Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
She’d held the line while I was still figuring out where to aim.
Octavia gave a quick shrug.
“My words wouldn’t have mattered if your pieces were shit. People aren’t blind.”
I laughed.
“Fair point.”
“Let’s go find Sebastian. He’s the one who got the Hadley guy to speak up against Dubois.”
“He wasn’t the only one,” I recalled.
“Who was the woman seated to your right?” She gave me a ten when the other judges followed Dubois” lead.
“Rowan Hale. A singer. She’s mostly based overseas. But I guess now she-oh.” Octavia stopped abruptly.
I followed her line of sight.
Rowan Hale was standing in front of Sebastian, talking.
“Didn’t know they knew each other,” Octavia muttered.
Neither did I.
The question must have been written on my face as Sebastian explained, “Miss Hale and I are acquainted.”
“We went to Wessexia at the same time,” Rowan added.
“I was a year below. Haven’t seen him since he moved back to Skyline, so this was a surprise.”
She smiled the whole time she spoke. Very polite But she stood a little too close.
Her hand almost brushed his sleeve when she gestured.
Something felt off.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it crawled under my skin anyway.
I forced a smile.
“Thanks for what you said earlier.”
“No problem. Your work’s incredible.”
Sebastian stepped closer and took my hand.
“Everything sorted?”
I nodded.
“Let’s go.”
He nodded at Rowan, then started walking.
Octavia’s heels clicked behind us.
“You two are dropping me at the hotel. My car’s dead, and both my assistant and driver are off fixing it.”
“Fine,” Sebastian said.
Behind us, I could feel Rowan’s eyes tracking us as we walked away.
After dinner, Sebastian dropped Octavia off at her hotel, then drove back to the Riverbend house.
I curled up on the living room sofa, scrolling through my phone.
My follower count was jumping like mad, faster than when Octavia had tagged me last month.
Comments flooded in, most asking about new collections, stock updates, preorders.
I answered as many questions as I could.
Five minutes turned into half an hour, then an hour.
Sebastian walked in, stared at me for two seconds, then picked me up with both arms.
“That’s enough screen time,” he muttered as he carried me upstairs.
***
We didn’t stay at Riverbend long.
A few days later, we packed up to head back to Skyline.
The night before we left, Tristan Hadley showed up at the house.
He produced a glossy photo.
“I found who paid off Dr. Dubois,” he said.
“They only spoke online, never met in person. But the cops traced the wire transfers. The account belongs to this guy.”
I leaned over to get a better look.
The man in the photo had grey hair and a hunched back.
His coat was creased and two sizes too big.
Sixty, maybe older.
Sebastian glanced at me.
“You know him?”
I shook my head.
“Never seen him before.”
He stared at the picture for a long time, fingers pressed against the edge of the table.
“That’s odd,” he said finally.
“Why pay that much to target you? Six hundred K’s not pocket change.”
“And he doesn’t look like he’s ever held that kind of money,” I agreed.
“Someone could’ve used his account. He might just be the fall guy.”
“It’s going to take time.” Hadley scratched the back of his head.
“Cross-border investigations are a mess. I might not be able to get clear answers soon.”
“Then make it your priority,” Sebastian said.
“If you sort it, I’ll make sure Al-Ahmad gives you that promotion you’ve been whining about.”
Hadley straightened up like he’d just been plugged into a wall socket.
“Yes, yes, absolutely!”
We flew back to Skyline the next morning.
We talked about the case on the flight.
My guess was that it was one of the spoiled brats competing in the same category as me.
But Sebastian was less convinced.
Until we knew more, there was nothing else to be done.
The second we stepped off the plane, icy wind blasted straight through my clothes.
I flinched and pulled my jacket tighter.
Why the hell is it this cold? I packed a coat, I wore the coat, and I was still freezing. We had been gone six days, not six months.
Sebastian came up behind me and dropped a heavy wool coat over my shoulders..
It was dark grey, thick, and warm enough to deflect a snowball.
“You always forget how cold it gets here,” he said.
“Just wear this until we get to the car.”
I pushed my arms into the sleeves.
As soon as we stepped out of the terminal, Sebastian grabbed my hand and shoved it into the pocket of his coat.
His palm was warm, his fingers locked tightly around mine.
We walked out together, side by side, our breath fogging in the wind.
The cold hit sharper than before, the kind that cut through jeans and wool, straight to the bone.
We climbed into the car waiting at the curb.
Once back at the house, I went straight up to Sebastian’s room without thinking.
I hadn’t talked to Geoffrey yet, but I already knew what kind of answer he would give if I asked him about the heating system repairs.
We had barely set foot inside when Dominic materialized on the doorstep.
He muttered something urgent, waved his phone in Sebastian’s face, and dragged him back out before I could even take my boots off.