Summary: Sebastian gets Annette involved in his scheme to break up Vincent and Kathryn.
Chapter 20: A New Partner In Crime
"Absolutely not!" Shaking her head in disbelief Annette demanded "why would you even think of asking me to do something like that?"
Getting up from the hospital gurney he had been resting on Sebastian gripped his ex by the shoulders and explained "Annette you're my only hope."
"Not interested" she spat tossing his hands off of her. Turning around she went back to stacking medical supplies. She would have been long done and on to her next task if Sebastian hadn't shown up. Since she was studying medicine that meant long hours at the hospital on top of class work and her regular job as a waitress. Annette had next to no time least of all for Sebastian's latest scheme. Still even if she did have the time there was no way she would agree to what he wanted her to do.
"Come on Annette" he whined "what about all that stuff you said this morning about wanting me to be happy? Was it all bullshit?"
Shaking her head she remarked "Sebastian wanting to see you happy and destroying an innocent guy are not the same thing."
"I don't want to destroy him." Sebastian tossed a roll of bandages up into the air and caught it. "I just want what's rightfully mine."
Annette spun around and pulled the bandages from his hand. "Last time I checked Kathryn wasn't yours. How do you think she would react if she knew what you were planning."
He laughed "oh that's the beauty of it. She already knows."
She turned to face him and exclaimed "I knew it!" It wasn't that she thought Sebastian wasn't capable of coming up with a plan like this on his own but frankly it had Kathryn written all over it. "Tell me the truth. Was this Kathryn's idea? Because if it is you know she's just using you. She's probably already bored with Vincent and needs to find a way to get rid of him. Sebastian please tell me you're not so blinded with lust for this girl that you can't see what she's pulling."
Sebastian looked somewhat annoyed with what she was suggesting. "Okay first of all this wasn't Kathryn's idea, it was mine. Look I love her and I want to be with her but she doesn't want to hurt Vincent. So I suggested that I could find a way to break them up without him getting burned in the process. If you help me break them up then she'll finally admit her feelings for me and we can be together."
Annette shook her head still nowhere near convinced by any of this. "What makes you think Kathryn will actually follow through on her word?"
He smiled back at her triumphantly as he reached into his coat and produced a folded piece of paper. Sebastian handed it over and Annette looked up at him dubiously before reading it. What it said was exactly what Sebastian had explained. He would break up Vincent and Kathryn with out causing any harm to the latter party. Upon this happening Kathryn would admit her 'true' feelings for Sebastian. It ended with their signatures stated at the bottom. Annette shook her head and asked "so what you'll sue her if she doesn't follow through?"
Sebastian shrugged "or blackmail. In any event we have a binding contract and I fully intend to live up to my end of the bargain. So what do you say?"
"No!"
She went back to work but Sebastian of course wasn't about to back down. Effortlessly slipping into his spoiled child mode he stomped his foot to the ground and snarled "sweet fucking Christ Annette, one date! One date that's all I ask!"
Annette simply rolled her eyes at him. "You know it's times like these I remember why we broke up in the first place. Sebastian you and I are completely different people and apparently live on completely different planets. Unlike you I don't get my kicks destroying innocent people and I never will."
"I'm not destroying anyone" he groaned. "If anything I'm doing you a service. When was the last time you got any?"
Annette slammed the glass container she was holding onto the counter loudly. "That is none of your business" she replied icily.
"That long huh?" he said sympathetically. "You just go out with Vincent and I'll guarantee you'll fall in love with him."
She snickered "he's friends with you, I doubt it."
"Actually the only thing we have in common is we're both rich, charming and very good looking. Come to think of it you two probably would have a lot in common. You're both do gooder types. Vincent is always throwing money away to those charities."
"It's not throwing it away if it's going to a good cause" Annette sighed. "So what charities is he involved with?"
Sebastian turned his nose up in disgust "how should I know? Anyway you two would be perfect together. It's not like you're making a lasting commitment to him or anything. Just come with me to dinner and get to know each other. If you don't like him then no pressure."
Rolling her eyes she turned and flopped down onto one of the folding chairs. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"
Annette knew Sebastian wasn't going to give up until he got his way. He was after all a Valmont and thus programed to use every strategy and technique available to get what he wanted. Still that wasn't the only reason she found herself softening to the idea. It had been awhile since she'd gone out with anyone. School and work had kept her so busy that she didn't really have the time to look. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't just a little bit lonely. Annette found herself wanting to give in and go, even if that meant she was technically going to be steeling another girls guy.
"So when exactly would this date occur?"
Sebastian's face broke out into a smile as he hopped back on the gurney. "Tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at seven. So do we have a deal?"
Annette rested her head on her hand as she shook her head miserably in agreement. She couldn't believe her life had come down to this. "I can't believe my life has taken me to the point were I'm teaming up with you and Kathryn."
"Oh come on" he prodded her. "I promise you it's a lot more fun being naughty than nice."
* * * * * *
"I got her"
Kathryn who was busy coloring her nails a deep red when she picked up the phone asked "got who?"
"The answer to our problem sweetheart" Sebastian replied with his typical arrogant drawl. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten about that little contract you signed this morning. If so I'd be happy to fax you over a copy."
Clever boy Kathryn thought to herself. "Oh Valmont it's so admirable how you're able to work in that subtle hint of blackmail into your everyday conversation."
"Well what can I say, it's a gift. Now back to our deal..."
"Yes I remember" she sighed. Peaking through the bedroom door she looked down the hall and saw Vincent doing work at his desk. "So I'm guessing you've decided to introduce my boyfriend to someone else?"
"Do you have any other suggestions as to how I might break you two up without causing him any harm?"
She didn't. Still Kathryn wasn't terribly pleased by the prospect of handing her boyfriend over to another girl. She and Vincent had grown very close over the past few months and giving him up might prove to be tougher than she initially thought. "Kathryn" Sebastian called to her waking her from her thoughts "you aren't having a change of heart are you?"
She wasn't but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to taunt him a little. "What if I was?"
There was a pause on the line before he came back on sounding as arrogant and demanding as ever. "Then I guess I'd be forced to tell Vincent all about our morning together. I believe I left some proof of it in the waste basket."
"Don't be crude Valmont" she ordered. "I just don't know if I'm comfortable with the idea of setting up Vincent with some random girl."
"Or maybe you're just not comfortable with giving him up at all." Sebastian's voice lost the confident smugness suddenly as he asked "tell me the truth, do you want to stay with Vincent?"
Kathryn chuckled, happy when she heard the disappointment in his voice. Sure it was juvenile but she liked hearing it, knowing it meant he did in fact love her. "Don't be ridiculous Sebastian" she purred "you know a lady never breaks her word."
"Oh am I dealing with one?"
"Cute. So who is she?"
There was another long pause that made Kathryn a little uneasy. "You'll find out tomorrow night" Sebastian explained confidently.
"What's tomorrow?"
"I'm inviting you and Vincent to dinner at my aunts. The old bat is out of town and graciously allowed me to use her place. Be there around eight."
Still watching her boyfriend from the door way she said "wait a minute. What makes you think Vincent will agree to that? Especially after that scene you pulled last night."
"Don't worry" he assured her. "I'll call him up and make my apologies before hand. Trust me you'll have no problem convincing him to go."
Kathryn sighed as she went and took a seat on the bed. "Well okay then I guess we'll be there but I'm warning you Valmont this girl better not be one of your skanky castoffs."
Sebastian snickered, "trust me, you'll love her."
* * * * * *
"I think they're here"
Sebastian finished off the rest of his scotch and then languidly rose up from his arm chair. Coming up beside Annette he placed a hand on her lower back and whispered in her ear "nervous?"
"No" she replied trying to come off confidently. However her fingers that were nervously tapping her thigh said other wise.
Taking her by the hand he led her from the room. "Then perhaps it's best if you answer the door rather than gawking at them through the window."
Annette pulled her hand away as they headed down to the first floor. "I can't believe you talked me into this" she huffed.
"Yeah, yeah I'm such a horrible ex-boyfriend setting you up with a rich, Italian duke and everything. Just relax, you look great" he assured her.
"You know I'm rather surprised Kathryn agreed to this." When Sebastian let out a short laugh in response Annette stopped in her steps and looked at him in disbelief. "Wait a minute, you did tell her I was going to be here didn't you?"
Sebastian pat her head as he strode past her to get to the door. "Not exactly. Trust me it will be fine."
Annette ran up beside him and exclaimed "TRUST YOU?!"
Ignoring her anger he slapped her gently on the ass and said "smile."
She didn't have a chance to protest further because the next moment he opened up the door to find Kathryn on the other side. She wore a confident smirk on her face that quickly melted at the sight of Annette. Her eyes narrowed angrily at the blond and then quickly shot over to Sebastian. He smiled back smugly at her and said "good evening Kathryn."
"What the-"
"Sebastian" Vincent came up from behind her carrying a bottle of wine. "How are you?"
"I'm good. How was your drive?"
As Vincent began explaining about how they got stuck in traffic on the bridge, Sebastian's attention remained on Kathryn who looked like she was just about to tear him a new one. However watching her seething with anger and not being able to say anything only amused him further. Truth be told the real reason Sebastian hadn't told her about Annette part in the plan was not only because he knew she would react badly but because he wanted to see the look on her face when it happened. It had been most definitely worth the wait. Now Kathryn would be stuck having dinner with Annette and there was nothing she could say to stop it.
Finally Sebastian interrupted Vincent and introduced him to his ex. "Hey have you met my friend, Annette Hardgrove? She was at your party the other night."
Vincent turned his attention to Annette who was standing beside Sebastian or rather trying to hide behind him. Placing his hand on her back he all but pushed her forward into his friend. Curling a loose strand of her flaxen hair behind her ear she gave him one of her genuine smiles as she extended her hand and said "I don't think we've met. It's nice to meet you Vincent. Sebastian has told me so much about you."
Sebastian took note when Vincent gave her a discreet once over. "It's a pleasure to meet you Annette. I hope our friend has been kind."
She giggled "yes for a change he has."
The two of them shared a laugh but Kathryn didn't even bother to hide her disdain for the situation. When Vincent turned around and asked if they had met she coldly replied "yes, several times."
"Well" Sebastian interjected clasping his hands together. "Dinner won't be ready for a few minutes. Why don't we go into the sitting room and open this bottle of wine."
"Good idea" Vincent agreed.
Taking Kathryn by the arm he led her into the next room with Annette and Sebastian following behind. Kathryn tossed them a dirty look over her shoulder and Annette leaned up and whispered to him "I hope you know what you're doing." Sebastian responding by pinching her ass as she started to sit down.
"Sebastian!" she squealed. Both Vincent and Kathryn turned and gave her a curious look. Forcing a smile she said "so Vincent which party of Italy is your family from?"
He began to launch into the tale of his ancestry which strangely enough Annette seemed to be genuinely interested by. Sebastian on the other hand tuned out after a few minutes having already heard the story on a number of occasions. Instead his attention drifted to Kathryn who also seemed to not be paying any attention to her boyfriends story. Instead the scowl she had been wearing earlier had changed into a suggestive sexy smirk as she began to run a finger down her cleavage. Forgetting for a moment all about Vincent Sebastian began to openly leer at her.
When Vincent got up to get more wine Annette elbowed him in the chest and mouthed "stop staring at her breasts."
Sebastian sneered at her and then plastered a smile on his face when Vincent rejoined the conversation. "So how long have you two been going out?"
"Oh we're not" Sebastian told him quickly. "Not anymore."
"We were involved in high school" Annette explained demurely. "But things didn't work out. However we've become good friends."
"So why didn't things work out?" Kathryn asked speaking up for the first time that night. When everyone looked to her surprised at such a blunt question she smiled innocently and shrugged "just curious."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed at her as he replied "our lives were just going in different directions."
"Don't you mean your zipper was going in another direction?" she tossed back. "Let's face it Sebastian fidelity has never been your strong suit."
He let out a low humorless chuckle "do you really want to go down that road baby?"
Kathryn cocked an eyebrow "meaning?"
"Nothing" he replied with a secretive smirk. "Hey Vincent why don't you tell Annette about that charity your family is heading up."
"Oh yes" Annette interjected. "Sebastian was telling me about it earlier. It sounds amazing."
Vincent smiled obviously pleased that the topic of conversation had changed. "Well it's-"
"Excuse me" Kathryn interrupted as she stood up abruptly. "I have to use the ladies room."
Vincent just nodded and then resumed explaining to Annette his families organization that supplied food and clothing to children in third world countries. Sebastian pretended to be interested but his mind was on Kathryn. He wondered why she seemed to be purposely trying to sabotage this night when they were so close to having everything go their way. Once again his imagination began to go into overdrive as he considered the possibility that she might not really want to give up Vincent after all.
Once again the conversation came to a halt when Sebastian's phone went off. He smiled apologetically at them as he reached into his coat to retrieve his cell. "Hello?"
"I'm in the west wing parlor room" Kathryn's icy voice greeted him. "Get your ass in here now."
Sebastian smiled "give me a minute." Turning to his guests he explained "I have to take this. I'll just be a second."
Getting up he left the sitting room and as he headed down to the other side of the house he put his phone back in his jacket. Sebastian threw open the doors of the parlor to find Kathryn standing in the middle of the room, hands firmly placed on her hips, looking as pissed off as ever. Without a word he strode into the room, closed the door behind him and gathered her in his arms. Before she could protest he pulled her into a kiss but Kathryn was in no mood. She bit down on his lip and pushed him back into the lounger. "Knock it off" she hissed.
Wiping the droplets of blood from his lip Valmont spat "what's your problem?"
"What's my problem? Are you out of your god damn mind inviting that hick into this?" Kathryn shook her head angrily "she's going to ruin everything."
"Annette's the perfect girl for Vincent. She's beautiful, smart, and kind. Did you see him in there? He was completely eating up everything she said?"
"Which is precisely my point." Leaning over him Kathryn rested her hands on the chaise behind him and explained "unlike us darling, little Dorothy has a conscience or have you forgotten? If we keep her involved with this it's only a matter of time before she tells Vincent everything."
Sebastian studied her curiously a moment. "Is that the real reason you're angry or perhaps you just don't like the idea of Vincent being with Annette."
Pulling away Kathryn crossed her arms to her chest and huffed "of course I don't. That little nothing is nowhere good enough for him."
"Neither are you" Sebastian shot back. When she turned around to face him with a look of shock on her pretty face he added with a hint of smugness "you know I'm right."
"You fucking asshole!" she shrieked. "How dare you." Kathryn went to slap him but before her hand could make contact Sebastian grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to the chaise.
Pinning her down he got on top of her and ordered "enough fucking around. It's time for you to make a decision. Either me or him."
Kathryn struggled underneath him "let me up. Vincent is going to come looking for me."
"Then let him find you." At the moment Sebastian really didn't care who found them in such a position. He was sick of getting jerked around by her and not fully knowing where he stood. "Answer me Kathryn. We've been doing this dance and playing this game for far too long. For once and for all I want an honest answer out of you." Letting go of her Sebastian sat up on his knees and sighed. "Look I'm giving you an out okay. If you tell me you really want to stay with him, if you tell me the truth right now I won't show him the document but I need to know. Him or me?"
Sitting up on her elbows Kathryn let out an exasperated sigh. "You, all right. I choose you."
Sebastian hid his elation behind a mask of cool indifference. "Good"
"Can you get off me now?"
"Not yet." Grinning he leaned forward and kissed her once again only this time he was met with no resistance. Kathryn wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him even closer. The pair fell back against the chaise locked in a tight embrace. Since neither was about to verbalize how they were truly feeling than channeled all those emotions and feelings into kissing. Physical love was so much easier than owning up to the real thing.
Kathryn let out a soft whimper when Sebastian's mouth left hers and trailed down to her neck. His hands began to explore her body, stopping to grope her breasts. When his hand snaked in between her legs Kathryn moaned, "we can't."
However Sebastian was having too much fun to be denied. As he ran his tongue down her cleavage his blue eyes looked up at her and he winked. A second later his fingers were probing her, pushing against her wet flesh. Kathryn's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she forgot all about Vincent. "Mmm, never mind. Keep going."
Sebastian chuckled as he moved back up her body and kissed her. His tongue explored her mouth as he fingered her pussy. Kathryn gasped as she moved her hips desperately against his hand. The only thing she cared about was her impending orgasm so she took no notice when the parlor door opened.
"Oh my god" Annette exclaimed in disgust. The couple immediately halted there movements and looked up to see Annette standing beside them looking angered. Hands of her hips she spat "I cannot believe you two. Vincent is just down the hall and you two are in here doing..." Sebastian pulled his hand out from under Kathryn's dress and Annette turned away. "Ew."
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Kathryn snarled at her.
"Vincent was asking about you and I volunteered to come find you Kathryn. Would you rather it was him who found you two? If so I could always go tell him what I walked in on."
Kathryn sat up quickly. "Don't you dare threaten me you stupid-"
"Enough" Sebastian ordered. "Look thank you Annette for warning us. Can you do me a favor and go back to Vincent, tell him Kathryn is on the phone with her mother and I'm discussing dinner with the cook. We'll be out in a minute."
Annette who had been staring daggers at Kathryn, looked back at him and replied "fine." She started for the door and then turned back to them. "Just so you know I think what you're doing to Vincent is disgusting. He's one of your best friends Sebastian and he trusts you. And for some ungodly reason he seems to love you Kathryn. You should just tell him the truth about what's going on because he's going to find out eventually."
"Any other pearls of wisdom, Barney?" Kathryn sneered.
Annette shot her a dirty look and replied "Vincent deserves so much better than you. I think I'm actually going to enjoy taking him away from you."
Without another word Annette stormed out of the parlor closing the door behind her. Sighing Sebastian rested his head of the back of the lounger and remarked "she's doing us a favor Kathryn. Would it kill you to be pleasant to her?"
"Probably"
Getting to her feet Kathryn straightened out her dress and examined her reflection in the mirror. "The little bitch was right about one thing. We have to be more careful. No more of this screwing around shit until after Vincent and I break up for good."
"Aww come on" Sebastian cooed in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Kathryn quickly untangled him. "I'm serious Valmont. I'm not going to risk Vincent walking in on us." Turning around she wiped some of her red lipstick from his mouth. "From now on you're going to have to channel that sexual energy into something else."
As she headed out of the room Sebastian quickly followed in step beside her. "Surely you can't be suggesting celibacy?"
"Of course not." She smirked "there's always masturbation."
Sebastian stopped in his tracks as a look of disdain crossed over his face. Kathryn looked back at him and laughed. "Come on Valmont we still have a dinner to get through."
- to be continued (Please Review)