Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
Mental note: Ask Sebastian about it later.
“No clever comeback?” Daniel tilted his chin.
“I don’t know what you did to rope Sebastian in, but it won’t hold. Not forever.”Catherine looked more than ready to cut the conversation short. She tugged at Daniel’s sleeve again. He ignored her.
“If you’ve really got Sebastian under control, I’ll eat my shoes. You two have been married how long, and no one’s seen a single photo, no statement, no anything. You ask me, you got lucky pulling that bluff, but it’s not going to last. Once whatever hold you have over him wears off, he’ll come after you-hard.”
“What kind of hold do you imagine I have over him? Nude selfies?” looked down my nose at Daniel, which was hard to do considering he had the height advantage.
“You think he’s the type to cave to blackmail?”
“Still, you’re supposedly married and he’s not even here,” Catherine backed up her boyfriend.
“You never brought him home. He hasn’t even met Mum and Dad. No one knows you two are married No one? Try the four hundred guests at Edouard Laurent’s house.
I was about to point that out, then stopped.
Why was I even engaging in this argument with the sister I couldn’t stand and the ex I’d rather see under a bus?
I shook my head, “Like I said: none of your business. Stay out of my life, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
“What’s the matter? Running off now that we’ve seen through your lie?” Daniel’s grin was obnoxious. Then he softened his voice into something mock-sympathetic.
“I get it, Elean. You’re trying to save face. You don’t have to fake a marriage just because Cathy and I”
“Save what face?”
“Just because Cathy and I are getting married doesn’t mean you need to conjure up some fake husband. It’s not a contest.”
“Fake? I wasn’t aware I was fake.”Sebastian walked down the hallway.
Loose black button-down, matching trousers, sleeves pushed up to the elbow.
Nothing flashy, but you couldn’t miss him.
He had a beige cashmere wrap tossed over one arm, which he draped over my shoulders.
Then he took my hands and rubbed them between his palms. His hgers were warm.
“You’re freezing. Why didn’t you wear something warmer?”
“I’m fine.” I pulled the wrap closer and gave him a quick smile. Just wanted to get some air.”
“Doctor ordered bed rest. Come on.”
“Alright.” I took his offered arm.
“Hey!” Daniel, who’d been ignored until now, finally piped up.
Sebastian spared him a glance.
Daniel backed up half a step, instinctively.
Sebastian said, flat: “If I hear you running your mouth about me or my wife again, you won’t just be spending three days in holding.
Daniel tried to put up a brave front.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Was it or wasn’t it you who called me “fake” a moment ago?” Sebastian jogged his memory.
“Actions have consequences. So do words. You’ve already got a police record. Do you want to add to it?
Daniel flinched. His shoulders jerked.
He was probably thinking about what happened the last time he crossed swords with Sebastian.
“Did you hear me?” Sebastian asked.
Daniel didn’t want to answer. I could see it in the way his eyelids twitched and his jaw tightened.
But Sebastian stared straight at him, and so far, I’d yet to meet someone who could hold out under that stare of his for longer than a minute-self included.
Daniel gave in.
“Got it,” he muttered.
“Good.” Sebastian turned.
“Come on. Let’s go.”I beamed at him.
“Okay.”My phone pinged with a sharp ding. I checked the notification, glanced up, grinned at Daniel.
“Well, would you look at that. Something nice for once.”Daniel frowned.
“What?”I held up my phone.
“Just got a message from my lawyer. Court’s accepted the case. You’ll be getting your summons soon. Might want to check your mailbox.”
“What summons? What lawyer?”
“You’ll know soon enough.”Daniel looked like he wanted to stop me to ask for more, but one lod at Sebastian and he backed off.
Behind us, I heard Catherine asking Daniel, “Daniel, darling, I’m so happy! So when’s the wedding?”What wedding?”
“You said you were gonna marry me.”When the fuck did I say that?”
“Just now. In the hallway. You said…”The lift door closed.
“Bored?” Sebastian asked. seeking Daniel out.
“Can I be discharged?”
“Sort of. I came out for some air and ran into them in the hallway, explained. Didn’t want him thinking I was deliberately “Doctor recommends staying a couple more days, for observation.
“I feel fine.”It’s just in case.” His tone was soft, but there was an edge of irrefutability to it.
I shrugged.
“Fine. Could you ask Geoffrey to bring me my tablet? The one with the MatrixGold icon on the screen.”
“Sure.”That seemed to sum up all available topics of conversation.
Silence lasted till I was back in bed, resuming my role of the invalid.
Sebastian asked, “Catherine’s pregnant?”
“You heard?” I was amazed.
“You must have the hearing of a bat if you caught that from two floors up.”His lips twitched.
“I glimpsed the pregnancy report in her hand. She wasn’t exactly trying to hide it.”I grinned.
“Yeah, she is.”
“Daniel doesn’t look too thrilled.”
“He’s not.” I added, “But they are getting married. At least, that’s what Daniel said. Even wanted to invite me to the wedding.”
“And you said…”
“No, of course. I don’t want to waste money on the gift, nor the time, which could be more productively spent elsewhere, like watching paint dry.”Sebastian looked thoughtful.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”I squinted at him, sceptical.
I couldn’t claim to understand the man inside out based on our month-long acquaintanceship, but I’d become familiar with a certain glint in his eyes that warned of a scheme afoot.
And I wasn’t wrong.
That evening, Yvaine came to visit.
She brought flowers, snacks, and a Trenta-sized serving of gossip “Daniel made it to the financial news.”
“What? How’d that happen?” I’d always thought if Daniel ever appeared in the news, it’d be the society pages-or, fingers crossed, the police “wanted” list.
Yvaine tapped on her tablet and spun the screen towards me.
The headline grabbed my attention:
[Granger Development Group heir knocks up socialite, still no wedding in sight]
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who ran into Daniel and Catherine at the hospital.
Someone else, armed with a high-def camera, had captured the scene faithfully.
No sound, of course, but their body language told the story.
That, plus the pregnancy report Catherine was waving around like a flag, backed up the headline.
“Unnamed sources” also confirmed that there was no sign of an engagement between Daniel and his latest pregnant girlfriend, let alone a wedding.
The article wrapped with a thinly veiled but strongly worded jab at Daniel’s inability to “step up”, raising concerns about his suitability to helm such a large company.
“After all, if he can’t even do right by the woman he supposedly loves, what about the thousands of GDG employees counting on him as CEO and the public investors who rely on his leadership?”
Yvaine read the final paragraph in a mock-serious TV anchor voice then chuckled.
“I bet his dad’s feeling real smug about that decision to hand over the reins to Daniel now.”
“I wonder who leaked the story,” I mused.
“I kinda thought it was you.”