WORK IN PROGRESS: Dinner Disasters: Sebastian and Layana

Chapter 4 (Layana): By His Ear

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

At about two in the morning, I heard the door to the guest bedroom open slowly, and Sebastian walked in. I hadn't been sleeping; I hadn't even tried because my mind was too troubled with all that had happened, each event vying for supremacy as to which upset me the most. Sitting up against the headboard, my knees were pulled close to my chest and my arms were wrapped loosely around them.

It was readily apparent that Sebastian was looking as troubled as I felt.

"Couldn't sleep either?" he asked me. "I saw the light under the door and figured you were awake."

Instead of answering out loud, I shook my head. Sebastian came and sat beside me on the bed, his hand cupping my cheek. I moved my head out of his touch.

"You lied, you know. I've been sitting here thinking about it, and you lied, Sebastian."

"What do you think I lied about?"

"You said that you told me every time you had a business dinner. But you didn't because I didn't know you were out tonight."

"I forgot to call tonight because it was so last minute. That's all, Layana. We were with the lawyers all fucking day, finalizing details, going through rounds of changes, and we finally signed the deal after five thirty. Renee suggested we all go out to celebrate the deal and I said sure -- and then the lawyers both declined, said they couldn't make it."

"You should have texted me but you didn't."

"I should have. You're right, and I'm sorry about that. The four of us walked out to the parking lot, and then before I even got in my car, Patrick called to talk about the deal and some ideas he had for next week, and I was on the phone with him until I walked into the restaurant. At that point, I just turned my phone to silent and put it in my pocket. It was a thoughtless habit, Layana, and it was wrong of me, but there was nothing deliberate or deceitful about it."

"But it looks bad because you were with that woman. It calls into question what other things you've forgotten to tell me, Sebastian."

"Looks bad isn't the same as is bad. No other woman compares to you, Layana. I don't think of any woman like that. It doesn't matter to me if I'm having lunch or dinner with a man or a woman because all I see when I look across the table is a business deal. You, though? You're all I see."

"She sure sees you, Sebastian. I don't trust her."

"You don't have to trust her. All you have to do is trust me. And you can because I love you and I'm not going to betray your trust."

"She triggered me, Sebastian. Something about her and the way I found you two set me off like I've never been before. I've never reacted like that, either. Ever. Never even thought about acting like that. I don't know where that came from."

"Layana." His voice held understanding and sympathy.

"I don't like her, Sebastian, and I don't want you doing business with her." Knowing I sounded like a child wasn't enough to keep me from hiding my feelings about Renee.

"I have to, Layana," he said gently. "You say she was looking at me one way, but she's never crossed a boundary with me. You thought she sounded suggestive and because of that, I'll pay close attention to her tone in the future and shut down anything that even seems iffy. But I'll be doing business with her for the next year. This is a huge deal, sweetheart."

"Why is this the first I've heard about something this big, Sebastian?"

"Because I've been disappointed in the past year with big deals falling through, especially with Renee, and I didn't want to get your hopes up for this one until it was going to be signed. I've been playing it close to my chest so I could surprise you. This one...this is the start of bigger things, Layana. It'll let you stay at home with the babies, just like we've always talked about once the company became profitable enough. When I knew it was actually going to happen yesterday, I made reservations at Treasure for us at eight tonight. I reserved one of the private rooms so I could take you there and tell you about the deal and what it's going to mean for us."

"Why'd you take her to that restaurant, though? You and I go there a lot."

"It had nothing to do with her. The company has an account at that restaurant, and I like to do my business dinners there because it's so close to home. That way, once I finish the meeting, I can be home almost immediately."

"No more one-on-one lunches or dinners alone with her."

"I'll make sure someone is always with me."

"I really don't want you going on any overnight business trips with her."

"That's just not possible, Layana. But I'd love to have you come with me."

"I can't take off work every time you have a business trip with her. That's not workable or practical since I work, too."

"Then you're just going to have to trust me to handle things with her."

"I don't like this at all, Sebastian. I don't know why I'm feeling like this other than what I saw on her face and heard in her words didn't make me happy." I sighed and got off the bed. "Well, since sleep isn't going to happen any time soon, we should go clean up the mess downstairs."

"I already cleaned it up," he told me. "Cleaned the kitchen walls, did the dishes, mopped the floor, cleaned up the broken lightbulb in the living room. The lamp still works somehow. Tomorrow...well, today actually, I'll patch the hole in the wall I made."

Looking up at Sebastian, even though his face was sincere, even though his explanations made sense, I still felt like I needed to remind him of what I needed from him. "Don't ever forget to let me know your plans again. I didn't like being surprised the way I was tonight."

"Never again, Layana."

We went out that night to Treasure and had a beautiful, romantic evening. Over the next couple of weeks, Sebastian went out of his way to reassure me, to put me at ease. He met Renee only in the office with other key players present and if he had any business dinners with other people, his phone was on if I needed him.

But as their overnight trip loomed closer, I got more and more uneasy. Even though Sebastian was taking his sales director with him on the trip, I was still uncomfortable. I alternated between feeling ragey and weepy, and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get a handle on my emotions.

And then, four days before their overnight trip, Sebastian came home with lipstick by his ear.

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA