Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“I have a lot of reasons for not firing you, but the only one that matters right now is that we’ve all had fucked-up days. Do you think I’ve never had a bad day and done stupid things? I’d be a real asshole for not letting you have one.” He gave me a last nudge, and I sat in the cushy swivel seat in front of the delicious meal that had been prepared for me. To my left, I could stare out the window at the sparkling lake and the bright-blue sky decorated with thin wisps of clouds. My choices were to stare at the view or at my food, because I couldn’t yet meet Sebastian’s gaze as he sat across from me.
“I am sorry, sir. Yesterday, I hit a personal wall of sorts and…just broke a little,” I admitted, as much as it killed me to do so. If anything, I owed him that much for my deplorable and unprofessional behavior.
“Okay. I accept, but that’s the last one. No more apologies after that,” Sebastian agreed, and it felt like some of the weight trying to crush my chest eased. “Now, do you think you could at least eat something?”
Despite having enough embarrassment to choke an elephant, I was still starving. Since sitting at the table, a steady stream of delicious scents had been assaulting my nose, teasing my stomach into singing a full, growling chorus of pleas. I grabbed the water and downed half of it to get the paste taste out of my mouth. I removed the cover to see the fluffiest scrambled eggs in existence, golden brown toast, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. There was also a small bowl of oatmeal and another bowl of fruit. A whimper escaped me.
Sebastian snagged the cover from my frozen fingers and set it next to him on the floor. “Eat. We can chat.” My shoulders slumped, and Sebastian laughed in response. “I don’t mean anything serious or heavy. Eat. Eat.”
Well, if I was going to die of embarrassment, I might as well do it with a full stomach. I picked up my fork and stabbed some of the eggs that appeared so enticing. Of course, Sebastian was right, and they were the best eggs I’d ever eaten. I worked my way around the tray, struggling to eat at a slow pace when I wanted to inhale everything in front of me.
Sebastian was kind enough to wait a couple of minutes, staring out the window, watching the birds fly across the sky and the trees sway in the breeze, prior to speaking again. “If you need time off to deal with personal or family matters, we can move things and make it happen. It’s not a problem.”
With food in my painfully empty stomach at last, I could feel common sense leaking into my brain. I shook my head and dared to lift my eyes up to Sebastian’s face. Naturally, the man looked as handsome as ever in the morning light. The only difference from our usual everyday meetings was that his collared shirt was missing a tie. The top two buttons were undone, revealing an enticing expanse of throat. Why did this man always have to be so sexy? I was just a poor, weak human who couldn’t withstand the awesome power of his beautiful smile and broad shoulders.
“No, sir. Time off is unnecessary. I settled things yesterday. There won’t be any more disruptions.”
But my words only pulled his mouth into a frown. He let out a soft sigh and pushed to his feet. “Okay. Promise me that if you have another bad day like yesterday or if you need a break, you will tell me.”
“I will, sir. I promise.” His concern made sense. If I were making myself sick with work and my crappy personal life, I couldn’t keep up with my daily tasks and he’d have to replace me. Sebastian Courtland was an incredibly busy man, and he needed someone who could keep up with him.
He still didn’t seem happy, but he nodded and walked across the room. I thought he was leaving me alone to finish my breakfast, but he moved to the far bureau and picked up what appeared to be a random knickknack from a bowl.
“Did I ever tell you that I met Declan Foster in high school?” Sebastian asked rather out of the blue.
“No, sir.”
“Mn,” he grunted and strolled to the table. “Yeah, he was a hard nut to crack. Very reserved. Didn’t show many emotions. Didn’t like to talk. Took me forever to get him to open up.”
His description of the company’s CFO sounded spot on for the man I knew today. Declan Foster was polite and courteous, but he always spoke in an even tone, never showing any emotion. He also never said more than absolutely necessary. Small talk was not something he ever engaged in. But if anyone could get him to open up, I believed Sebastian could do it.