Page 14 of Brick Wall

Sebastian

L ivvy, my baby sister, did not end up moving to Massachusetts for the summer to help with the foundation’s extra load, but she did promise to attend the gala and help set up.

I take that as a win since it was a big ask to begin with.

I picked her up at the airport yesterday, and now today, we are in the ballroom bright and early, going over the last details for the event that takes place later today.

We are hosting the gala at a luxury hotel in the Seaport District, just a few minutes from our stadium.

The location of the stadium itself was unimportant, just an extra perk, as the proximity to the ocean mattered the most. A huge selling feature of the space is the large ballroom doors that open fully to the outdoor balcony that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

The ballroom is large, perfect for accommodating many donors.

I’ve been to my fair share of galas and events, and I am no expert in event planning, but as a guest, ballrooms can get extremely hot, especially when you have a large crowd of people. I’m also a big guy wearing a tux in the summer, so the balcony was a real selling point to hosting the event here.

Luckily, the gala gods appear to be on my side tonight. The night is gorgeous, with a slight breeze and no clouds in sight.

After a quick change into my tux in my hotel suite upstairs and a brief phone call with a donor, I step back into the space. I open the heavy wooden ballroom doors for the first time from the perspective of a guest.

The ballroom turned out incredible. The space was beautiful before, but my sisters and staff transformed the space into something else entirely.

The first thing I notice is the flowers. There are so many, and the scent is a little suffocating. Every table has these extremely tall flower displays, mostly white stuff, but there are some other colors, too. I have no idea what these flowers are called, but I’m sure everyone will like them.

I can tell you it looks impressive, though. It feels like I’m stepping into a movie.

The lights are down low, and classical music by a three-piece band plays in the background. Guests are gathered in their tuxedos and gowns around high cocktail tables, eating bacon-wrapped scallops.

“Would you like one?” a server in a black three-piece suit magically appears.

Why yes, I would, you perfect mind reader . I happily grab two scallops and a napkin from the table and move farther into the ballroom to see if I can touch base with my sisters.

I find Scarlett immediately from a distance, and she just gives me a nod that says all good. I figured it would be, but I’m out of my comfort zone here .

I hate galas. I hate schmoozing. The word is more fun to say than the act itself.

I hate putting on an act to please others.

However, I find it’s worth the few hours of discomfort.

I can typically raise a lot of funds, enough to cover an entire year or more of operating expenses, in a short amount of time.

Luckily, I can recruit many of my teammates to this event to help. Most of my friends and family will also be in attendance, which helps my nerves.

“Thank you, guys, for coming.” I fist-bump a few of the guys on the defensive line. “I appreciate this.”

I really do. I attend events for other guys on my team. A few of them have their own foundations or nonprofits they work with, so we do dress up often for fundraisers and random functions.

I love being part of a team and knowing other guys have your back. The gala is hosted before training camp, but after the minicamp and other organized team activities, so most of the guys are back in Boston for business. Even so, all my teammates show up for me.

“Hey, man! Anything we can do?” Ryan appears in front of me with a handshake ready.

“Nah, I think I’m good.”

“Good now,” Tristan says, handing me a glass of champagne.

“Good now,” I repeat, meaning my words.

“Sebastian, this is our baby brother, Finn,” Ryan says, introducing the man standing next to him, who is slightly taller and broader than both brothers.

“Good to finally meet you,” Finn responds with a friendly smile and firm handshake.

“You too.” I look around and notice a missing person. “Is Annie here? ”

Ryan forms a gigantic smile on his face. “Oh, she’s around here somewhere!” he casually says. “She arrived with Goldie and Bryce.”

“Okay,” I say, but I can’t help feeling like I made a mistake asking about her. She’s a Moore, and a Moore was missing. I couldn’t help but notice. Right?

One thing I am also noticing, though, is a woman of a different breed, a hyena perhaps, gunning straight for me.

“Excuse me.” I politely nod to the trio of brothers to leave because running in the opposite direction is the smartest play here.

I pick up my pace, not running per se but casually power walking, and I’m almost near the restroom when, bang, I collide directly into someone.

“I’m so sorry.” My voice dies down on the last syllable because I ran straight into someone. Not just someone. Annie.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” she returns the greeting in a soft whisper.

Fuck, she’s gorgeous.

She’s wearing a long, blue dress that really emphasizes her beautiful curves. I notice she’s wearing heels, so she’s only a few inches shorter than me. Her hair is down and curly tonight, and wow. I have never seen her look so—wow.

“I, uh…” Crap, what was I going to say? “You look so gorg-ti-ful.”

Shit. That is not a word. I’m terrible at this. I can’t remember the last time I complimented a woman, especially a woman as lovely as Annie.

She tilts her head slightly but doesn’t say anything in response.

I clear my throat. “I mean, you look beautiful. ”

Annie’s cheeks turn a slight shade of pink, but a second later I feel a sharp pain on my left shoulder.

“I do, don’t I, darling,” says a nasally voice I didn’t expect, although I should have. The hyena. Her long fingernails dig into my shoulders but she quickly moves them to pin herself closer to me.

The hyena is tall and thin with dark hair but with lighter highlights mixed in. She has long ice-white fingernails to match her ice-cold heart, most likely. She drags her nails over my chest, and I just want this whole encounter to stop.

“Athena,” I say with little emotion.

“Sebastian! It’s been too long!” She burrows herself closer.

I say nothing, but I glance over at Annie quickly, and the hyena notices.

“Oh, I’m being so rude! I’m Athena! I’m assuming you are his assistant?”

“Oh no,” Annie politely responds. “I know him through my brothers,” she simply says. It’s wise not to feed the hyena too much information. Good job, Annie.

“Oh, isn’t that cute! Sebastian…” She immediately turns away and focuses all her attention on me. “I cannot wait to introduce you to this client of mine. You will love him.” She starts to tug me along. “Bye, honey,” she says to Annie with a weird hand-clasping wave.

The hyena links her arm with mine and steals me away before I can even process anything.

This round goes to the hyena.