Page 207 of Sebastian's Baby

His jaw is tense as he glares back at me, and he says, “Surely you understand that I was looking after your best interests, the same as I am looking after Heather’s when I say that I need to talk to her sooner rather than later.”

Looking after my best interests?! Offering to pay for Lita to have an abortion was anything but that.

“If that’s how you look after our interests, don’t expect to be looking after mine as soon as our fucking contract is up, Cooper Powell.”

Fire is flowing through my veins, and I’m on the verge of going over to the other side of the table and punching his smug face. I’m pleased when he actually looks concerned because I should’ve done it the day he made that offer to Lita.

My heart is pounding in my chest, and Gabriel distracts me from my desire to physically harm Cooper by asking, “Are you two going to enlighten the rest of us as to what Sebastian’s pissed about?”

“It’s between Sebastian and me,” Cooper says in a cool voice.

Of course he wants to keep this between us. What he did was fucking shameful, and he knows it. If he thinks this is ‘representing our best interests,’ though, then there is no fucking good reason for my friends to remain in the dark about what he did.

“No, they should know,” I declare and watch Cooper’s eyes widen in surprise as I do. “Cooper offered Lita fifty thousand dollars to abort the baby the first time he met her.”

My three friends gasp in unison at my words.

“Are you fucking shitting me?” Gabriel sounds horrified before he demands, “Why the fuck would you think that was okay?”

“It’s what I do,” Cooper says calmly. “None of you mind when I clean up any and all of your messes, but now you want to have a problem with the way I do it. It would’ve been the simplest solution, and look how it turned out.”

The silence in the room is similar to the silence from the video we watched when the reporter crossed the line as far as Cooper just has. The fire in my blood turns to lava, and I can barely believe he dared to say that in my presence.

I think of what he’s suggesting; that we should’ve killed Mirabella instead of going through what we’re going through. It’s the thing that I am terrified on a daily basis will happen, and my hatred for Cooper consumes me as my field of vision turns red. I stand from my seat to go punch him, and the chair clatters to the floor as I do.

“Stop, Sebastian.” Heather’s cold voice halts me in my tracks, and she gives a hollow laugh. “Who will get you off an assault charge if you hit him? He sure as fucking shit deserves it because that’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth, but don’t do it.”

“You should listen toHeather, Sebastian,” Cooper says in a cruel tone as he taunts me once again about her.

I can barely focus enough through the anger to understand that Heather is correct. I can’t punch Cooper, no matter how much he might have pushed my buttons to get me to do it.

“Suggest that my baby would be better off dead again, and I’ll make it my life’s mission to ruin you,” I warn him.

“Big words, Sebastian. Why don’t you go write a song about it? Meanwhile, I should probably talk to Heather about how I’m going to keep her ass out of jail. So, unless you want her to spend tonight in lock-up, chill the fuck out. Do you want Heather in jail, Sebastian?”

“Cooper, that isenough.” Hayden snarls, and it’s enough to snap me out of my fury as we all turn to look at him, because Haydenneversnaps. “You work for us, not the other way around. Stop provoking Sebastian and do what you’ve been hired to do.”

He’s glaring at Cooper, and his jaw is tense as he continues speaking.

“We’ve all been through enough today. We don’t need you making shit worse. Get Heather’s charge dropped, and for fuck’s sake, stay the hell out of Lita’s pregnancy.Wemight be your business, butsheis not. If you think you have a right to an opinion about her pregnancy, you’re sorely mistaken. Clearly, you’ve overstepped that boundary twice now. Do it a third time, and wewillterminate our contract with you, early penalties be damned.”

I’m surprised by this threat, because I know that Hayden wouldn’t make it if he didn’t mean it. I am one hundred percent behind this idea, though.

Cooper looks at Hayden with a frown on his face, but all he says is, “Noted. Back to the issue at hand, I guess.”

He lays out the plans he has to stop Heather from being charged with assault for slapping the reporter. He tells her that he’s already contacted the reporter’s network to get into negotiations, and he has a lawyer on standby as well. He’s confident about the fact that Heather won’t end up being charged, but he can’t tell us exactly what price she will need to pay. Once he leaves, we’re all quiet until Harrison comes back from letting him out of the apartment.

“I meant what I said,” Hayden tells us. “If he pulls any of that kind of shit again, we should think about changing management.”

“I agree,” Gabriel says without hesitating. “I should’ve told him to fuck off years ago when he told me that I needed to dump Ariana.”

“Hewhat?!” Heather exclaims.

“Yeah, I heard him say it, too.” Ariana cringes.

We all turn to stare at her, even Gabriel, so I’m assuming this is the first he’s heard of this.

“I never said anything, but I overheard your conversation with him the day we…went sightseeing.”

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