25. Byron Graham
25
BYRON GRAHAM
Traffic was considerably lighter when I got on the expressway to head south toward downtown, but as soon as other vehicles rushing along I-71 south surrounded my car, I realized I could be headed in the wrong direction entirely. My instincts screamed to go downtown to the office because Sebastian was always there during the week. Where else could he be?
Except I had no idea if he was still on suspension. If he wasn’t allowed in the office, he could be at home. Or out with friends who were kind enough to cheer him up. Or he could be out of the country, living it up on some warm beach where some hot Italian in a speedo was currently hitting on him.
Shit.
Fumbling with my phone, I tapped a button and shouted, “Call Kaylan!”
If Sebastian was in the office, Kaylan would know his schedule and help me get in to see him. This couldn’t be accomplished over the phone or a through a series of text messages. I needed to look Sebastian in the eyes and tell him…
Fuck. What the hell was I going to say?
Sorry I flaked the moment things got rough. Can you give me another chance?
I’m sorry I didn’t believe in you enough to help me out of the pit I’d fallen into?
Oh yeah, that made me more freaking appealing than the hot Italian.
“Hey, Byron! How’s it going?” Kaylan’s voice cut through the car from my phone.
“Great and possibly terrible. I might have found a job, but what I need is to find Sebastian. Do you know where he is? Has he returned to the office?”
“What do you need him for? Has he screwed up something else?”
“No! No!” I tapped my brakes as the cars ahead of me slowed. “I need to find him to apologize to him about how I overreacted.”
“Um…from what you told me, you didn’t overreact at all. I’m pretty sure you went too easy on him.”
His kind words made me smile, but this was not helping me right now. “Kaylan,” I growled. “Have you seen him? I need to beg him to give me a second chance.”
“Really? Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Kaylan! I thought you liked us together!”
“I do. Er…I did. But he hurt you bad, and I think he should suffer a lot more. You lost your job, and that put your family in danger.”
“Oh my God, when I see you, I’m going to strangle you. Sebastian didn’t mean for this to happen, and he’s already done so much to help my brother. I need to see him. Now. Please…”
“Okay. Okay. He’s here, in the office, but not for long.”
“What?” I screeched. “What’s wrong? Where’s he going?”
“Um…his private jet is fueling up at Lunken now. He’s flying over to Paris for a week or so to meet with the distribution team there.”
“Shit,” I hissed. My hands were so tight on the steering wheel, my knuckles ached. “He’s there. Do you know for how much longer?”
“Well, he popped down to talk to the CFO, but after that he has to come back up to collect the information I’m compiling for him and a couple of other things.”
“I need you to stall him.”
“What?” He sounded as though he thought I’d lost my mind. Maybe I had, but I didn’t care anymore.
“I just passed the BMW Store and Red Bank Road. That puts me about ten, maybe fifteen minutes from downtown. Call security and arrange for them to allow me up. If Sebastian tries to leave before I get there, stall him.”
“How? Should I tell him you’re coming to see him?”
“No! Don’t do that!” For a second, I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. “What if he doesn’t want to see me? Telling him I’m coming there could make him leave even faster.”
“And this is the guy you want to make up with?”
“Kaylan! You’re killing me!” I whined. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“Okay! Okay! I still think he needs to suffer, but if you think he’s going to make you happy, who am I to stand in your way?”
Fucking exactly.
“I’ll go break the printer and call up IT to mess with it. That’ll definitely buy you at least twenty minutes.”
“Oh sweet God, thank you,” I moaned, no longer wishing I could pound my head on the steering wheel. Kaylan wasn’t normally this difficult. I couldn’t only imagine that managing Sebastian was driving him a little crazy.
“Don’t forget that you’ve got to park under Fountain Square when you get here. That other lot close to the office is full at this hour. Come up using the south staircase.”
“Got it! Thanks for your help!”
Kaylan ended the call, and at last I could breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he’d reminded me about the parking. There was one lot near the office that was exclusive to Courtland employees, and I would have gone straight there out of habit. The only problems were that I wasn’t an employee, and it would be completely full at midday.
But now that I had Kaylan working to keep Sebastian in place for the next fifteen to twenty minutes, I could focus on the next problem—what in the world was I going to say to Sebastian that would convince him to give me another chance? How was I going to prove that I was worthy of it? That I would not abandon him the next time things became difficult for us?
I mean, the first test was a hard one. I’d lost my job and had no way of supporting my family. My reputation had been ruined, or so I’d thought.
Sebastian had only wanted to help me through the rough patch. To give me a little breathing room so I wasn’t killing myself to support my mom and brother. And what had I done? Let my ego get in the way. My pride had stopped me from leaning on him when I’d really needed to. Sebastian wouldn’t have thought less of me.
Even if I hadn’t been willing to take his money, I could have gone to him for emotional support. He would have kept me from feeling so alone and helpless during those dark days.
I should just be honest. Admit where I went wrong, state that I’ve learned from it, and try very hard to never make the mistake again.
Booooooorrrrriiiiinnnnngggggg…
That would never work.
He was going to laugh in my face, hop on his private jet, and run off to the open arms of some hot French guy who would never abandon him.
Fuck . No. I needed some grand gesture. Some big thing that would steal Sebastian’s breath away and make him not hurt any longer. Something?—
A coughing, choking sound erupted from the car engine. I clenched my teeth and silently prayed for it to not stall as we cruised past Rookwood and Hyde Park. I was less than five minutes from my exit. So fucking close.
“Come on, baby,” I coaxed. “If you can make it downtown, I swear I’ll give you a nice break. We’ll go for a proper oil change and even take you in for all kinds of service. All the parts will be replaced. I promise. You just gotta get me to Sebastian.”
My poor car sputtered and coughed, her complaining growing louder for every mile that we crossed. She was steadily slowing, but she continued to move as if she were willing to crawl those last few miles to get me to my destination.
Each time we approached an exit, I debated whether to get off, park, and call a rideshare to pick me up, but that would take up even more time that I didn’t have. In the end, I kept going, praying my car would make it.
Sweat poured off me, and I pulled at my tie. We could do it. She could keep moving. She was going to get me to the office one last time.
But she didn’t.
The old car coasted along the Gilbert Avenue exit, coming to a final wheezing stall just at the cross streets of Seventh Street and Broadway. I was still more than four blocks away from my destination. I had no other options. Cincinnati wasn’t one of those cities like New York, where taxis were roving everywhere, waiting for someone to flag them.
Cursing my luck while refusing to be beaten, I snagged an old backpack from the rear seat and stuffed all the paperwork Danielle had given me into it. My phone and keys immediately followed.
And then I fucking ran.
I would not let Sebastian leave town, potentially flying out of my life forever, without him knowing that I loved him.
Yes! That was it. That was exactly what I needed to tell him.
I loved Sebastian Courtland.
I loved his impulsive insanity, his silly grin, and his larger-than-life heart. There wasn’t a thing about him I didn’t love. Even the stuff that drove me crazy. I wanted all of that every day for the rest of my life.
The brutal July heat beat on me, hammering on my head and cooking me in my suit. Sweat soaked into all the fibers, making the pants stick to my legs as I moved. The hard soles of my dress shoes knocked angrily on the sidewalks as I rushed forward, dodging other pedestrians going about their normal lives. As I approached, a few stared at me and laughed at the insane idiot in a suit running like a horde of zombies was on his heels.
They didn’t understand. I’d found the man I wanted to spend my life with, and I could not let him go. Not yet. Not without telling him how much he meant to me.
Two blocks south and four blocks over. It wasn’t that far, but it had been a long time since I’d run, particularly in the summer heat. A stitch formed in my side and sweat slipped into my left eye.
At last, Fountain Square came into view. I wheezed and coughed like my poor old car. It was right at lunchtime, when the square was at its busiest. People were slipping out of the surrounding skyscrapers to hit many of the nearby restaurants and food trucks for something to eat.
I could do this. So close. Nothing was going to stop me.
I charged up a few stairs leading to the square that held the famous Tyler Davidson fountain with her arms outstretched, raining water down on other bronze statues. Not far now.
“Byron Graham is the most honorable, amazing man in Cincinnati.”
My feet almost tripped over themselves at the sound of Sebastian’s voice. But it wasn’t him standing near me and talking. It sounded as if he were coming across loudspeakers.
I turned, trying to spot him. Several other people had also stopped and were pointing at the giant screen on the building across the street.
My picture was on the screen.
Holy shit! My picture was up there!