Chapter 18

Standing back from the whiteboard to analyze the latest potential floor plan, Naomi let out a huff and reached for the eraser again. Deciding where all of the guest speakers would sit and where the tables and chairs would go was akin to choosing seating arrangements at a wedding.

Not that she’d have any firsthand knowledge of what that was like. But she’d heard it could be quite difficult. Sebastian had lined up a few people of his own to speak, as did she, and she also had to account for some of the faculty who’d volunteered to say a few words and answer any questions prospective students might have. She didn’t like the idea of having so many chairs in the front of the room, and instead thought it might be better to have the four or five guests speak first and then let the faculty discuss their respective specialties and answer any questions about the program and classes.

But what would be the appropriate place to seat the guest speakers when the faculty took their spots in the chairs? She couldn’t ask them to sit off to the side or in the audience, especially if Lyrical Soldier would be speaking. He couldn’t exactly take a backseat to Diane Burnes. Her idea of fashion consisted of brightly colored leggings paired with as many fabrics and patterns as possible. She looked more like an upholstered couch than she did a professor of women’s literature. And though she knew ultimately it didn’t truly matter where all of them sat as long as the event itself was a success, it mattered to her. Mostly because since the seating preparation was one of her tasks, she wanted it to shine. Though how a seating chart could shine she wasn’t quite sure.

“How’s it going?” Colvin asked.

Naomi had no idea when he’d manifested beside her, but she jolted at his question.

“Sorry,” he said with an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“You didn’t,” she lied, though she couldn’t be sure why. “And it’s going okay, I guess. I’m just trying to figure out where everyone should be and at what time.” She did her best to explain her diagram and told Colvin she was open to suggestions.

He studied it closely for another minute or so and then added some more arrows and times that corresponded to when people would be speaking and where they would be afterward. There were so many numbers and shapes, it looked like—

“This looks like the preschool version of A Beautiful Mind. Which one of you wants to play John Nash?”

Naomi didn’t even have to look up to know that Sebastian had appeared as stealthily as Colvin had. “I think you’re more suited to play that role. You already have the antisocial part down perfectly.”

She couldn’t resist looking at him if for no other reason than to see his reaction. She thought she noticed one side of his lip quirk up, but she couldn’t be sure. His eyes remained fixed on the colorful whiteboard as he removed a pack of gum from his pocket and slid a piece into his mouth.

When he put it back into his pocket, she said, “I’m fine, thanks.”

“Oh, sorry. I guess I should’ve offered you a piece. But then I’d only have one left, and I’m antisocial and all that, so…” He never finished his sentence, and once the gum was safely out of Naomi’s reach, he gestured to the board. “What is all this exactly?”

“It’s a diagram of where everyone will be for the day. I thought I’d put the guest speakers up front and then have the faculty members talk after them, but I didn’t want to make the speakers we invited feel like they weren’t important, so then Colvin suggested that we—”

Sebastian turned toward her abruptly, causing her to stop mid-sentence with only his movement. “I like your way. Let’s go with that.”

Her eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Really?”

“Sure. You’ve been over here doodling on this thing for the past half hour or so. I wouldn’t want all of your work to go to waste. It’s fine how you had it.”

“Fine” wasn’t exactly the best compliment she’d ever received, but it was one of the only ones she’d ever gotten from Sebastian, so she’d take it. “Okay, as long as you’re good with that too.” She had no idea when it started to matter what Sebastian thought about anything, but suddenly it did. Or maybe it was just that she liked having Sebastian on her side for once. Which was an even more unsettling feeling, because she was supposed to still be mad at him for his stunt at their department meeting. But honestly, she was fucking tired of being mad at Sebastian. It was easier to just accept that he was her cross to bear and move on.

Sebastian turned to Colvin. “Could you excuse us for a second?”

Colvin looked between them before nodding and sauntering off.

Sebastian watched him go, his eyes narrowed, before he looked back at her. “Good. Now that that’s settled, maybe we can start thinking about the food selection for the day. Brittany just got finished counting up everyone who’s already confirmed their attendance, and now that I’m officially announcing Kingston Williams will be there, I’m sure that number will increase. I’ve just asked Devon and Jake to add him to the programs as well as any and all advertising that’s being done.”

Naomi tried not to physically react at the mention of Kingston Williams, but she knew at the very least her eyes had widened for a split second before she’d been able to school her features. She’d known that Sebastian had a big name in mind because he’d mentioned it a number of times, but until that moment she didn’t know who the mystery guest was. And how a teacher from a small liberal arts school in Vermont was able to acquire one of the biggest names in not only the world of literature, but also publishing, was anyone’s guess. She doubted he was doing it for the three hundred dollars the school paid their speakers.

“You know Kingston Williams?” She tried not to sound as impressed as she was, but she was certain her attempt at acting casual managed to convey the exact opposite.

“I do. We’re friends actually.” That was how casual sounded.

“How?” Williams was a force to be reckoned with. He’d hit every bestseller list out there more times than any other author, and critics praised him for his unique literary voice and ability to tell a story that appealed to readers and non-readers alike. After years of pumping out books that the masses devoured, Williams had started his own publishing company, making him solely responsible for his own writing, marketing, publishing, and sales.

It turned out his mind for business rivaled his creativity because only two short years after founding Kings Press, he was one of the wealthiest men in the country. What’s more, from the interviews she’d seen of the man, his talents didn’t stop there. He appeared charming, amiable, and genuine. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why he’d choose to be friends with Sebastian. Perhaps he considered it charity work.

“How what? How do I know him or how am I friends with him?”

Naomi thought for a second before answering, “Both.”

Sebastian looked amused. “I’m going to choose to ignore the fact that I think your shock is meant to insult me and instead take it as a compliment because it means whoever you have lined up isn’t nearly as impressive. To answer your question, we met years ago when we were both published with the same house. It was right after my first book released, and my publicist arranged a signing for both of us at the same bookstore. King already had an established career, though not nearly what it is today, and became a mentor of sorts to me.”

Naomi had to tell her jaw to close itself when she felt it edging toward the floor, but she wasn’t able to make it form any words before Sebastian continued.

“Our trajectories took a bit of a different path, but we grew closer over the years despite that,” he said with a shrug. “I figured he’d be an asset to the event because not only can we focus on writing, but also the business and publishing side of things.”

“Sure,” Naomi replied. “That sounds good.” Way better than anything she’d done actually, considering she’d spent the better part of the last hour “doodling,” as Sebastian had called it. She needed to step up her game.

“Great,” Sebastian said with a nod. “Do you need any help with the food?”

“I got some prices and menus but haven’t had a chance to look too closely at anything yet.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Care to share your thoughts?”

They spent the next half hour or so choosing the widest selection of food they could with the budget the English department provided them.

Naomi had told the students they could head out a few minutes ago, and even told them she’d clean up. They were volunteering their time, and while technically Naomi was too, her motives for it were admittedly more selfish. The least she could do was let them cut out early, especially when some of the students were doing work outside of the regular meeting times.

Once she’d said goodbye and she and Sebastian thanked them for their help, Naomi began putting some chairs back and throwing away the trash that was left on a few of the tables. It surprised her when she heard Sebastian moving a table back to its original place, and when she looked up he was wiping off the whiteboard.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Whatever gets us out of here quicker. Looking at all the menus reminded me I never had dinner.”

She finished sliding in a nearby chair and moved toward the table where they’d been working. “You eat?” she asked with a laugh.

“On occasion. And working with you wipes me of all energy.”

“Well, that’s one thing we can agree on. I’m starving,” Naomi said before taking the menus and placing them into her bag. “I’ll call this place tomorrow and set up our order.”

Sebastian nodded, but looked deeper in thought than the occasion called for. “So I was thinking that since we’re both hungry, maybe we could eat somewhere…together.” He cleared his throat as if the last word caused him to choke a little.

Naomi wasn’t sure what to say, so she didn’t say anything. Because as far as she knew, Sebastian would rather starve to death than share a meal with her. Unless he was hoping she choked to death during their meal. But his suggestion appeared sincere—an emotion she wasn’t sure she trusted coming from him after their last row. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah. Well, even though you called off our bet at the activities fair, I figured you probably would’ve won, so—”

“You said I only would’ve won because I was cheating.”

“I still say that.”

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I prefer to think of it as more of an unfair advantage.”

“You want dinner or not?” he asked with a shake of his head.

She thought for a moment before sighing, like she was more put out by his invitation than she actually was. Then she gave him a reluctant “Sure.”