Chapter 24

The weight of Jason's words settled heavily in my gut. Caleb wouldn't be back for a while? "Dangerous situation" echoed in my mind. Fear, cold and sharp, snaked its way through me. What would happen to my living arrangements if he didn’t come back? 
I called Sebastian. It wasn’t like I could call Jason or Caleb. The number Caleb had called me from had vanished from my phone. The phone rang. Then, he answered. Relief washed over me, momentarily pushing aside the worry gnawing at me. 
"Yvonne," his voice came through the receiver, a familiar calmness radiating from his words. “What is it?”
“You know Caleb right?”
“What about him?”
"I’m worried," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "Jason said Caleb won't be back for a while, that there's some dangerous situation he needs to handle."
"He's fine, Yvonne," Sebastian assured me, his voice firm yet gentle. "He's capable of taking care of himself. But there are things you can't ask Jason about, not without preparation."
My mind raced. Preparation for what? What couldn't I ask Jason? A million questions swirled in my head, but I knew better than to bombard Sebastian. It wasn’t as if he owed me answers.
"Did Jason mention anything else?" he continued. "Did he, by any chance, wear a blue ring today?"
The image of Jason's hand flashed in my mind. "I… I think so, yes," I stammered, trying to recall the details. "A simple band, a dark blue color."
A flicker of satisfaction seemed to cross the line. "Good," Sebastian said. "Caleb will probably come back tomorrow afternoon.:
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ll explain the ring later. Here's what you need to do. Go to my room. Now.” 
I hesitated. Did Sebastian know where Caleb was? What was this dangerous situation? A million questions burned on my tongue, but I held them back. My feelings for Sebastian were a tangled mess.I might have had a crush on Sebastian, but after everything that’s happened, there was no use in holding onto it. I was his employee and just another notch in his bedpost. Holding on to any lingering affection I might have had would just put me in more and more situations I didn’t want to be in.
There was undeniable charm about him, a kindness that shone through his gruff exterior. Yet, a nagging voice in the back of my head pointed out the obvious – I was a pawn to him, and I had to accept that. 
I had likely always been a pawn to him.
With a determined sigh, I resolved to shut down this burgeoning fondness. It was a dangerous distraction, a complication I simply didn't need. Just as I told him I wasn’t going to his room, he just appeared as if he’d known where I was all this time. 
He crossed the room in a few quick strides, his familiar scent washing over me. Before I could even formulate a greeting, he surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. The gesture was unexpected, sending a jolt through my system.
“Do you want to know if I love you?” I asked. The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
Sebastian pulled back. He seemed interested in the question. 
A slow smile spread across Sebastian's face, his eyes gleaming with a newfound intensity. "What do you think, Yvonne?" he countered, his voice husky. "Do you love me?"
My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat in my ears. This wasn't the answer I'd expected. "What if I said I don't love you?" The question felt hollow even as I voiced it.
He shrugged, a playful glint in his eyes. "Then I don't love you either." 
"Although," he murmured, his voice sending shivers down my spine, "your heart seems to disagree."
The playful remark was laced with something more, a hint of something deeper.
Then, I asked, "What if I said I love you?"
He said nothing for a moment before he smiled. “You hearts beating fast. You must want me.”
I drew back, but before I could say anything, he leaned close.
"You okay?" he murmured against my hair, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine.
The question caught me off guard. 
"I…" I stammered, unsure of how to respond. A million anxieties swirled within me.
Before I could voice any of them, he pulled back, his gaze searching my face. "What are you doing down here?"
The question hung in the air, momentarily forgotten. 
“I had a toothache.”
“Come with me.”
“I don’t think…”
He led me toward the elevators and up to the tenth floor. We walked past Caleb’s condo door to another one. I said nothing. I didn’t have anything to say. He opened the door. 
“I heard that you spoke with Mark Davis.”
“Yes…”
He closed the door behind me and pushed me up against the wall. “You really think that after all this time you’re going to be able to make it as a regular actress?”
“What does that have to do with—”
He kissed me. The kiss was electric, a spark igniting in the midst of the confusion. All thoughts of Caleb melted away under the intensity of his touch. In that moment, all that mattered was the press of his lips against mine, the rapid dance of his tongue against mine.
As the kiss deepened, reason fled. My hand tangled
in his hair, the carefully constructed walls around my heart crumbling under the onslaught of his touch. This wasn't the logical course of action, but in that moment, logic seemed a distant echo. Though I tried to push him away, he didn’t back up. It wasn’t like Quinton. Sebastian wasn’t as big. Instead of force, he just kissed and touched me until I felt myself reacting, until he could lift me up and slide right into me without preparation. 
There was so much I didn’t understand, so much of me that was certain that this was a lie, but he gripped me tightly like possessive warning, like he’d been waiting to do it for ages, and it made it so easy to pretend that maybe I meant something to him.