CHAPTER NINE - SEBASTIAN
When Violet stepped out, dressed and ready to go to dinner, I nearly groaned aloud. I'd told her it was to be a dressy evening, and she didn't disappoint in a little black dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Her hourglass figure made it easy to forget she was Charles' daughter, the same little girl who used to wear pigtails, Minnie Mouse dresses, and had scrapes on her knees.
No, that little girl was very clearly long gone. She'd been replaced by the woman before me, a woman with feminine curves, alluring cleavage, and a smile that could take a man's breath away. I had to force myself to look away from her, to banish all of the inappropriate thoughts that suddenly filled my mind.
“What?” she asked, her smile turning into a frown as she looked down at the dress. “Is this too revealing, maybe? I was afraid it might be too tight, but it's the only – ”
“No, no,” I said, nearly stumbling over my words. “It looks fine. More than fine, it looks great. You look great.”
The wind swept through her soft, wavy hair as she turned to look up at me again, giving me a shy smile and I could see the color rising in her cheeks.
“Thank you,” she said. “You look great too.”
Truth be told, she looked more than great. She looked hot as hell, and I knew I was going to have a hard time not staring at her all night long. I had to keep picturing her as the girl with pigtails that used to sit on my lap and tell me stories about how she was going to be the first woman to walk on Mars. If I couldn't keep my mind focused on Violet the kid, instead of Violet the woman, this wasn't going to be easy on me. Especially once alcohol was going to be involved. I didn't want to say or do anything stupid, after all.
But damn, she wasn’t making this easy.
“We're going to meet with a couple key players here in the region,” I said. “Paula Nichols and Steve O'Hare are overseeing acquisitions, and they're the ones who will decide where our next resort will be located.”
She listened as I talked about the business we were conducting; mainly looking at a few proposed sites and discussing the logistics and costs that would go into developing them. Normally, with a new assistant, you'd have to explain key industry terms, but I was pleased to discover that wasn't going to be the case with Violet.
She managed to keep up to speed with everything I was throwing at her, which was one reason I knew she'd be a great fit for the team. I could see her deserving and growing into a higher position soon enough, once she gained some experience and insight.
We rode in a limo over to the restaurant, which was a very nice place that overlooked the ocean. Paula and Steve were already out on the veranda, which had been reserved strictly for us. It was one of the perks of being a major player in the area and local economy. There was a fire going in a pit in the middle of the deck that added a touch of warmth since the air was getting to be a bit chilly, thanks mostly to the fact that we were right on the water.
“Paula, Steve, nice to see you again,” I said, shaking their hands.
I introduced them to Violet, and of course, she made a terrific first impression by shaking their hands and remaining very professional and polite, yet projecting confidence from every pore of her body. We made small talk for a few moments and I was pleased to see that Violet seemed to fit right in. She seemed to help make the meeting a little less stiff. She had Paula and Steve laughing and engaged in a lively conversation.
When we sat down for dinner and opened the menus, however, I saw Violet's eyes grow as wide as dinner plates.
“What's wrong?” I whispered to her.
“These prices...” she whispered back, covering her mouth discretely so the others didn't see.
“Don't worry about it, Violet,” I said. “It's all paid for, order anything you want.”
I felt a smile on my lips. I loved that she was so considerate of things like that. Yes, I had the money to cover such extravagant meals, but I liked that she didn't take it for granted. I'd learned that it was a difficult trait to find in a woman, at least, those in the circles I tended to run in. Now if only I could date someone like her, we'd be set.
I saw her still eyeballing the menu with a somewhat concerned look in her eyes as the waiter came over to ask about drinks.
“Who wants to pick the wine?” I asked. “One bottle of red, one bottle of white?”
“Sounds good to me,” Paula said with a smile.
I looked over at Violet who seemed so very lost as she also scanned the wine menu. “Whatever you like, Sebastian,” she said.
I wanted to push the issue, to have her pick something for a change, but I didn't want to embarrass her. While a submissive girl in the bedroom was usually a good thing, I didn't want her to always leave everything up to me. But she seemed intimidated and uncertain, adding pressure to the situation by asking her to make a decision would only make things worse for her.
“Paula, you pick then,” I said with a smile, passing the menu over to her and looking at Violet a bit pointedly. “I don't always like being the boss.”
Paula chose the wines – a nice red and a nice white – and Violet just listened and watched, taking it all in. While she hadn't grown up poor, far from it, in fact, she also never experienced this kind of life either. Her father was a stickler for remaining humble and modest, insisting they live relatively frugally, which was probably why he'd managed to raise such an amazing daughter who took nothing for granted.
We ordered food and ate, drank a little too much wine while talking business, and Violet managed to hold her own very well. At times, it was hard to remember she had only been with my company for a couple of weeks, and that she was technically only my assistant. She had such an incredible mind and working knowledge of what we were doing, that I was blown away. I had to give the girl some credit, she was assertive and confident. I could also tell that she impressed both Steve and Paula, which was something in and of itself.
The wine was flowing, as per usual during our business dinners, and I noticed Violet's eyes were a little glassy and her skin was a little flushed, more than likely from the alcohol. Her rosy pink cheeks only added to her cuteness though, and yes, the wine made it hard not to stare at her at times. She smiled back at me, catching me staring several times, and looked away shyly.
“So, Violet,” Paula asked after one too many glasses of wine, “How long have you been working for Sebastian?”
“Only a couple weeks,” she said. “But I've known him forever.”
Paula raised an eyebrow and looked at me, as if asking maybe we were a little closer than just employer/employee. Which was why I shook my head and interjected
“Violet's dad and I were best friends,” I said. “Since college. I've watched her grow up.”
That took Paula by surprise, and she nearly choked on her wine. “Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose I just assumed – ”
“I know what you assumed, Paula,” I said, stopping her with a gentle smile. “But it's nothing like that.”
“Oh no,” Violet said, eyes wide as if she just now realized what Paula was getting at. “Not like that at all. Nothing like that. No. No way.”
She was blushing profusely now, and I could say that I blamed her. It made things a little awkward to know that people simply assumed that we were an item, which was probably my fault. I knew that my gaze lingered on Violet a bit too long at times, thanks to the alcohol and how beautiful she looked. But still, I knew it probably sent the wrong signal to anybody paying attention and probably even hinted that there was more than just a professional relationship between us.
Steve could sense the tension and stepped in, trying to fill that awkward void of silence. “So, what's your father do, Violet?”
Oh shit.
“Uhh well,” she said, her voice soft.
“Her father passed away a couple months back,” I said.
I gave her a gentle smile and tried to save her from having to tell her story yet again. I knew she'd had to tell it so many times already, and it never got easier for her. It was something I could understand entirely. She gave me a small, grateful smile as a thank you.
“Oh, wow, we're just digging ourselves deeper and deeper here with this conversation,” he said, scratching his head. “I'm sorry for your loss, Violet.”
“Thank you,” she said, holding her head up high, even though I knew it had to be hard for her. Hell, it was still hard for me.
“And with that,” Steve said, looking over at Paula, “I think we should call it a night. Before we get into any more trouble with our boss. Don't you think, Paula?”
“Yeah, I think so,” she said and gave me an apologetic look. “Plus, I have an early morning meeting with a realtor tomorrow to discuss a new piece of land coming on the market, so if you don't mind, I think I'm going to head back and get some sleep.”
We said our goodbyes to them, leaving just Violet and myself at the table. Well, us and half a bottle of red wine.
“We shouldn't let this go to waste,” I said, pouring another glass. “And thankfully, I'm the boss, so we can start a bit later tomorrow.”
Violet smiled at me, and I poured the last of the bottle into her glass too. It was a beautiful evening in paradise and her company was fantastic. But still, I had to admit, it was awkward being there with her. Sitting in a fancy restaurant, just the two of us, surrounded by the sounds of the ocean, the moon shining down on us, a beautiful wine, a fireplace, it was all very romantic. And it was exactly why I had originally picked the place back when Jessica was still coming with me. By the time everything had gone down with her and I'd arranged for Violet to come along, I hadn't even really given the restaurant a second thought.
“I'm sorry things got awkward,” she said. “I didn't mean for – ”
“Don't be sorry, it's my fault. Really,” I said, holding up my hand to stop her from apologizing.
She bit her lip and stared down at her hands, a look of despondency crossing her face. It was like a dark cloud drifting over the face of a full moon and it dimmed that beautiful light for a moment. But then she looked back up at me and that darkness had passed .
“No, I think it's my fault. Really,” she let out an awkward little laugh, as she looked back up at me. “The wine is really going to my head, I'm afraid.”
“Me too,” I said looking at the liquid in my glass, “but I'd hate for it to go to waste.”
At the same time, I could feel the alcohol taking effect on me as well and I didn't want to say or do something stupid. I could tell Violet wasn't going to have any more as she sipped from her water glass instead.
“But sometimes, a real man knows when to call it a night,” I said with a wink. “Ready to head back to the resort?”
She nodded and reached for her purse, and when she did, she leaned forward ever so slightly and my breath caught in my throat as I was presented with a wonderful view of her cleavage. No, I shouldn't have looked, but it happened so fast and she caught me staring down her dress, making me feel like the world's dirtiest old man. I stood up, trying to pretend like it didn't happen, like I hadn't actually been caught ogling her, and managed to knock over the full glass of wine I'd just poured all over Violet. “Oh God,” I said, feeling like a jerk. I reached for a napkin and before I could think about my actions, I was dabbing the wine off her dress and my hand brushed her breast. “Oh God, I'm a mess tonight. You're seeing me at my worst, I'm afraid. I'm so sorry. I can't even begin to tell you how humiliating this is.”
“It's okay, Sebastian,” she said, laughing. “That's more action then I've had with a guy in months.”
She stopped laughing then, and her face turned red as if she just realized what she'd just said. “What do you say we head out?” I asked, clearing my throat. “I'll pay to have dress to be cleaned, of course. I am sorry about that, Violet.”
“Don't ever be sorry, Sebastian,” she said. “And yes, let's head back so I can change into something more comfortable. And a little drier.”
I could already feel the erection pressing against my zipper and I prayed to God Violet couldn't see it. This entire evening had given me a terrible case of blue balls, but there was no way I could do anything about that. Not with Violet. Not ever.
That was a line I told myself a hundred times I couldn't cross. Wouldn't cross.