“See you later, Lucy.”
“Good-bye, Sebastian.”
* * *
By the time Max hung up the phone with the manager of another one of his restaurants who was having a problem with staff, Lucy and Sebastian had disappeared.
Max cursed and stormed onto the street in time to see a black sedan pull away from the curb. Sebastian stood on the sidewalk watching.
Max shoved him in the shoulder. “Stay the fuck away from her.”
Sebastian turned to stare Max down. “Do you have a say in what she does? Because it didn’t look like anything but business to me.”
Max narrowed his gaze. He had a hard enough time corralling Lucy. He didn’t need the playboy chef adding to his problems.
“Don’t you have enough problems with Gia refusing to accept that things are over?” Max asked of Sebastian’s ex-girlfriend. Stalker might be more like it, considering she had a tendency to show up wherever Sebastian went and cause trouble.
“Gia’s a lunatic. I should have seen it sooner.”
“I’m not sure women come to you insane. I think you drive them to it.” Because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants and didn’t see anything wrong with cheating.
“She was freaking good in bed, buddy. I was blinded to her dark side.”
Max rolled his eyes. His concern wasn’t for Sebastian but for Lucy. Though he’d admit to jealousy, he was also looking out for her. She didn’t need to get involved with a player like Sebastian. Problem was, she might see Sebastian as an easy-to-be-with alternative to Max and his intensity and the fact that he wanted more from her than an easy affair like she’d had with Lucas.
And that scared the crap out of him.
“Didn’t anyone teach you that you don’t shit where you sleep?” Max asked.
“Same could apply to you.” Sebastian grinned, rolling his shoulder in a casual shrug at the same time.
Shit. “Then how about backing the fuck off because you have a little respect for your boss?”
Sebastian slapped Max on the back. “I’ll think about it and get back to you.”
And for the first time, Max regretted bringing Lucy in on his project.
After leaving Soho, Max returned to his apartment and headed to the gym. He spent a long time beating the crap out of a punching bag, pretending it was Sebastian’s pretty face instead. He had a soft spot for his old friend, and he appreciated his culinary talent, but the man was a cocky bastard with little respect for anyone else’s territory. He winced, just imagining how Lucy would take him referring to her that way. He finished up with a sauna, then returned home.
He flipped his phone around in his hand, debating on acting on the urge to put an end to this nonsense and calling Lucy. Time and space were well and good, but it wasn’t helping him make headway with her. He needed to be with her again in order to convince her of what she was throwing away.
He dialed her number before he could change his mind. It rang and rang… he was about to hang up when he heard her voice, along with a lot of loud noise and music in the background. “Lucy?”
“Max!” Lucy said.
“Let me talk to him!” Max heard Sebastian’s voice loudly beside her and gritted his teeth.
“Max, buddy. You should come party. It’s awesome here!” Sebastian shouted into the phone.
“Where’s here?” Max asked.
“Glam! I’ll leave your name at the door.”
“Sebastian, you’d better be watching out for Lucy until I get there,” Max warned him.
“No worries. I’m taking good care of her,” he said, laughing as he disconnected the call.
Max swore and headed to his bedroom to change into club-appropriate clothing or he wouldn’t get into Glam, let alone near Lucy.