Beauty and the Blackmailer - Amorette Anderson Page 0,1

as soon as I’m done talking to Dad.

“I said her name’s not Kristen,” Giovanni said again, this time louder.

“Oh. She’s new. I forgot. What is it then?”

“Kelcy,” Giovanni said. “She introduced herself to me when I first came aboard. Did you know she has a two-year-old daughter at home? Kelcy says she picked up this gig for a few months so that she can save up for a surgery her daughter needs.”

“I had no idea,” Sebastian said. “I’ll have to make sure I’m paying her well. Do you want to sit in the sun, or the shade?”

They’d reached the section of deck where Sebastian usually took his meals. He liked to sit in the sun so that he could work on his tan while eating, and he hoped that his father would gesture to the exposed table and chairs out by the yacht’s railing. Instead, Giovanni pointed to a table tucked under an awning.

Sebastian reluctantly moved that way and flopped down into one of the chairs. He set his orange juice glass down on the table. “What are you doing here, Dad?” he asked bluntly.

“Are you telling me you don’t know what you’re paying that nice young woman, Kelcy?” Giovanni asked. He was still standing. He had a hand on his hip, and his gray eyebrows were furrowed with concern.

Sebastian motioned to the chair across the table from him. “Sit, Dad, you’re making me nervous.”

“I will not sit,” Giovanni said. “Answer the question, son.”

Sebastian held up a hand. “Fine! Fine,” he said. It was too early in the morning to argue. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. It’s impossible to keep track of exactly what I pay every employee I have,” he said. “It changes all the time. You know the drill.”

“I know how to run a company, if that’s what you’re saying,” Giovanni said. “Glitter Cup has over 300 cafés now across the globe. We have thousands of employees. And you’d better believe I know what my employees earn.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Come on, Dad, that’s impossible. Sit down and relax, why don’t you? Haven't seen you in... what? A couple months? Let’s catch up. You have something to talk to me about, right?”

“We haven’t seen each other in a year,” Giovanni said sternly. “Since your last birthday. We had a talk, then, about your lifestyle. And no, Sebastian, it’s not impossible to know what I pay each of my employees. I own a company. I’m responsible for setting a pay scale. So while I may not know each of my employees individually, I do know what each tier in the company earns. I am careful about paying a livable wage.”

Sebastian sighed. “You didn’t come here to lecture me about business ethics, did you, Dad?” he said. “Because it’s my birthday, and there are other things I’d—”

“Exactly!” interjected Giovanni. “It’s your birthday, son, and that’s why I’m here. I have a gift for you.”

A gift? Sebastian felt surprised. Well.

Maybe his father’s visit wasn’t entirely unwelcome. I’ll put up with the lectures, he thought to himself. A gift does sound nice.

At that moment, Kelcy arrived with a tray of food and drink. She set a cappuccino down in front of Sebastian. “For you,” she said. “I added a half teaspoon of raw sugar, sir, and gave you light foam.”

Sebastian nodded with approval, and Kelcy set his omelet down. “And your omelet, extra spinach.” She bustled over to the other side of the table. “And one for you, sir,” she said to Giovanni. “And your omelet.”

Giovanni nodded also. “Thank you, Kelcy,” he said. “We appreciate your service.”

She gave a little bow and disappeared.

Giovanni sat down in the seat, but didn’t touch his food. “I’m sorry, Sebastian,” he said, with a shake of his head. “Look what I’ve done to you.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes and examined his father. “I’m fine, Dad,” he said, unsure of what his father was getting at.

“You’re not,” his father said. “And that you can’t see it is part of the problem. It’s time... it’s time to do something I should have done years ago. On this day, son, your thirty-fifth birthday, I’m giving you the gift of life.”

Sebastian wasn’t sure what to say, so he laughed. “I’m pretty sure you and Mom gave me that gift thirty-five years ago, when I was born,” he said. “So thanks for that.” He lifted his cup to his lips and looked out over the ocean as he took a long sip of his drink.

Too bitter.

He made a note to tell Kendall...