WORK IN PROGRESS: Dinner Disasters: Sebastian and Layana

Chapter 5 (Layana): Relax

"I don't know why, Layana! How the fuck should I know what's going through her mind? Maybe she saw it and thought she could wipe it away real fast."

"Well, why was there lipstick on her thumb?"

"How should I know! Her hand was by her mouth while we were reviewing the numbers. I guess it got on there that way."

"You let her touch you, Sebastian!" I was experiencing that ragey/weepy feeling again.

"She surprised me, Layana! I had no fucking clue she was going to reach out and do that. But as soon as she touched my face, I pushed her hand away and told her not to touch me again."

"Why were you even sitting next to her?"

"We were going over numbers. It's easiest to do like that. Terrell and I do that all the time when we're going over numbers. I sit next to my marketing and sales heads, too. I don't think twice about it."

"Well, maybe you should think twice where she's concerned. Probably three and four times! She shouldn't be touching you. And if she can't keep her hands to herself, maybe sit across from her? You don't need to be cozied up to her."

"Fucking hell, Layana, I was working not cozying up to her. I can't control something I didn't expect."

"What if she'd jumped in your lap? What if she'd leaned over and kissed you? What if she'd grabbed your dick? Could you control any of that, Sebastian? Or would you come home with another lame excuse as to why you couldn't stop her because you can't control things you don't expect?"

"Are you kidding me right now? She's not going to fucking do any of that!"

"What makes you so sure? She's already made suggestive comments to you while you were toasting new beginnings, she already got you alone on our anniversary, she already touched your face as if she has some right to clean you up -- she's bold, Sebastian. And I can't believe I'm listening to you defend her. You need to be listening to me, and I'm telling you this bitch is going after you."

He scrubbed his hands over his face. "Listen. I told her not to touch me again. I don't like being touched by anyone but you, Layana. I'll keep my distance, sit on the other side of the table from her from now on. I'll be more watchful."

"And when you fly out of here in four days, how are you going to keep your distance then? Are you in different rows on the plane or are your seats together? Different hotels? She's probably the type to pull the old there's only one hotel room left -- guess we have to share routine."

"You've been reading too many of your romances," he grumbled. "She and I won't be sharing a hotel room, and I would hope you know that I'd never do that to you. I'd sleep in the fucking lobby before I'd share a room with anyone but you."

He took my hands in his. "You're letting her get to you for no reason, Layana. You know that you're it for me, right? I don't see any woman but you. No one else registers with me. I need you to trust me to handle this professionally. I would never betray you."

I stepped back, letting my hands slide from his.

"Are you still going on this trip with her?"

"Layana, you know the answer to that. This is a potential quarter of a million dollar deal. That's why I'm going and that's the only reason I'm going -- to make the deal."

"I don't like this. I don't want you going out to dinner with her, or letting her into your hotel room or having drinks with her in a bar."

"I'll be going out to dinner with her and the vendor, Layana. And if he were to back out for any reason, I'd go straight up to my room, call you and order room service."

"I don't trust her, Sebastian."

"Like I said before, you don't have to trust her. You just have to trust me and know I'd never betray you. Ever."

"What about after dinner? What if you make the deal and she wants to have drinks and celebrate?"

"I'll tell her no. I'll tell her I need to go call my wife and share the good news with her."

My fingertips played with the beautiful ruby necklace Sebastian had bought me for our anniversary. He'd given it to me along with my favorite chocolates and some gift cards to my favorite stores the night we had dinner at Treasure, after he'd apologized profusely for not remembering our the anniversary of the day we'd met.

His eyes followed my fingers and were drawn to my necklace. He reached out to touch it gently.

"Rubies symbolize love, Layana. I bought this necklace for you weeks before our anniversary of the day we met because I'd been researching the meaning behind certain gem stones, and I knew I wanted to get a ruby for you. Love and passion. To let you know you always have and will always have my love. No one else."

"I love you, too, Sebastian, but I still have a bad feeling about this trip. I can't shake this feeling."

"Tell you what," he said, seeing how upset I was. "I'll FaceTime you on the plane so you can see I'm not sitting with her. I'll FaceTime you as we sit down to dinner so you can see she and I aren't alone. I'll FaceTime you as soon as we leave the table and you can stay on the phone with me while I walk up to my hotel room. I'll FaceTime you the whole night long, leave the line open so you can see whenever you want that I'm alone in my room, alone in my bed. We can have a long distance breakfast together. And when I get on the plane to head home to you, I'll call you again."

"I don't understand why I feel like this, Sebastian. I feel...out of control, up and down. Ready to cry about this. I don't want to ask you to do all that, but at the same time, I want you to even though it's completely unreasonable of me. I know it's crazy but I just can't help but feeling like she's a threat."

When I started crying, he pulled me to him and just held me as I let the tears come.

"Layana, I'll call you. I'll call you as often as I said I would because I can't stand you feeling like this."

And he did. He had a successful trip, made the deal and was riding high when he came home to me. I began to relax again.

Until three days later when I discovered a second phone in his briefcase that I didn't know he had.

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