Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“Oil executive,” he answered simply. “I plan on taking my father’s job as the head of JP Energy one day. It’s family tradition actually. The oldest son usually takes over his father’s position when he retires-except I’m not the oldest son.”
Taliana already knew William held that title, but it still made her question something. “If you’re not the oldest, why isn’t William named after your father?”
“William’s named after Grandpa Stanton, but that only happened because everyone thought he was going to die from cancer before my mother gave birth to her first kid,” Sebastian explained with a wry smile. “Needless to say, the old man’s still around and I got the stupid title of Sebastian the third.”
“Lucky you.”
He scrawled another answer on the paper before turning to the next page. “What about you? What do you want to be?”
Taliana thought about that for a moment, trying to envision a career that would suit her. “Maybe a boxer. Or a mixed martial artist. If that fails, maybe a teacher.”
Sebastian looked surprised by Taliana’s last choice. “I could totally see you kicking someone’s ass in a ring, but I don’t think I could imagine you teaching. That’s so…gentle.”
She laughed, understanding his hesitance. “I don’t know, it kind of seems like it would be fun. I mean, wouldn’t you just love to shape the minds of the next generation?”
“Hell no. And I’m not sure if anyone would want you to either. Besides, teachers get paid next to nothing.”
“I wouldn’t be doing it for the money,” Taliana admitted with a shrug. “Besides, that’s not something that really matters to me.”
“That’s one thing you and Blair differ on. She’s in love with money and all the things it can buy her.” Sebastian rolled his eyes, clearly disgusted. “But really, what else would you expect from the daughter of a multi-billionaire?”
“Speaking of her,” Taliana began, tapping her pencil against the cold linoleum. “Have you seen Blair lately?”
Sebastian shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning down. “No, I haven’t. And it’s not like Blair to stay out of the limelight either.” He paused, his frown deepening. “Something’s up.”
Taliana took in his worried expression. “How sure are you?”
“Almost positive,” he said solemnly, and for once Taliana could see how serious he was. “She’s done this before.”
“Calm before the storm, I’m assuming?”
“If by storm, you mean shitstorm, then yes.” He closed his textbook and turned to face Taliana. “Do you remember Emily Summers from when we were in elementary school?”
She thought back to their lower school days for a moment and grinned at the memory that came. “You mean that girl you used to chase around the playground trying to kiss but she would always reject you?” Taliana snickered and shook her head. “What about her?”
“I dated her for a few months.”
“Seriously?” Taliana was surprised that the girl who used to run away from him all the time would finally give in to his charm. “But what does this have to do with Blair?”
“I’m getting to that.” He reached up to loosen his tie, looking like he was about to launch into a long story. “Up until we started dating, Blair saw me with countless girls and never seemed to mind. But when Emily and I started getting serious, Blair took way more interest in our relationship. I just racked it up to her being overprotective of me since we were so close.”
“Mistake?”
He nodded. “I never realized how jealous Blair could get. For a girl who has everything in the world, you wouldn’t think she’d be that way.”
“I have a feeling I know where this is going.” Taliana grimaced. “What did she do?”
“I didn’t find out until after Blair had left for boarding school. I honestly had no idea she was the one who caused me and Emily to break up. Emily led me to believe her father didn’t approve of us dating and that she was being sent to an all-girls’ school in Massachusetts. I didn’t even think to question it, either. Two days later, her father resigned from Congress and her entire family up and left DC.”
“Didn’t you think that was kind of suspicious?” Taliana questioned, wondering how he hadn’t picked up on that.
He shrugged once again. “Honestly, I forgot about Emily almost instantly. But Blair apparently had some kind of dirt on Emily’s father.”
“Yikes. Must have been bad if it caused that much damage.”
“It was about Congressman Summers and an underage intern-and it was all true.”
“Yeah, that’ll do it.” Taliana snorted, though it wasn’t funny in the least. “But how in the world would Blair even get that information?”
“Daddy Bakhtiar, of course,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Amir has dirt on everyone just in case he needs to use it to get them on his side. Bribes only go so far, but blackmail almost always works. Blair learned from the best. The guy is fucking terrifying-even she’s pretty scared of him.”
It sounded like he was the world’s worst father. “What does he do for a living? Murder for hire?”
Sebastian looked amused that Taliana was even asking. “Ever heard of PersOil?”
“Well, duh, it’s only the biggest oil company in the worl-
Oh .” Taliana’s jaw dropped. “Her father owns
PersOil?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“Whoa.”
“You’re telling me,” he said dryly. “My family’s company doesn’t even come close to his. Hell, Amir makes ExxonMobil look like a bunch of babies.”
“Tough feat.” Taliana ran a hand through her hair, wincing when she hit a few tangles. “But wouldn’t that technically make you and Blair rivals?”
Sebastian grimaced and glanced away. “That’s a story for another day.”
Taliana poked his bicep, unsurprised when she encountered hard muscle. “I’m holding you to that.” She then pried herself off the floor and brushed off her backside. “Meet you back here after homeroom?”
He nodded and got up as well, pausing momentarily to stretch. “Sounds like a plan.”
Just as he moved to turn away, a petite redhead wielding an envelope stepped into his path, almost causing him to bump into her. Sebastian opened his mouth to more than likely tell her to watch where she was going, but the girl spoke before he could get a word out.