Making His Baby(129)

Olivia shrugs and looks at me. “And that’s it. That’s my life in a nutshell. Told you it’s pretty boring.”

But I still want more.

“What about your personal life? Are you dating anyone at the moment?”





CHAPTER FIVE





OLIVIA KING





Sebastian’s question throws me for a loop, but I recover quickly and simply shake my head in response.

I swear that his blue eyes light up at this newfound information.

“Your turn. I want to know everything. How did you become this tech genius?”

His relaxed position in the chair is disarming. He looks thoroughly relaxed and in control.

Meanwhile, I’m fidgeting under his steady gaze.

His low voice is strong and clear when he answers my question.

“Well, it certainly didn’t happen overnight, that’s for sure. I left Tennessee and moved to Silicon Valley right after graduation. I never wanted to go to college, as I’m sure you remember. “

I nod in agreement, remembering how much he loathed it. He was so incredibly smart but hated the institution of school and always vowed that high school was it for him.

“The plan was to move to California and find an internship with a startup in the Valley. It wasn’t as easy as I thought and I ended up flipping burgers and sleeping on a holey couch at my friend’s place until something came available at Google. I worked for pennies, basically, but I was so hungry for knowledge that I didn’t even care.”

I smile because that sounds just like Sebastian.

“I interned there for two years before I moved on to a junior position at Twitter. There’s where I met my business partner, Malakai. After working side by side for a few years, we developed an app together that we knew would change social media for years to come. After working sixteen-hour days, we’d meet up at my place and pore over consumer data and trends. I coded while he handled the other logistics.”

Mesmerized by his story, I push my plate aside and lean my elbows against the table giving him my undivided attention.

“Then five years ago, we launched Discover Travel. It was a rocky start, but we found our footing through the chaos. Navigating such a saturated digital market is hard as hell but I think we’ve managed pretty well.”

“I’ll say,” I say and Sebastian smiles.

He’s so fucking hot.

How come I never noticed in high school?

My head was so deep in books and my plans of the future that I failed to realize how gorgeous my classmate was.

“I’m really, really proud of you,” I share, extending my hand across the table to touch his.

Currents of electricity surge through me at the contact and I try not to yank my hand back in shock.

Never have I ever felt such a palpable connection with someone.

“Thanks,” he intones seriously. “That means a lot coming from you, Olivia.”

The timbre of his voice when he says my name makes me giddy, but I mask the reaction with a small smile of my own.

“I don’t know why, I’m sure you hear it every day!”

The ways he’s focusing on me is unnerving and I want to shift the attention back to him.

He doesn’t let me off the hook so easily.

“It means more coming from you.”

The gravity of his words settle on me and my chest constricts at the serious expression on his devastatingly handsome face.

“You know, it nearly crushed me when you turned down my offer to prom,” he says out of the blue.

Confused, I stare at him as my eyes widen. “What?”

“Senior prom. I wanted to go with you but you turned me down.”

A frown is on my face as he shares this tidbit.

“I did?”

I’m honestly having trouble recalling this. I’d never gone to prom. Though I’d had every intention to before my father crushed me with his stinging betrayal.

I specifically remember learning that I wouldn’t be going to college in the middle of prom season.

“Yep,” he says easily. “I finally got up the courage to ask you one Friday during art class and you said no. Something about it not being a good time for you. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that you couldn’t just tell me to my face that you didn’t want to go with me.”

Memories come flooding back and I remember that day in the art room as if it was yesterday.

“Oh, my God.” I clasp a hand over my mouth.

“Coming back to you now?” he asks with a teasing smile.

“You have to believe me, Sebastian. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go. I just couldn’t. I’d just found out that I wasn’t going to college because my dad had lost my entire college fund due to his gambling habit.”

This makes him sit up straighter.