Chapter 13
SEBASTIAN
Jade shuts her bedroom door and stands there with her hands on her hips. She looks so cute in her all-black outfit, though she could use a pop of colour.
‘Fuck you, Sebastian.’
OK, she does have colour, but it’s coming from her language.
‘Oh dear, first day not good?’ I ask, feigning innocence. It was always going to be a risk sending her to that magazine, but I thought she might get a kick out of it seeing she wants to be a journalist.
Jade bursts into tears. Uh-oh. This is worse than I thought.
My intention to ‘show her who’s boss’ flies out the window. This calls for more delicate handling.
I pat the side of the bed. ‘Come here and tell Uncle Seb all about it.’
She swipes at her cheeks and heaves a sigh but approaches the bed. ‘You are not my uncle by any stretch of the imagination.’
‘True, but I’m the one who put you here, so feel free to offload on me.’
Jade kicks off her shoes and sits against the headboard, her knees drawn up. Her scrunched bare toes are painted bright pink and look like candy. I resist the urge to lick them. With the mood she’s in, I might get a slap round the ears.
‘Sooo,’ I prompt, ‘what happened? Was someone mean to you?’
She shrugs her shoulders. ‘Kind of.’
I clench my fists. ‘Tell me names, and I’ll have them dealt with.’
The hint of a smile plays across her lips. ‘So you’re a hitman as well as a devil?’
‘I can be whatever you want me to be,’ I drawl.
She rolls her eyes. ‘Not helping.’ So I lose the flirty attitude. If Jade needs sympathetic Sebastian, I can be that for her.
‘OK, start from the beginning.’
‘I’m not coping with this era. Everything’s so ... basic. And PopTrax is crazy. It’s noisy, chaotic, and everyone smokes. It’s given me a headache breathing in all that nicotine poison.’
She rubs her eyes, which admittedly are rather bloodshot, and her hair does reek of smoke. ‘Hmm, working conditions are not ideal. Noted. Anything else?’
‘There’s this guy. Ash Delaney. The special features journo. I’m shadowing him, but he seems to want to get in my knickers.’
I tense at that.
‘What?’ I growl. ‘Did he touch you?’
She shakes her head hurriedly. ‘No, no. Nothing like that, but he’s a massive flirt. I get the impression he’s slept with most of the girls in the office, and I’m fresh meat.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, we went to interview this girl band, and that admittedly was kind of fun. I liked chatting to them about their musical journey. And Ash left me to it, really. He seemed more interested in flirting with the receptionist. But then afterwards, he suggested going to the pub for a G and T, which ended up being three, so I was kind of wasted by the time we got back to the office. Then I was trying to type the article from my scribbled notes. But he kept interrupting me and bringing me cups of coffee. So I was drunk, but wired from all the caffeine. I asked him if he didn’t have work to do, and he said, “You’re my work, Jade. ”’
She blushes, and I frown. This arsehole really seems to be targeting her. I ignore the fact that I’m actually targeting her too. That’s different. Jade and I have a sexual history. I’m higher up the pecking order. I’m the only one who’s going to get into her knickers.
‘Anything else?’ I ask, gingerly resting a hand on her knee and reassured by the fact that she doesn’t push it off.
‘I typed up my article and gave it to Danny, the editor. I’ve never used a typewriter before.
It was pretty archaic and took fucking ages.
I thought I’d done an OK job. Anyway, he returned it twenty minutes later, with most of it crossed out in red pen.
He chucked a pile of back issues on my desk, barked “Read and learn”, and disappeared into his office, slamming the door.
It was humiliating. I hate it there. I want to go home. ’
A tear rolls down her cheek, and my chest constricts. Honestly, I didn’t think she’d be having such a hard time. I could have sent her to London in the 1700s; then she really would be crying. All that horse shit in the street and sponge bathing.
I rub her knee absent-mindedly, thinking about women giving themselves sponge baths, then notice Jade is looking at me pointedly. Right, advice!
‘I think all your concerns are totally valid. And since you’re having teething troubles, I’ll block out some time in my schedule to check on you.’
Jade’s eyes widen as if she’s shocked I’m actually listening to her. ‘Can you really do that?’ she says eagerly.
‘Sure, if you want me to.’
She averts her gaze from mine and says casually, ‘Well, you know, having some sort of support would be good since HR doesn’t seem to exist in this era. Just seeing a familiar face from the twenty-first century would be good.’
‘Would seeing this face make you feel better?’ I draw my lips back from my teeth to resemble a snarl and cross my eyes.
She giggles and punches my shoulder. I punch her back lightly, and she punches me again harder. ‘Ooof, OK, Uncle Seb is not your stress-release bag.’
‘Stop calling yourself Uncle Seb. It’s really creepy, especially since I’ve given you a handjob.’
I swallow and resist the urge to ask if she wants to repeat the performance because the way my cock is twitching, it definitely would like her to. But Jade seems more interested in sniffing the air. ‘Mmm, what’s that smell? I’m starving.’
‘Rach must be cooking dinner.’
‘Oh yeah, I was going to ask you. What do my flatmates actually do? I can’t exactly ask them.’
‘Rach is a secretary for a law firm at London Wall. But she’s a bit of a homemaker too and enjoys cooking, as you may have noticed.
Kiki is more of a free spirit and into women’s lib.
She works in a local clothing shop. And they both love the latest bands, which is why they’ve been so happy that you got the job at PopTrax. ’
Jade nods slowly. ‘I see. Maybe I can try to get some extra tickets for them if I’m invited to any concerts then? Ash mentioned something about there sometimes being spares.’
‘I’m sure they’d absolutely love that.’
‘OK, that would be kind of fun.’
She swivels and puts her feet on the ground. ‘Thanks for listening, Sebastian. I feel a lot better about working there now.’
‘You’re welcome.’
There’s a pause. ‘So when will I see you again?’
My heart breakdances in my chest, but I play it cool.
‘Oh, I’ll pop up in PopTrax. When you least expect it.’