A Waltz With Wolves (Book II in The Harrison Inc. Series) | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Three: From Stormy Skies to Sunny Shores

Wednesday evening, Sebastian was scheduled to speak at a high school in Long Beach. The turnout was more than expected; apparently, Sebastian resonated well with adolescent children. Sebastian tried several times to ask if I was alright since the last few times I answered, he didn't believe my answer; my lie: "I'm fine." Eventually, he let it go and proceeded with meeting with the kids and their parents, shaking their hands, talking to parents, taking pictures for the press and so on. Sarah asked to see the script I had written up for him, but instead of praising me for getting it done on such short notice (the high school asked Sebastian to speak last week, and Sarah scheduled it without running it by me thoroughly first), she had the audacity to yell at me because it was, quote on quote, "half-assed." I just stared at her as her 'Latina wrath' (as she called it) unleashed upon me in front of the entire crew backstage. I knew she was tired, too; I could see it in her eyes. But for her to yell at me about a script that I had little time to write was insulting. I stood, flabbergasted, before I yelled at her in return. And we began arguing until Claude and Sebastian broke it up, Sebastian suggesting I take a walk like I was the problem. So, I did. I took a walk through the halls and sat in the library with the kind elderly janitor who gave me a few valuable lessons on life; he saw how upset and stressed I was.

"You keep walking through life as quickly as you do, you'll blink then poof!" he exclaimed. "It will be gone. Be careful about being so goddamn eager to help people who don't even think about you when they rest their head, missy."

He went on to talk about his ex-wives and how they walked all over him, but unfortunately, I told him that I had to go and get Sebastian ready for his speech. But those janitor's words stuck with me the rest of the week. As I was packing that night, I kept thinking about that wise man's words until they resonated with me. So, I took it upon myself to let everyone know that I had intentions of enjoying my trip.

When I got the chance to tell them.

I was set to leave Friday evening, and Friday morning was when I had to meet with Samantha about getting her an internship. Samantha came in extra early, bright eyed and eager, but still weary after what happened at her party. I asked her not to talk about it.

"This day is about you and your internship," I said. "I'm going to help you as best as I can. There are some really good Press Representatives here. A good resume will surely reel them in."

Samantha smiled hesitantly, like she was shocked we were working together on something. But at the end of the day, she's still my little sister. If she needs help with something as big as her career, I'll be there for her.

We worked on her resume for a couple of hours before Darcy came into my office with word that Sarah needed me at Harrison Incorporated. I was curious as to why she couldn't come to my office for an inquiry, but I sighed and agreed to head over there anyway. I told Samantha to come with me; she was excited, tagging along with a publicist.

When we got there, Ava guided us to Sebastian's office. She was curious about who was with me, so I lied and said that Samantha was my second assistant. Ava shrugged it off and opened Sebastian's office door where Sebastian, Sarah and an unfamiliar male were sitting at the couches.

"I hope you don't mind," I said to Sebastian when they all stood. "I was with my sister when you called."

"Oh no, it's fine," he said, kindly introducing himself to Samantha. Samantha was a bit star struck, to say the least. She didn't know what to say when he shook her hand.

The male who was unfamiliar to me happened to be a man named Doug Wagner, who was a partner with Harrison Incorporated who wanted to put together a fundraiser at an amusement park for both of their companies. My mood immediately dampened when I realized what they wanted me there for.