Chapter 31
Nora: #TwistsInLife
W ell, life continues to throw more curveballs. To be honest, the past twenty-four hours of my life seem to be right out of some movie. While it might be exciting to watch, it doesn’t feel all that nice in reality, especially when it’s happening to you. Perhaps I would’ve felt differently if my friendship with Gabs wasn’t at stake.
Sophia has more work to do. With a part of her team in Boston, she prefers to work a little late into the evening. But she offers to send her car and driver to drop us off at Gabs’ grandmother’s house.
Gabs has messaged Mrs Bardot informing her of our visit.
“What do you plan to say to her?” I ask, breaking the silence in the car.
He shrugs. “Don’t know. It’s weird, y’know. To think that your family would do something like this, for money. I’m still unable to process it all,” he says.
“Tell me about it. My sister’s boyfriend sold the recording of a privately held conversation. People can do all kinds of things for money.”
We fall into silence again.
The driver eventually stops in front of a massive gate and rolls down the window. A liveried guard is standing there, who recognizes him and he smiles, opens the gate, and grants us entry. There’s a garden on both sides of the driveway. A man runs over to open the car door as the car pulls up near a large door.
I step out, feeling a little under-dressed in my jeans and tank top. It looks less like a house and more like a small castle right out of a novel. I don’t know anyone who lives in a place like this.
“Your grandmother stays here alone or does she house an entire village in this place?” I whisper to Gabs as we follow a smartly dressed man inside. I wonder if he’s the butler or something. Do they have butlers in France? Would this man be something like Jeeves who’d be able to help us get out of this mess?
He leaves us in a large living room. Paintings adorn the walls and artifacts, possibly quite expensive ones, are spread out everywhere. The room overall is a beautiful melange of ancient and contemporary. I’ve barely had time to register it when I hear the click-clack of heels and an older woman in an evening gown, with silvery hair tied in a bun, wearing light make-up, approaches us. Her gait and demeanor remind me of Daphne.
Gabs walks up to her. “Mamie,” he says, and she pulls him into an embrace.
“Oh mon petit-fils préféré, tu vas bien?”
“I’m fine,” he says, pulling away from her. “This is my friend, Nora.”
“Ah, I know I know. I follow her on Instagram and X. Bienvenue chez moi, ma chère.”
“Thank you for having me,” I reply, wondering if I should have done some Duolingo sessions in French before coming here.
“Vous parlez francais? You speak French?”
I shake my head. Though having spent so much time with Gabs, I’ve picked up a few words.
“No problem. I know English. Come. We’ll sit in a more cozy setting. This is very formal for meeting my grandson.”
She walks up the stairs, instructing a woman standing nearby to get something to eat for us. There are quite a few rooms on the upper floor, too. She takes us to one, which has a couch, a couple of wing chairs, and a table.
Once we’re all seated, she holds Gabriel’s hand. “I’m glad you came. It’s been some time since we met. I was expecting you to visit me when you came here for your meeting with Gerard Dumas, but… well, you didn’t.”
“You know him?” Gabs says in a brusque tone. Gerard Dumas is still a sore memory for him.
“I do. I’m glad you left that tiny start-up and joined the family business. They tell me you have a new strategy planned for the Boston team?”
Gabs is quiet, so I pitch in. “He does. And Madame Bardot, it’s heartening to see that you’re so deeply involved in the company matters.”
She smiles and nods. “Ah, only a little. If Daphne hadn’t run off after George, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to. She was always a sharp one, my Daphne. I guess Gabriel has her acuity in business.”
Gabs stands up and walks toward the wall, then turns and leans against it. “I don’t think I have her or your mental acuity or the ability to manipulate people.”
Her eyes grow wide and I feel weird listening to such a personal fight. I’m not comfortable in family feuds. So I stand up. “I… I think I’ll wait downstairs.”
Gabs shakes his head. “No, you’re part of it, and right now I think you’re the closest thing I have to family. So please stay Nora. My so-called family is clearly not to be trusted.”
His grandmother bites her lips and straightens her back. “What are you inferring, Gabriel?”
“I know,” he says, his incandescent gaze focused on her with a feral intensity I’ve never witnessed before. “So please don’t insult my intelligence or yours by pretending you didn’t do it. You have the recording, or have you shared it already?”
She shifts uneasily, but her face doesn’t betray any emotion. Her lips are still smiling, though the glint has disappeared from her eyes.
A woman comes in with some food, which she lays carefully on the table. There’s some ravioli, a variety of amazing-looking breads, and some juice.
“Shut the door as you leave,” Madame Bardot says to the woman, “and inform the others that I’m not be disturbed for a while, till my grandson is here.”
“Oui, madame,” says the woman before bowing and leaving.
Gabs’ eyes haven’t left her. She stands up and walks closer to him.
The smell of warm bread makes my mouth water and I realize how hungry I am. So I pick up a piece and begin nibbling.
“Who told you?” she finally asks. Her voice is softer, and it has lost the confidence and patronizing tone.
“Does it matter? The fact is that it’s true. How low can you fall? I won’t let anyone harm Nora. So, I’m asking again, have you already given it to TruthSeekerBob?”
“No. I never intended to give it to him. It would be bad for the family.”
Gabs rolls his eyes and takes a step closer to the older woman, towering at least a foot over her. “I don’t believe you. I don’t trust you.”
She steps back. “Look, I did it because Daphne asked me to. And honestly, I think this is the sanest thing she has done in a long time. I mean, if you’re faking it with her,” she spins her head toward me with a disdainful expression, “why do you want to ruin your chance with Sophia? She’s smart and rich and our businesses together will propel both families to the next level. It’s plain common sense. Ask her. If she is really your friend, I’m sure she’ll agree.”
I swallow the bread that I’ve stuffed in my mouth with a glass of juice, as I realize I’m the ‘her’ she’s referring to.
She’s still glaring at me, her disdain transforming into disgust. I want to beat myself up for gorging on the food at such a moment, but to be fair, I didn’t expect to be called on for my opinion on this family matter.
“With all due respect, ma’am, I think marriage, if at all done, should be out of love, not for some business transaction. I’m sure there are ways for the two businesses to work together without making Gabriel and Sophia marry each other when they don’t want to.”
“Why don’t you say that you want to marry my grandson? Why? For his money? How much do you need to get out of his life? Tell me and I’ll write you a check right now.”
I’m too shocked to say anything. Gabs opens his mouth, but I shut him up with a glance. It’s my battle and I have to fight it. I’m glad he respects my choice. When you’ve been friends for so long, you don’t need to speak to make your desires known.
This woman is impossible. I don’t like her right now, not even a bit. But I can see in her eyes that she knows she’s lost, and she’s trying to pick at twigs to keep her from drowning. But I will not give her any.
I pick up another piece of bread, apply a generous amount of butter to it, and relax against the backrest of the couch.
“All the money in your bank account and whatever worldly possessions you own are nothing in front of what Gabriel means to me. Only death can part us, and even then, I’m sure I’ll remain in his memory and thoughts just as he will in mine. We will always stand by each other, whether you or others like you, like it or not. People like you can’t even begin to fathom what our friendship means to us.” I lock eyes with her, a tiny smile on my lips. “So, respectfully, ma’am, please, just fuck off.”
She’s as astonished by my speech as is Gabs, and to some extent even me. I didn’t intend to say this, but I realize how true it is.
She turns to Gabs, almost pleading now. “Don’t you care for your mother? Do you care for this impudent, uncultured woman more than your own family? If you don’t marry Sophia, your money, your mother’s money, will go to others. Do you want that?”
“I don’t care for money. We were happy before we had it. In fact, I think we were happier. I don’t use a dime of that money except for the condo, which is the one thing Mom bought with that money. I can easily do without it. I earn enough as it is. If on Monday, your company decides they don’t need me, I’m sure I can get another job. So don’t you worry about me, Mamie. And from what I understand, my share will go to you and my aunt. So why do you even bother?”
“Because your aunt has no sense. She wants to sell the shares. She doesn’t want to be in the business. I can’t have other people owning part of the business your granddad built. I can’t see it, not till I’m alive.”
She seems broken as she slumps on the couch, a defeated woman. I almost feel sorry for her. Poor thing.