Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Genevieve
I’m really nervous about meeting Michel’s sisters. I don’t really know why, I mean it’s not like we’re in a relationship or anything. After what happened with Julian, I’m not sure if I want to be in one ever again. But there’s also something about Michel that I just can’t ignore.
There’s a knock at the door and I open it to find Michel and three other people. I step back so they can all come into the room. Michel gives me a hug and I can’t help the smile I have when he does it.
“Genevieve, these are my sisters, Amélie and Noelle, and my brother, Henri.”
“It’s very nice to meet you all,” I say as I smile.
Each of them hug me, and every hug makes me feel like I’m going to be okay.
“We hope you don’t mind. We just wanted to meet you,” Amélie says as she smiles at me.
“And we wanted to check and see how you were doing. We didn’t see everything, but we did see that guy that was talking to you. It didn’t look like you really wanted to talk to him,” Noelle says.
“That was Julian Fisher. He’s my ex-boyfriend and no, I don’t want to talk to him ever again.”
“This will probably sound nosy, but can you tell us why?”
Michel looks angry as he listens to me talk. I don’t usually tell people my business, but Michel and his siblings make me feel safe. And I want them to know, it’s easier than when I was telling my parents and siblings.
“This morning I had a class that was cancelled, so I went home early. I found Julian in bed with a woman he works with.”
“Merde,” Michel growls.
“Mon loup. That’s what our parents call him. Because he growled when he was born. And he continues to growl as an adult.” Amélie sighs as she looks at Michel.
I chuckle as I listen to them. They remind me of me and my siblings. Even though Céline has moved out and has her own family, we’re still really close. I really want them to meet Michel and his family. I wonder if his parents will like me? Whoa. Wait. Why does that matter?
“Were you with Julian for a long time?” Noelle asks.
“We met when he came to my town, he was there for two weeks. Then we did long distance for about six months. I applied to the college here and told myself that if I was accepted, it was a sign. I’ve been here for seven months.
I know it seems fast, but I never thought he would cheat on me. Especially after I moved here for him.”
Michel is growling again. I know it shouldn’t be, but it’s sexy as hell.
It’s like I can feel it in my soul. He walks over to me and wraps his arms around me.
I lean into him and breathe him in. He makes me feel safe, nothing like I felt when I was with Julian.
There was always something missing when I was with Julian.
But now I feel like all those pieces of me that were missing are found.
“I let the front desk know that he’s not to be given any information about you. We don’t give out any information about guests anyway, but I felt like I needed to make sure the front desk knew this applied to you specifically,” Michel says to me.
“Thank you. I wish he would just walk away. He created this mess and yet he thinks I should just let it go.”
“Well, fuck him. You’re safe here. Has he ever been violent towards you?” Henri asks.
“He’s never hit me, if that’s what you’re asking. But we’ve gotten into some really bad fights. In fact the first one was a month after I got here. I should’ve known then that he wasn’t the one for me. He was mad because my class ran late and I didn’t call him to let him know.” I frown.
“Sometimes it takes time to figure things out,” Michel says as I look up at him.
“Cheating is the one thing I can never forgive. No matter what. He knew that, and he still did it. And in the bed we shared.”
And there’s the growling again. I’m beginning to realize that he doesn’t like hearing about me being with Julian. Which is fine with me, the sooner I can get him out of my head, the better. I feel Michel’s arms tighten around me.
Michel
I hate listening to Genevieve talk about Julian.
And as much as I hate that she’s been hurt?
The selfish part of me says that it’s a good thing because now she’s mine.
And I will take care of her the way she deserves.
After an hour of hanging out, I kick my siblings out, then tell Genevieve I’ll be back at six.
“Henri is usually around the pool area if you want to swim. Also, if you need me? Just text me and I’ll come find you.”
“The pool sounds nice. I never asked, what do you do here?”
“I’m the head of security, and I oversee all the employees. That’s why I said I put out a memo about what to do if anyone sees Julian.”
“You’re like my guardian angel. Or guardian wolf?”
I growl at her as she giggles.
“My maman is going to love you.” I smile. “I hate to leave, but I have some things I need to do. But I’ll see you in a few hours.”
I take the chance and lean down to kiss her. I feel her hesitate at first, but then she lets me in.
“That was better than I imagined,” I whisper to her.
The smile on her face tells me that I made the right decision.
And I can’t wait to do it again. I head down to our security room to make sure the guys that are on shift know to keep an eye out for Julian.
I got a weird feeling about him. I’m not sure what it was.
But there’s something about him that I don’t like.
I call Sebastiano Mancini, he and Francesco Bastianini are the best IT guys I know. I need to know everything about this Julian.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Sebastiano, it’s Michel Rousseau.”
“Hi, good to hear from you, how is everyone?”
“Everyone’s good. How’s everyone in Lake Renegade?”
“Eh, always something happening here.” He laughs. “But I have a feeling that you’re calling for a reason.”
I chuckle. “I was hoping you could help me look into a guy. Julian Fisher. He’s my woman’s ex.”
“Whoa. You have a woman? When did that happen?”
“Today. I get it now, when I heard some of you say when you met your wives, you just knew. I saw Genevieve and I knew. It was the craziest thing. But her ex is a cop and she says he’s never touched her. But after seeing him today, I feel like there’s more to him than even she knows.”
“Shit. You said he’s a cop? Like city cop? Or a deputy?”
“I don’t know. I was going to look into it myself. But I knew that you and Francesco are ten times better at that than I could ever be.”
“What are you looking for?”
“He rubs me the wrong way, like he’s hiding something. And I can see the temper he has. You should’ve seen his face when Genevieve said no to him. It was like he wanted to kill her.”
“I’ll look into it. Give me a few days.”
“Thank you so much, I really appreciate this.”
“We’re family. It’s what we do.”
I spend the rest of the afternoon making sure things are running smoothly in the hotel.
I still have to head home to grab the food my maman is making for Genevieve.
I’m excited to bring it to her. After Genevieve and I talked about food, I called my maman and she said to leave it to her.
She also said she can’t wait to meet Genevieve.
“Maman?” I call out as I walk into the house.
“In the kitchen, mon loup.”
“It smells delicious in here,” I say as I give her a hug.
“So tell me about Genevieve.”
I laugh and tell her everything I know. I also tell her that I called Sebastiano to ask for help with Julian.
“That’s smart. This Julian doesn’t sound like a good person. I know you’ll keep her safe. I put everything into insulated bowls and I put the plates, bowls and utensils in the basket. You just need drinks to go with the meal.”
“I really appreciate you doing this, Maman,” I say as I hug her.
“Just make sure you bring her here so your papa and I can meet her.” She smiles at me.
“I will, as soon as she’s ready.”
“Your sisters called and said she’s perfect for you.”
I chuckle. I should’ve known my sisters would call our maman. I’m glad they did, that means they like her. If they didn’t, they would’ve said so. I head back to the hotel and up to Genevieve’s room. I lay out all the food and drinks for her.
“I can’t believe your maman made all this for me. I feel like I’m back home and looking at food my own maman made.”
“I’m glad you like it. When I told her where you were from, she said to leave it to her and she’d have it all ready for you.”
Genevieve puts food on both our plates and we sit down to eat.
“I really appreciate all you’ve done for me. But I don’t know what to do, I can’t just live here at your hotel. For one, I can’t afford this room. And two, it’s not a home.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to finish school. But I still have a little over a year. I’m pretty sure my parents will help me with an apartment. But I would need to get a job, I can’t just rely on them.”
“You could work here at the hotel.”
“You’ve done so much for me already.”
“And I’ll keep doing everything I can for you.”
“Why?” she whispers.
“Do you want the truth?”
She nods at me.
“I don’t know how I know, but I know you’re the one for me.”
“‘The one’? You mean like a fairytale ‘the one’?”
I chuckle. “Sure, which fairytale is that from?”
She smiles. “I don’t know, it’s just that everything you do is like I’m in a fairytale. Like the birds and mice in the wicked stepsisters fairytale.”
“Wait…are you saying I’m a mouse? Or a bird?”
Genevieve giggles. “Maybe.”
I chirp at her as she laughs. I watch her as she takes a bite of the food. She closes her eyes and moans. Holy fuck…she’s moaning more and can’t help staring at her. She finally stops and looks at me.
“Uh. Why are you staring at me?”
“I’m staring at you because you’re beautiful.”
“Now I know you’re crazy.” She smiles. “But thank you.”
“But seriously, you can work here if you really feel that you need a job. You can even choose what you’d like to do.”
“I might just take you up on that.”
We spend the rest of the evening talking and getting to know each other. She told me about her family and how they’re going to be here in a few days. I suggested that her family meet mine. Maybe knowing that she has help, they’ll feel better about her staying here in Storyville.