CHAPTER THIRTEEN - VIOLET
Paula and Steve were already waiting for us in the lobby, but they made no mention of us running late. Perks of being the boss when it came to being on time to work-related functions, I supposed. Paula looked a little stressed as she outlined our itinerary, listing off everywhere we were going for the day.
I could tell Sebastian wasn't at the top of his game. Not that I blamed him, but what happened with Jessica really had really thrown him off. When he'd come back to pick me up before we left for the meeting, he hadn't even come into my room, choosing to stay outside the front door and wait for me.
And as we walked toward the resort, he stared straight ahead and kept the conversation purely to business-related matters. Even though I'd tried to bring Jessica up, he'd refused to talk about her, instead saying he'd deal with it.
He apparently wasn't the only one off kilter, though. Paula looked over at me, a concerned look upon her face.
“Violet?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“I asked if you'd made the arrangements with the driver to pick us up?”
I tried to clear my head, tried to banish all other thoughts about Sebastian, Jessica, and the photos, but I couldn't remember. Had I made the arrangements? I could have sworn I'd booked all travel arrangements for the meetings, but for some reason, this one wasn't coming to me. As I was sifting through all of my paperwork in my file, trying to find it, I caught sight of a blonde woman sitting in the lobby with a glass of champagne, watching us closely, flashing a predatory grin our way.
“What is – ” But then I stopped myself.
I couldn't talk about Jessica with Paula and Steve here, so instead, I cleared my throat, tore my gaze away from her, and continued flipping through my papers until I found the reservation with the limo company.
“Oh, there it is,” I said, pulling out the confirmation sheet. “I knew I made it, wanted to make sure.”
“Great,” Paula said. “Looks like we have a few minutes to spare, maybe we should get a drink at the bar?”
Sebastian must have seen Jessica as well. “You two go ahead,” he said. “I need a little air, so I'm going to wait outside.”
There was no way I wanted to remain inside alone with Jessica, so I followed Sebastian outside. As soon as we were out of hearing distance, I turned to him feeling a surge of panic course through me.
“What is she doing here?” I asked.
“She's staying here,” he said, not meeting my eyes. “At the resort. As a guest.”
Raising an eyebrow, I looked at him, an expression of bewilderment upon my face.
“What? There's nothing I can do about it,” he asked, shrugging. “She's a paying guest. I can't just kick her out.”
“And why can't you? You own the place?”
“Because it would look really bad if I kicked people out of my properties based on personal reasons,” he said. “Besides, I think I've pissed her off enough already. God knows what she'd do if I kicked her off the property.”
I was stunned. Seriously stunned. After what she had done to us earlier today, I would have suspected he would want to be as far away from that bitch as possible, but he just shook his head, an inscrutable look upon his face.
“I have to be able to separate business from my personal life, Violet,” he said, obviously frustrated. “I don't like it any more than you do, but that's the way it has to be. I hate that she's in the same set of bungalows we are, but there's nothing I can do.”
“Wait. So, you mean she's staying a few bungalows down from me?” I asked. “I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that.”
And I wasn't. What if she spied on me, or worse? She was crazy, we already knew that. The fact that she was staying only like a few yards away from where I slept only made things that much creepier.
At least now it all made sense, the fact that Sebastian seemed to be keeping his distance from me. But it made me wonder, was he doing it to keep the drama at bay? Or was it because he still had feelings for his ex? I wouldn't have thought it would be the latter, but now that I'd slept with him, I had to wonder. And I certainly didn't want any ex-girlfriends stepping back into his life, or mine. Especially crazy ones like Jessica.
“What do you want me to do, Violet?” he asked, turning to me with an annoyed look on his face. “I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. I think for the time being, it's best if we just keep everything professional and get our work done, then head home. I'll deal with Jessica, but kicking her off the property after she paid for the room isn't how you run a business. No matter how annoying she is. Not if you have a reputation to maintain.”
A knot formed in my throat. In all the years I'd know him, Sebastian had never before taken that tone of voice with me, and it hurt to hear him talk to me like that. It was condescending and dismissive and not at all like him. As I stared up into his eyes, I fought back the tears because I was a grown-up and needed to act like one, crying in front of your boss wasn't what adults did; they sucked it up and carried on.
“I'm sorry, Sebastian,” I said, my voice flat. “I wasn't thinking. I let my emotions get in the way. It won't happen again.”
His eyes softened, almost like he wanted to comfort me, but the moment passed quickly. His gaze fell past me, and he turned away.
“The driver is here,” he said. “Can you run in and let Paula and Steve know, please?”
“Yes, Sebastian.” I did as I was told, and when I went inside, Jessica was already gone.
Maybe she'd made her point by being there, publicly, allowing me to see her. Or maybe she was outside with Sebastian now. Not that it was any of my business. What had happened last night was great, but perhaps there'd be nothing more that came of it. Maybe, for Sebastian, it had been a fun, one time only show. No repeat performances. How in the hell was I supposed to know what was going on in that head of his if he refused to talk to me?
I needed to understand that sometimes, things didn't always work out the way you wanted them to. I knew last night when I'd slept with him that we probably wouldn't hop into some hot and heavy lifelong committed relationship, and I'd slept with him anyway. Deep down, however, I was still hopeful.
“Stupid girl,” I muttered to myself, scolding myself for believing in happily-ever-afters. “Stupid, stupid, immature little girl.”
I hid my face so Paula and Steve wouldn't see my tears, and I did my job for the rest of the day. I did the work I was there to do and offered little more. And at the end of the day, Sebastian and I went to our separate bungalows and kept our distance. I had a hard time even relaxing as I sat out on the deck, trying to enjoy the ocean breeze because I was fearful that Jessica might be watching me.
Everything good that had happened quickly crumbled away, leaving me feeling incredibly alone and sad. In the span of twenty-four hours I’d gone from the heights of elation to the pits of despair, and it had been my own damn fault. Sebastian had been trying so hard to fight his attraction to me, I should have just let it go. Now I was sitting alone in the most beautiful place on earth with a hole where my heart was.