by Sian Ceinwen
“You and I had already talked about the possibility of you working from home,” Simon told her. “It’s something other employees have been able to do in the past, for one reason or another. When you and I talked about it, I was thinking more of if you had some kind of medical issues with your pregnancy, but we feel like this is a situation that warrants it.
“You’re only a few months from when your maternity leave was going to start anyway. Once you’ve had the baby, we’ll reassess what the situation is like then. In the meantime, we feel as though this is the best option for everyone.”
Lita started to cry. She felt like she was being punished, even though she knew they were being wonderfully considerate of her situation. Andrew handed her a box of tissues. She took one and wiped at the tears falling from her eyes.
“I’m so sorry for this; I never meant for this to happen,” she told them.
“We know,” Andrew said with a kind smile. “We’re just concerned for everyone’s safety.”
“I can’t guarantee that me working from home will keep them away.” She frowned at the people in front of her.
Simon smiled at her. “We know. We’re hoping once they realize you’re not coming in anymore, they’ll stop. I want you to know you’re not in trouble, Lita. You’re one of my best team members, and you work hard. This alternate work situation will hopefully make it easier for everyone.”
“How will this work?” Lita asked him. “We didn’t really go over the logistics when we talked about it before.”
“I’ll take you down to IT, and they’ll issue you a laptop and a work cellphone so you’re contactable. If you need monitors for home, we can organize those as well. Once those are organized, are you able to leave straight away, or do you need to wait for someone to get you?” he asked her gently.
Lita laughed bitterly and wiped at a fresh set of tears with a tissue. “Yeah, my bodyguard is on call. ’Cause I have one of those now. ’Cause this is my life now.”
It felt like everything was being taken from her—her apartment, her job, her freedom. One night of fun and everything that was hers was being stripped away. Lita put her hands on her bump and smiled through the tears; this would all be worth it when she had her baby in her arms.
Simon took her down to IT, where she was given a laptop and peripherals, along with a cellphone. Lita told them she’d let them know if she found herself in need of monitors, and they said they would courier them to her if she did. Simon told her to start her weekend early, get her equipment set up and start working from home on Monday.
Lita went back to her desk, collected all of her personal items since she had no idea when she would be back here, and waited for Ben to come collect her. He arrived after about twenty minutes and took all of her things down to the car before coming back up to escort her through the waiting crowd.
“Have you been fired, Lolita?” one reporter asked her.
Lita felt a surge of fury flow through her, and she turned to face them, speaking to them for the first time since they’d found her. “No, but thanks to you lot, I won’t be coming to the office anymore. So, if you could stop harassing my co-workers, that would be brilliant, because there’s no point in you coming here now.”
She got into the black SUV, and Ben shut the door behind her. She pulled her phone out and called Sebastian as he started the car off in the direction of the new apartment.
“Hey there, princess,” Sebastian said when he answered her call. “What’s up?”
“I’ve been sent home from work, Seb.” Lita’s voice was shaky from tears.
“What? Why?” he asked her.
“They want me to work from home until the baby’s born. The shit with the paparazzi out the front of the building has been causing issues. They’re worried about my safety and the safety of the other employees, apparently,” Lita said.
Sebastian sighed. “I’m sorry, princess. It’s definitely a bit of a relief, though. Ben said it’s been getting pretty bad. He wanted me to consider getting a second bodyguard for you; I was going to look into it today.”
“He was that concerned? Why didn’t you tell me you were worried, Ben?” She directed her question to Ben, sitting in the driver’s seat of the car.
“I assume you’re talking about me asking Mr. Fox for a person to assist me,” Ben said and smiled at her in the rear-view mirror. “I didn’t want to worry you, Miss Ciccone.”
“Well, just so everyone knows, I’m not some porcelain doll who can’t be told things. Please don’t leave me out of the loop in the future. I hate that.”
She heard Sebastian chuckle on the phone in her ear. “I’ve taken note of that, princess. I would have told you about it at some point today; we just haven’t talked since Ben told me. How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” Lita admitted with a sigh. “It feels like everything that’s mine is being taken away from me. I’ve just been reminding myself all that matters is our baby.”
“Everything else is just stuff,” Sebastian said to her.
“That’s right. It’s just hard when it feels like your entire life is being taken away from you piece by piece and being replaced with something else. I never expected this. I like to plan and be in control, so this is really hard for me,” Lita said.
Sebastian gave a heavy sigh. “I’ll see you when you get here, princess. I can’t say anything that will change what’s happened. I can’t make the paparazzi leave you alone. I can’t get your work to let you keep coming into the office. I can’t get you your old apartment back. All I can do is promise you is I am here for you. No matter what happens. You’ve got me, Lita.”
“Thanks, Seb. That means a lot to me,” she told him before they ended their call.
It really did. She didn’t know how she would have been able to handle this last week if Sebastian hadn’t decided to stay in Seattle with her. Lita realized that now she was working from home and settled in a new apartment with a bodyguard for protection, Sebastian probably didn’t need to come back from Chicago after this weekend was over. It surprised her how sad this realization made her.
19
LEVEL 16.6 – Ti amo
Now your bump is clearly visible, people might want to touch your tummy. Feel free to tell them to back off unless they’re the one who put the baby there. This will usually shame them into respecting your personal space.
Lita had spent the afternoon wallowing. When she had gotten home, she’d set up her laptop and had IT courier monitors to her after all. Sebastian had been very kind to her. He had held her for half an hour while she cried about the unfairness of everything, and now they were on a private jet, headed to Chicago. She was cuddled up with Sebastian on what was essentially a long sofa against one side of the plane.
“How many private planes have you flown in?” she asked him.
Sebastian seemed to think about it. “More than a few, I guess. Why?”
“Are they all this awesome? I mean, I thought first-class was impressive, but this is next level.”
“This one’s okay; next time I’ll make sure I get one with a bed, though. I’ll get you a membership into the mile-high club in style.” He grinned wickedly at her.
Lita looked at him, completely deadpan. “I’m already a member.”
“Really?” He looked mildly disappointed.
“No, of course I’m not.” She burst into laughter. “Have you been rich so long that you’ve forgotten what economy is like?”
Sebastian shook his head. “No, but I was a member before I ever flew first-class, princess.”
“Of course you were. I can imagine that you sitting that close to literally any woman between the ages of eighteen and eighty would have caused them to promptly drop their panties.” She grinned at him.
“Maybe,” he agreed. “Are you feeling the urge right now?”
Lita climbed onto his lap and straddled him, dropping her head to kiss him deeply, then said, “Always.”
“God damn, princess, yo
u are the fucking hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said as a seductive smile crossed his lips.
She could feel his body’s reaction to her and bit her lip. “Do we really have to wait for a private jet with a bed? Because I feel like this plane is more than stylish enough for me.”
“Well, it’s your initiation,” he told her. “Who am I to deny you?”
He pulled her head down to kiss her again, and they spent a long time sitting there together and making out. Lita could feel how wet she was, and his erection was straining against his jeans. Sebastian reached a hand up under her top to play with her breasts.
Eventually, Lita told him through panting breaths, “I need you inside me, Sebastian.”
“Anything you want, princess.”
She stood up and took off her jeans and underwear as he dropped his to his ankles, then sat back to wait for her. Lita understood why he sometimes just sat and looked at her during sex, because that’s what she wanted to do now. Sebastian was watching her through lust-filled eyes, completely unashamed of his erection on display. Lita disliked the shirt he was wearing intensely.
“Take your shirt off,” she whispered and groaned when he did.
“Fair’s fair, princess,” he told her.
Lita removed her t-shirt and bra, then dropped them on the floor. She went back to just looking at him. Now that his muscled chest was exposed; he really was magnificent. It was amazing she even got to have sex with him, this man who gave her orgasms but also held her while she cried.
Sebastian seemed unconcerned by her lack of haste to move on to the main event. He seemed amused by her assessment of him, as though he enjoyed her looking at him almost as much as he enjoyed looking at her.
“Such a fine piece of artwork,” Lita finally said.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” he grinned.
She straddled him again and eased herself onto him. The sex between them was slow and luxurious. Sebastian used his fingers to rub her clit and bring her to orgasm twice before he came inside her. Lita was breathing heavily and panting against his neck when he finished.
“Oh god, I’m guessing there’s no shower on this plane,” she groaned.
“Nope, princess,” Sebastian laughed.
Lita climbed off him, then put her underwear and jeans back on. “Oh, this won’t be uncomfortable at all.”
“Not gonna lie,” he said with a wicked grin as he started cleaning himself up. “That’s kind of fucking hot.”
“Yeah, until I get a UTI,” Lita laughed. “I’ll need to shower as soon as we get to your place.”
“I’ll help you. I’m nice like that,” Sebastian said as he finished cleaning up, put his clothes back on, and sat down again.
“Yes, of course you are,” Lita laughed.
Lita sat down next to him again, and he put one arm around her shoulders, then placed his other hand on her baby bump.
“Do you ever think about all the circumstances that led us here?” he asked her, sounding uncharacteristically serious.
“What do you mean?” she asked him.
“Like, a broken condom. You winning that competition. Me becoming famous. So many points along the way where we might never have met, and our baby wouldn’t have existed.” He shook his head.
Lita thought about it. “No, I’m not that type of person. I’m logical. I don’t believe in fate or higher powers. I think it just is what it is. We met, it happened. I will admit you are, surprisingly, the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Sebastian Fox.”
“Are you in love with me, Lolita Ciccone?” he asked her.
“No, but I love you more than I’ve loved any man before if that makes sense?” she asked him.
Sebastian smiled. “I think it does. You’ve said before that you won’t fall in love with me. Do you think falling in love is something you can actively avoid?”
“You’ve managed it for a decade, haven’t you?” Lita asked him with a wry smile.
“Do you feel odd about seeing Heather tomorrow?” he asked her.
Lita frowned and thought about it. “Well, I hadn’t. Not until you asked that. Does she know?”
“No,” Sebastian admitted. “As I said, I always knew she didn’t love me. Heather only ever loved Harrison. We all knew they would end up together. I’m surprised it took them as long as it did. I knew the day that I watched them go upstairs at her party that whatever I felt for her was finished. I wouldn’t sit and be the jealous best friend. My friends were both finally happy, and I was happy for them.”
“So why the jokes about you two having sex? I know the whole ‘lover,’ thing started because of the rumors, but Heather said you used to say stuff about her leaving Harrison for you, and how she’s so sexy and stuff, long before that,” Lita asked him.
Sebastian looked her in the face and gave her a self-deprecating smile. “Oh, princess, do you really want to crawl into my messy brain and try and sort it out?”
“Yeah,” Lita laughed. “I mean, if your baby’s mother can’t do it, who can?”
“I guess because I could have sex with any woman I wanted, but I’d never had Heather. I get a sick kind of humor out of joking about it. As I told you, I shut those feelings away many, many years ago. I would never come between those two. Hell, I don’t think anyone could if they tried, and I have no desire to try.” He smiled at her.
Lita frowned. “So, you shut those feelings away, right? What happens if you open the door now?”
“I fall madly in love with Heather and try to get her away from Harrison?” Sebastian said as seriously as he could seem to manage before laughing. “I’m kidding. Nothing, Lita. I’m not harboring some secret desire for Heather. I’m happy with my life. More importantly, I’m happy with you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, too.”
He lifted his hand to her chin and tilted her face up to his before he leaned down to kiss her deeply. Their tongues intertwined, and Lita felt a calm sense of contentment wash over her. Sebastian constantly surprised her in their new life together. He was so much more than what he appeared to be on the surface. This man who was so vulnerable with her, while seeming to the world that he was nothing more than an asshole playboy.
“You should know that you can’t force intimacy on me by telling me you’ve secretly been in love with your best friend’s wife for a decade,” Lita told him with a grin.
“I wasn’t aware that’s what I was doing, princess,” he laughed, then kissed her again. “God, you’re the best, Lita.”
“Why am I the best, Sebastian?”
“Because, I don’t know, you make me laugh. Because I trust you enough to tell you the one thing I’ve never told anyone. Because you’re having my baby. Because you’re sexy as fuck when you come while moaning my name. Because you’re too good for me, but you keep me around anyway. Do you need more reasons?” he asked her.
“Yeah, I do,” Lita laughed. “This is the best confidence boost I’ve had in a while!”
“Because you’re the only woman I’ve ever fucked without a condom. Oh, and because you’re the only woman I’ve ever fucked at Galena. Because you’re the only woman who’s ever beaten me at pool.” Sebastian really seemed to be getting on a roll, now, and he was grinning at her as he continued, “Because you’re determined to take ten thousand dollars off me and because I can’t wait for you to do it. Did I mention our baby? Because I feel like our baby deserves a second mention. Because you told Cooper to fuck off. Because you don’t take my shit…” Sebastian trailed off.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Lita asked him with a grin. “I mean, sure, those are fine reasons, but I think there has to be more if you really dig deep for them.”
Sebastian was staring at her with a strange look on his face.
“Sebastian? Are you okay?” Lita frowned at him.
“Because I love you.”
Lita heard the words, but she couldn’t accept them. He meant he loved her the way they’d agreed he loved her. She
was his baby mama. They had sex. They were friends. He slept with other women.
But he was looking at her and waiting for a response, so Lita shook her head and asked, “I’m sorry, what?”
“I’m in love with you, Lita,” Sebastian told her.
No. Sebastian Fox couldn’t be in love with her. The thought of being in a romantic relationship with someone like him was too scary. She’d been cheated on before; she had no desire for a repeat performance.
She couldn’t be in a relationship with someone who slept with other women, and Sebastian had come to mean so much to her. She didn’t want to force him to change for her, to have him resent her for it. He was looking at her again, waiting for a response, so she said the first thing that came to her head.
“Cool story, bro. Needs more dragons.”
Sebastian tilted her face up to look at him again. “I mean it. I’m in love with you, Lolita. I didn’t realize it until just now—all of those things, I never put them all together at once, the ways that you’ve affected me.”
“No, Seb. I don’t know what this is, but it’s not that.” She shook her head. “You still sleep with other women. We love each other as parents of our baby. We have great sex. We’re good friends. Maybe you’ve just been closed off for so long that this feels like romantic love because you’re opening yourself up to that. It isn’t, though. I promise.”
She couldn’t look away from his gaze, and she felt awful for the hurt she could see written on his face as a result of her words. Lita knew she could not fall in love with Sebastian Fox, though. She didn’t want him to think she could.
“You don’t know me as well as you think you do, princess,” Sebastian said.
Heather had told her that too, just last week. When she’d been trying to convince Lita that Sebastian was in love with her. It couldn’t be true, though. There were other women, and there were so many of them. He was still holding her face and staring into her eyes, waiting for a response, so she took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she said her next words.