Page 12 of Sebastian's Secret

Rebecca watched as he pulled on his jacket and headed for the door. “You’re welcome,” she called after him. “I hope you can appease your brother.”

Stopping at the door, Sebastian glanced back at her. “I hope things get better with yours.”

She sniggered at that idea, eyeing the weighted door as it fell closed behind him. She had no idea what would happen with Sebastian, but she knew without a doubt how things would be with her brother, Oliver.

Chapter Five

Sebastian

Rebecca. Her face had plagued him for days since their scorching liaison and as he sat in the offices of Drakon Finance, it haunted him still.

Why hadn’t he called her? Sent a message at least? His jaw tightened as he chewed on the conundrum. He’d wanted to. Desperately. But whenever he picked up his phone to reply to her playful missives, the nagging voice of paranoia had plagued him.

Leave it. The last thing I need is a woman clinging to me. Ignore her.

He had. He’d resisted every communication she’d sent, watching her words slip from suggestive to snide. Not that he blamed her one iota. If someone had gaslit Sebastian the way he’d done her, he’d be livid.

No doubt his rejection stung all the more because of the sentiment they’d shared before he left her suite. He’d told her he wanted to see her again. Hell, he’d been the one who’d approached the subject. She must think he was crazy or just an arrogant son-of-a-bitch who’d got the better of her, but the truth was far simpler than that.

The reality was that Sebastian was afraid. Before their father, Michael Vaughn, had passed on, he’d sought to restructure the businesses he’d built from the ground. Fair enough. But part of that reorganization had looked long into the future and required a promise from his sons. Each of them could enjoy the fruits of Michael’s labor, indulge in the fast cars, first class travel and lavish lifestyles on one condition—that once he’d died, they would marry and father heirs to his empire.

It had sounded preposterous to Sebastian, like some contract from the sixteenth century. He’d told his father so, as well, and his protests had been met initially with wry amusement before morphing into anger.

“You don’t understand yet,” Michael had told him. “But you will. When you mature and meet the right woman—then you’ll know why this is important to me.”

“Sure,” Sebastian had replied dryly. “It’s important to you, but you don’t get to decide if I marry, Dad. Only I’ll know if that’s right.”

“Those are my terms.” Michael’s voice had hardened. “Take them or leave them.”

Sebastian had taken them. Eventually. Begrudgingly. It had taken some time and soul-searching and staring out of the enormous window, he knew that deep down, he still resented the rule. From the moment he’d signed the damn contract, he’d had commitment issues and it wasn’t a coincidence. Every woman that showed up in his life had inspired the same fear. Was this the one he’d be compelled to marry just to make sure he got his share of Daddy’s billions? It was true that he’d agreed to Michael’s lunacy, but looking back, Sebastian wasn’t sure why. The deal had tainted everything. The money wasn’t as appealing anymore, the champagne more bitter. He should have stuck to his guns, even if it meant having nothing. Sebastian was a smart guy. He could have made his own money, could have—

“Sebastian.” Balthazar’s irritated tone penetrated Sebastian’s somber internal monologue and turning, he noticed all three of his brothers were staring at him.

“Sorry, what?” Sebastian directed his question to his elder brother, Balthazar.

“Care to contribute?” Balthazar frowned. “You don’t seem to be present today.” Or yesterday, or the day before.

Balthazar didn’t say the final sentence out loud, but the accusation was there in his brown eyes.

Sebastian was certain it was true. Since his rendezvous with Rebecca, Sebastian hadn’t been present anywhere. He thought of her constantly, his stomach churning every time he contemplated his mistake. There was no doubt in his mind—failing to respond to her had been a massive error of judgment.

Rebecca could have made him happy, but even better, he could have tried to make her smile, as well. He’d loved her smile. It was bettered only by the expression she wore when she came undone.

“Sebastian?” Cole chuckled. “Are you okay, man?”

“What?”

Lifting one hand to his temple, he tried to rub away his impending headache. Am I okay? He didn’t even know. Between his muted passion and regret, his colorful world seemed as if it had been thrust into monochrome and he didn’t know how to fix it. He couldn’t reach out to Rebecca now. It had been three days—three days of ignoring her. She’d be understandably furious and anyway, he had no excuses—or none that he could explain.

Another stipulation of his father’s ridiculous contract had been that the deal must remain a secret between the Vaughn brothers. He wasn’t permitted to tell another living soul.

“I need air.” He rose from the corporate table, abruptly knocking over his thankfully empty glass.

“Sebastian?” Balthazar was on his feet with him, matching Sebastian’s pace as he headed for the door. “Seriously, what’s wrong? This is a business meeting. I need all of us to attend.”

“Then you need to reschedule.” Glancing at Balthazar, he noticed his brother’s stunned expression.

This sort of performance wasn’t typical Sebastian, that was for sure. Normally, Sebastian conceded and preferred the quiet life, but it was that compliance that had screwed him up in the first place and landed him in this quagmire. Every fiber of his being told him to push back against that status quo, to reject Balthazar, the man who now acted as their father’s unofficial representative, and seek his own future.

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