I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we playing games?”
He became serious. “No, we’re not and yes, we are dating. Elena, you have to understand that my life is very complicated and I am under constant scrutiny by the paparazzi. If word gets out that I have a girlfriend, they will be all over you and your life will never been the same. If no one knows about us yet, you and I can still have privacy without having to worry about our every move being followed. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but haven’t you seen the covers of all of the lifestyle and tabloid magazines?”
“Yes, you’re always on them as one of the top 10 most eligible bachelors in the country.”
“Exactly, if they see us together things will get really hectic.”
I looked at him and cocked my head slightly to the side, studying him. “There’s something else isn’t there?”
He hesitated and then answered me. “Yes, there is, but I can’t explain that part just yet.”
I open my mouth to protest and he stopped me before I could say anything. "Please, Elena, you have to trust me on this. I will tell you everything when the time is right.”
I wasn’t happy about it but I decided to trust him and wait for him to share whatever it was he still had to tell me.
“Okay.”
We finished eating and he rode with me in the car to my apartment building instead of taking his own car. The driver waited as Sebastian walked me to my front door.
He walked me inside to the small hallway that led to the elevator bank, stopped, leaned against the wall, put his hand in his pocket and looked at me. He reached out and smoothed the hair out of my eye and smiled at me.
“I had a wonderful time tonight, Elena.”
“So did I, thank you for dinner.”
“When can I see you again?”
I smiled at him. “You’ll see me in the office tomorrow.”
He chuckled as his eyes searched mine. “Okay smarty-pants, I meant when can I take you out again?”
“I am having dinner with my girlfriend Friday night but I am free Saturday.”
Hey look upset and shifted on his feet. “Unfortunately, I will be out of the country this weekend, I have to go to Paris.”
“Oh, okay well how about one night next week?”
“Okay, I will be back on Monday so how about next Wednesday?”
“Wednesday sounds great.”
“Good.” He looked down at my lips and then back up to my eyes and gave me a small smile. He leaned down to me and my heart was pounding as he laced his fingers through my hair, pulling my lips closer to his. His lips were so soft as they touched mine and he slid his other hand in my hair as he deepened our kiss. His tongue slid over mine and it was easily the best kiss I had ever had. My hands came up under his arms and lightly held onto his elbows as our tongues explored and tasted each other. He broke away slowly after a couple of minutes and his eyes were glazed over with lust as they searched mine.
“You are going to be trouble for me Elena Sumner, and I like it. I better say goodnight to you before I won’t be able to leave.”
I was a bit out of breath and I smiled at him. “That’s probably a good idea.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I was on cloud nine as I walked to my mailbox to check my mail and I didn’t even notice the letter until I was in my apartment. I dropped my bag on the floor and plopped down on my couch with a huge silly grin on my face as I thought about the kiss with Sebastian. I absentmindedly rifled through my mail and my heart nearly stopped when my eyes landed upon the handwriting that I would recognize anywhere. I was confused because this was not a letter from the prison, this was a letter with no return address but it was definitely Brian’s handwriting. My hands were shaking as I tore open the envelope and staring back at me were three simple words: ‘See you soon’.”
A chill tore through me as I tried to figure out what that meant. Was he out and they forgot to notify me? How did he send me a letter without sending it through the prison system first? Brian wasn’t scheduled to be released for a few more years so it was freaking me out that he said he would see me soon. I tried to push it out of my head because he always tried to get to me and years of therapy had taught me to not let him have control over me. I put the letter in the box with all of his other letters and shoved it in the back of my closet. Brian was a part of my past and I wouldn’t let him be a part of my future.
As I got ready for bed I thought about what a good time I had with Sebastian that night and how much I was looking forward to going out with him again. Brian was a distant thought as I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Seven – São Paulo Part One
The next week Sebastian called me from Paris to tell me that we were leaving for São Paulo sooner than originally planned, he sounded distant and he didn’t mention our date at all. I instantly worried that during our time apart he’d had time to think and decided that he didn’t want to date me. The trip was huge so I had to push my concerns about Sebastian out of my head and I had to remind myself that this was an important business trip. I didn’t have time to worry about him and the more I thought about it the more I kicked myself for even thinking that he would really like someone like me. He was coming back from Paris that Tuesday and we were going to have a staff meeting to go over last minute details for Blu Sierra São Paulo. As much as I shouldn’t have, I wondered how things would be between us when he returned.
Monday morning we gathered in the conference room. “Alright everyone, great job today. For those of you going to Brazil, that’s you Elena, Mark and Carol, your assistants have already arranged your travel and your itinerary should be in your inbox when you got back to your desk. This was a great meeting today, let’s keep up the good work. Now, back to work everyone.”
We all got up to leave and Sebastian asked me to stay behind for a minute. I felt a little bit awkward because I thought I saw a few raised eyebrows and I didn’t want people starting rumors. Once everyone left he turned to me and crossed his arms as he leaned against he conference table. The butterflies went crazy in my belly. Was he going to tell me how much he missed me?
“Fantastic job today Elena, exactly the kind of fire we were looking for. I feel very confident that we will have superb results with Blu Sierra São Paulo. I also wanted to let you know that you will be flying with me on the private jet to Brazil on Wednesday.”