Sebastian (The Beck Brothers #2) (13 page)

Did Jared just wince?
Nah
. Sebastian must have been seeing things.
"Okay. So you've seen her since then, I suppose?"

"Yeah...she was there for me when
Victoria was killed," Sebastian said softly. "I was in complete
shock. She washed Bill’s blood off my hands, took me home, and got me in the
shower to wash the rest of it off my legs," he murmured, shaking his head.
He needed her so badly that day, and she was there for him. She has no idea how
much he appreciated her for that.

"She means a lot to you," Jared
stated, his tone soft and understanding.

Sebastian rubbed his forehead. Did she?
He didn't know. "I respect her and appreciate her, but I can't say that
she means anything to me," he said, his throat tightening slightly.
Apparently, his body thought that was a lie.

Jared gave him a ‘Get real’ look. "Sebastian,
it's okay to care about someone. You don't have to be romantically involved to
care about a woman."

Sebastian sat silent for a moment, thinking.
"She's done a lot for me. She took care of me when I was at my worst. She
referred me to you so I could get the help I needed, so if I have to say I care
about her, then fine, but it's nothing more than that. I could be totally okay
with never seeing her again."

"Is that so?" Jared raised a
dubious eyebrow.

"Like I said, I don't want a
relationship. I refuse to get attached to another woman again. And I am
definitely never falling in love or getting married again," Sebastian said
firmly.

Jared actually rolled his eyes. "Do
I really have to tell you that not all women are going to be like your ex? I feel
like your mother saying that because that would probably be something she would
say."

Sebastian snorted. "Probably, but I
don't really care. Victoria broke me, and I can't be fixed."

"You think you're the first person
to get their heart broken, man? Come on. You will heal, and you will eventually
want more for yourself. It might not be any time soon because your wound is
fresh and deep, but never say never."

  Sebastian just lifted his lip in
disgust and looked away. He was saying ‘never’ alright, and he wasn't going to
change his mind - not now, not ever. He would never let a woman hurt him again.
Women were now for sexual pleasure only; they were not friends, they were not girlfriends,
and they most definitely were not wives.

  Jared must have sensed Sebastian's
denial because he changed the subject. They talked for another half an hour
before the hour-session ended. Sebastian said bye to Jared then headed out to
his truck; he needed to go see Bill. He hasn't been there in a couple of days,
and he wanted to make sure he was still doing well, so Sebastian headed to the
hospital.

~~~~~

  Quinn was slowly losing his mind;
he could feel it. He was also seriously considering talking to Peter about
getting Margot out of his fucking office. She was great at her job, but he
could not stand her. She was obnoxious, and she was always making some kind of
annoying noise while she worked –tapping her pencil, shaking her foot,
humming, or popping gum. Quinn was ready to rip out his fucking hair. No matter
how many times he asked her to be quiet, she just couldn't do it.

  In her goddamn sexy French accent,
she says it is impossible to sit still. He has never been so conflicted
before. On one hand, he found her attractive. So attractive that she became the
new star of his erotic fantasies. On the other hand, he was ready to strangle
her. Not that she wasn't a nice person or whatever, she just got on his last nerve
with her constant fidgeting.

"Quinn?" Margot's voice asked,
cutting through his thoughts. Her small, warm hand rested on his forearm,
setting his skin on fire.

Quinn gasped as his head whipped around
to glare at her. "What?" he barked.

Margot frowned. Hurt flashed quickly in
her eyes before she covered it up. Now he felt like a dick. “I need your help
with something," she explained, placing the paper that was in her hand in
front of him on his drafting table. "I cannot get the dimensions correct
for this. Can you help?"

  Quinn rubbed his eyes with his
forefinger and thumb before glancing down at what she was working on. For the
next twenty minutes, he explained what she was doing wrong and helped her fix
it. For the first time since they met, Margot didn't irritated him, and they
even worked together to fix the problem. She listened when he spoke, and asked
intelligent questions.

"Merci," she said sweetly when
they finished. Her big hazel eyes shimmered as she gazed down at him. Margot
wasn’t overly tall, but with her standing and Quinn sitting, she was taller.

  Quinn just gave her a nod and a
tight smile, feeling weird inside. He was having so many conflicting emotions -
fondness, annoyance, desire, aggravation, respect, longing. He couldn't
understand how he could want someone sexually but dislike them personally.
Okay, he couldn't say he disliked
her
per se
,
he
just disliked her habits.

  Margot bent down and gave him a
peck on the cheek, before gliding back over to her desk and taking a seat.
Quinn stared at her, unsure of what to do. He did not like people invading his
personal space and touching him, but his cheek tingled where her lips met his
skin. He wondered what it would actually feel like to kiss her; she seemed like
she would be wild and unrestricted. He also wondered if she would enjoy what he
enjoyed during sex; she seemed like she would be the kind of woman to try
anything. His cock liked the idea, too.

  Margot's cell phone rang. She
answered it and immediately started talking in French, rapidly and animatedly.
Quinn groaned,
shattering
his sexual fantasy. Jesus Christ. Maybe
if she was a bit calmer when she talked, she wouldn't be so annoying. Fuck, he
couldn't wait for this day to be over.

  Quinn got up and left Margot to her
phone call. He headed down the hall toward Peter's office. When he reached the
open door, Quinn knocked on the frame, shoving his hands in his pockets. Peter
looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Quinn. What's up?" Peter
asked pleasantly.

"I need to talk to you about
Margot," Quinn said seriously.

Peter's smile slipped as he waved him
into the office. "Shut the door."

Quinn stepped into the office and shut
the door behind him. Peter offered him a seat but he shook his head. He would
rather stand and pace a little bit.

"What's going on?" Peter asked,
leaning back in his chair. His eyes followed Quinn as he paced.

  Peter was an average looking guy,
too skinny in Quinn’s opinion. And he looked like a complete nerd with his
thick rimmed glasses and bow tie. Peter's glasses looked a bit like Henry's,
but somehow Henry made his glasses look stylish and classy. Peter...not so
much. He looked like the geek he was.

"I want Margot out of my
office," Quinn said firmly. He was not taking no for an answer.

"Why?" Peter asked evenly. His
eyes narrowed on Quinn, who was still pacing.

"She's annoying the ever living shit
out of me, Peter! You know how I like quiet when I work, and I'm getting none
of it with her in there," he snapped.

"Quinn, seriously? That's why you
want her out of your office? Because she makes too much noise?" Peter said
incredulously.

"Yes! You have no idea how
irritating she is. She’s always tapping and talking and popping her gum. I'm
going to freaking explode if it continues!" Quinn practically shouted,
throwing his arms up.

Peter gaped at him as if he just grew two
heads. Probably because Quinn has never raised his voice...ever.

"I'm losing my fucking mind in
there, Peter! I've asked her to be quiet, and she just says it's impossible for
her to stay still and quiet. I
need
her out of my office,” he said, planting his hands on the desk across from
Peter, pinning him with a determined look. "Now."

Peter grimaced and rubbed the back of his
neck uncomfortably. "Quinn, I'm sorry man. I would move her if I could. I
really have nowhere else to put her, and you two are working on the same
project. It only seems fitting to have her in your office."

Quinn blinked stupidly at the man. "Excuse
me?" he asked dryly.

"All of the offices are occupied.
There is nowhere else to put her."

"Put her in someone else's office
then," Quinn bit out through clenched teeth.

Peter's eyes widened and his mouth worked,
as if he was trying to figure out what to say. Then he shook his head as if to
clear it. "No, Quinn. You're working on the same project. She needs to
stay with you," he said, using his boss voice.

"Peter..." he started, but
Peter cut him off.

"I'm sorry, Quinn. I'm not taking
her out of your office. You need to figure out how to deal with her,"
Peter said firmly, letting him know that he wasn't going to change his mind.

Quinn shoved away from Peter's desk,
completely disgusted and pissed off. "You know, of all people, I thought
you would have understood. You know me, Peter. You know how I am."

Peter frowned. "Listen, Quinn...it's
not that I don't understand, cause I do, but I'm not going to move her to
someone else's office. You guys are working on the same project."

Quinn raked a frustrated hand through his
hair as he paced away from the desk, his other hand planted on his hip. He spun
back around when he had an idea. "Can you put her in a conference
room?"

"What? No! I won't do that,"
Peter said, shaking his head.

"Dammit, Peter! This isn't
fair!" Quinn yelled, stomping his foot like a little kid having a temper
tantrum. His hands fisted at his sides, positively fuming. Who was this person
he was turning into?

Peter's jaw set and Quinn could tell that
he was getting pissed, too. "You need to go get some air before you say
something you don't mean. I know we're friends and all, but I'm still your boss,
and I won't tolerate your insubordination," he said coolly.

  Quinn's eyes flared and his blood
boiled. He's never been so livid in his life. He turned on his heel and stormed
out of Peter's office, slamming the door behind him. What an
asshole
! Quinn wasn't asking for special treatment
because they were friends, but because Peter was usually understanding and
fair. In no way was this situation fair. He just wanted his space back. Why
couldn't she work in the conference room? It was barely used.

  Quinn took the elevator down to
the lobby, stomping through the double glass doors, and onto the busy city
sidewalk. Son of a bitch! What the hell was he going to do? He needed to calm down
and talk to someone who would understand. Henry! His office was only a few
blocks away, so he started toward Henry's office building.

  Once in the reception area, the
pretty receptionist at the desk called Claire - who was still working as
Henry's assistant. A minute later, he turned and spotted Claire walking toward
him. She had a big grin on her gorgeous face, and he couldn't help but smile at
his sister-in-law. She was the greatest, and he was so glad that Henry had
found happiness with her. Quinn was super jealous, even though he loved them
both dearly.

"Quinn! Hi!" Claire beamed,
grabbing his face and kissing his cheek, before pulling him into a hug.

  Quinn was in no way an
affectionate person. He didn't really like to be touched, except for when he
was being sexually intimate with a woman. Even then, he tried to keep touching
to a minimum. He didn't like people in his personal space. His aversion to
touch started at a young age, maybe ten or so. Something happened to him that,
no one - not even his parents or brothers - knew about. He knew that is where
most of his problems stemmed from, he wasn’t always an introvert; he used to be
an outgoing kid, up until he had someone he trusted, and thought he knew,
change him forever.