All of Me

For Me

Sebastien Laurent

Friday has finally arrived and Naomi and I will be leaving this evening to head to my vacation home in Big Sur. She doesn't know our destination, but she did insist on something 'chill' so other than hanging out at the house, admiring the view, and maybe some light hiking, I'm thinking I could take her shopping if she does decide she wants to do more than stay within a single mile radius.

However, all that depends on whether or not she'll agree to be with me. If she says no the first night, I'll be devastated and it would be beyond awkward to stay together the entire weekend like that. Also, I'll be too anxious to function if I try to wait until our final night. God, I hope she says yes.

"Hey, Mr. Laurent!" Joseph calls, breaking me out of my thoughts. "You said we could leave early today, right? I'm about to go, but wanted to double check if you needed anything else before the weekend?"

"No, I'll be fine. Have a great weekend-"

"So... Who's the woman, Mr. Laurent?" Joseph asks with a suggestive brow raised.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... You've been in a really good mood the past several weeks and you had me call one of your favorite florists in Big Sur with a huge order that you were willing to pay any amount to get done by tonight. You must serious."

Joseph manages my schedule, so he knows how much time I've been spending with Naomi. Although that time has been under the guise of NotionX's interview series, I'm afraid if I tell him I am seeing someone, he'll put those pieces together and realize that I'm seeing Naomi, especially given our exchange in Atlanta. She's been really keen on keeping us a secret and while I trust Joseph with my schedule, I can't say the same for anything else. So, I lie to him.

"No. Derrick is actually using my home out there to do something special for Tasha this weekend and I was just helping him out with the florist," I reply with a warm smile. "As far as the half day, the team has been working so hard lately and you all deserve at least a slightly longer weekend if not more."

"I see... Well, I think you should see someone, Mr. Laurent! Have you noticed the way women have been practically drooling over your interview since it went public? You should have no problem finding one to spend more time with."

"I guess," I shrug. "I'm just not interested..."

"You sure about that?" he challenges with a smirk. "What about Alana? She's really cute and she's single."

"She is also my publicist."

"So? She's not just cute, she's hot and seems like a lot of fun! She's also obviously comfortable with you considering how cool she is calling you by your first name and so casually hangs out in your office."

"If you're that into her, why don't you ask her out?" I question casually. "Also, a lot people who work for me call me Sebastien. I've told you before that you can call me that too."

"I've already got a girlfriend... Hey, she has some friends. Maybe I could set you-"

"Why are you so interested in whether or not I have a love life? It's none of business, quite frankly," I snap. Despite how good he is at his job, ever since the exchange we had about Naomi in Atlanta, he seems particularly concerned with my personal life and I consistently tell him to mind his business.

"Oh," he cringes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrud-"

"Have a good weekend, Joseph, you may go." I wave him off and make a mental note to start looking for new assistants.