CHAPTER 56 Ton Temps Est Ecoule
William left for the airport early in the morning, having slept only a few hours. He was flying on a private jet owned by the production company with three other cast members and two film executives, so he didn’t have a say in choosing the departure schedule, or else we would’ve left much later. His work commitments didn’t start until the next day anyway.
Since it was Sunday, I decided to catch up on sleep and only left my bed to pee and eat. Cecile came looking for shelter in the afternoon. The guys were busy watching football at their place, and she wanted a break from all the yelling and the testosterone. We ordered a large pepperoni pizza, and I gave her all the details about what had happened with my dad and William while we ate.
Cecile was devastated when I told her the missing truths about my mom and dad’s story. She held me for a long moment, repeating over and over how sorry she was after I told her my mom had been pregnant when she died. Despite feeling overwhelmed upon learning the final piece of truth, an unexpected sense of peace washed over me as the hours passed, knowing I finally had the whole picture.
After we moved on from that topic, Cecile said she was proud of me for choosing to pursue my dreams instead of sacrificing them to follow William’s footsteps. She agreed that all we had to do to keep things working was maintain a clear and honest line of communication.
After a long and highly emotional conversation, our bellies full and bodies tired, we retreated to my bed. While Cecile read a book, I drifted off for another nap.
I woke up around forty minutes later to Cecile’s “Merde!” as she struggled to silence the incoming call on my phone. I groaned.
“Qui est-ce?” I asked who it was with my eyes still closed, feeling like I’d woken up in another era.
“C’est Aaron,” she whispered. “Le prendras-tu?”
“Give me.” I grabbed the phone and took it to my ear.
“Hey … No, I should get up anyway. What’s up? … Mhm … Mhm … Oh, Okay … Uh, sure. I’ll meet you here … Yeah, you’re fine … See you in a bit.”
“Aaron’s coming over,” I said with a yawn. “He wants to talk.”
“Should I leave?”
“No, of course not.” I got out of bed and stretched my arms over my head. “He’s going to update me on something about Agent Mark.”
“Oh, I’m definitely staying then.” She grinned.
“Of course you are.” I chuckled. “I see Tobias’s gossipmonger tendencies are rubbing off on you.”
“What an ugly word, gossipmonger,” Cecile said in her cute French accent, scrunching up her nose.
“It doesn’t make it any less true.” I quirked up an eyebrow teasingly.
My phone chimed with an incoming text.
Tobias: I want Cecile back. I barely saw her all week.
She left her phone here, and I can’t talk to her.
Me:If you want her, you’ll have to come and get her.
Tobias: But there are still 17 minutes left in the game.
Me:So, like an hour left in real minutes?
Tobias: If you put it that way.
“It’s Tobias,” I said, walking to my bathroom to brush my hair. “He misses you.” I chuckled.
“Is the game over?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then tough shit.” She gave me a mischievous smile and returned her attention to her book.
Me: She’s staying. When the game’s over, let me know,
and I’ll send her up.
Tobias:You can’t be trusted. I’ll get her myself when it’s over.
Me: Suit yourself :)
The doorbell rang, and Cecile closed her book, tossed it to the side, and followed me. I let Aaron in, and we moved into the living room.
“William and I have been in touch since he left this morning, trying to make sense of what happened,” Aaron began the moment he took a seat. “But now that we have all the information, he wanted me to be the one to explain it to you, although I’m sure he’ll contact you later to talk about it.”
“What happened?”
“You know Agent Mark and I go way back, and even if he went by his first name instead of his last, which is unusual, I still knew his last name was Campbell. That threw me off initially, now that we have confirmation that Agent Hawthorne is Agent Mark’s son.”
Cecile audibly gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. “Pardon,” she quickly apologized for interrupting. She was a second away from throwing a bag of popcorn in the microwave.
“Wait, what?” That didn’t make sense. Or maybe it did, since there was so little I knew about either Agent Mark or Agent Hawthorne.
“Agent Mark’s wife died of cancer when their son Oliver was young. Agent Mark’s mother took care of Oliver’s upbringing while he attended the Federal Law Enforcement Training in Glynco, Georgia, to specialize in diplomatic security,” Aaron explained. “But I already knew this from multiple conversations I had with him through the years. As you know, he then fell in love with your mother and got himself kicked out of the DSS because of it. When that happened, he changed his last name to Hawthorne, his wife’s maiden name. He started his own private security firm, Hawthorne Security, alongside another ex-military friend of his and his son, who had been serving in the military while he was abroad working for the DSS.”
“So Agent Mark learned of the shared outing with my father and asked Agent Hawthorne to call in sick so he could take his place and confront my dad?”
“That is correct,” Aaron confirmed with a sharp nod. “That might be another reason Agent Hawthorne was keen to keep tabs on you whenever William was gone. He didn’t have to. You have your own security, but they were curious and began gathering information. But since you and your father became estranged after that Christmas, yesterday was one of the rare occasions where the three of you coincided.”
“Why didn’t Agent Mark just wait for him outside his apartment and punch him in the face?” I asked. “I’m sure it wouldn’t have been too hard for him to find out where he lives.”
“I had the opportunity to talk to Agent Mark,” Aaron said, pressing his lips together. “We were friends. We trained together. When I tell you he was the best out there, I’m not exaggerating. He was the best of the best. I respected him, and he respected me.” Aaron seemed disappointed in how things had turned out for everyone involved.
“Hawthorne Security specializes not only in high-profile private security services but also in cybersecurity and private investigations. So when I asked Agent Mark the same question you’re asking me, he said he didn’t just want to confront him. He already had the opportunity to tell him what he thought in the past, but he wanted to achieve a few things with this exchange.” Aaron straightened in his seat and smoothed a hand down his tie.
“He’d been keeping track of your father’s new venture with Mr. Saunders and knew how crucial it was for the business that things went well for him at the gala. So Agent Mark aimed for a public humiliation, hoping to tarnish your dad’s reputation and his chances of securing this new client. He also admitted he wanted you to know the truth.” Aaron’s brow flew up in a way that told me he was against Agent Mark’s vindictive methods.
“Agent Mark didn’t seem particularly proud about this last part, though. He thought he had moved on, but when he found out one of his clients was dating María’s daughter … all the feelings came back to haunt him.” Aaron’s expression softened with sympathy. “He saw the chance to hurt your father, and he took it.”
“It’s too bad Nathan has to suffer for my father’s sins,” I muttered, almost to myself.
“Mr. Saunders knew who he was getting involved with when partnering up with your father,” Aaron said, surprising me with his candor.
“That’s the thing,” I replied. “I don’t think he did at first. Nathan looked up to my dad, but after the things he told me at the gala, plus all this mess, he sure knows who he’s dealing with now.”
I didn’t enjoy seeing my father get hurt, but I believed what happened at the gala and its aftermath impacted him. I’d never seen him display emotions in such a raw way or show remorse for his actions other than when he came looking for me back in May. But I knew that even if I could forgive him with time, I was afraid I’d never find it in me to trust him again. And I didn’t know what that would mean for us or where that would leave us.
“From what your father informed me, Mr. Saunders decided to part ways after yesterday’s incident and is trying to secure the deal on his own. So it’s up to Mr. Saunders to get this client on board.”
“I see.” Aaron didn’t have to tell me any of this, but I appreciated it all the same. He knew I cared about Nathan, even though he was my ex, and we weren’t necessarily friends. But I loved him once upon a time and wanted him to be happy and fulfilled in whatever he chose to do. “And what will William do with Agent Hawthorne?”
“William sent a notice on an early termination of the contract, which they were expecting, but will not be proceeding with any legal action,” Aaron explained. “They’re good people, Mark and Oliver, and William knows that. He wants to make it easier for everyone to move on from this.”
If my mother loved Agent Mark, I was sure he was a good man.
“There’s more.” Aaron cleared his throat. He stared at me and took a moment before continuing. “I’ve been laid off by your father.”
My eyes widened with panic. No! Why did Aaron’s job have to suffer from this mess?
“So what now?” I was in denial. I’d yearned for my freedom for so long, but at the same time, Aaron made me feel safe. There had been so many times that I didn’t know what I would’ve done without his reassuring presence. He was more than just a bodyguard. He was like a brother to me, a dear friend, and a trusted confidante.
Aaron held up a hand, silently asking me to allow him to explain. “Your father is doing this to let you know that, and I quote, ‘She’s free to live the life she wants to live in the best way she sees fit.’ He also wanted me to tell you that he trusts you and always has. The person he never trusted and continuously doubted was himself.”
Cecile grabbed my hand and squeezed it. She knew how deep the rabbit hole went when it came to my father, the nuances and complexities of our relationship, and the breadth of the wounds. She knew it all. She knew how big of a deal this was and how I’d been waiting for this moment for years, but not expecting it to happen.
“But where will you go?” I asked, slightly agitated. “What will you do? Does Naomi know you’ve been laid off?”
“Since William fired his bodyguard,” Aaron said with a hint of a smile, “he was looking to hire someone new.”
I jumped from my seat and rounded the coffee table to tackle Aaron with a hug. “He hired you? Did William hire you?” I broke off the embrace after feeling Aaron nodding in affirmation and sat next to him. “Tell me everything.”
“Your father agreed to lease the apartment to us, so Naomi and I will continue to live in it,” he explained. “William will send over the paperwork this week. But I will be mostly your driver—”
I cut him off with an overexcited squeal.
“—and will accompany William and you to any events you want me to attend. You are free to roam around the city on your own if that’s what you want. Or things can continue as they have been. The difference is it’s all up to you now. I even brought you this.” His hand reached into the inner jacket pocket, pulled out a subway map, and handed it to me with a laugh.
“Shut up!” I slapped his shoulder with it and laughed. I could hear Cecile giggling behind me. “Wait, but what about Cooper?”
“He’ll be assigned to Tobias now,” Aaron explained. “He was looking to hire a driver, so the timing was perfect.”
“Good,” I said, feeling relieved. I knew Cooper needed the job and I didn’t want him to be affected by this. “Can I hug you again?”
Aaron rolled his eyes playfully. “Get in here.” He opened his arms and swiveled his fingers.
“Can you call me Billie now?”
“I don’t think so, Miss Murphy.”
I rested my face on his chest. “Ugh, okay. Whatever.”
The doorbell rang, and I stood to get the door, but Tobias had let himself in.
“Ton temps … est … écoulé!” He shouted in his chopped-up French, pointing at Cecile. “It’s écoulé, right?” He asked, looking at me for confirmation, making us all laugh.