Virtue & Vanity (35 page)

In a shy attempt to make it appear I wasn’t feeling uneasy, my eyes darted towards the man who observed me in the same way as he looked at Sebastian; almost like I held some kind of power over him. The feeling was unusual.

“Thank you, Sir. I promise it won’t happen again,” the man apologized as the door opened again. Sebastian’s only answer was a polite nod and a contour of a smile that seemed forced and didn’t even resemble a smile I was used to seeing on his face. Something told me he didn’t show that other side of him to too many people, other than me.

The moment we stepped outside the elevator, the luxurious surroundings took me by complete surprise. The more I observed the astonishing space around me, the more I couldn’t believe he had actually said he didn’t care about any of it.
Was he really willing to sacrifice all of this?
As we walked down the hall, Sebastian greeted a couple of people and I was stunned to see the look on their faces resembled the one of the man in the elevator—it screamed obedience and respect. Without a doubt, he was the highest figure of authority in that building and it was visible from the very aura that lurked around him, affecting all the people who found themselves in his presence. As we advanced further, I noticed almost everybody started turning to each other, whispering something and I could feel their eyes were glued on me, cautiously following my every move. I blushed and my breathing became heavier as I felt the pressure of the situation settle down on my chest.

“Relax. They’re just curious to see my beautiful wife,” Sebastian whispered softly in my ear and then chuckled. “If you continue blushing like this, they might get the wrong idea about what I’m saying to you and then we’ll really become the talk of the day,” he teased and I knew he only tried to get me to relax, but his comment made me blush even deeper.

Luckily, the torture ended when we stopped in front of the massive door and Sebastian unlocked it, letting me enter first. I glanced at the group of women whose eyes were still trained on me and saw they were smiling. In a courteous manner, I smiled back before disappearing into Sebastian’s office and for the first time since I stepped into that building, I felt relieved. That relief didn’t last for long because only after short seconds the massive door opened again and a tall blonde woman dressed in a black, elegant business suit entered the office.

“Mr. Everett, the documents for The Paris agreement are—” Already from the door, she started talking in a voice that was undoubtedly ruthless, but she paused when she noticed I was in the room.

It became clear that I’d broken some kind of a well exercised routine between her and Sebastian.

“Oh. I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t realize…” She seemed to have been stunned by the unusual sight in front of her.

“It’s okay, Emily,” Sebastian said in a pleasant voice and I could immediately make out that he was more relaxed around her than around the rest of his employees. “Come in. I want to introduce you to my lovely wife,” he said in a voice that was filled with something that sounded as pride and the woman, who’d seemed to be so cold only moments ago, smiled and offered me her hand.

“Hi. I’m Emily. Mr. Everett’s assistant.” Her ruthless voice suddenly turned mild. “You must be Isabelle.” I accepted her hand and nodded, surprised by the fact that she already knew my name. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

I smiled, feeling awkward because that was the first time I had seen this woman who worked so close with Sebastian, and I knew absolutely nothing about her. “It’s nice to meet you too, Emily,” I said softly, letting go of her hand.

Sebastian smiled contently and took hold of the documents Emily had prepared for him. As I continued staring at this beautiful woman in front of me, his hand brushed against my wrist, willing me to give him my attention.

“I have a few errands to run. It will only take a while,” he said the moment I looked into his light expression. “Make yourself comfortable,” he said in a soft voice and then looked at his assistant. “Emily will get you something to drink.”

She nodded and the moment Sebastian left the office, she smiled with so much sincerity that I instantly relaxed around her.

“It really is nice to finally see you in the flesh.” She looked at me with genuine excitement. “You know, Mr. Everett won’t stop talking about you and now I can see why. You’re even more beautiful than on the picture.”

Picture?
For a moment I was stunned by the fact that she had seen a picture of me, but I brushed it off, remembering that there had to have been some kind of a picture from our wedding or some other event we attended in the newspaper she must have read.

“Does he really talk about me that much?” I asked with slight reluctance, feeling the rising feeling of curiosity.

She nodded her head and even chuckled. “Honestly, he wouldn’t shut up about you when we were in Paris. He even closed the deal earlier than planned just so that he could fly back home.” She looked towards the door, giving away she feared that Sebastian might come in any second and then she whispered with a smile. “Maybe I’m crossing the line, but lately he’s been in a surprisingly good mood and I have a good hunch we have to thank you for it.”

I felt a glimpse of happiness because of what she had said. To think that I had the slightest influence on his behavior still seemed incredible. Nevertheless, another troubling thought wouldn’t leave my mind. I knew that Emily was only his assistant, but when she told me she had accompanied him to Paris, I felt a pinch of a familiar and unwanted feeling—jealousy.
You’re being jealous again.
Brushing off the embarrassing thought, I quickly forced a smile on my face.

“Well, look at me rumbling when I should head back to work,” she said politely. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Water will be fine,” I said softly.

“Coming right up,” she said before she walked out, leaving me alone in that spacious office.

My eyes roamed the space around me and I chuckled at the sight of spotlessly clean furniture that was filled with meticulously ordered folders. If no one told me that I had been in Sebastian’s office, I would have guessed it myself because that space screamed with sophistication. When I glanced towards the large desk in the middle of the room, I noticed that everything seemed to be right in its place, almost symmetrical as if even the smallest thing needed to remain on that same spot because it was a part of some equation. Smiling, I wondered how long it would take him to notice that something had been moved a fracture of an inch. Knowing his undeniable need for order and perfectionism, I knew he would notice immediately. When I looked at that table with more caution, I noticed there was a picture frame next to his computer and I took it in my hands, discarding the thought that I probably shouldn’t touch anything as curiosity got the best of me. What I saw surprised me. I was staring at a picture of myself. Sebastian had my picture on his desk. It was one of the pictures Mrs. Moran had taken the first time she came to make arrangements for the wedding. Lost in deep thoughts, I observed the girl in the picture frame and I realized I barely resembled her anymore. Her expression was serious; her brown eyes sprinkled with traces of apparent worry and disbelief, but there was still a sparkle of light in them, as if she hadn’t stopped hoping things would turn out alright. The girl on the picture had yet to learn about the real pain and sadness. With inexplicable caution, I lowered the frame back in its place and I walked towards the huge wall that was covered in glass, providing one of the most spectacular views I had ever seen. I wrapped my arms around my middle, staring at the Manhattan panorama and I became aware that, thanks to Sebastian, I had come a long way from that scared, inexperienced girl in Rosemont. Despite the tragic beginning of our marriage, I couldn’t deny that he was the one who showed me the world, truly in all its cruelty and beauty.

The sound of the door startled me from my thoughts and I glanced towards it, expecting to see Emily, but I was surprised to see Sebastian instead. He walked over to me in a steady pace and the moment he got close, he gently wrapped his arms around my waist and for a while, we enjoyed the miraculous view together. With my back leaning against his strong chest that radiated comfortable warmth, I relaxed in his arms. I liked being so close to him.

As he kissed my temple and lowered his lips to my ears, the rising excitement played with my breath, making it faster; synchronizing it with the beating of my heart.

“I love having you here. I wish I could bring you more often, but I’m afraid The Goliath would go bankrupt within a month if I made a habit of this.”

“Why is that?” I whispered, caught up with the feeling of his hot breath on my skin.

“Because I wouldn’t get anything done.” He smiled. “Having you around is too distracting.”

His soft, inviting voice made me want to face him and when I turned around, he observed me with a disarming smile on his face. Slowly, he leaned over to me and sighed in discomfort.

“You really don’t know what you do to me, do you?” I shook my head and he exhaled harshly, closing his eyes. “Let me show you then,” he whispered.

As his lips came closer to mine, my heartbeat hummed in my throat and I let out a shaky breath to release some of the pressure.

“Shh.” I could feel his minty breath on my lips. “It’s just a kiss. Just a small kiss.” His lips touched mine and started massaging them with persuasive sensitivity and while he gently ran his hands along my back and my hair, I managed to let go of my restraints and enjoy having him so close to me. Just as I felt that he was about to deepen the kiss, there was a loud knock on the door and I stepped away from him, trying to quickly fix up my hair and adjust my dress.

Sebastian laughed as he invited the person on the other side to come in and before I knew it, the door swung open and Emily walked in with my bottle of water. Inexplicable shame rushed through my system and I couldn’t even look her in the eyes as she handed me the bottle. I didn’t have to look up to see that Sebastian was amused by this entire situation.

“Will you need anything else, Sir?”

“No, that’s all. Thank you,” he said without taking his eyes off of me. “Cancel all my calls and don’t let anyone through to my office.”

“I understand,” she said in a light voice, like she knew exactly what had happened between us, and I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

When she finally left, I dared to glance at Sebastian who was smirking at me. He came a few steps closer and tilted up my chin, observing my flushed cheeks.

“So sweet,” he whispered. “I swear to God… Your innocence will be the death of me.” His lips were so close and I thought he would kiss me again, but instead, he raised his head and laid a soft kiss on my forehead, stepping away from me.

I swallowed, heat rising in my entire body. Gulping, I looked around in a desperate need to change the subject.

“You have a lovely assistant,” I stated and he raised his eyebrows, letting me know he knew exactly what I was trying to do.

He shrugged. “We work well together, that’s all. I wouldn’t go as far as calling her lovely.”

“She told me she went to Paris with you,” I said in a light voice, that was void of any tension, but Sebastian narrowed his eyes at me in an interrogating manner and I instantly knew that bringing this up might not have been the best idea.

He smirked. “Hmm… If I didn’t know better, I’d think that my sweet wife was jealous,” he teased and as I slowly shook my head, his smirk turned into a genuine smile. “Terrible liar.” His warm whisper sounded through the room and he approached me again, resting his palm against my face, caressing my cheek. “You shouldn’t worry about other women, Isabelle. I’ll never want anyone else.” The green in his eyes lit up with something powerful and endeavoring.
“Only you.”

I gaped at him in wonder, at a loss of words. One piece at a time, this man was taking away my heart and my soul, stripping away all of the layers that shielded me against him, working his way to the very core of my being.

“I almost forgot. I have to tell you something.” He walked over to his desk, pulled out a small envelop and then handed it to me. “Open it,” he encouraged.

I glanced at Sebastian and carefully pulled out a small card from the envelope. As I read the content of the note, I realized it was an invitation for the wedding of his friend Jared who had also been his best man. Light dread took hold of me when I remember the way that man looked at me at our wedding and back then, his fiancé Amelia didn’t spare her mean glances my way either.
How on earth was I supposed to attend their wedding reception?

“Sebastian…” I looked at him in an almost frightened manner, fearing to tell him I didn’t want to accompany him to this wedding. “I don’t…”

“Shh.” He sighed and pulled me into a light embrace. “They’re really nice people. You have nothing to worry about. You’ll see.”

I looked up at him. “Sebastian, they hate me.” I tried to convince him.

“Don’t be silly,” he whispered in a fit of surprise. “Of course they don’t hate you.” I tried to look away, fighting the desperate thought that he would make me attend that wedding where all those people would probably only mock my appearance, but he tilted up my chin and made me face him again. “Only a fool would hate someone as sweet and uncorrupted as you.”

“You were a fool then…” I breathed out the words, reminding him that he too, didn’t find it at all difficult to hate me.