Annoyance growled like a cornered badger. “I suppose he wants you back.”
She reined in her emotions until nothing showed in her expression. “I doubt that. He broke up with me because he found his soul mate online.” She checked her phone’s display. “There’s no voice mail. I’ll bet he called because he wants his anime collection back.”
“Maybe he forgot to wish you a belated birthday.”
“Maybe.” Missy’s gaze sliced to Sebastian. “Did you listen to my messages? You did.” She speed dialed and put the phone to her ear. “And deleted one from Tim.”
He stared at her impassively.
She shook the cell phone at him. “Why?”
“You deserve better.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I can’t do better?”
Is that what she thought? From her downturned lips, Sebastian gathered that’s exactly what she believed. Foolish girl. She was better than a hundred Tims put together.
“Any man would be proud to call you his girlfriend.”
“Any man but you.” The slight lilt at the end of her statement made it sound more as if she asked a question.
Sebastian ignored the desire to assure her that he had not excluded himself. To tell her that would create possibilities, and he couldn’t do that to her. He needed an executive assistant—not a lover or a girlfriend.
“I’d like you to change,” he said.
“And I’d like world peace. Seems neither one of us is going to get what they want tonight.” A smile curved her lips, but her eyes resembled granite. “Excuse me. I’d better make sure everything’s perfect.”
Once again her cheeky attitude left him without a comeback. She slipped past him and headed toward the buffet table. He stared after her, the delectable sway of her hips turning his mouth into a sand trap. He remembered trailing his fingertips from her nape to the small of her back. She’d shivered. Her body’s reactions had been exquisite, delicate perfection.
With an impatient snort, Sebastian headed for the bar and ordered a scotch.
An hour later, he stood on the opposite side of the suite’s living room from Missy and made small talk with the president of their hydro division and his wife. His assistant hadn’t glanced his way once since walking away from their conversation. She’d drifted through the crowd, exchanging pleasantries with everyone, laughing and charming each guest and acting as if Sebastian was no more to her than a piece of furniture.
Her snub battered his pride. He regretted inferring that he’d felt obligated to sleep with her last night, but she had to believe that nothing like that was going to happen again.
A cleared throat brought Sebastian back to his companions. He swiveled his head and found two pairs of curious eyes on him. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
Owen Darby shot his wife a wry look. “I was just saying that I didn’t recognize Missy when I first saw her. She looks wonderful.”
“She did something different with her hair,” Sebastian said.
“And she got rid of her glasses,” Owen added.
“Her dress is fabulous,” Alicia Darby said. “She has terrific taste.”
Sebastian’s attention slid toward the source of his frustration. “Yes, I suppose she does.”
“I hear you’re going to be an uncle,” Alicia said. “Your mother is excited about the new addition to your family.”
Nathan’s wife, Emma, was pregnant. Sebastian smiled to cover his wince. His future niece or nephew wasn’t related to his mother by blood, but that didn’t stop her from being thrilled. Susan Case had been looking forward to grandchildren for a long time. She’d hidden her upset, but Sebastian had seen the shadow in his mom’s eyes each time Chandra had enacted her pregnancy dramas when he brought up the topic of divorce.
After two years, he’d ended his marriage almost as much for his mother’s sanity as for his own. He couldn’t put her through any more disappointment. She longed to be a grandmother. That’s why she was so excited about Nathan’s child. She would love it the way she’d loved Nathan when he came to live with them.
Sebastian pushed aside old bitterness. Resenting his mother for being a loving, generous person was wrong on so many levels. “She’s already setting up a nursery so she can babysit.”
Alicia gave a wistful sigh. “Do they know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
“Not yet.” Talking about the baby was no more comfortable for Sebastian than discussing Missy’s makeover. Every time his mother me