Chapter 6 #2
“I’m coming.” I lean in and give Gwen a hug. “I promise, I’ll stay in touch.”
She hugs me longer than I expect, with a tightness that says more than she could with words.
“Take care,” she whispers in my ear. “Please.”
I nod against her shoulder, extricate myself with difficulty, and walk toward Fabien.
I don’t look back.
I expect he’ll ask me about her conversation with me, but he doesn’t pry.
A luxurious white car purrs at the entrance to La Maison. Fabien opens the door for me.
“Ooh, now this is nice,” I say to him. I run my hand along the soft, buttery leather interior and sigh. It’s the very picture of luxury. I’ve never been in a car like this.
He smiles and looks genuinely pleased. “You like it?”
“I love it.”
His eyes twinkle at me as he pushes a button beside him. “Watch this.”
A flat screen rises on the back of the panel between our seats and the driver. A flick of his fingers on the touchscreen brings up a host of movies to choose from.
My jaw drops.
“It’s an airplane on wheels!”
A snap of his fingers, and a cool, electronic voice fills the car. “What shall I play for you?”
“Debussy, s’i? vous plait.”
Rich music transforms the entire interior of the car.
“No way. Oh my God, how did you do that?”
For a brief moment, he looks like a little boy showing off a trophy. “I like my toys.” His gaze lingers on me a little too long, long enough for my mind to go to dirty places.
Am I his toy?
Why do I like the sound of that?
It’s time to change the subject.
“When I was little, I used to research and document cars for my father.”
“Document them?”
I nod. “Yes. I have an excellent memory for detail. I don’t forget anything.
He would bet on races. It was legal where we were, so don’t get any ideas,” I say, wagging my finger at him.
“I would categorize their speeds, take note of predictions, everything. And I would help call the race. I had an excellent track record.”
“Really.” He puts his phone down, suddenly very interested. “How did you find all that out?”
“I’m very good at making myself invisible.
At lurking in places I don’t belong without being seen.
” I shrug, then continue, chattering nervously.
“I was a gymnast when I was younger, which came in handy when I wanted to squeeze myself into tight places. My mother used to say I had a future ahead of me, but she wasn’t quite sure it was the type you’d put on a résumé. ”
I expect him to be amused, or maybe even surprised, but a strange gleam lights his eyes. “That’s good to know.” The car cruises to a stop. “Here we are.”
I look out the window, half expecting a UFO to land to take us to outer space. It all feels surreal, like I’m walking in a dream.
Today, I was supposed to meet with three different clients. I was prepared to meet their needs and be paid amply for it. I’ve learned to mute my feelings and treat what I do as nothing more than a job, but the sharp contrast between my normal day and what I’m doing now makes me almost uneasy.
Every member of his staff treats us like royalty. If I were wearing a formal dress, they’d lift my hem so I didn’t dirty it on the tarmac. If it were hot outside, they’d be holding fans and waving them at us to keep us cool. Doors open as if by magic.
It’s all so dreamlike.
Fabien’s hand on my elbow. His familiar tone as he escorts me onto the plane. The vast interior of the plane, luxury at its finest. The smell of leather and cognac. Even the plush velvety blanket folded on a small table beside my seat looks like it belongs to a queen.
“This is amazing,” I breathe, looking around me. I’m so enamored with everything, I’ve almost forgotten Gwen’s admonition. Is she jealous? Did she want the attention he’s giving me, and now that I’m with him, she can’t handle it?
I don’t know why else she’d warn me.
Sartène sits in southern Corsica, so the flight from Sartène to Paris is only an hour and a half long. I’ve made it several times at this point, but always on an economy flight. Fabien wouldn’t even be able to fit in those seats.
I expect him to take out a laptop or his phone and get to work, because a man like him must be busy. But instead, he only folds his hands like he did at the coffee shop.
I have the sudden desire to fill the quiet with conversation. I don’t know if there will be any comfortable silence around a man of his intensity.
“Is there anything I need to know?” I ask. “I’m guessing you’re not planning on telling your family and friends I’m your employee from your brothel?” I try to sound teasing, but it ends up coming out a bit sarcastically.
“What would you prefer?”
I shrug. “Could be a bit awkward if they know how we met. And I like making up different stories about who I am. You might even say I’m quite good at it.”
His brows rise a fraction of an inch. “Do you?”
I nod. “I can play the role of teacher, sexy nurse, bookish librarian, or kick-ass boss bitch with ease. I could easily play something else as well with enough notice to research.”
“What are you playing now?” Though he keeps his tone light, I don’t miss the sharpness in his eyes. My belly drops.
In a rush of words, I tell him the truth. Part of it, anyway. “I’m not playing anything now. I’m just me.”
“I like just you. So maybe let’s keep just you. You live in Corsica. You were an exchange student. You have a sister in America.”
Wait.
Did I tell him that?
“I don’t see the need to say any more than that,” he finishes.
“How did you know that about me?”
“Some you told me last night, some is in your file. I looked it up yesterday because I was angry at myself for not knowing my employees better. I blame myself for yesterday.”
Interesting. Okay, so that seems plausible.
I quickly change the subject away from my family.
“You can’t control the behavior of every man that comes in there.”
A sudden flare in his eyes tells me he wishes he could.
“I know. But I can increase security measures. I can screen my patrons more thoroughly.”
“Fair enough. So there’s nothing I need to know, then?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “My father was a good man. Some say he wasn’t, but they didn’t know him. He was loyal to his family and my mother worshipped him. She’s never been the same since his death.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
He nods almost imperceptibly. “You’ll like her. She is a bit of a perfectionist but an excellent hostess. Soft-spoken, likes to stay in the background.”
“Got it.”
“I have two younger brothers, Thayer and Lyam. Thayer’s a year and a half younger than I am, plays by the rules.
Perfectionist. His attention to detail comes in handy.
Lyam’s the exact opposite. The baby of the family, he throws caution to the wind like he was meant to live on adrenaline instead of food.
He dove off his changing table at ten months old and broke both of his legs, and pretty much hasn’t stopped since. ”
A shadow crosses his face that he quickly hides. Something about Lyam troubles him.
“Oh wow.” I pause. Swallow. “And you?”
A casual shrug. “I fall somewhere in between the two of them.”
How so?
I’m eager to meet his brothers. You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat their family. “And I’ll meet them this weekend?”
“Thayer. Lyam is… away. Now, no more talk of them. I want to know more about you.”
I don’t want to talk about me. I want to distract him, so I can drown out Gwen’s warnings to me.
I want to earn my money. I can talk about me and change the subject at the same time.
“Hmm,” I say, as I run my fingers along the soft leather of the seat. “I like the feel of luxury. In fact, I do believe leather is an aphrodisiac, isn’t it?”
“Mmm.”
“So are cognac and sandalwood. I do believe you may be seducing me, sir.”
“You’re the one wearing something with lavender and vanilla,” he retorts. “The question is, who’s seducing whom?”
I turn to face him fully. I draw in a breath, suddenly aware of the way my chest rises and falls, the way my belly dips and plummets. My pulse at my wrists and neck.
I’ve only skirted the very edge of Fabien Gerard. I want to take the plunge, even though I already know I’ll never be the same again.
“Seems to me…” I say thoughtfully, turning to him. “Mutual seduction sounds like one hell of a time.”