“Well, I am his assistant,” I said with a shrug. “I'd say it's not too strange for me to accompany him on business trips. It just so happens his business takes him to some exotic places. It’s a nice little perk for me.”
“I suppose so,” my mom said, pursing her lips.
My mom and I looked a lot alike. Sometimes, I imagined I'd grow up into an older version of her, right down to the way she wore her hair pulled back into tight little buns. But now, as I grew into my own, I realized that while we might look alike, we were totally different women.
“I'm just so grateful for this opportunity,” I gushed. “To work for Sebastian? To go to Bali and wherever else this job might take me? I never imagined this for myself. It's everything dad would have wanted for me.”
My mom sipped her wine and listened as I continued to talk about the job. Every once in a while, she'd nod her head or smile and say, “That's nice,” between bites of her kale salad. But was she really listening? I couldn't be sure. She wasn't interested in this life. The business world had been my father's thing. My mom was simply meant to be a housewife.
And since dad's passing, she seemed lost; her sense of purpose gone. That was why I spent so much time with her, reminding her that she still had me. And yes, that meant talking about my life, even when it was clear she wasn't entirely interested in all the little details. Not the way dad would have been at least.
“Sounds like you and Sebastian really hit it off,” mom commented, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I said, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. “He's fantastic. I've always admired him, but now that I get to see him every day at work, I see why he and dad were such good friends. He's a great guy, and smart too.”
“Uh huh,” mom said, putting her wine glass down and staring at me for a long time. “So, you admire him? Is that all?”
I was taken aback by her bluntness. “What are you getting at?”
“I'm just wondering if your childhood crush might cause some problems, Violet, that's all.”
“It was nothing but a childhood crush, mom,” I said, feeling myself blush even more now that it was out in the open.
My crush on Sebastian growing up had been obvious. I literally wrote his name all over my notebooks with hearts around it. Hell, even he knew I had a thing for him at the time, but I prayed to God he'd forgotten all about that.
“And yes, I admire him,” I said. “In a business sort of way. There's nothing more to it. He's giving me a chance to get my foot in the door in this industry and I'm appreciative of that opportunity. That’s all it is.”
That was a lie. I did feel more than just admiration for him, but I sure as hell wasn't going to tell my mother that. Truth be told, I craved him in a way I couldn't explain or say out loud. It was my little secret. My childhood crush had never gone away, it had merely blossomed into a grown-up crush; one that was a little more serious, even if it was still very much unrealistic.
CHAPTER SIX - VIOLET
“Ready for Bali?” Sebastian asked me as we walked toward the private jet. “Hope you packed your swimsuit, because we're going to have a little downtime once we get there and you're going to want to take a dip in the water down there. It's seriously amazing.”
The idea of wearing my bikini around Sebastian was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Not that I looked bad in a bikini, but does any woman ever truly feel comfortable in one? Sure, it was fine most of the time, but Sebastian dated some of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. He’d been with women with bodies that rivaled those of supermodels, and I was just little ol' me. I didn't have the lingerie model body or their confidence either, which made it twice as uncomfortable.
“Yes, I brought it,” I said meekly. “Just in case. But I do plan on doing my job and taking this trip very seriously, you know.”
“I'm all about a work-life balance, Violet,” he said with a wink as we boarded the plane. “There has to be some perks to working as much as we do, right?”
I heard him talking to security earlier, making sure the guards knew that Jessica was to not be board
ing this flight after all. I guess she was originally supposed to be going with him and he seemed concerned she might try to sneak her way onto the plane anyway. The thought was sad and pathetic, but after what happened at the restaurant the other day, I wouldn't have put it past her. I knew she still called regularly, and it annoyed Sebastian to no end, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
“All clear, sir,” one of the crew members said as we took our seats.
I wondered if that was a code word for no sign of Jessica?
“Glad to hear it,” he said. “Thank you, Danny.”
There were two glasses of champagne waiting for us as we took our seats. He handed me one and then took a long sip of his as he relaxed back into his seat. I'd never flown in a private jet before, so I was still taking everything in and getting used to feeling like I was suddenly one of the rich and famous.
It was a small plane that had enough seats for four people in the cabin, but that was it. In addition, the seats had plenty of room to lay back and could be turned into beds, for the longer flights, of course. There were privacy curtains around each one too, in case we wanted some privacy for our in-flight naps.
A girl could get used to this kind of life, I thought. But it was probably better I don't get used to it. This was my job for now, and Sebastian was spoiling me out of guilt for what happened to my dad. This wasn't something that would likely happen again with any other employer, or likely even regularly while I was working for Sebastian.
I stared out the window, sipping my champagne as we took off. I watched the clouds race beneath us and kept to myself, for the most part. Sebastian looked as if he wanted to sleep; not that I blamed him for it. It was a long flight and I figured I'd eventually try to get a little sleep myself, once the excitement of everything wore off.
“Would you like some music?” he asked.