by Cee, DW
“Why am I driving this to Geneva?”
“Why do you think we’re here?” Grandfather asked.
“Hard to know considering you four have been just about everywhere.”
George finally explained the deal. “You know Niall is heavily invested in the Formula One Group?”
“Yes.”
“Porsche called him up and asked if he could find a high profile driver to parade their car from Lausanne to Geneva along the seaside road.”
“And…” I still didn’t get what was happening.
“And take the car to its final destination—The Geneva International Motor Show!” Chloe and I thought the four men would break into a cheering squad routine. Their excitement level was off the chart.
“Do you understand where we fit into this Motor Show?” Chloe shook her head no. “If she’s clueless, how am I supposed to figure anything out?”
“So the driver Niall had in mind called him this morning with a bad case of the stomach flu. Too bad for him. Very good for you.”
“But Sir George, Chloe and I would be a nervous wreck going on an hour-long drive in such an expensive vehicle.”
The duke explained, “Press has been called, and they’ll be tailing you part of the way. Porsche representatives will be on hand for your grand entrance into the show. Dress the part, both of you. There will be photographers everywhere.”
“Grandpa Harry,” Chloe explained. “Why don’t you ride with Michael? I’ll stay here and wait for your return.”
“Ah, but Chloe, you are the key to Michael’s success,” Alfred opened the door and gestured Chloe into the passenger seat. “You are what will make this car look classy.”
“I’m not so sure I agree with you, Alfred. I think any one of you will add class to this already beautiful car.”
“Go.” The duke pointed. “The gift shop knows you’re coming in for an outfit. You and Michael will change your clothes, act like two young people in love, driving the roads of Switzerland. We four will be following you in a Maybach limousine. No need to worry about us missing out on the car experience.”
“Once again,” I asked Chloe. “Do we have a choice?”
“I guess not,” Chloe lamented.
We did as were told and within two minutes of driving along the ocean road, Chloe and I were all smiles.
“Damn. This ride is incredible. Why the hell did I tell them I didn’t want to drive this beast? I love this car! You think Grandfather will buy me this if I ask?”
Chloe laughed at me. “What are you? Seven? You’re going to ask your grandfather to buy you a toy that costs almost a million dollars in American money? Are you nuts?”
I grinned. “I should have bought this instead of my flat.”
“I suppose you could sleep here with the top up, but where would you shower? It’s also going to be awfully cold in the winter time,” she teased.
“By the way, why didn’t you come when I had a get-together at my new flat?”
“Oh?” Chloe’s eyes and mouth rounded to a perfect O. Since we became “new” best friends, I was seriously obsessed with all the things her mouth could do. Since the confines of this car left nothing to the imagination, I needed to stop focusing on her pouty mouth and focus more on the road. “Was I invited to this get-together? I don’t remember receiving the invite.”
“Are you heckling me again about not calling? Haven’t I groveled enough? Will I still be paying for this in my eighties?”
“If I’m still talking to you in my eighties.”
“What the hell does that mean? Why wouldn’t you be talking to me?” Though it was said as a joke, the thought was a perturbing one.
“Maybe my husband won’t like me associating with the men from my past.”
Her giggles told me to chill out, but I was still offended. “What men from your past? How many others have there been besides me? You’ve never really been with any other guy since our uni days…right?” I thought I knew this woman well. Maybe she had a secret life. “It’s not as if we hadn’t been in each other’s pockets since we were little.”
“There was the time you left for your Ivy League education and left us all behind. There was also the time I left for Los Angeles and left you behind. We haven’t been in each other’s pockets since we were in each other’s beds. And that, my dear friend, was a very, very, very long time ago!”
“What are we, eighty? It was only like five years ago since we’ve been together. Since you, I’ve never been with any one person for that long. You still hold the record.”
“Should I feel honored?” I couldn’t decide what bothered me more—her sarcasm or annoyance. “You’ve made up in quantity for what you were lacking in quality.”
“Hell,” I spat out. Now, I was pissed. “You think I haven’t been with a girl of quality since you? Since you got together with ‘Babe Magnet Brendan O,’ you think you’re hot stuff?—better than all the other women in England?”
“No. I mean, that’s not what I meant. I meant no offense. Of course I’m not better than other women,” she sputtered to my sadistic enjoyment. “Where do you get off accusing me of being conceited? After being lifelong friends, how can you think such nasty things of me?” Sputtering, done. Angry retort, commence.
“Where do I get off?” That was rich of her to accuse me of being the nasty one. “You’re the one who accused me of being with too many frivolous women. I’ll have you know, my last relationship was with a woman who could teach you a thing or two about quality!”
That was a low blow!
Chloe immediately faced her window and kept herself busy with the Swiss scenery until we received a call to stop at a restaurant on a high bluff overlooking the ocean.
“How’s the car, my boy?”
“Alfred. I think I should have bought this car instead of my flat.”
“Maybe you can convince that grandfather of yours to buy one for you?” Niall suggested.
I explained, “At my age, I think I should earn my own money and buy my own car.”
“That’s the Bennington way, Michael.” Grandfather heartily agreed.
Chloe sat between the duke and Sir George, busying herself with the needs of all four men—key words: all four men—not five. When lunch was over, she graciously offered to sit in the limo so grandfather could ride with the man she was not talking to now, or possibly ever.
“What the hell happened again?” Harry Bennington didn’t become the powerful man that he was by sleeping on the job. “How the hell do you get the same woman angry with you repeatedly? Haven’t you learned how to make her happy, yet?”
“Why do I have to make her happy?” I whined. “Why is that my job? That should be the job of the man who’s courting her. We’re just friends.”
Grandfather looked at me as if I was the biggest fool on earth. “Just drive the car, Michael.” He exhaled with a large sigh. “One day soon, I hope you’ll open your eyes.”
I did as was told and wondered the rest of the ride, how I was going to apologize, again!
Chloe: Parisian Friends
“Brendan, I’m sorry. I’ve had to come to Paris for work.”
“What can you do?” That wasn’t an empathetic, sympathetic statement. It bordered on harsh and sardonic. “I guess you can’t exactly tell your boss you’re unavailable when you’ve told him you’d always be available for him and the rest of his family.”
He was upset and rightly so. It was mid-week and I was no closer to New York. At the rate that I was heading eastbound, I’d be in Japan by the end of the week.
I decided not to respond to his hurtful answer. “How much longer will you be in New York? I am supposed to be out of here by Friday and head over there. The duke has an apartment he wants me to redo.”
“I don’t know, Chloe. Why don’t you call me when you’re actually on a plane bound for New York? I’ll let you know at that point where I’ll be.”
; “All right,” I answered sadly. “I’ll call you soon.” Brendan grunted a good-bye before I could say, “Sorry,” one last time.
Life sucked sometimes. Here I was, in the most romantic city in the world, and I had no one to share in the romance. Not only did I not have anyone special with me, I was with a man who treated me no differently than any warm body. These days, Michael ran hotter than a broiler oven, and colder than Switzerland in January. I wish he’d stick to one temperature; then I’d know for sure where he stood.
This wasn’t a case of “Does he love me, does he not.” With Michael, I believed I was someone who meant more than a one-night stand. We were best friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, and lovers. Even when the relationship ended, we stayed best friends, to the chagrin of the girls he dated.
Since Michael, I’d done my share of dating but never connected with anyone as deeply as I did with him. Even Brendan was a distant second. It wasn’t that I wanted to get back together with Michael—at least I didn’t think that was my issue. What I wanted was to be his special someone, again. Of course, strictly in the platonic sense.
“You ready for lunch?” Michael popped into my bedroom without knocking.
“Um, a little privacy would be nice,” I reprimanded. “What if I was naked?”
“At noon? Why the hell would you be naked?”
“Maybe I needed to change into my outfit for the day.”
“I saw you earlier and you had already showered and changed. It’s not like I haven’t seen every part of you multiple times.”
There it was again—the sexual innuendos spoken in the least sexy ways. “Yeah,” I agreed just to annoy him. “I’m sure with all the waif-thin bodies you’re accustomed to, mine wasn’t the most memorable or desirable.”
“Damn you, Chloe Darcy. Will you get off my ass?”
“Who’s the one who barged in here uninvited?”
“There is a car waiting for us downstairs. Get your ass in the backseat or we’ll be late!”
No matter how much I wanted to sulk, I knew we needed to be on task. We had a meeting with the kitchen designer in addition to other suppliers for the duke’s apartments. I had holed myself up in my apartment all morning and finished none of the intended work. Without bringing in all the complicated emotions, Michael and I simply had to put aside the personal and focus on business.
“What are we doing here?” The Eiffel Tower greeted me as I got out of the car.
Michael carried a smirk on his face all the way to Le Jules Verne Restaurant. “I told you we were having lunch.”
His casual statement did not result in the same casual response. My stomach churned with emotion. Viewing Paris from the window of this restaurant was my favorite way to see the sights. Michael, Ruby and I had dined here on numerous occasions, and I’d loved every one of the memories we’d created. Keeping my emotions even-keeled was hard to do. This was where Michael brought me after we became a couple. This was where he told me he loved me. This was where we amicably said good-bye.
“Thank you,” I choked out when Michael pulled out a chair for me. Deep inside, I was really thanking him for bringing us to a place filled with so many beautiful memories. Knowing Michael, this was a roundabout apology.
“Did you know David still works here?”
“He does? I thought he was ancient when we first met him. How can he still be functioning?”
“David,” whose name was pronounced Daveed, “works the reservation line. He told me he’s too old to be a server, but has been asked to stay with the company since so many regulars knew him and asked for him.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m surprised he remembered you. It’s been years since we’ve…” …been here, was how I was going to finish that statement, but I stopped myself. Just because I wasn’t a part of his trips to Paris didn’t mean he didn’t dine here with other women. For all I knew, Laney—the woman who could teach me a thing or two about quality—had been his last dining partner.
“Let’s eat.”
We ate in a comfortable silence. Usually, one of us would be chattering away, but today was different. Since we became friends again, a lot of things have been different. At times, we were back to our old friendship. At other times, we didn’t know how to behave in front of one another. Awkward, confused, wary—those were the hovering emotions since our “newfound” friendship.
“Michael!” A stunning blonde called out. “It’s so good to see you!” With warmth and longing in his eyes, Michael stood to greet this beautiful woman. No introductions were necessary; I knew who she was.
“Michael?” Another very pretty woman wondered what he was doing here.
“Hi, um…um…yeah…how are you?” Never in my life had I seen Michael so discombobulated. He hugged Laney, first.
“No hello for me?” The second woman asked. By the way he approached both women, Michael appeared to know them intimately. I had no idea who this other woman was since Michael didn’t mention anyone other than Laney Reid.
“It’s good to see you again, Michael. We’re sorry to intrude. Laney and Bee were excited to run into you.” OK, the other woman’s name was Bee. Who Bee was to Michael was a complete mystery to me. The only two people I recognized was Max, this tall, good-looking American easing into introductions, and Jane, his equally stunning fiancée. Since Michael refused to introduce me to anyone, I waited for Max to finish.
“You remember my fiancée, Jane, and your nemesis, Donovan?” Everyone laughed. The man with the movie star good looks must be Laney’s husband—not that anyone was clueing me in on the chatter all around me. Everyone greeted one another while I sat, taking turns staring at my food, looking out the window, and watching the ensuing conversation. “And this is Luciano Alvaro, a friend of ours, and a business associate of Donovan and Jane.”
“Hello everyone. It’s nice to see you all, and a bit surprising.” As expected, Michael directed his attention to his former flame and forever love. “How are you feeling, Laney? You’ve grown quite…” He was a smart man, stopping short of stating the obvious to a pregnant woman.
This pregnant woman didn’t care what her ex-boyfriend said. She zeroed in on me. “Hi. I’m Laney. And you are?”
Damn! She was intimidating. “Hello. I’m Chloe—Michael’s…friend? Designer? What the hell am I?” What an inane group of words pieced together to make a sentence.
“Girlfriend?” Laney asked with an unmistakable, self-satisfied smile.
“No!” we both yelled. The vehemence in Michael’s answer was insulting.
“We’re friends.” He answered warmly, softening his instinctual, gruff answer. In my heart, his denial spoke volumes. We’d never return to our special place, ever again.
“I work for the Bennington family.” I gave the only answer that made sense, the one that would always stay true.
“You do not work for the Bennington family. You don’t need to work for Grandfather, you choose to, no matter how many times I’ve told you to follow your dreams.”
It had been ages since Michael had actually told me to follow my dreams. His impassioned speech in front of everyone caught me by surprise. “I am following my dream. I’m decorating your apartment in London and His Grace’s residence in Paris.” I answered softly. “Once those are done, there will be enough homes to keep me busy for a long while.”
“But you won’t let us pay you. That’s not following your dream.” The disapproval continued.
If I’d taken the Bennington’s money, I’d really feel like an employee. Especially with Michael, that wasn’t the relationship I wanted.
“Our seats appear to be near one another. Why don’t we join our tables and have lunch together? We need to relieve the congestion in this narrow restaurant.” Donovan spoke and everyone followed immediately.
Laney wasn’t shy. She sat right next to me and asked, “So how long have you known Michael?”
A lot longer than you’ve known him. �
�Since birth.”
“So what’s he really like? Was he as sweet back then as he is now?”
I glanced at Michael and briefly reminisced. “Sweeter,” I answered and took a useless sip of coffee hoping it would chase away the sudden nerves.
“Sweeter?” Laney’s eyes went big and round. “How can Michael be any sweeter?”
“Maybe my recollection of Michael’s affections aren’t quite on par with yours. We were only kids.” I spoke with regrets for a relationship lost. “I’m sure the two memories can’t compare.” I shouldn’t have bared my soul.
