Hired, page 15
Hadley drove them to Sebastian’s house, using his phone to navigate as Sebastian seemed half out of it, dozing off, then waking up and grunting in pain. Sebastian had provided the address of his pharmacy, so on the way to his house, Hadley hit the drive-thru to pick up the meds the doctor had prescribed. Sebastian’s house had a tall iron gate, but before Hadley could worry about how to open it, it slid open on its own.
“Sensor.” Sebastian tapped a little gadget clipped to his visor. “If it senses both this and my phone, it’ll open automatically.”
The garage opened on its own as well, and Hadley parked the Jaguar. Sebastian hit a button, and the garage door closed again. Sebastian managed to get out of his car, his face pale and sweaty. Hadley’s heart grew soft all over again. “Come on, let’s get you your meds and then some rest.”
Sebastian didn’t protest as Hadley led him inside, following Sebastian’s gestures of where to go. They entered the house through a mudroom, then stepped into an open hallway. Holy crap, this house was amazing. So freaking big and with gorgeous wooden beams everywhere. Modern and yet warm and cozy.
Hadley had little time to look around as Sebastian indicated they should take the open stairs to the second floor, where a mezzanine offered a view over the living room. And oh my god, that view. Hadley took a moment to appreciate the sweeping vista in front of him. Lake Washington shimmered in the watery sun, which peered through the clouds, and it looked so peaceful and calm.
Alas, he’d have to admire it some more another time. Right now, Sebastian needed him, and he hurried after him as Sebastian shuffled into what had to be his bedroom. It was ginormous, the king-size bed appearing small in the sheer space of the room. Through an open door, Hadley spotted an adjoining master bathroom with a massive bathtub and a walk-in shower. The room also had a balcony that offered a view over the lake.
Sebastian groaned as he sat down on the bed, and Hadley refocused. He kneeled at his feet and took off his shoes and socks. Wasn’t it funny that it almost felt more personal than seeing someone naked? Maybe because Sebastian appeared so vulnerable now.
“You don’t have to do this,” Sebastian mumbled. “I can—”
“Shut up.”
Hadley helped him stand and unbuckled his pants, then took them off as Sebastian stepped out of them. The man stood there as Hadley unbuttoned his dress shirt and slipped it off, leaving him in a white T-shirt and boxer briefs. “You want to keep those on?” Hadley asked.
“No shirt. Too hot.”
Sebastian groaned again in pain when he lifted his arms so Hadley could pull the shirt over his head. Hadley forced himself to look at Sebastian’s face, his pale, sickly face. Now wasn’t the time to admire his body. He held open the bed covers, and Sebastian slid in without a word.
“Let me get you some water so you can take your meds,” Hadley said.
He found a glass in the bathroom and filled it halfway, then took the meds out of the container and double-checked the dosage. When he came back, Sebastian was barely awake, but he pushed himself up and took the meds. Hadley put the water on the nightstand, then helped Sebastian lie down again and tucked the comforter around him. “Get some sleep. I’m sure you’ll feel better once the meds kick in.”
Sebastian nodded, rolled over onto his side to the middle of the bed, facing Hadley, and closed his eyes. Within a minute, he was asleep. Hadley watched him, carefully sitting down on the edge of the bed. Sebastian’s dark lashes lay fanned across his pale skin. How different he looked with his eyes closed. Less dark and fierce and more…human. Hadley brushed a lock of hair off Sebastian’s forehead before he even realized it, and he held his breath, but Sebastian never stirred.
He was gorgeous, even now, and for once, Hadley could take his fill of him, studying him in detail without fear of getting caught. What was it about Sebastian that drew him in so much? Not his agreeable personality, that was for sure. Hadley smiled at the thought of someone calling Sebastian agreeable. He was anything but.
And yet under all that prickliness lay something much softer, a vulnerability Hadley hadn’t expected. Sebastian wasn’t the ogre people took him for, but why he was so often a dick, Hadley had no idea. He shouldn’t care, shouldn’t even want to find out, but he did. In fact, he cared way too much.
He caressed Sebastian's cheek one more time, then forced himself to leave the room.
16
Sebastian slowly awoke, still groggy from sleep. He blinked against the surprising amount of light filtering in through his blinds. It was day? Why the hell was he in bed in the middle of the day? Pain pierced his stomach, and he remembered.
Fuck. He had a stomach ulcer. An ulcer, for fuck’s sake. How could he have let that happen?
He had no one to blame but himself. As much as he wanted to point the finger at something or someone else, in this case, he couldn’t. He’d done this to himself, and shame filled him all over again. Too much stress. Too many painkillers. Not taking care of himself. He’d been such an idiot. He’d thought himself so smart, and yet here he was. So. Fucking. Stupid.
He’d have to make changes. How, he wasn’t sure, not with how packed his schedule was, but he’d have to find more time for relaxation. Stress management, the doctor had called it, which was such a fancy word for something that ought to be simple: work less, relax more.
The reality was that he had no clue how to make that happen. All the money in the world, and yet he’d failed to protect what was most important—his health. God, if his mom heard about this, she’d tear him a new one. She’d been on his case for months that he needed to slow down. Maybe Hadley would have ideas?
Oh fuck, Hadley. He’d brought Sebastian home, had tucked him into bed like a little kid. What would Hadley think of him? He’d gone way beyond what was expected of a personal assistant. How had Hadley even gotten home? He’d probably taken an Uber, and Sebastian could only hope he’d been smart enough to use his company credit card and not pay for it himself.
He dragged himself out of bed, no easy feat when his body felt like lead and his bed was so comfortable. But if he fell back asleep now, he wouldn’t be able to sleep later, and his whole sleep/wake rhythm would be screwed. The big question was, to shower or not to shower. He was sweaty from before and grimy from the hospital, but he was too tired for it now, despite just waking up. Maybe later. For now, he’d try to eat something. He might have to order something through Uber Eats, though, as most of what he had wouldn’t qualify as soft.
Dressed in a T-shirt and underwear, he headed into the hallway. Out of habit, he glanced down from the mezzanine into the living room, then came to a full stop. In one of the oversized, super comfy couches in front of the fireplace sat Hadley, his legs pulled up and an adorable frown between his brows as he looked at his hands. He was…knitting? Yes, knitting, his hands moving the needles in an easy rhythm that betrayed experience. Sebastian had no idea what he was making. Something blue was all he could tell, with yarn that seemed to gradually change color.
Hadley looked up—did he have a sixth sense?—and stopped knitting. “You’re awake.”
Sebastian made his way down, his bare feet slapping on the wooden stairs. “I can’t believe you’re still here.”
“As if I would leave you by yourself after that.” Hadley seemed indignant at the suggestion. “How are you feeling?”
Sebastian dragged a hand through his hair, feeling strangely naked. Well, come to think of it, he was underdressed, considering Hadley was his PA, but that wasn’t even what he meant. No, he felt stripped emotionally. Hadley had seen far more than Sebastian had ever intended him to. “Tired. A little hungry, so I guess that’s good?”
His stomach was still tender but nowhere near as bad as it had been, so the meds must already be doing their job.
Hadley put his knitting work down and rose from the chair. “I’ll make you something to eat.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know, but I’m doing it anyway.”
Sebastian didn’t know what to do with his hands, since he had no pockets to put them in. “I’m not sure if I even have any groceries.”
“You didn’t, but I did a grocery order.”
“How did you…?”
Hadley snorted. “I know the password to your phone, remember? All I had to do was log onto Instacart, and I could order. Your fridge is now full of food you can eat. Healthy foods that are soft on your stomach. I’ll make you an egg white omelet with spinach, perhaps with some chicken soup?”
Sebastian swallowed. “That sounds delicious. Thank you.”
“My pleasure. You could put on some clothes, maybe?”
“Why? Is my half-naked body too tempting for you?” He made a lame attempt at a joke.
Hadley rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I can barely restrain myself from jumping your bones, considering you look gaunt and sick and just came back from the ER. No, idiot, you’re shivering, so put on something warmer.”
He was. Huh, he hadn’t even realized that. He dragged himself upstairs, then returned wearing sweat pants, a hoodie, and a pair of fluffy socks. “Much better,” Hadley said when Sebastian walked into the open kitchen that was separated from the living room by two steps.
Sebastian sat down at the breakfast bar, watching Hadley as he moved around in the kitchen as if he was at home. “You like cooking?”
Hadley shrugged. “Like is a big word. My brother Jaren is a much better cook, but I don’t mind it. And since Lagan and I are on a budget, we can’t afford to eat out a lot, so we have to cook. And I have to admit cooking is a lot more fun when you have a kitchen like this.” He whistled between his teeth as he deftly cracked eggs into a bowl, separating the egg whites from the yolks. “This is one hell of a setup.”
“I love this house. I fell in love with it when I saw the first pictures, and three years later, I’m still grateful I get to live here.”
Hadley added some milk, salt, and pepper and whipped the eggs. “The view is stunning. I spent some time out on the terrace while you were sleeping, and I gotta tell you: I’d lounge there all day every day in the summer.”
Sebastian looked outside, where dusk was falling, painting the sky in shades of blue and gray. The lights on the mainland came on one by one, twinkling like little stars. How often had he taken the time to enjoy it? The view was one of the main reasons he’d bought the house, but how many times had he taken the time to enjoy it other than with a fleeting look? He had a balcony adjoining his bedroom, a whole sitting area on a deck right off the kitchen, and yet he’d spent precious little time there.
“Yeah, it’s pretty spectacular,” he said softly.
Hadley cut the omelet in two, plated one half for Sebastian and the other for himself, and added a bowl of chicken soup for both of them. A glass of milk completed the meal. “Do you want to sit here or at the table?”
“The table,” Sebastian decided. He could look at Hadley easier there, not having to look sideways the whole time.
The meal was delicious. Soft, the right level of salty without it being overwhelming, and hearty enough to scratch that hungry itch. “You’re a good cook. Is there anything you can’t do?”
Hadley grinned. “Plenty. I’m good with computers, as in software, but I suck at anything technical otherwise. Seriously, anything that has a plug is dangerous in my hands. I can fry a toaster simply by plugging it in. Ask me how I know.”
“So he tells me after using my kitchen.”
“I haven’t damaged anything yet, but I’m not ruling it out.”
“Well, that’s encouraging.”
“How about you? What do you suck at?”
Sebastian sighed. “Other than taking care of myself and having zero people skills?”
Hadley cocked his head, and Sebastian squirmed under his intense gaze. No one had that effect on him, so why did Hadley? Maybe because unlike everyone else, he seemed to see the real Sebastian. Not the outside that, so far, had fooled most people but the man he was inside.
“Is that what you think, that you have no people skills?”
“Like you haven’t noticed I’m not a people person.”
“Those are two separate things. You don’t like people, but that doesn’t mean you don’t know how to handle them. I’ve seen you in board meetings. You can be charming if you want.”
“That’s business. It’s different.”
“Most of what you do is business.”
He had him there, didn’t he? That fact was hard to deny, even more after what had happened. “True,” he said with a sigh.
“You’re not all that good at reading people, at interpreting body language and nonverbal cues, but that’s not the same thing. And I don’t even think you hate people at the core. You distrust them. You’re different with people you trust, like your parents and sister.”
“Plus a few college friends…and you.”
Hadley met his eyes. “And me, though I’m not sure how I got added to that list.”
“Because you’re you. You don’t take any crap from me, you’re bossy as fuck, and you’re not intimidated by me.”
“Why would I be intimidated by you?”
“Most people are one way or another. Either by my looks, my brains, my wealth, or my position as a CEO. I think that’s why I’m still close with some of my friends from college. They knew me before all this.”
He wasn’t even sure why he was sharing this with Hadley. He was so easy to talk to. Not merely a good listener but someone who dared to speak the truth, hold up a mirror, even when it wasn’t flattering.
“Pretty sure you were already smart and good looking back then.”
“You think I’m good looking?”
Hadley snorted. “Oh, please. As if I’m telling you something new.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not nice to hear it from someone like you.”
“What do you mean, someone like me?”
“Because you tell me the truth. You don’t say it to flatter me or because you want something from me.”
Hadley’s face grew serious. “Is it that bad?”
Sebastian hid his face in his hands, massaging his temples. His headache had returned, only this time, he couldn’t take ibuprofen. “I feel like the biggest hypocrite, complaining to you about this. On the surface, I have everything, and yet…”
“So did Kurt Cobain, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, and yet they all suffered from things no one else could see. Being rich and famous and successful doesn’t equal happiness. It’s okay to admit that despite being wealthy, you still struggle with things.”
Sebastian thought of the epiphany he’d had at Tom’s wedding, not even a week ago. It had been on his mind ever since. “I’m not happy,” he said softly, looking up to meet Hadley’s kind eyes. “An old college friend of mine got married last week, and at his wedding, I connected with him and another college friend. As we chatted, I realized that I’d never been as happy again as I was back in college. It…it shocked me. I don’t know why, but it hit me hard. Here I am with all this money, all these things I can do and buy, and I’m not happy. What does that say about me?”
Hadley put his hand on his, and Sebastian let him, tenderness welling up inside him when Hadley laced their fingers together. “What it says is that money can’t buy happiness, as cliché as it sounds. And that money doesn’t mean much to you.”
“It doesn’t. I’m the most ungrateful millionaire in the world, I bet.”
“So what does make you happy? What about your days in college brought you joy?”
Sebastian held on to Hadley’s hand as he leaned back in his chair. “The friendships first and foremost. I was close with those guys, and we’re still in touch. We had so much fun together, but it was more than superficial college guys drinking and fucking around. We loved to tinker with tech stuff, build robots together, and enter competitions. I came up with some ideas back then that I didn’t develop until later.”
“You’re smiling.” Hadley gave his hand a little squeeze. “You don’t smile very often, but these memories made you smile.”
Again, Sebastian was closer to tears than he dared to admit. “How sad is it to realize I peaked in college? That time is never coming back, so does that mean I’ll never be happy again?”
Hadley didn’t answer right away, and Sebastian only appreciated that. He didn’t want the quick answers, the empty clichés and platitudes. He wanted to hear what Hadley thought.
“No, that’s not the conclusion you should come to. In fact…” He tapped his chin. “You know when I saw you smile for the first time since I started working for you? I mean spontaneously smile and showing genuine joy?”
“No?”
“When you’d been working in your office on something uninterrupted for two hours. Remember that? It was right before the whole Grindr debacle.”
Sebastian did remember. He’d been developing his idea for the Snow Buddy, doing research and processing images containing snow, ice, and lots of white, and how the machine could accurately measure quantities of snow and automatically adjust the blower. For two whole hours, Hadley had had his phone, his email had been off, and he hadn’t allowed himself to be distracted by anything else. It had been heaven. In fact, he hadn’t had that much fun in ages.
“I was doing technical research for a new product I had an idea for,” he said slowly. “I was so excited about my findings, and I still am. I’ve been hoping to find time to get back to it soon.”
“Sebastian, can I ask you something without you getting offended?”
“You can ask me anything.” His voice was raw, but he’d never meant anything more.
“Do you like being CEO?”
What kind of question was that? “I’m not offended, but why would you ask that? I’ve been working in my father’s company since I graduated from college. It’s always been the goal to have me take over.”
“That doesn’t mean it was the right choice or that you love it.”
“But…” Sebastian was quiet. Something about what Hadley said chafed on the inside, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
