Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
He subtly raised his hand and got the attention of the waiter to get our check.
To combat the panic I felt, I told myself to give it a couple days. We would forget this dinner. We would forget what I said. Our lives would go back to normal, and maybe in time, he would feel comfortable enough to say he felt the same way.
THIRTY
CAULDRON
I stepped into the bar, quiet except for a few people in the back.
Grave was already there, sitting on a stool with his hand over the top of his glass. He looked at me with a blank look in his eyes, like he didn’t care that I was there.
I took the seat beside him and tapped my fingers on the counter to order my drink—scotch on the rocks. “You look tired.”
He ignored my statement. “Back in Paris already?”
“We need to lay down our plan with Roan.” And I needed to get out of the house. Away from her.
“Didn’t realize you were so concerned with my well-being.” He stared at me as he drank from his glass.
“My sources tell me he’s coming to Paris in two weeks. Has a deal with Bartholomew.”
He gave a slight nod but didn’t seem that interested.
“Something you aren’t telling me?”
“I’ve got my hands full at the moment.”
“What the fuck did you do?”
He gave a hard chuckle. “Why do you assume I did anything?”
“Because that’s how it works.”
He took a drink before he answered the question. “It’s a long story.”
“Well, it’s only eleven, and the bar is open until two.” I swirled my glass.
“Alright. My contract with Elise ended. She’s got a long waiting list, so I said goodbye and thought that was the end of it. But when she went back to work, she refused her next client and asked if I could be her permanent client instead.”
My expression didn’t change, but I felt the surprise.
“I said yes. But her next client has been on the list for eight months, and he wasn’t happy. I offered him cash, but that wasn’t good enough. So now I’ve got another guy who wants to kill me.” He shook his glass. “Good times.”
“Why does Elise want you to be her permanent client?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
“She derailed her entire business for you.”
“Seems that way.”
“But you’re still going to pay her.”
“She said she felt bad taking my money, but she needs to support her kids and get Jerome his cut. Makes no difference to me. She can have the money.”
I stared into my glass, seeing the ice cubes in a pool of amber.
“If he bothers Elise, I’ll have to kill him.”
My mind drifted away, back to Camille in Cap-Ferrat. I told her I had business to take care of, and when she asked to come along, I told her I wouldn’t have time to see her. It was an excuse to have space, and I wasn’t sure if she realized that or not.
“You okay?”
I lifted my eyes to his. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you haven’t listened to a word I said.”
“You just said you’ll have to kill him if he bothers Elise.”
“And what about everything after that?”
Guess I wasn’t listening. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“What?”
“You think Elise would do this just because she prefers you as a client? It’s probably more on her part.”
He gave a shrug. “She told me one of her rules is never wanting more. I think she just prefers me as a client, and she’d rather get paid to fuck someone she likes than another asshole.” He drank out of his glass until it was empty. When he set it on the counter, he tapped the wood for another refill. “And I like her.”
“You do?”
“What’s not to like? She’s beautiful, smart, easy to talk to.”
“You see it going anywhere?”
“No.” He watched the bartender pour another glass. “But it’s perfect for now.”
THIRTY-ONE
CAMILLE
Cauldron came home a few days later.
It was depressing being alone in the house, especially during Christmastime, and I wasn’t sure how he’d done it for so long before I came around. His home was full of staff, but that wasn’t the same thing at all.
Finally, the double doors opened, and his men brought in his suitcase. I watched from the top of the stairs as they carried it upstairs, and then another guy brought his bag with his laptop into the study.
He entered a moment later, in jeans and a hoodie, his jawline a little darker because he’d skipped the shave over the last few days. Hugo appeared at his side. “Dinner will be ready momentarily. Is there anything else I can get you in the meantime?”
“No.” He took the stairs and started up.
Hugo immediately headed into the hallway and didn’t seem remotely bothered by Cauldron’s coldness.
If I were his butler or maid or whatever, I wouldn’t put up with that shit.