Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
I glanced down and saw the small blister, red and raw at the edge.
I hissed through my teeth.
“Idiot,” I muttered.
“Absolute idiot.”
I wasn’t a chef. I’d barely mastered boiling eggs without supervision.
What exactly had possessed me to think I could pull off a seared duck breast and homemade S/4 cherry sauce?
I padded to the sink, found the cooling balm, and smeared it on with gritted teeth.
The sting eased a little.
I grabbed the first aid kit from the drawer, wound a bandage around the finger, and stared at it.
Sebastian wasn’t a picky eater, but I knew that he noticed every single bite.
I considered going to my own room.
But that would raise questions.
Especially tonight, after the Rowan photo mess.
I changed into pajamas, pulled back the duvet on Sebastian’s bed, and climbed in.
I tucked the bandaged hand under the pillow and shut my eyes.
When he came up, I was curled under the covers, pretending to be asleep.
He kissed the top of my head.
“Good night.”
He laced his fingers with mine.
I flinched.
“What is it?” He pulled my arm up, lifting it gently from beneath the blanket.
Even in the dark, he caught the lopsided white wrap around my finger.
“You hurt yourself?”
I tugged my hand back.
“It was just a pen tip. Scraped it at the studio.”
I rolled away from him, shoved my hand under the pillow, and yanked the blanket over my head.
Sebastian reached under the covers and found my fingers again.
He kept my hand wrapped in his.
I stayed quiet.
He stayed still.
By the time Sebastian woke up the next morning, she was gone.
He sat alone at the table, reading through the CroftTech acquisition contract while finishing the last of the eggs.
They were cooked to perfection-Carmen’s usual standard.
His phone rang.
“Mr. Laurent, I just sent over the footage,” Dominic said.
It was security footage, timestamped last night, just after eight, right outside The Atlas Room.
The clip showed the whole group walking in.
Rowan was two people away from Sebastian. Clear distance. Nothing remotely intimate “Took you long enough.”
Eleanor believed him. 1
Watching it now barely mattered.
Dominic apologized.
“Took me some time to track down the manager. Next time, I’ll get it to you faster.”
“Someone caught a misangled shot of me and Rowan Hale last night. I want the original source. Who took it. Where they were standing. Everything.” His voice dropped lower. Especially whether Rowan had anything to do with setting it up.”
“Understood.”
“And check if she’s been making calls to bury the photo.”
“Got it. I’ll dig into it.” Dominic paused.
“One more thing-Franklin Vance has been asking for a meeting. Reached out while you were in Riverbend. Do you have time this week?”
“I’ll see him today.”
“Got it.”
Sebastian hung up.
Franklin Vance had better show up with a signed will and every cent pointed at Eleanor.
At this point, Franklin and his wife had no excuse left.
They knew Catherine wasn’t theirs.
Damn it He’d been patient.
If the man still wanted to play stupid, Sebastian would make sure he didn’t walk out of the LGH building.
Geoffrey hovered near his shoulder, shifting from one foot to the other.
Sebastian didn’t look up.
“Spit it out.”
“Yes, sir.” Geoffrey cleared his throat.
“The dinner last night. It wasn’t from Carmen. Mrs. Laurent made it.”
The piece of egg on Sebastian’s fork slid off and dropped back onto the plate.
He turned his head slowly.
“Say that again.”
“She cooked the whole meal. The cake, too. She’d ordered it specially. She asked us not to mention it. Wanted it to be a surprise. But then you didn’t come home on time, and when you finally did…”
He trailed off.
Sebastian leaned back, staring at the wall behind Geoffrey.
He remembered what he’d said. Rubbery. Too sweet.
Eleanor had gone upstairs straight after that.
He looked back at Geoffrey.
“And you waited until now to tell me?”
“She told us not to. But then I saw the blister on her hand and, well, she spent hours on that dinner, sir. I thought you should know.”
Sebastian turned to Carmen, who gave a quick nod.
Cooking. Cake orders. Burned hand.
She’d waited for him. He hadn’t shown.
His grip on the fork tightened.
What had he missed?
What was the occasion last night?
He knew it wasn’t her birthday, nor his, nor any kind of anniversary.
If he’d come home earlier, if he’d eaten with her, what would she have said?
“Where’s the food from last night?” he asked.
If he’d known she’d made it, he would have cleared the whole table.
Thinking back now, the meal hadn’t even tasted bad.
Not great, but no worse than Carmen’s more experimental plates.
Geoffrey muttered, “Mrs. Laurent had it binned this morning before she left. All of it.”
Sebastian looked up.
“All of it?”
“Yes, sir. Said it was just tasteless leftovers. Didn’t want them taking up fridge space.”
“You should’ve told me last night.”