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Theo’s scowl deepened. “Yes, well. I’m not an expert on relationships. And I certainly don’t need any relationship advice. I’m hardly in the market for that sort of thing.
Seb sat back with a satisfied little smile.
Later, after he had escaped the surprisingly talkative Seb and gone home to his empty house, he found himself still thinking about that conversation.
Seb barely ever talked about anything except business, or the state of the market, or whatever latest venture he was involved in. It was unfair of him, after years of stubborn mediocrity, to suddenly start talking about other things. Theo hadn’t been prepared for him to say anything that would cause this kind of turmoil.
There was a drinks cabinet in the living room, installed and stocked by his assistant, and kept for meetings that needed a little social lubrication. Theo himself barely touched it. Now, he broke the seal on a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a large measure.
There really was nothing special about Seb. He was a business suit with no personality. The two of them would never be friends if they hadn’t known each other since they were kids. So how the hell had Seb managed to find himself in this apparently loving relationship. It just didn’t make sense that someone so coldly pragmatic was even capable of love. Hesnorted to himself; Seb was the exact type of man that would think love was a weakness.
He took a swig of his drink. The whiskey was very old and ludicrously expensive, the type that really should be savored. Theo glugged it down without a second thought. Then he topped up the glass and went upstairs, taking another slug of his drink as he went. He liked the way it burned his throat.
All that stupid stuff Seb had been talking about supporting his girlfriend’s interests. Why had he kept going on about that? He’d been like a dog with a chew toy, just yapping and yapping.
It wasn’t like Theo disagreed with his point. It made sense but he hated hearing it all the same. Seb could choke on his sensible relationship advice for all Theo cared. He finished his glass with another large swig.
How he hated that he’d met the love of his life when he’d been young and stupid. He’d had no idea how to be in a relationship and he’d messed it up.
Theo gripped the heavy crystal of his empty glass and felt the urge to hurl it across the room, just to watch it smash. He stopped himself. What he really needed was another drink.
He set the glass down and sat down on his large bed, his face resting on his hands. It wasn’t worth going over those memories again, and he hated that Seb had stirred them all up, forcing him to remember
The memories of that final conversation he’d had with Mena played on a loop in his head. All he could do now was hope she was happy in Canada, far away from him.
Chapter Three
Louisa
Louisa was very proud of her art gallery.
She’d started it straight out of university. A few well calculated deals had led to some early successes which had made the gallery prestigious, even though it was only a few years old.
Starting her own business had made Louisa feel like a lone wolf, relying solely on her own skills to build her career. But then she met Sebastian.
She’d known his reputation of being a cold hearted businessman. However, once she met him she saw his pragmatism, a trait she shared, hidden under his veneer of politeness.
Now, as the two of them were working together to win the tontine and she couldn't believe how much fun it was to scheme together. The two of them had planned their first move carefully, and Sebastian had made sure to bump into Theo and get started.
Now, they needed to sit back and wait to see how Theo reacted. This had to be handled delicately. Trying to rush, orbeing too obvious about this, even a suspicious comment would ruin everything.
This whole group of men would fall in love and find themselves getting married over the next year and none of them must suspect it had anything to do with the tontine.
People, in Louisa’s opinion, were far too stubborn. She was trying to bring them happiness but she knew every one of Seb’s friends would reject everything if they knew she and Sebastian were trying to arrange it for them.
There was a knock on her open office door.
“Sebastian!” she smiled, getting up from her desk to greet him with a kiss.
“I brought Stein’s first update,” he said. There was a file tucked under his arm.
“So soon?” she said, taking it from him. Before the engagement they’d got into the habit of meeting for lunch each day that their schedules allowed. Today the two of them had planned to go to the restaurant La Cygne.
“Hmm, and, because we both know you want to read this immediately, I also…” he’d been keeping one arm behind his back and now he swung his arm out, revealing a brown paper bag. “Brought food. I got La Cygne to do take out.”
“I didn’t know they did that.”
“I asked very nicely.”
