The Protege (12 page)

Price
turned to Kaiser and offered a handshake.  “Thank you once again, Mr. Sorensen,
for you confidence in me.”

“It’s
not idle confidence, Mr. Turnsby.  Your track record speaks for itself.  I have
no doubt this new union will be a very profitable one.”  He patted Price on the
shoulder as he led him to the elevator. “I’ll have my lawyers draw up the necessary
documents and send them to your place to be signed.”

Price
entered the elevator and shot Sebastian one last scrutinizing glance before the
doors slid shut.

“What
was that all about?” Sebastian said as he followed Kaiser into his office.

“I
see you're feeling better.”

Really? 
Now you want to talk about my health, Sebastian thought.  “Much better.”

“Good,
good.  I wanted to apologize on behalf of your mother.  She desperately wanted
to go see you at the hospital, but her commitment to everyone at the
fundraiser…”

“I
understand,” Sebastian cut in. He didn’t really want to hear all the excuses
they could possibly come up with for not coming to see him.

“And
as for me, well, you know how things pile up if I just miss a day at the
office.  Besides, I had this big deal with Price to finalize.”

“So
what
is
the deal with the Price guy?”

“He’s
just signed an agreement intending to purchase one of our subsidiaries… our
line of Granite Gyms. Now I know talking business isn’t what brought you here. 
What’s on your mind, son?”

“I
wanted to share with you the suspicions I have regarding my mysterious food
poisoning.”

“But
your mother told me it wasn’t food poisoning.”

“Exactly.”

“You
suspect foul play?”

“D’you
have any other suggestions?”

Kaiser
stared blankly at him.

“In
addition to that, I arrived at my place this morning and it’d been ransacked. 
Everything was overturned, every drawer emptied, even the contents of my
refrigerator were on the floor.”

“This
whole episode with you in the hospital really brought home just how serious you
and this new young lady are. I must say it came as a bit of a surprise.” Kaiser
chuckled. “I don’t know if you’ll succeed in getting your mother and Willow to
back off, though, but good luck.”

“First
off, her name is Serena Singleton, not young lady.” Sebastian couldn’t believe
he’d just brushed off the fact his place had been ransacked. “Secondly, did you
hear what I just said?” 

“Right,
Serena.  I knew her name had a lovely ring to it.  A very efficient young
woman.  She’s the one who kept us up to date on your condition.”

“Dad…”

“Yes,
yes.  I heard you. Your place was ransacked. Apartments in your area are apt to
be burglarized every now and then, despite the heavy security.”

“This
wasn’t a burglary.  Nothing was taken.  They went in there looking for
something.”

“Assuming
you're right, assuming someone went into your apartment looking for something,
I think the best course of action at this moment is to keep it all under
wraps.”

“Seriously?
I may have been intentionally poisoned and my place was broken into and you
want to keep it hush hush?  And what am I supposed to do?  Just go on about my
day as if nothing had happened?”

“Don’t
worry.  I’ll have someone look into it.  Going to the police would just bring
unwanted publicity to the whole situation. Your private issues should remain
private. Bad press at this point in time could ruin this new deal.”

Sebastian
cocked a disbelieving brow.  “Really?  That’s what concerns you?  How all this
will affect your new deal?”

“It’s
a multi-million dollar deal, son.”

Sucking
in an exasperated breath, Sebastian looked over his father’s head at the grand
view of Newport Harbor.  He knew money and prestige were important to his
father, but… this was too much.  “Anyway, I just stopped by to see if you and
Mom were all right. When I saw my apartment, I thought perhaps whoever had gone
through my things might want to get to you two as well.”

“We’re
fine, son.”

“Apparently.
As far as you're concerned, it never happened.”

“Don’t
take it that way. You have to understand how this could affect more than just
you. If it makes you feel better, I’ll arrange for added security at your
building. You should know by now that we can’t let something like a nosy
busybody get in the way of what needs to be done.” He fumbled with a few files
that lay on his desk. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t really think you’d be
targeted since you're so far removed from the business.”

“Targeted?”
His gut filled with dread.  Not only was his father unmoved by the destruction
of his own son’s apartment, but he’d apparently anticipated some kind of
trouble.  “Are you telling me you were aware of some potential danger and you
never said anything?”

“Like
I said, son, I didn’t think you’d be targeted.”

“What’s
going on?”

“Nothing
that concerns you.”

“I
beg to differ.  I have a ransacked apartment that says different and, the last
time I checked, I was still a part of this family.”

Kaiser
shoved his hands deep into his pant pockets and turned to look out at the
ocean.  “I didn’t want to get you involved in this.  I didn’t want you to be
troubled by…”  He turned to face his son. “You know, I started this company
from nothing, literally.  Today it’s a multi-billion dollar powerhouse and
still you want nothing to do with it.  I won’t lie, I would have been the
proudest father in the world if you’d chosen to follow in my footsteps; if
you’d admired the company I’d built enough to come add your own blood, sweat
and tears to the mix, but no… you had better things to do.”

“You
know I don’t have a head for this sort of business.”

“Your
mother doesn’t really have a head for business either, but she’s nonetheless
put great time and effort into hosting banquets, dinner parties, charitable
events and everything in between. Even Willow and her mother take part.  For
crying out loud, Sebastian, you're my only child, my only son. You're the sole
heir to all this and…”  He chocked and coughed into his fist. “Damn it, all
you’ve done is turn your nose at us… at this.”  He spread his arms out,
indicating his office.

“We’ve
been through this before,” Sebastian said in a monotone voice. “What is this
trouble you're in?  Why is security such an issue all of a sudden?”

“It’s
not really all of a sudden.  It’s part of the game. You have money and people
want to get their hands on it. The more you have, the more ruthless they
become.  When your face appears on the front cover of Forbes with your net
worth printed in big bold digits… well, it rattles people a bit.  Seems
everyone thinks they deserve a percentage of your success.”  Clearing his
throat, he looked thoughtfully at his son.  “When you were young, we were
careful to keep you sheltered from it all; lunatics, kidnappers, the Lindbergh
baby.  Your mother wanted to make sure you were safe at all times. Despite many
requests, we never allowed a photo of you to be published.  But now… well,
you're all grown up, and we thought you were safe. You're a strong and capable
man, but I guess you're still vulnerable. People can go to ridiculous lengths
when greed takes over.”

Sebastian
wanted to argue that his hadn’t been a mere robbery, that money wasn’t the
issue, but his father firmly guided him out of his office.

“I
know you probably don’t believe me, but I’m truly happy to see you're better.
You know, I’m still available if ever you want to set up a meeting to discuss
your possible future here.  There’ll always be an office ready and waiting for
you.”

“Don’t
hold your breath.” Sebastian managed a chuckle, but was far from amused.

“Well,
I’m sure you have a lot to do today, what with cleaning up your place, so I’ll
let you get going.”

Though
being so politely dismissed, hurt the little boy inside, Sebastian stood
straight and looked his father in the eye.  “I wouldn’t want to keep you from
your obligations either, Dad.”  He shot him a curt salute and turned to head to
the elevator.  On the way he bumped into Darcy, his father’s assistant.

“Sorry
about that,” Sebastian said as he realized he’d caused her to drop the stack of
news she’d been carrying.  He stooped down to help her.

“It’s
my fault.  I’m in a hurry and…”

Neglecting
to pick up every paper, Sebastian grabbed one copy and stared dumbfounded at it
as he stood. The front page had a picture from the fundraiser.  Though he sat
at the table surrounded by his parents, Willow, her brother and mother, it was
his arm around Serena that caught his eye.  He was leaning close to her and the
private smile she’d smiled just for him was now plastered on the front page for
everyone to see.

The
headline only made matters worse. “Has Sebastian Sorensen found someone else to
woo?”

Silently
berating himself for having risked the night out with her, he now realized it
would be impossible for him to be involved with her on both a personal and
professional level.

Chapter 12

S
erena took a sip from her fifth cup of coffee
and resumed pacing.  Since talking to Sebastian she’d taken his suit out of her
closet, put it back in, only to take it out again.  She’d beaten a path from
her living room to the kitchen and from there to her bedroom.  She’d changed a
half dozen times; shorts were too casual, a dress too contrived, yoga pants and
sweater too laid back.  She’d finally settled on a simple pair of jeans and a
plain white t-shirt.

In
vain she’d tried to sit down and relax, and had even turned on the television,
but it was useless.  She was agitated and nervous.

With
a heavy thump she set down her cup of coffee. “That certainly isn’t helping
matters,” she muttered.

For
the hundredth time, she walked over to the window and looked out hoping to spot
his car.  She couldn’t quite understand why she was so eager to see him again.
Perhaps it was the past days spent at his bedside, wiping his brow, whispering
encouraging words in his ear and holding his hand through the night.

Of
course she couldn’t forget the numerous sponge baths she’d given him. Though
she’d argued with the staff that she was in a better position to tend to such
an intimate task, it quickly became clear as she sponged off his muscular chest
and perfect body that it was a completely selfish endeavor. She wanted to be
close to him, to touch him, to see him, to give him pleasure without him even
knowing it… and she did. It was her own guilty pleasure. Whatever it is about
Sebastian Sorensen, she found herself wanting and willing to be very naughty
with him.

Then
again there was that smooth and sexy voice when he’d called to tell her he was
on his way. Even over the phone his silky voice was enough to make her melt.
She wanted to steel herself for the encounter to come. In her imaginary rehearsals
she was cool and collected when he passed by to pick up his suit. She didn’t
fawn or blush. She didn’t stutter or blunder.

But
when the moment came, the moment he walked through that door, how would she be
like?

The
doorbell rang and her heart immediately did a flip. Before opening the door,
she took in three long, deep breaths and smiled, radiantly. “Hi, Sebastian.”

He’d
barely had time to step into her apartment than she rushed into his arms. She
felt him stiffen for a surprised moment before wrapping his arms around her.

“I’m
so happy to see you. You sounded so strange when I called you. I was worried
about you.” Serena suddenly felt the need to justify her move. As she’d feared,
her cool and collected self flew out the window the moment his hot and sexy
self entered her apartment. He was dressed in black from head to toe, which
brought out the inky black of his tresses and made his blue eyes more piercing.
His upper body muscles were outlined perfectly against the soft silky shirt so
smooth, she wanted to rub her cheeks against the fabric. She could hardly
believe she’d thrown herself into his arms.

But
as she tried to back away from him, he held her steady, his hands resting on
top of her hips, close to the top of her jeans. It was familiar, yet heated at
the same time, sending little shocks of heat through her, and making her
nipples stand at alert. “It’s good to know
somebody
worries about me.”
Sebastian’s eyes looked deeply into hers before moving down to her shirt, her
breasts, and back up to her face.

Her
heart instantly went out to him.  She knew his parents’ indifference affected
him more than he let on.  “I’ve invested a lot of time in your wellbeing,” she
said with a lighthearted chuckle. “You know I was at the hospital all week.” 
She felt the heat of the moment and sought to cool it with humor, but his warm
hands remained on her waist, reminding her just how much she wanted to be
touched by him.

“Well,
I hope you get a satisfactory return on that investment.”  His voice was low,
almost a growl, while his eyes smoldered with insinuation as he pulled her
closer until her crotch was up against the front of his pants. Feeling his
hardness, she knew the attraction was mutual. Remembering how well-endowed he
was while giving him a sponge bath, her face flamed with want and the need to
explore him.

The
heat of her cheeks became intolerable and she pulled away. “I’ll go get your
suit,” she murmured as she headed to her bedroom closet.  In the privacy of her
room, she batted her hand in front of her face in an attempt to cool her
cheeks. The effect he had on her surpassed any experience she’d ever had and
she didn’t know how to respond.

Concentrating
on the task at hand, she pulled the suit out of the closet and turned to head
back to Sebastian only to find him in the doorway, his eyes narrow with lust.