Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
“So… Miss Vance, I was wondering if you’d be interested?”Sebastian coughed.
Octavia’s eyes flicked to him, then she caught herself and corrected with a laugh, “Sorry-Mrs Laurent, would you be interested?
She gave Sebastian a sideways glance, like she was checking if she’d passed the test.
He gave a tiny nod.
I blinked at her, completely floored.
Me? Designing for Octavia Grey?
She could snap her fingers and have Cartier grovelling at her feet.
And here she was, asking me to sort her red carpet jewellery?
And she wasn’t going to any film fest-she was going to that one.
The Venice gig.
The same one where Eliza Black, our current Nyx Collective obsession, was making her big splash.
We’d practically turned the office into a shrine for that project.
But Octavia was a different league.
The kind of star who was the headline.
Anything she wore would be dissected, reposted, sold out, memed I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
“Time’s tight,” she went on.
“Every designer I’ve worked with said no. Too risky, too rushed. But if you’re up for it…?”
“Yes!” I blurted, a bit too loudly.
Octavia’s smile widened.
“Fabulous. It’s a mad timeline though, so I’m afraid you’ll be pulling some very ugly hours.”
“That’s fine! I’ve got a half-finished design set that might work-can push to wrap it up, source the materials in parallel, and start production straight away. We’ll make it in time.”She nodded like she was impressed.
“Perfect. But I’ll need to see the designs first. If I don’t love them, I’d rather hit the carpet in bare ears and a naked neckline. I’m not wearing anything meh.”
“Got it. I’ll send you the sketches tonight as soon as I get home.”
“Deal.”We spent a few more minutes discussing details, and by the time we exchanged contact info, I was pretty sure I was floating two inches off my chair.
It felt weirdly like meeting a childhood pop idol-only this one drank sparkling water and might wear my jewellery on a red carpet streamed to millions.
At some point, Sebastian ducked out to take a call, leaving me alone in the room with her.
Octavia glanced over, sipping her drink.
“You kept looking at me. Then at Sebastian. Then at me again. Everything alright?”I choked on air.
She raised a brow, clearly enjoying this.
Okay, fine, I had been looking.
Trying to figure out if she was secretly eye-banging Sebastian under the table.
Verdict: she wasn’t.
I gave her a sheepish smile, cheeks burning like I’d swallowed a radiator.
I thought I’d been subtle.
Apparently not.
Octavia laughed, a silvery sound.
“You thought Seb and I were a thing, didn’t you?”I groaned.
“Yeah… I might’ve read that whole situation completely wrong. Sorry, that was just me being dumb.”She grinned.
“Don’t worry, you’re not the first woman to assume that. But trust me-he’s all yours. Seb and I are related.”
“You are?” I tried to recollect if I’d detected any resemblance in their features, but came up empty; after all, didn’t all beautiful people sort of look alike?
“I’m a distant cousin on his mum’s side. We weren’t close growing up, only started reconnecting a few years ago.”So Dominic Everett had been chatting shit?
Or maybe I’d messed up the name?
Was there another actress he’d been gossiping about?
Before I could untangle that mess, Octavia continued, “It’s obvious he really likes you. I’m happy for him, honestly. Took him long enough to find someone he actually wants to marry.”She gave me this look-warm and kind and a little nostalgic.
“Sebastian was… difficult as a kid. Bit of a loner. For the longest time, I didn’t think he’d ever settle down.”She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t press.
Didn’t seem right to dig into Sebastian’s childhood when we were out here lying to half of Skyline City.
And as for her comment about him liking me?
I had no bloody idea where she was getting that from.
Still, I pasted on my best bashful smile.
Octavia studied me.
Then she leaned in across the table, eyes gleaming.
“Come here. I’ve got a secret for you.”I leaned in without thinking, totally hooked.
She cupped one hand around her mouth and whispered into my ear, “I’m actually married. Two kids. So you don’t have to worry about me and your husband getting too cosy.”My jaw dropped so fast it nearly cracked the floor. just stared at her, blinking like a malfunctioning android.
Octavia Grey-the goddess of screen, everyone’s favourite unattainable icon-wasn’t just taken.
She had kids. Plural.
She’d never gone around shouting about being single, but no one had ever mentioned a husband, let alone tiny humans she’d birthed.
The woman had been on every screen and billboard since I was fifteen.
When the hell did she have time to grow humans?
She raised one finger to her lips like we were co-conspirators.
“You’ve got to keep this between us, okay?”
“Yeah… of course.” I nodded like a dazed puppy, then blurted out, Can I get your autograph?”Smooth. Real smooth.
But Yvaine would’ve killed me if I didn’t ask.
Octavia laughed.
“How many do you want? I’ll sign “em all.”**
Dinner wrapped, and I climbed into Sebastian’s car for the ride back.
I was still halfway between impressed and scandalised about Octavia’s mum-life reveal.
The entertainment industry was crawling with secrets, apparently.
On screen, she was the ice-queen CEO type.
In person?
Warm. Funny, Chill,
Meanwhile, Eliza Black, TV’s favourite cupcake in heels, was about as cuddly as a parking warden in rush hour.
Somewhere between red lights, I remembered what Octavia had said earlier-that Sebastian liked me.
I peeked sideways.
He was sitting to my right, silent, face unreadable as usual, eyes shadowed in the low lighting It almost looked as if he was napping, except his posture was anything but relaxed I dismissed Octavia’s words Sebastian wasn’t in love.
At least not with me.
He had a precious ex stashed somewhere in his chest like a vintage wine no one else was allowed to touch Still… even if he didn’t like me, not really, he’d been good to me.
That part I couldn’t deny.
He’d been careful. Attentive. Almost gentle, in his own terrifying way.
I sneaked another peek My gaze stalled on that jawline.
He looked intense even when he wasn’t supposed to be.
The man tackled everything with the same laser-focused, maddeningly sincere attention.
No wonder he’d climbed to the top of the billionaire food chain at an age when most people were still figuring out how not to drown in student loans.
Take our take marriage, for instance.
He hadn’t just planned it, he’d rehearsed it.
Scheduled sessions. Run-throughs. Bullet points.
At the time, I’d thought it was overkill, a kind of neurotic control reak move.
But apparently it worked.