by Ashley Blake
Pierre look disappointed but he plastered a smile on his face.
“That is wonderful and I know you will enjoy everything you see. Be sure to take a lot of pictures. Evan has been here many times and will be a wonderful tour guide. Perhaps I will join you both for dinner tomorrow night. I will talk to Evan to see if we can make arrangements to meet somewhere. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great, it will be nice to enjoy a meal together.” What else was I supposed to say? No, I don’t want you to come with us because you creep me out? I couldn’t do that so I had to just smile and play along. I couldn’t wait until Christian came back the next day.
“Yes, it will be nice to spend time together and perhaps get to know each other a little better. We can stroll along on the River Seine after dinner if you would like and see the Eiffel Tower. It is extraordinary at night.”
This guy was relentless. I forced a smile as I glanced around the room wondering where the hell everyone was.
“We’ll see.” There was no way I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower with him.
Pierre gently stroked my arm and I gently pulled it away.
“I don’t think that is appropriate.”
The cockiness on his face made me want to slap him.
“Oh no? Things are different here, chéri, we are very friendly here.” He slowly rubbed my knee making his way up to my thigh. “Don’t you want to be my friend?”
I shoved his hand away and stood up.
“I think I better get back to the hotel, it’s been a long day. Thank you for the drinks.”
He looked at me, disappointment all over his face.
“I will catch up to you tomorrow, chéri.”
I walked around the club looking for Evan and he was dancing like no one was watching. I stood there for a few minutes smiling and watching him and for a little while I forgot about Pierre. But I was reminded about him much sooner than I liked. I felt a hand snake around my waist as someone planted a kiss on my neck. I jerked around and Pierre was standing there with a smug grin on his face.
“You didn’t leave after all.”
Just then Evan bounced over to us with a concerned look on his face and he gently placed his hand on my arm, looking back and forth between us.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“She’s fine, Evan. Just a friendly little exchange, that’s all.”
Evan glowered at Pierre and even in the dark of the club I could see daggers flying from his eyes. He stepped in Pierre’s face.
“You were warned about this once, Pierre, and I told you she was off limits. Do I need to go to Christian about this or are we clear about boundaries?”
Pierre took a step back and ran his hand through his hair as he composed himself.
“Yes, we’re clear.” He looked over at me and cleared his throat. “I apologize if I overstepped boundaries or made you feel uncomfortable. It won’t happen again.”
Before I could say anything Pierre walked away and I turned to Evan totally confused.
“What was that all about? What did you mean he was told I’m off limits?”
“Christian left strict instructions that you were to be comfortable this entire trip and Pierre has a reputation for flirting with the ladies.”
“Flirting? He totally crossed the line, more than once.”
Evan was instantly concerned. “What did he do?”
“I don’t really want to get in it, it’s over and in the past. The last thing I want to do is get anyone in trouble or cause a problem between everyone at work. Let’s just drop it, okay? Please?”
Evan didn’t fight me on it, which I was happy about, and we ended up having a great time the rest of the night. It was interesting that Christian had given instructions about me, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It kind of made me feel like I was a piece of property and he had not even publicly claimed me. I decided not to dwell on it as I crawled into bed and planned to focus on the great day Evan and I had planned the following day.
I was just putting the finishing touches on my makeup the next morning when I heard a knock at the door. I glanced at my watch and figured Evan was early. I looked through the peephole and no one was there. I heard the knock again and then realized it was the other door. I practically broke my neck as I ran to the door and opened it. Christian looked even more beautiful than I had remembered and it was so good to see him.
“Christian!” I flung my arms around him and held him tight. “I missed you.”
He chuckled as he held me in his arms.
“I missed you too.”
He came in and we sat on my love seat and chatted for a few minutes.
His eyes searched my eyes, then my face as he took all of me in.
“You look beautiful, Eva. Tell me, how was your week?”
I hesitated for a minute and then I answered. “My week was great, we actually made a lot of progress and I am pleased with how far we’ve come. Everyone works really well together, which a bonus.”
He furrowed his brow as he studied me. ”Hmmm, there is something that you are not telling me. What is it, baby? Did something happen?”
I didn’t know if I should tell him about Pierre but I was still upset about what happened so I decided to let him know.
“I didn’t really want to say anything but I had a couple of awkward encounters with Pierre.”
I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of fire fly across his eyes. No, I know that I did.
“What do you mean by awkward encounters? Was he inappropriate with you?”
His jaw clenched as he uttered the words and I could see that he was visibly angry.
“Well, he touched my knee and tried to slide his hand up to my thigh but I pushed his hand away, and then he put his arm around my waist and kissed me on the neck. It was just inappropriate. I didn’t do anything to make him think I wanted him to do that. I think he’s just used to women falling all over him so he thinks he can do whatever he wants.”
I glanced over at Christian and I thought the veins in his neck were going to burst. I don’t know that I had ever seen that level of anger in anyone. He was pissed. I reached out to caress his arm to try to calm him down but it didn’t work. He abruptly stood up and swiftly strode to his room. I could hear him on the phone because his voice was at about level 10.
“Meet me in the hotel conference room in 30 minutes!”
That was all he said and then he came back to my room. He sat next to me and held my hands in his as his beautiful blue eyes searched mine.
“I am so sorry that happened to you and I am going to take care of it.”
“I don’t want anyone to get in trouble, Christian. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Don’t worry about that, he should not have touched you at all. I am so angry with him because this is not how we treat our employees, especially the one that I love.”
Wait, what did he just say? I looked at him and smiled.
“Really?”
“Yes, Eva. I love you. I know it’s fast but I also know it’s real. I have never felt like this before. You are all that I think about and it has been like this since the moment I laid eyes on you at that masquerade ball.”
My eyes held his as I smiled at him. “I love you too, Christian.”
He gathered me in his arms and kissed me.
“It is so nice to hear that and to finally say that to you.”
“How long do we have to keep it from everyone?”
“I want to wait at least until we are back in the States next month. We have so much to do before then I don’t want people to be distracted by gossip. Once our relationship is out you must be prepared for a media storm. I have not publicly dated anyone since Jessica and the paparazzi are going to have a field day. You need to be prepared for how your life will change. Do you think you can handle it?”
I winked at him. “I know I can.”
Just then I heard a knock on the door and I knew it was Evan.
>
“That’s Evan. We’re going sightseeing today.”
“Okay, you two have fun and I will see you this evening.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I have to take care of this mess with Pierre and then I have a few meetings this afternoon.”
“On a Saturday?”
“Work never stops for me, honey. Have fun today.”
He gave me a sweet peck on the lips and then retreated to his room, closing the door behind him.
I opened the door for Evan and he came in while I finished my makeup.
“Did I hear voices in here?”
I looked at him and tried to hide the panic in my voice.
“Voices?”
“Yes. It sounded like you were talking to someone.”
“Oh, that must have been the television. I just turned it off.”
“Oh. Well, are you ready to see Paris?”
“I can’t wait!”
Chapter Fourteen
It was hard to believe that we were finally done with our store, Ciel Pur, and it was stunning. We were just fine after Pierre was fired. An executive named Chantal from one of the completed stores hopped on our team and it was a perfect fit. I was going to miss the easy availability of all of the beautiful fabrics we’d found because I would have to wait at least four to six weeks to get those fabrics in the United States. Christian was beyond pleased with what we had done and he was anxious for his mother to see the finished project. She was flying in that night for the gala the next evening and I was a nervous wreck. I still had not decided on a dress and I decided not to let Evan buy one for me because they were so expensive. One of the dresses I had brought with me would have to do. Christian and I were still secretly dating and no one knew about us. I was afraid that the minute his mother saw the way he looked at me she would know what was going on between us.
It was the middle of the morning and Christian asked us all to gather in the front of the store.
“I want to take this moment to thank all of you for you hard work on this very special project. All of Paris is waiting for the grand opening in two days and I could not be more pleased with the finished result. More important than that, I know that mother is going to be over the moon with this beautiful facility. It really does sparkle like a diamond inside and out and you should all be very proud of yourselves for doing such a wonderful job. Now, let’s go take a tour!”
There were eight cars similar to go carts but much nicer waiting inside the mall to take us around to every store. Each car fit four people so Christian, Evan, Chantal and I all rode in the same car. I had seen glimpses of the other stores as I went to work each day but I had purposely avoided checking them out until everything was complete, and it was well worth the wait. The mall was beautiful and I had never seen anything like it. I looked over at Christian with glee as we toured each floor and I was so tempted to reach over and kiss him but I couldn’t…at least not yet.
He said when we got back home we could let people know about us and I couldn’t wait for the day I didn’t have to hide my feelings for him. My time in Paris had been amazing so far and I was really looking forward to the week alone with Christian. He made plans for us to go to Switzerland for a couple of days after we explored everything I wanted to see in Paris. I felt like a spoiled princess.
After the tour of the mall, Christian and I went back to his room because he said he had a surprise for me. I was like a giddy kid as we walked into his room and once I saw what was waiting for me, my mouth hit the floor. There were two full racks of beautiful formal gowns in the middle of the room. My hands flew to my cheeks and I looked at Christian with a huge smile on my face. He loosened his tie and settled into a chair, casually waiving his hand in the air.
“Pick as many as you want.”
I looked at him in disbelief. “Anything I want?”
“Yes. The only caveat is I want to see them on you and I get to pick which one you’ll wear to the gala tomorrow night.”
“Okay.” I picked a dress and turned to go to the bathroom to undress and his words stopped me.
“Eva, where are you going?” His question was more of a command.
“To change.” My words were soft as I tried to figure out his tone.
“No. I want to see you. Undress here.”
His eyes were smoldering as he watched me undress and it felt good to have him look at me like that. I had his full attention as I slipped on a black sequined gown. It wasn’t my favorite so I wasn’t going to keep it. I held his gaze as I walked over to him.
“Can you zip me?”
His fingers glided against my skin as he zipped up the dress, leaving a trail of tingling deliciousness. I turned around so he could see me, and he gave me a soft smile.
“You are so beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“This is not the one. Okay, next.”
I tried on four more dresses that were very pretty but I didn’t fall in love with them and neither did Christian. Then I picked a cerulean blue silk one shoulder gown and the second I slipped it on I knew it was the one I wanted to wear to the Gala. The silk glided over my body lightly forming to every curve and it was as if the dress had been tailor made for me. I zipped the side zipper and turned to face Christian. I could feel my face beaming and I couldn’t hide it. I absolutely loved the dress.
He smiled as he pointed at me.
“That’s it. You look stunning, Eva.”
“Thank you. This is perfect.”
“Not quite. Give me a minute.” He texted someone on his phone and literally 60 seconds later there was a knock at the door. He opened the door and the bellhop rolled in a cart full of boxes. I saw names like Christian Louboutin, Saint Laurent, Manolo Blahnik, Prada, Gucci, Cartier, Chopard, and Harry Winston. He gave the bellhop a tip and he was gone.
“Pick any shoes you want to keep and I will choose your jewelry.”
I looked at him. “Christian, that is too generous. I can’t. I have a pair of shoes I can wear.”
“Eva, please, I want to do this for you. Pick any shoes you want and they are yours, but I will choose the pair you wear tonight.”
“Thank you, Christian. You really are making me feel like a princess.”
“Well, you definitely look beautiful and I know you are probably disappointed that we can’t go to the gala together, but I promise once we are back in the US things will be different. We just have to get through tomorrow night. I don’t want you to think that I am ignoring you tomorrow night, but I do have a lot of people I have to talk to so I won’t be able to spend much time with you.”
“That’s okay, I kind of thought that was how it had to be tomorrow night. I’ll be okay; there are a lot of people I can talk to. Besides, Evan is going to make a perfect escort for me. He’s dropping by my room around 7:00 so that we can go to the gala together.”
“Oh good, I am really happy that you two get along so well.”
“Yeah, he’s a lot of fun. So, there is no need to worry about me tomorrow night. I will be plenty busy socializing and talking to new people. This will be the opportunity of a lifetime to be in the room with so many high profile people.”
“One of those people will be my mother.”
I looked at him with excitement. “Do you think I will actually be able to meet her tomorrow night?”
“Of course you will. I have already arranged for it to happen. Mother knows all about the wonderful work you have done and she is looking forward to meeting you.”
I swear I got chills as he said that. I was really going to meet Diane Locke the next day and I was a nervous wreck.
“Really? Oh my gosh, Christian, this is going to be a huge dream come true for me! You have no idea. Well, let me change that. You probably do have some idea because I know I have been talking about her nonstop.”
He chuckled as he stroked my arm. “Yes you have, but that’s okay. My mother is pretty extraordinary. By the way, are you all packed for our tri
p?”
“Kind of, but you haven’t told me where we are going first so I assumed we were just staying in this hotel and seeing Paris first.”
He looked at me with a bit of remorse.
“Oh, wow. I can’t believe I didn’t tell you the itinerary for the trip. We’ve been so busy that I think I just assumed I’d mention it to you. I’m so sorry, Eva. We are not staying in this hotel so we will be checking out the day after tomorrow and going to a beautiful château in the French countryside that belongs to a friend of mine. We’ll spend three days in France and then we will go to Luxembourg and Belgium, returning to Paris to spend our final night here before we fly back home. We are going to have an amazing time and I can’t wait to spend it with you.”