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“Not yet, anyway,” Sebastian jumps in, still all charm. “I’m trying to talk him into it,” he explains to me. “Alistair owns a large shipping company, and I’m determined to invest.”
“Well, I can tell you one thing about my Seb,” I coo, patting Sebastian’s hand. “He always gets what he wants.”
“We’ll see…” Alistair says vaguely, exchanging a look with his wife. “But enough about business, let’s order.”
“Great!” I exclaim and open my menu. “Oh look, they have pumpkin ravioli. Pumpkin with my Pumpkin.” I grin at Sebastian, enjoying this, and his lips twitch with annoyance—or amusement, I can’t really tell.
Either way, I chatter happily to Emma and Alistair as our food arrives, until Sebastian casually steers the conversation back to his planned acquisition, as Alistair talks about his love of fishing.
“Of course, you’d have more time to enjoy the river if you took on partners,” Sebastian says smoothly.
“I know,” Alistair gives a rueful sigh. “And believe me, I’ve thought about it. You make a very generous offer.”
“So what are your concerns?” he asks.
“It’s afamilycompany,” Alistair says simply. “And it’s important to me that it stays that way.”
“I understand that.” Sebastian says immediately. “Trust me, I get the importance of family legacy. My own father started Wolfe Capital, and that’s part of what drives me to work so hard. I’m honoring the blood, sweat, and tears that he put into the business. But we have to think about the future too. Not just the legacy we inherited, but the one we’ll leave, too, for our own children. Your company has a brighter future if you get into business with me, allowing your children and your children’s children to benefit from the foundations you’ve set, for years to come.”
I blink, impressed. This is a side of Sebastian that I haven’t seen yet for myself. Charming. Warm. Sincere.
It would be nice… If a word of it was true.
But still, I can see that our guests are buying it. Emma likes what she’s hearing. She doesn’t have much of a poker face. But Alistair is still on the fence.
“I’m not trying to give you the runaround,” he tells Sebastian apologetically. “You understand that this is a big decision for me. I need to think it over.”
“Of course you do.” Sebastian says warmly. “Take all the time you need. I wouldn’t expect you to commit right this moment. Now, tell me about your children. Greg just got married, right?”
The rest of the business lunch goes by with easy conversation between the four of us. Seb takes any opportunity he can to insert something about how important it is to do honest business and that he looks forward to meeting Alistair’s son since he’s so sure they’ll be in business together. I can tell that he’s giving it all when it comes to landing this deal.
But the act only lasts so long. The minute we leave the restaurant, and Alistair and Emma drive away in a cab, Sebastian’s warm smile turns to a look of derision.
“What a fool. He thinks he can save his relic of a company.”
He pulls out his phone and types out a text message with furious intensity as we get into his car.
“Head to Wolfe Capital,” he orders, then sees me watching him. “What?”
“Quite a show you put on in there.” I’m careful to keep my voice even.
“You too.” He gives me an approving nod. “You did well. Aside from the baby-name business, but I suppose it didn’t hurt.”
“They seemed nice,” I protest.
Sebastian snorts with disdain. “He’s a relic, holding onto the past. He might have started the company, but that doesn’t mean he’s equipped to run it now. He’s wasting potential—and profits, with his sentimental garbage.”
“So, how will you convince him to sell?” I ask, curious.
“I have my ways,” Sebastian says, with a smirk. “But either way, Dunleavey Shipping will be mine by the end of the month.”
My stomach twists, but what did I expect? Sebastian may have put on the charm today, but he’s still a shark. And he’ll just keep going for blood.
Until someone stops him.
I’m expectingthe driver to drop me at home, but instead, he takes us into London’s financial district. My eye is drawn to a skyscraper that sticks out among all the other buildings. It’s tall and shaped differently than any other structure I’ve seen, resembling an elongated egg, and covered in glass panels. It’s the most striking example of contemporary architecture that I’ve ever seen. When we pull up to this building, I’m not surprised that Seb would have his offices here. It draws attention and is imposing, just like him.
“I have to deal with some paperwork,” Sebastian says. “You can wait in the car.”
