I stared at him, my brows knitted, unable to think of what to say to him. He was talking as if he and Xavier were much older than they could possibly be.
Sebastian turned back to me and smirked. “I’m just messing with you, kid.”
“Yes, I assumed you had to be. There’s no way Xavier is that old.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows and stared into my eyes, not saying a word for the longest time. It was almost like he was wanting me to second guess myself. I didn’t appreciate being gaslit.
“It’s nice meeting you, Sebastian. I really should get going.”
Julia walked over, linking her arm with mine. She stared at Sebastian in shock. “Sorry, I thought you were talking to—”
“Yes, yes, you thought I was Xavier,” Sebastian sighed. “Seems there’s doppelgängers all over the damn place these days.”
“What do you mean?” Julia asked.
Sebastian continued looking me dead in the eye. “Oh, I don’t know. Just that Kara looks familiar to me as well, but I know it’s not possible for us to have met before.”
“Come on, Julia,” I said, tugging on my friend’s arms. “I’m getting a little tired of his games.”
Julia kept looking back over her shoulder as we walked to the bar to order our food. As soon as we were out of hearing distance, she burst into laughter. “Well, that was weird.”
“Tell me about. What’s his deal? Think he’s mentally unstable?”
Julia shrugged. “No clue, but he’s not our problem - we’re off the clock.”
“Thank God we are,” I muttered, scanning the menu as I took a seat off to the side. The bar was empty during the day, so Julia and I had it all to ourselves.
Julia shoved a gold embossed envelope into my hand. “Are you excited?”
“About what?” I asked.
“Open it!”
I opened the envelope and pulled out a tiny card. The handwriting was neat and written in a thick, dark ink. It was an invitation to the Halloween ball, written to all employees.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was in my locker,” she said. “You didn’t get one?”
“I don’t have a locker yet. Suzy hasn’t assigned me one.”
“Oh, that’s why,” Julia squealed. “So Xavier has opened the event to employees as well. Once we’re off the clock, we’re allowed to attend. Just think of all the VIPs who’ll be there!”
My heart raced at the idea. I’d always dreamt of attending an event like this. It was known for being one of the most formal and prestigious Halloween events of the year. I knew I’d be working, but I didn’t know we’d be allowed to attend once our shift was over.
“We have to work on our costumes! We need them to be super classy, not just something you’d buy at the store, you know?”
“I already have an idea.” I told her about my costume idea.
“That’s perfect for a French restaurant,” Julia exclaimed. “Now we just need to get everything together. We only have a few days, but I’m sure my mother would be glad to help with the sewing.”
I grinned. “We’re going to a ball.”
“Yes, we are,” Julia said, just as Adam, the guy working the bar area, approached us to take our order. “And it’s going to be so much fun.”
I didn’t say it out loud, but I couldn’t wait for Xavier to see me dressed up. I had the strangest feeling, perhaps thanks to the dream I’d had, that he was really going to like my outfit.
Xavier
I walked through the front door of La Myrtille with a scowl on my face. It didn’t take long for me to spot my brother sitting at one of our larger tables, spread out and talking to one of the waitresses. The poor girl looked like she wanted to escape from him, but Sebastian held her there. She was a captive audience to whatever bullshit that came out of his mouth.
When he saw me, it was like a spell lifted and the waitress shook her head, walking away from the table in a bit of a daze.
“Well, there he is, finally! I only had to hang around for what, four hours? Maybe more? But finally, the king has arrived at his castle.”
I grabbed Sebastian by the arm, pulling him from the chair. “My office, now.”
“Oh, but I was having a really good time with… what’s her name again? I can’t recall. She was incredibly delightful, however, and I’d love to—”
I didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone, but I had to shut him up. I slammed my fist into the middle of his chest, hard enough that it knocked some of the air out of him, shutting him up.
Rubbing the spot, he grunted, “Really? Was that necessary?”
“Stop talking until we get into my office. Is that clear?”
Sebastian smirked, but he didn’t say another word as we walked through the dining room, which was quickly filling with people.
I’d had no intention of coming in for a while longer. But after Suzy had called me about my brother being obnoxious, asking the staff and even some of our guests about his business venture, I made a beeline for the restaurant as soon as the sun went down. How Sebastian managed to get there before sundown was one of many questions I had for him. As far as I knew, that was a power lost to us a long time ago, when the last fairy died.
As soon as the door to my office was shut behind us, I went at him.
“What the fuck are you doing here? Besides bothering my guests and staff with your ridiculous bullshit?”
Sebastian moved around my office, stopping at a bookshelf and picking up one of the many awards we’d won. He turned it over in his hand, his fingers trailing the print.
“I wanted to see if my brother’s business was really as impressive as people say it is. I’d heard so much about it, I thought I’d stop in for a bite, but sadly, you don’t serve anything I can eat.” He put the award down and turned to me, smiling just enough to show off his fangs. In case I didn’t get the joke.
“You need to get the hell out of my life, Sebastian.”
“So I take it you still haven’t looked over my business proposal?”
I slammed my fists on my desk, causing the walls of the room to shake. Sebastian didn’t even flinch; he just continued smirking and waiting for an answer.
“No, and I’m not going to.”
“Why not? It’s a new and interesting concept that I’m sure you’ll love.”
“If it’s such a great idea, why don’t you start it without me?” I growled.
Sebastian crossed the room until he was standing on the other side of my desk. He put his hands on it, mirroring my position as if challenging me.
“Because you’re the businessman, Xavier. We both know I couldn’t run a business to save my life.”
“At least you’re not completely delusional,” I muttered.
“No, I’m not. I know that running a successful business takes skill that I don’t possess. It also takes money.”
I threw my hands in the air. “There it is. I knew there was another reason you were here besides flattery.”
“We both know you don’t give two licks about money, you just like being the best at everything you do.” He looked into my eyes. “You’re bored with life, aren’t you, Xavier?”