Chapter 7 #2
Lewis jumps in before Sebastian gets a chance to respond. He played a corpse on CSI New York once. Maybe that’s it? With a wide grin, he slaps Sebastian’s shoulder. He was so proud of it, too. It’s still listed on your resume, right?
Sebastian throws his coworker a pissy glare before shaking his head in reply. Those were the days I thought acting was the best road to fortune and fame. Good thing I learned my lesson.
Lewis bursts out laughing, then quickly covers his mouth with his hand.
I have to admit that your Broadway performance was pretty awesome.
What was that song again? You know, the one with the little dance?
He puts on a terrifyingly convincing imitation of a mime pressing his hands up against an imaginary window.
Sebastian rolls his eyes at him. Lewis, let’s keep it professional here, yeah? He nods toward Patrice and me. We’ve got company.
I let out a laugh. Oh, don’t mind me! I’ve seen so much worse than this.
Thank God, Lewis chuckles. Not everyone here acts as buddy-buddy as we do—we went to school together back in the day, he explains before nodding at one of the doors. Should we get set up in the conference room? Let’s see what you have planned for us.
Sebastian smiles politely at me and I rack my brain again trying to figure out why he looks so familiar. The coffee place? The bagel vendor? And then it comes to me: he was the guy in line behind me during my feud with the subway ticket kiosk.
Stunned, I stare at the back of his blonde head, feeling relieved that he didn’t recognize me. It wasn’t exactly the kind of moment I picture my 80-year-old self recounting to my grandchildren over a cup of tea and a plate of cookies on visiting day at the long-term care home.
Patrice and I follow the two men into a room that’s almost entirely taken up by a long wooden table surrounded by luxurious leather chairs. There’s a large screen on the wall and a narrow table right below it where you can hook up a laptop.
We’ll have to wait for Jocelyn and Stephan from HR, Sebastian tells us, tapping his pen on the table. You two got here a bit early, but we appreciate your enthusiasm.
He winks at us, before exchanging a knowing look with Lewis.
My eyes dodge between the two of them. I can sense that Sebastian’s blue eyes are fixed on me and I nervously start to wiggle on my heels.
Between his clean-cut blonde hair and his stylish clothes, I’m super attracted to him.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all to discover a pair of shiny shoes under the table, if I get the chance to sneak a peek later.
Probably cognac brown—the ideal pairing for a navy suit, plus Sebastian looks like the kind of guy who would know about these things.
By the time Stephan and Jocelyn join us, I’ve connected the laptop to the screen with the presentation on standby. Just as I’m about to kick us off, Patrice steps forward and begins to speak out of turn.
Okay. Looking at locations, we’ve highlighted a number of options here that we believe will be of interest.
I stare at her, completely flabbergasted as she takes all the words right out of my mouth. This was not our plan. This was my presentation to deliver, but she knows it would look way too unprofessional for me to interrupt her in the moment. I would never risk that.
The other four people in the room don’t seem to be onto anything.
They’re all paying close attention to Patrice as she walks them through the available locations, decoration ideas, and menu options.
When she reaches the slides with potential performers and previews of their songs, she stops for a sip of coffee and I grab my opportunity to swipe the baton from her.
I figure: brand new subject, brand new presenter. Patrice glares in my direction as I hit play on the song previews, but she does manage to keep her mouth shut. Thankfully.
Once we get to Ed de Vries, I notice Sebastian shift in his seat and—without realizing it?—begin to move along to the rhythm of the music. Lewis is nodding along in approval, too.
I like the sound of this one. Who’s the artist? Jocelyn asks me with interest.
This is Ed de Vries, a Dutch performing artist, I beam. He won a reality singing competition in the Netherlands a few years ago.
Hmm, Ed the Freeze, Jocelyn repeats in her New York accent. I think I like him the most from this list. She shoots the gentlemen a questioning look. What did you all think?
They agree with a nod and I take in the room with a sense of pride. Patrice, on the other hand, has her arms crossed in front of her and seems far from amused. But after that stunt she just pulled, I couldn’t care less.
Okay, excellent, Sebastian says. We’ll let you know this afternoon which event space we want to go with so you can secure the reservation.
It’s great we’re getting this settled so quickly.
He rises to his feet and fires a huge smile our way.
We’ll have to get back to work. I still have a bunch to do for Cahill’s pro bono case.
He states that last part more for himself than for us.
Even so, I wish him good luck before Patrice and I make our way out of the room.