by Hamel, B. B.
Boats bob up and down in the harbor. Large buildings line the seafront, resorts and hotels and more. There’s a tennis court not far away, and everything is just so… orderly. People move down on the sidewalks, down on the dock, climbing on and off yachts.
This is the playground of the rich and the elite and it shows.
“Lovely, right?”
I half turn and find Leon wearing only a towel. For some reason, I wish I had stayed naked instead of putting on an old t-shirt and shorts.
“It really is,” I say.
“There’s a reason I wanted to come here. I mean, aside from how impossible it is to get in.”
He joins me at the window. “I guess you’ve been here before?”
He nods. “Years ago. I came here when I built my first hotel and it was a success. I came here and gambled away most of that money.” He laughs to himself, shaking his head. “I was young and stupid. But I made a promise to myself that I knew I had to keep.”
“Which was?”
“I knew I had to build here. This is where the rich come to play… and building a hotel here as a foreigner would be the crowning achievement of my life. I could retire happy… rich and happy.”
I smile a little bit. “You’re talking like it won’t happen anymore.”
His face darkens a bit. “I’m worried,” he says, and turns away. He gets some coffee and is about to say something else when there’s a knock at the door.
He looks at me and nods. “Go ahead,” he says. “Assistant.”
I sigh and I feel the magic of the previous evening slowly start to drain away. The world was kept at bay… until now.
I go to the door and answer it as he disappears into our room. Claude is standing there wearing an identical suit to the one he was wearing yesterday… or maybe it’s the same one. I genuinely can’t tell.
He looks at me with a frown, eyes roaming up and down, judging me. “Is Mr. Price available?” he asks like I’m not worth his time.
“He’s indisposed.”
Claude grunts once. “Very well. Please meet us at the arranged work site in one hour. We’d like to give you a tour.”
I feel my heart leap. “Will Maxime and Cerise be there?”
Claude’s face doesn’t change. “We will see you then.”
He turns and leaves without another word.
I shut the door and feel a bit of hope. I head back into the room and watch for a second, transfixed by Leon’s body. He slowly dresses, his ripped muscles covered by expensive, flawless cloth. I wish I could tear it away again.
“Was that him?” Leon asks.
“Claude,” I say. “Wants to show us the building site? I didn’t know we had one.”
Leon nods. “There’s a proposed site, anyway.”
“This is good, right? They wouldn’t take us to the site if things weren’t moving forward.”
He nods, but he doesn’t look convinced. “You’d better get dressed,” he says and turns away to check himself in the mirror.
I hesitate but I know that’s the best I’ll get out of him right now. I’m worried, but I do as he asks and get dressed.
* * *
We sit silently in the back of a classic Rolls Royce. Claude sits up front with the driver, not looking back toward us, simply staring out the window. His three female assistants are gone and I briefly wonder what they were even doing at the airport yesterday.
Probably trying to impress us or something like that.
Clearly, they don’t know Leon.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him, it’s that he isn’t impressed with trappings. He doesn’t care what something looks like, if it’s fancy or beautiful or what, so long as it functions as it should. He wants things that are profitable, that work hard. And then they can be beautiful.
I glance at him but don’t say anything. I can see the worry and frustration in his gaze as the buildings flit past our windows. I want to put my hand on his leg, or take his hand in mine, anything to try and comfort him. But I don’t, of course. I’m just his assistant, after all.
It’s an agonizing ten-minute drive. It feels like hours. But soon enough, the car pulls over beside what looks like an entire city block surrounded by a fence with a screen draped all around it. We can’t see into the center of the fenced-in area, but clearly there’s no building there, otherwise we’d see it.
The location is good… really good. We’re not exactly right on the beach but there’s a major marina just across the street. There are gambling clubs, night clubs, drinking clubs, and anything else you could imagine all within a block or two, at least based on what I could tell as we drove here.
Claude gets out first followed by Leon. I follow them both and step onto the sidewalk, nervously looking between the men.
“Will Maxime and Cerise be here soon?” Leon asks Claude before the man can start speaking.
He hesitates only a second. “Of course,” he says. “Come, let us look around.”
Leon glances at me, a dark expression in his eyes. But we follow Claude halfway down the block and through a small door built into the fencing.
“We imagine it will go here,” Claude says, gesturing at what’s essentially an empty dirt lot. There are construction vehicles idling, some materials lying around, but nothing’s being built, nothing’s happening.
“Who owns those?” Leon asks, gesturing at the diggers sitting abandoned in the center of the lot.
Claude shrugs. “Previous owner. He did not leave willingly.”
Leon grunts in response and steps out into the dirt. He looks across the empty expanse, his eyes defocusing slightly. He’s seeing something I don’t see and I wish desperately I could know what it is.
Claude launches into a monologue about the lot. He gives its size, how deep we could build, the local regulations on building height, brief rundown on earthquake requirements, fire requirements, all the standard things a building in this area would need.
Leon clearly isn’t listening. He’s looking around the lot with that distant look in his eyes. I’m getting more and more nervous as time passes. Claude eventually finishes what was clearly a preplanned speech and Leon doesn’t even react.
I stand there awkwardly, not sure what to do.
Finally, Leon cuts across the space. He walks away without a word. Claude looks at me with a frown, about to say something, but I just ignore him. I follow Leon, jogging to catch up.
“What’s going on?” I hiss at him.
“They aren’t coming,” he answers.
I frown a little. “You can’t know that.”
“There’s nothing here to see,” he says, his voice strangely flat. “It’s a good space. If they actually do approve this, I think I can be very, very happy with it. But it’s not happening.”
“Leon, you can’t know that.”
He stops suddenly and turns to face me. We’re in the middle of the lot now, well out of range of Claude’s spying ears.
“Yes, I do know that,” he says to me softly. “I’ve been working on this place for a long time, and I’m telling you, if they were serious about this deal then one of them would be here. They never, ever, ever send an underling to meet with an important associate. It’s a huge insult here.”
I blanch slightly. “I didn’t realize that.”
“They’re insulting us, Paige.” A shadow of anger drifts across his face like a cloud in an otherwise blue sky. “And I don’t know why.”
“Can’t we talk to them? Ask them?”
“It won’t matter. You’ve met Maxime. He’s a smarmy, fast-talking charmer. And Cerise is just as likely to tell me to fuck off as she is to tell me the truth.”
I look around, digging my toe into the dirt, almost trying to conjure up something to say. But there’s nothing to say, and I know it.
“What do we do?” I ask him after a short silence.
“We go home,” he answers.
I look up, startled. “But we’ve barely been here t
wo days.”
“I know,” he says, sounding sad and distant. “But the truth is, staying here longer will be a waste. Maybe Maxime will come back to the table when we’re gone or maybe not. But if we stay here, we’ll lose all power.”
I stare at him, not sure what to say. “That can’t be true. They wouldn’t have us come all the way out here for nothing.”
“They would,” he says sadly. “This negotiation has been a power trip from the start. They want to push my buttons, keep me hanging around here for days or weeks, until eventually I get desperate and start giving in to their demands.”
“They haven’t made demands,” I say.
“They will.” He shakes his head sadly. “I’m sorry I dragged you here, Paige. I really am. I hope… I don’t know what I hoped. I guess I’m too blinded by my own ambition to see that this is all bullshit and has been from the start. But if we want to salvage any of this, we have to walk out, and we have to do it now.”
I stare into his eyes and as much as I want to argue, I don’t. In the end, this is his deal and he knows more about it than I do.
I just hate seeing that hurt deep inside of him. I hate seeing that anger. I wish I could do something for him… take away some of that. But the only thing I know will work would be highly inappropriate right here in the middle of a dirt field with Claude watching.
“Okay,” I say softly, nearly a whisper. “I’ll do whatever you want, Daddy.”
His eyes go slightly wide for a beat and then a little smile flits across his features. “You know what to say, don’t you?”
“I just don’t want to see you angry.”
“I’ll be okay, I promise.” He stares at me for a second and I can see the hesitation there… but he leans forward and kisses me.
It’s soft and quick but there’s no mistaking what that kiss means.
If Claude has any questions about it, he doesn’t let it show on his face. We turn and walk back to him and he stares at us with a flat expression.
“Take us back to the hotel,” Leon says.
“Ah, but the spot is not to your liking? We shall go for a walk around the area, yes?”
“The hotel,” Leon repeats, staring daggers at Claude.
The man hesitates for a moment. “But Maxime and Cerise—”
“If they’re coming, say so, and I’ll wait. If you keep me waiting here and they never show, I swear to you, Claude, I’ll make sure your employers find an excuse to cut you loose. Even if they’re ducking me now, I’m still powerful enough to curry some favor.” Leon cocks his head slightly. “So, what will it be, Claude? Do you trust them not to fire you just to win favor with me? Or are they really coming?”
The man squirms for a moment, glancing around nervously. He doesn’t say anything but it’s obvious that he’s torn.
“Right,” Leon says. “The hotel then.”
Claude nods once and leads us back to the car.
We don’t speak again but that kiss still lingers on my lips.
I have to trust that Leon knows what he’s doing, that he’s playing a game at a higher level than I understand. He’s been doing this for a long time and very successfully, so if he thinks this is the right move, then I’ll do it with him.
And that kiss tells me everything else I need to know.
Even if this is the end of our little relationship farce, even if I’m done faking it for him…
Well, something real has bloomed in the space we created. Where there was just a fake relationship, now there’s something real and something good.
So we’re going home, so what?
Maybe at home we can finally figure out what we want and what we’re going to be.
14
Paige
We pack in a hurry.
Leon doesn’t pause to explain. He just throws all his things into a bag and I do the same. I want to talk this out a little more but he’s in a rush.
“Come on,” he says, glancing at his watch.
“Why are we rushing? We could stay another night at least, go out and have a good time, leave in the morning.”
“They can’t know we’re going.”
I frown. “Why not?”
“They’ll try to stop us. Maxime and Cerise may be absurd people but they really do have power in this country and they can make things happen. We need to get out of here before they even realize it.”
“This is all just a power play?” I ask him.
“That’s right. They’ll figure out we’re gone, but it’ll be too late. That’ll make them angry and put some power back in our hands. When we’re in the States, we have more control.”
I nod once. “Okay then. This is their home playing field and we need to get back on friendly turf.”
“Exactly.” He grins at me. “Come on then. Let’s get going.”
I finish packing as fast as I can and we’re out the door ten minutes later. We hurry through the lobby, heads down, and grab the first taxi we find. It takes us out to the airport, and once we’re there, Leon books the first flight out of Monaco. It’s a direct flight into Germany, but from there we’ll be able to get a flight to the States.
“And maybe we can have a short vacation,” he says to me as we sit down in the terminal. “Those two don’t have any sway in Germany.”
“Sounds romantic.” I grin at him. “You know, I thought being with a rich guy would mean all private jets.”
He smirks. “Takes too long to charter one. At least we’re flying first class.”
“Oh, yeah, you know how to treat a girl.”
He laughs at that and I can tell he’s starting to feel a little bit better. People swirl around us, mostly speaking French and the local dialect, but I barely pay attention to them. It’s any other airport in any other place, just people going from one place to the next, forced into a small space together but still anonymous to each other.
I lean my head up against Leon’s shoulder. He doesn’t move and I can almost feel him smiling. This kind of outward display of affection would’ve been horrible just a week ago, but now it feels comfortable. I think something shifted in the hotel room the other night when he took me… all of me… over and over again.
I think we’re both starting to admit that this may have started out fake, but it’s definitely shifting into something real.
We wait for our flight, alternatively bored and anxious. With a half hour to go, the boarding call goes up. Since we’re first class, we’re first up.
Just as we stand, several figures loom into view. Leon glances over his shoulder and curses. “It’ll be okay,” he says to me.
I blink, surprised, not sure what he means. And then I look back myself.
Three men stand there. Two of them are wearing military outfits and carrying assault rifles while the third is wearing a simple police uniform. He’s frowning at the pair of us.
“Leon Price and Paige Turner?” he asks in accented English.
“Yes,” Leon says. “That’s us.”
“You are wanted for questioning. Please, come.”
“We’re going to miss our flight,” I protest. “What’s this about? We didn’t do anything.”
“Please,” the man says again, gesturing. The two armed guards don’t smile or move.
“But we didn’t—”
Leon takes my hand and squeezes. “Very well,” he says to the police officer. He pulls me along behind him as we follow the man. The two guards fall in behind us silently.
I stare up at Leon, heart racing, but he doesn’t look particularly surprised. It’s almost like he was expecting this, but hoped it wouldn’t happen. He looks… vaguely disappointed.
We follow the hallways until the officer takes us down a side passage. We go into an unmarked door and into what’s clearly some kind of official police station in the heart of the airport.
The officer speaks the local language and we move past a series of checkpoints, eventually landing in a bare white room with only a table, four chairs, a
nd a mirror along one wall. Clearly we’re in an interrogation room.
“Please, sit,” the officer says. One guard stands inside and the other stays outside. “Stay here. I will return.”
The officer disappears.
I turn to Leon, heart racing. “What is this?”
“Cerise and Maxime,” he says sadly. “They found out. Fucking shit. I thought we moved fast enough.”
I blink rapidly. “You’re serious? They figured out we left and came here? And these guys are working for them?”
He sighs and nods. “I don’t know how they figured it out and I doubt these men work directly for them, but yes, that’s more or less right.”
“Shit,” I say, leaning back. “We’re not leaving Monaco, are we?”
He doesn’t answer and I know I don’t need him to.
The realization and horrible truth slowly sinks into my veins as we’re left in that room for two hours. The guard inside the room eventually leaves and nobody comes in to replace him. I bang on the door and yell once, but nobody responds, and Leon just gently asks me to sit back down and try to be quiet.
There’s nothing else to do. I pace around like a caged animal, heart racing, sweating slightly. My anxiety is going wild. I hate being locked up like this. It’s driving me insane.
“Paige, please,” Leon says. “It’s going to be okay. We’re not going to be in any trouble. They just want to make sure we can’t leave.”
“They could do that without locking us in a room,” I say harshly. “Those fucking assholes. How can they do this? What right do they have?”
“Please,” he says again. “Sit down. They’re not going to hurt us or keep us captive forever. Just a few hours at most.”
“Then what? Then we can go home?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I suspect they’ll confiscate our passports for a few days and force us to stay in the city. Maxime will apologize profusely through his little lackey and say it’s all some kind of misunderstanding, he’ll have it cleared up. Then after a few days, we’ll get the passports back, compliments of Maxime and Cerise, of course, and then we’re on our way home. But at that point, they got what they wanted.”
