She hailed a waiter. “Maybe some pizza too or Casey here will be drunk-dialing Bill in half an hour. What’s your poison, Vic?”
“Vodka tonic, please,” Victoria said. “More wine, Shane?”
“Yes, please,” Shane said. “Hey, you haven’t told us what your new job is yet. Did you get that staff writer gig over at the Tribune?”
“No,” Victoria said. “I didn’t even get an interview. I’m tutoring a fifth grader now. It’s part time, but the pay’s pretty good.” She wrinkled her nose. “Although I may have to find another job soon.”
“They fired you already?” Oscar said, raising his eyebrows.
“Uh. It’s not that.” She didn’t want to bring up Sebastian at Casey’s birthday dinner. “But I may have to quit.”
“Why?” Sandi asked, looking at her suspiciously.
“Yes, Vic,” Nicolette said. The blonde was smiling evilly. “Tell us why you need to quit your job tutoring the hot billionaire’s kid?”
“What?!?” Casey, Oscar, Sandi and Shane exclaimed in unison.
“What billionaire?” Shane said.
“It’s not the CEO of Twitter, is it?” Sandi said.
“Ewww!” Oscar said. “Jack Dorsey is totally not hot.”
“Please tell me it’s Eduardo Saverin,” Casey said. “Because that man is fine.”
“But you hate Facebook,” Shane pointed out.
“Who cares. Eduardo is hot.”
“I can’t really say,” Victoria said, giving Nicolette a dirty look. “Security reasons.” She’d told her best friend about the weekend in Austin. And also about Sebastian and her being together. But for the purposes of tonight’s birthday celebration, they both decided they were not going to mention it.
“Vic, I think you can tell them now,” Nicolette said.
“No, really, I shouldn’t.” Victoria shot her best friend a look. What are you doing?
Nicolette sighed. “I think you’re going to have to, babe.”
“Why?”
“Because, sweetie,” Nicolette said, nodding her head towards the entrance. “Your boss-slash-boyfriend just walked in ten seconds ago.”
“What?”
They all turned to find Sebastian walking toward their table, a blue gift-wrapped box in his hand. He was dressed casually in a crisp, long-sleeved black shirt and dark grey pants.
Victoria stood up, but before she could say a word, he kissed her softly on the lips.
“Am I late?” he said.
“No. Uhm ... Casey?” She turned to her friends. They were staring up at Sebastian wordlessly. “This is Sebastian. My, uh ... “
“Boyfriend,” Sebastian said. “Happy birthday.” He handed Casey the gift.
“Oh, my,” Casey said. “Thanks. You didn’t have to.” He put down the present next to his water glass. “Please, sit down.”
“I thought you were flying to New York?” Victoria whispered as Sebastian took the seat next to hers.
“I had them change my schedule,” he said. “Something wrong?”
She smiled and shook her head. It looked like Nicolette’s no-date rule was out the window.
“I hope you don’t mind me crashing your party,” he said to Casey.
“Oh no. Crash away,” Casey said. He looked positively giddy. “We were all excited to meet Vic’s new man.”
“This is Nicolette, my roommate,” Victoria said. “And that’s Sandi, Oscar and Shane.”
“Very nice to meet you,” Sebastian said. “Nicolette, I believe I saw your short at a film festival in New York last year.”
“Really,” said Nicolette. She eyed him with amusement. “Which one?”
“Crushed. The one where a girl stalks her teacher.”
“Did you like it?”
“I did. It was ... very interesting.”
“You mean depressing, don’t you?” Casey said. “Because I’d never seen anything Nic’s done that doesn’t want to make me kill myself.”
“I think it’s safe to say I won’t be doing any rom coms anytime soon,” Nicolette said.
“A romantic comedy that makes you want to kill yourself,” Sandi said. “I’d totally pay to watch that.”
“I think you already did,” Shane said. “Didn’t Oscar drag you to see How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days?”
“Ough. Two hours of my life I’m never getting back.” Sandi crossed her arms. “And the worst part was, I thought this idiot and I were on a date.”
“In my defense, the fact that I asked you to watch a rom com with me should have been the first clue I was gay, Sandi,” Oscar said.
“I was thirteen! What the hell did I know?”
“Am I the only straight guy at this table?” Sebastian whispered to Victoria.
“Yup,” she whispered back. “They’ll each probably picture you naked, at some point in the evening. Are you okay with that?”
“Well, I did come here to make a good impression.” He grinned.
***
“It was terrible wasn’t it?” Nicolette said. At Sebastian’s raised eyebrows, she added, “Crushed, I mean. I made it when I was nineteen. It’s hardly Oscar material.”
He glanced at Victoria, who was sitting between him and Nicolette. It was past midnight and they were riding in the back of the Lincoln, with Connor at the wheel, on their way home.
Victoria looked as if she was trying to keep from laughing. She shrugged as if to say, You’re on your own, buddy.
“Well. I was of course trying to suck up to you,” he said finally.
“Not bad.” Nicolette smiled.
It was a real smile, and it took him by surprise considering she’d only ever looked at him with either suspicion or amusement all evening.
“I did think the camerawork was good. Did you shoot it yourself?”
She looked surprised. “I did. You really think so? One of the judges said it was messy.”
“You did that on purpose, I thought. It’s what I would imagine recovering from a nervous breakdown would feel like.”
“Or maybe I was just clumsy.” She shrugged.
“Maybe.”
He felt Victoria squeeze his hand. “You sure you can’t stay over?” she whispered.
“My flight leaves in forty-five minutes,” he said. “Come with me. You don’t need to pack, we’ll find you everything you need when we get there.”
“I have to be at the coffee shop at eight a.m. Sorry.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“Me too.”
When they got to the apartment, Nicolette said, “Okay, lovebirds, I’m going in first. Say your goodbyes quick, Victoria has to be up in six hours.” She waved at Sebastian. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he replied.
“Goodnight, Nic!” Victoria called out.
“She’s scary,” he said, as soon as Nicolette disappeared into the building.
Victoria laughed. “I know. I think all my boyfriends avoided her as much as they could.”
“I can see why you like her, though.” He brushed a lock of hair off her forehead.
She closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the tenderness of the gesture. “Why did you reschedule your flight?”
“I missed you, obviously. Also, it’s been a while, but I do remember I’m supposed to meet your friends at some point. You think they like me?”
“Do you really care?”
“I do.” It surprised him that it genuinely mattered to him.
“You didn’t care I had a boyfriend when you and I ... you know.”
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” All that time he thought she was with another man. It was only this morning when she asked him to be hers that he realized he may have been mistaken all along.
She shook her head. “Nope. That was just way too funny.” She wrinkled her nose. “Except maybe the part where you thought I was cheating on my boyfriend.”
“You’ve never done that?”
“No, of course not.” She was still smiling, but her eyes looked wistful. “You won’t cheat on me will you, Sebastian?” she asked softly.
He hesitated. “No,” he said, wondering if he imagined the way her smile faltered for a split second. He pulled her close and kissed her. “Now go inside and go straight to bed. I don’t want to get on Nicolette’s bad side.”