Dear Mister Summers

forty seven

After the meeting with Sebastian's mother, Andin finally made her way to the ballroom where the party was being held. Albeit the conversation was pleasant, she felt a little tense the second she stepped inside, knowing that Maria must be here and sooner or later she would have to face her. Taking a deep breath, she approached one of the waiters who carried a tray full of drinks and took a glass of soda. She let the drink calm her down as she made her way toward the long serving table full of varied appetizers. She was about to grab a mini sandwich when someone knocked her back from behind.

It did not take a genius to figure out who it was because the next thing she heard from just behind her was "What do you think you are doing here, bitch?"

Andin glanced over her shoulder. "What does it look like? I am simply attending the annual party."

"Without invitation?" Maria laughed evilly as she leaned back, the slit in her black dress raked up and showed her perfect olive skin. "Do you want me to call security or do you actually have some dignity left to walk out of here yourself?"

Keeping her head held high, Andin walked away and tucked herself into the other side of the room. She wanted to shove Sebastian's invitation in Maria's face but she did not want to provoke her especially when she had no idea what Sebastian's plan was. This whole thing was new to her. She did not usually walk into something without knowing what it was. She was not used to simply taking a leap of faith. Her nerves were all over the place and her brain was telling her to drop everything and run. The only thing that soothed her and made her stay was her trust in Sebastian. She knew he had something planned even though she had no idea what it was.

Then as if he knew she had been thinking about him, she watched Sebastian walking into the ballroom. All eyes were on him yet he kept on walking until he arrived at the front and one of the event organizers handed him a microphone. "Good evening, everyone," he greeted.

Everyone moved to the front of the ballroom, surrounding him, and Andin found herself walking toward him as well. She walked through the crowd, making her way to the front until she was on the very first row and their eyes met. He was devastating in his formal evening clothes, his lean good looks emphasized by them. The deep blue ocean eyes looked at her lingeringly. She felt herself tremble, flushing, at the open hunger in his gaze.

"What the fuck are you still doing here?" Someone hissed at her ear but she refused to listen or even give her a small part of her attention. Her eyes were solely on his and she did not care about the rest. "I am going to email the photos now. Do you understand me, bitch?"

"As always, I want to thank all of you for still being a part of Summers Entertainment this year. Especially those of you who have been here since its inception ten years ago." He gave everyone a charming smile and then pointed his finger at Jeff Morgan, one of the executives. "Don't worry, Jeff, I got you. I told you I will be sure to mention you in this speech."

Everyone laughed while Jeff replied, "Ten years and counting, baby!"

Sebastian smiled at Jeff's response then continued, "Even though, it has been ten years since I started this company, most of you have known me for longer. Some of you probably have seen me greet you behind the receptionist desk or when I delivered mail to your desk back when I was still in high school and worked part-time or full-time during the summer. To be honest, even I had no idea back then that I would become the CEO of Summers Entertainment. After all, knowing my late grandfather, there are no such things as certainty." His face grew solemn and Andin knew that he was probably referring to his brother, Draven, who had been written off from their family's will by their grandfather and had run away from home. "But here I am today," he continued, his lips forming a small smile however sadness still lingered in his eyes. "And I could not be more grateful. I would like to thank all of you who have helped me build this company from scratch. Those of you who have believed in our ability to shine in this industry. I just received a phone call from Forbes asking for an interview as Summers Entertainment would be featured as one of the three leading companies in the entertainment industry."