Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
I looked.
Sebastian was in the frame, a full-body shot from the front, almost as if he was looking directly at the camera, his face inscrutable, mid-stride.
He wasn’t even close to Rowan.
Nothing about it screamed scandal.
Still, I kept staring.
“When was this taken?” I asked.
“About half an hour ago.”
I recognized the restaurant right away.
The Corner Table.
The last time, I’d let it go because Rowan didn’t appear to gain anything from it.
But now…
Sebastian had been to a hundred dinners with people more famous than her.
Not once had he been photographed like this.
And yet with her-twice in one week?
Prescott was scrolling, eyes bright, reading the comments out loud.
“People are going crazy. They’re saying they look good together. That they’re secretly engaged. That she only came back to the country to marry him.”
I didn’t think Sebastian was lying when he told me there was nothing between him and Rowan.
But the longer I stared at that photo, the more it pressed behind my ribs.
“Can I borrow your phone? I need to call someone.”
Prescott looked up.
“Um, sure. Who’d you need to call?”
I tried to recall Sebastian’s number but failed.
No one memorized phone numbers nowadays.
“Never mind.”
Prescott returned to his screen.
I didn’t have my laptop.
No tablet either.
And without my phone, I couldn’t even check the bloody news.
I looked up.
The moon was thin, high, too bright.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Ten-something,” he said.
“It’s that late already?” I muttered.
The event organizers had promised me a new phone by tomorrow if I didn’t mind that it wasn’t the latest model, but that was hours away.
I couldn’t wait.
Sebastian must’ve tried calling. Probably more than once.
He’d be losing his mind.
I turned to Prescott again.
“Can you check if there’s anywhere nearby selling phones?”
He stopped walking and tapped at the screen.
“Everything’s closed.”
“What about online? Maybe express delivery?”
“Let me check.”
He opened the shopping app, but I could see from his face he already knew the answer.
He lifted the screen.
“Earliest is tomorrow morning. You’ll get one before noon, I’m sure. Just wait for the organizers.”
That should’ve been fine. It really should’ve.
But it wasn’t.
One night felt like too long.
I needed Sebastian to know I was all right.
Even a two-word text would do.
“Can you check the delivery apps? Maybe one of them sells phones.”
Prescott hesitated, then opened the delivery app.
I leaned closer to see the screen.
“That one delivers!” 1 jabbed a finger at the listing.
“Order it.”
The listing showed a delivery window-orders placed before eleven would arrive within thirty minutes.
It was already past ten-thirty.
Prescott whistled.
“Now I know why they’ve still got stock”
“Why?”
“You sure you want this one?”
“It’s the only one still available.”
“Yeah, I mean, do you really want it, like, right now?”
I tapped a foot on the pavement.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s 1,199 bucks.”
“I saw the price. Come on, just before the window closes.”
He scratched the back of his neck, head down.
“Thing is. I’m broke. I’ve already spent my pay. I don’t have the money.”
“You don’t have a thousand dollars?”
He looked sheepish.
“Not right now. My cards are all maked out.”
“I can “I reached for my wallet.
“Damn it, I’d switched to a digital wallet.”
I only carried enough cash for tips or the occasional snack.
The digital wallet was in my lost phone.
Everything was locked behind fingerprint or passcode.
No one could spend a cent without cracking it.
But I couldn’t either.
“Damn,” I muttered, then straightened.
“Call Priya. Ask her to lend you money.”
“Priya probably doesn’t have that kind of money,” he mbled.
“She does. She’s stingy as hell with herself, always packing food and skipping cabs. She saves everything. A grand won’t kill her. Just call her.”
“She’s probably asleep.”
“Then send a message and find out. If she’s awake, caller. I’ll talk.”
It was ten-forty.
Eleven was the cut-off.