her own life.
“I’m
sorry,” he said in a voice that was soft and comforting. “Have I touched a
chord?”
“My
father left when I was eight.” Her eyes remained on her plate as she made her
declaration. “Other than his raging fits of anger and the back of his hand I
don’t remember much about him. My mother tried to raise me alone, but her
bottle was more important than I was. Before I turned nine, she drove herself
off a pier.”
Sebastian’s
warm hand enveloped her shoulder and pulled her closer. He said nothing, but
she could feel his compassion for the childhood she’d had.
“It
wasn’t all that bad,” she said after a long moment of relishing his comforting
touch. “My Nana raised me; my mom’s mother. She wasn’t really prepared to
take on a little, and rather hotheaded girl, but… well, she did what she had to
do.”
“Looking
at you today, I’d say she did a pretty good job.”
Pressing
her lips tightly together as she remembered her grandmother, Serena looked at
Sebastian. “That’s far from what you said when I entered your office.”
“I
had my professional professor’s hat on then. Now I’m your date. It’s not the
same thing.”
“Bash,”
his mother’s voice called over their quiet and private conversation. “Need I
remind you there are other people at the table?”
He
pulled away and sat back. “Yes, mother. Forgive me for being so attentive to
my intriguing and fascinating date. I just can’t pull away from her.”
Marika
sneered and shot him a killer glare. “Your father was just talking about the
position he offered you at KSI.”
“Was
he?”
“It
seems like it would be a wonderful opportunity for you. With Theodore Fiennes
going into retirement, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.”
“From
your vantage point, perhaps, Mother, not from mine. Need I remind you that I’ve students who depend on me, not to mention a musical score to finish?”
“Oh,
honey. I haven’t forgotten about this hobby of yours. What your father is
offering, however, is a true career. He’s offering not only financial
stability, but the opportunity to become a financial force in your own right.”
Marika clucked her tongue and glanced briefly at Serena before leaning in to
speak to Sebastian again. “You're standing in the community could be at risk
if you insist on pursuing this musical nonsense much longer. The Brookes have
been patient. I’ve been patient.”
Her
icy glare came to rest on Serena. “You can’t spend the rest of your life
surrounded by small minded musicians and…”
“That’s
enough, Mother. I won’t have you insulting my date… my guest. I neither want
nor need your advice; not about my career, not about my love life… not about my
life in general.”
Marika
reached out to give his hand a patronizing tap. “Of course you don’t dear.
You’ve always been such a hothead.”
“Don’t
worry about it, Bash,” Willow called from across the table. “I think your
hothead is your most endearing feature, but your mother is right.”
“That’s
right, Bash,” Mrs. Brooke threw in. “Music can only bring you so far in life.
It’s an amusing pastime, but hardly something you want to spend your life
doing.”
“And
just think,” Willow went on, “with you at KSI and me heading up my father’s
company, we’d be a true force to be reckoned with.”
Michael
leaned in close to Serena. “Really, I have to ask again. What is the draw of
this man? I can understand the whole boy band ideology where tweens and teens
are concerned. I can even understand the appeal of a real man like Elvis; I
mean millions of women can’t be wrong, right?”
Serena
smiled and tried to be amused, but the frustration level was beyond
manageable. The whole table had ganged up on Sebastian causing a fire to burn
in her gut.
“I’ll
need your answer before next Friday, son,” Kaiser said, his hands
“I’m
sorry,” he said in a voice that was soft and comforting. “Have I touched a
chord?”
“My
father left when I was eight.” Her eyes remained on her plate as she made her
declaration. “Other than his raging fits of anger and the back of his hand I
don’t remember much about him. My mother tried to raise me alone, but her
bottle was more important than I was. Before I turned nine, she drove herself
off a pier.”
Sebastian’s
warm hand enveloped her shoulder and pulled her closer. He said nothing, but
she could feel his compassion for the childhood she’d had.
“It
wasn’t all that bad,” she said after a long moment of relishing his comforting
touch. “My Nana raised me; my mom’s mother. She wasn’t really prepared to
take on a little, and rather hotheaded girl, but… well, she did what she had to
do.”
“Looking
at you today, I’d say she did a pretty good job.”
Pressing
her lips tightly together as she remembered her grandmother, Serena looked at
Sebastian. “That’s far from what you said when I entered your office.”
“I
had my professional professor’s hat on then. Now I’m your date. It’s not the
same thing.”
“Bash,”
his mother’s voice called over their quiet and private conversation. “Need I
remind you there are other people at the table?”
He
pulled away and sat back. “Yes, mother. Forgive me for being so attentive to
my intriguing and fascinating date. I just can’t pull away from her.”
Marika
sneered and shot him a killer glare. “Your father was just talking about the
position he offered you at KSI.”
“Was
he?”
“It
seems like it would be a wonderful opportunity for you. With Theodore Fiennes
going into retirement, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.”
“From
your vantage point, perhaps, Mother, not from mine. Need I remind you that I’ve students who depend on me, not to mention a musical score to finish?”
“Oh,
honey. I haven’t forgotten about this hobby of yours. What your father is
offering, however, is a true career. He’s offering not only financial
stability, but the opportunity to become a financial force in your own right.”
Marika clucked her tongue and glanced briefly at Serena before leaning in to
speak to Sebastian again. “You're standing in the community could be at risk
if you insist on pursuing this musical nonsense much longer. The Brookes have
been patient. I’ve been patient.”
Her
icy glare came to rest on Serena. “You can’t spend the rest of your life
surrounded by small minded musicians and…”
“That’s
enough, Mother. I won’t have you insulting my date… my guest. I neither want
nor need your advice; not about my career, not about my love life… not about my
life in general.”
Marika
reached out to give his hand a patronizing tap. “Of course you don’t dear.
You’ve always been such a hothead.”
“Don’t
worry about it, Bash,” Willow called from across the table. “I think your
hothead is your most endearing feature, but your mother is right.”
“That’s
right, Bash,” Mrs. Brooke threw in. “Music can only bring you so far in life.
It’s an amusing pastime, but hardly something you want to spend your life
doing.”
“And
just think,” Willow went on, “with you at KSI and me heading up my father’s
company, we’d be a true force to be reckoned with.”
Michael
leaned in close to Serena. “Really, I have to ask again. What is the draw of
this man? I can understand the whole boy band ideology where tweens and teens
are concerned. I can even understand the appeal of a real man like Elvis; I
mean millions of women can’t be wrong, right?”
Serena
smiled and tried to be amused, but the frustration level was beyond
manageable. The whole table had ganged up on Sebastian causing a fire to burn
in her gut.
“I’ll
need your answer before next Friday, son,” Kaiser said, his hands
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