Page 9

Drugs were never a choice.
I wasn’t the one-night-stand type.
So, that left me with booze, and Sebastian had far too much of it at my fingertips in his office. I’d had onlytwoglasses to calm my nerves and soothe the whirlpool in my head. I was just like my damn mother.
Fuck. I must have left an enormous mess in his office.
But…how…did…I…get…home?
My eyes popped open and even in the dim light sneaking in around the curtains, I could see that I was not in my apartment. This room looked as if it were double the size of my shoebox studio apartment.
With a strangled cry, I shoved into a sitting position, threw off the covers, and turned on the bedside lamp. Soft light caressed buttery warm walls, elegant pale-wood furniture, and dark, heavy curtains that were pulled across at least three windows to block out the light. This room was completely foreign to me. It was almost like a hotel room, but this was all too nice to be a hotel. I was in someone’s house.
My fingers twisted in my hair, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I wracked my brain for what had happened last night. How had I gotten here? I refused to believe that I’d stumbled out of the office and down the street to some nightclub or bar, where my super-rich hookup had brought me home and taken care of me. It wasn’t like Cincinnati was dripping with ultra-rich guardian angels searching for idiots to save from themselves.
The only rich person I knew even a little was Se?—
Oh, fuck…
The fog covering my memories parted enough to spit out a hazy memory of Sebastian standing over me in his office, smiling. There was another of me plastered to the side of him while we were in the elevators. And then…kissinghim.
“No!” I gasped, slapping my hand to my mouth as my stomach twisted. That had to be a dream. I couldn’t have really kissed him. It was bad enough that I’d been discovered drunk onhisalcohol inhisoffice, but to havekissed him?
I was dead. Just stick a fork in me and sprinkle me with garnish, because I was fucking done. There was no coming back from this. I would need to move far away, change my name. Maybe even get a facelift so no one could ever recognize me.
But first, I had to get out of here before anyone noticed. My gaze dropped to my chest to find that I was wearing strange pajamas. They were pale blue with a darker blue piping. Certainly the softest things I’d ever worn in my life. But why the hell was I in someone else’s pajamas? Where were my clothes? And my phone? There was no clean escape without my phone to call for a ride.
A soft knock on the door tore me from my current panic attack to send me on a different spiraling panic attack.
“Yes?” I squeaked.
The door opened and a man in a dapper gray suit with salt-and-pepper hair entered, carrying a tray. I recognized the man in an instant. It was Wilkins, Sebastian’s butler. He’d pop into the office to deliver things like suits and other items to Sebastian when he had to go from the office to some party or event.
I was definitely in Sebastian’s house.
“Good morning, Mr. Graham. I hope you had a pleasant rest,” he said as he entered the room. God love the man, he’d managed to say all that without letting even a hint of judginess enter his tone.
I swallowed hard twice to get my throat to let a few words out. “Yes. Thank you.”
“I’ve brought you some breakfast. Nothing too heavy, sir. Master Sebastian warned me you might still be feeling under the weather.”
My growing horror warred with two little warm spots forming in my chest. One was for Sebastian’s thoughtfulness, and the other was for how Wilkins called his boss “Master Sebastian.” He’d mentioned once that Wilkins had first come to work for Sebastian’s parents, but he’d followed Sebastian when he’d set up his own house after college because he was concerned with Sebastian’s ability to care for himself properly.
“Is Mr. Courtland awake?” I asked, still clinging to the hope that I’d be able to sneak out of the house before I had to face him.
“Awake and ready to start the day,” Sebastian announced as he walked through the door.
Fuck. My. Life.
Wilkins finished setting up my breakfast tray on the small table with two chairs and darted to open the curtains to the windows, revealing a stunning view of a glittering lake surrounded by trees. It was like a fairy tale.
Without another word, Wilkins offered me and Sebastian a tiny bow of his head and left the room, closing the door behind him. I was alone with Sebastian in what was likely a guest bedroom, wearing strange pajamas, after getting drunk in his office. There was no way to salvage this.
“S-sir…” I stammered.
“Are you feeling better? Do you need anything for your head or your stomach?”
I shook my head. All the earlier aches and pains had vaporized the moment I’d realized the true state of things. Now, all I could feel was cold, clammy dread that left me clinging to the warm blankets still draped over my lap.