Virtue and Vice

Chapter Twenty One

A/N: Hello everyone! I know I said I wouldn't post till well within this week but I thought I'd surprise you since I had some time. This is the chapter about Seb's secrets. There had been plenty of speculation about what it could be. I think one or two had guessed it although this chapter would expound it a whole lot more. I'm glad it wasn't too easy to guess but also not to far-fetched that no one ever thought of it. =)

I hope you guys continue to vote and comment. I really appreciate it. 

Enjoy!

***

The trip to Scarsdale, New York was turning out to be quite surreal.

For one, we took Skylark, the sleek Boeing private jet Sebastian owned—it was tripped up with the most luxurious furnishings and amenities one could only dream of including a Jacuzzi and a home theater.

Sebastian didn’t seem fazed by it as Captain Mercer came out to greet us and chat with him about business while I wandered around inside the customized cabin, marveling at the expensive and sophisticated touches and the small staff catering to our every comfort that bespoke just how ridiculously wealthy Sebastian Vice was.

I knew he was rich—his wealth and social status had always intimidated me when I remembered them—but standing inside his private jet hit me with the realization that until now, I really had no idea just how vast his fortune was.

I don’t even think I’ve ever really looked closely.

I know The Vice Group was one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world known for its excellent collection of businesses dealing in different industries and trades and Sebastian owning it gave him a pretty hefty paycheck. I knew pretty much all of the jars he had his fingers in, working as a business analyst at TVG. I know he owned three homes for sure—Cove Manor, the Rockford penthouse and Italian villa he’d mentioned in passing. I know he had two pleasure crafts—a megayacht named after his mother, Marianna, and a smaller, speedier one named after his sister, Alexandra. I know he had some planes. I know he had a few cars. I know he had a small army of security headed by Jennison who was his bodyguard/chauffeur/personal assistant/advisor. I know he purchased businesses and houses for me like he was picking me up some treats to bring home. 

But those were all that I directly saw and knew about. 

If what Sebastian said to me this morning was true, that he wanted to spend his life with me, it wouldn’t do that I didn’t fully realize just what kind of life it was that he was asking me to share with him. And maybe I should start having a fairly good idea about it if I were to give him an answer about moving in with him after this weekend.

“Just how rich are you?” I asked bluntly as he joined me in the master suite a few minutes later. 

I had just set down my small suitcase on the floor and sat primly on the corner of the bed, almost anxious that I would somehow wrinkle this impeccably arranged room that could rival the best suite in a five-star hotel. His rooms in both of his residences were well-appointed but this was in a plane, for God’s sake. Comfort was one thing but this was plain, simple luxury.

Sebastian quirked a brow at me in amusement. “Considering you’re in business planning, I’d assumed you’ve already done all your research on my net worth.”

I bristled. “I sometimes research companies, not people—well, not their personal habits and lifestyle anyway. Besides, in the four years I was trying to forget you, I resisted looking you up for any reason at all.”

“You weren’t even curious?” he teased as he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it on the bed. 

“Of course, I was curious about everything about you but it was hardly going to help me get over you if I constantly devoured any bit of info I could find,” I snapped irritably. “And to be honest, it didn’t really sink in on me who you were to the world until much later. For a while, I mostly only thought of you as the guy I disastrously fell in love with that summer.”