SAFEHOUSE (A BWWM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE) (14 page)
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Authors: Mia Caldwell
I
pulled my cardigan around by middle the best that I could, grumbling to myself
as I realized the buttons just wouldn't quite stay buttoned across my massive
belly. The slight breeze that had begun in the summer was now a constant chill,
at the eve of autumn. Snow would be coming soon…
I glanced down, frowning for a moment before rolling my eyes at myself. I was
being a big baby about it, I knew it. Usually dealing with people didn’t worry
me any, because I never had to interact with anyone who hadn't seen me this
whole time. But today was different. Today, the day that marked my twenty-sixth
week of being pregnant with this crazy child, was also the day of my baby
shower.
After much begging to Julien, it had been scaled back a tad bit. To me it
seemed silly to even have one, and the idea of finally meeting Julien's family…
it froze me with fear. Of course I would eventually have to at
some
point, but I was open to putting
that moment off as long as possible…
Not to mention the fact that we still hadn’t picked a name…
Julien
said it was tradition that we wait… I don't know what kind of tradition takes
forever to pick a baby name, but certainly not my family's tradition. My mom
told me that they came up with the name Amira from some show they used to
watch. My mom asked my dad ‘Hey, what do you think about Amira?’ He turned to
her and said ‘Yep, sounds good.’ End of story.
I knew it was time to head back to the château, but it was so hard dragging my
feet behind me. Going back home meant meeting everyone. Meeting everyone meant
meeting Sabine Malveaux, not only the CEO of Veritas leather goods, but also my
future mother-in-law, and the grandmother of my son.
And
meeting her for the first time at my baby shower? That's not just awkward,
that's slightly embarrassing to me. I was afraid of how she might see things.
I sighed, huffing and puffing as I made my way back up one of the many paths to
the château. I saw the cars gathering out front, circling around the large
fountain, parking. There were already too many for me to properly count, and I
had no idea how many people were going to actually show up. According to Julien
this wasn't just a baby shower, but a meet and greet of sorts. I had heard some
other stories about this whole thing, some crazier than the last. Like the idea
of having everybody on the guest list having actually signed some sort of
waiver for meeting me. When he told me that I nearly snorted my milk for my
nose one morning. At that point all of it just seemed surreal, and so far away.
But now that it was here, my nerves were crazy.
I sneaked in the most inconspicuous door I could find, knowing that it would
lead into the kitchen, where hopefully Gervaise would try and keep me occupied
or at least hide me for the time being. But when I entered the kitchen, I
nearly turned right back around and walked out.
"Bree! Oh there you are! I have been looking for you all over the place,
ma chérie
! Please come and meet my
mother, would you?" Julien boomed from the entrance to the kitchen.
Well, I couldn't very well walk past them, now could I? I pasted on my very
best attempt at a genuine smile and walked up to them, sticking my hand out to
shake his mother’s.
"It's
very nice to finally get a chance to meet you," I said as politely as
possible.
Sabine
Malveaux stood next to Julien, but not too close. It was clear that Julien got
his looks from his mother.
In
my head I had imagined her at some sort of monster, almost. Someone ready to
take me down at a moment’s notice. And maybe that was part of my anxiety, but
standing there looking at her might even be worse. She was fully dressed to the
nines, wearing a beautifully tight black satin knee dress that hugged all the
right places, which wasn't saying much because everything seemed perfect on
her.
She
was thin and blonde, with the same piercing brown eyes as Julien. Her hair was
swept back into some fancy updo, and she wore a set of very expensive looking
pearls, delicately lining her thin collarbone. She looked like she had walked
off the set of Mad Men. But it wasn't her looks alone that was really throwing
me for a loop. It was the expression on her face.
I half-expected her to come in with a sneer, given her upbringing and wealth.
Instead, she was looking at me with a curious expression. She looked amused. I
didn't know what to think about that... When she spoke, the whole room went
silent.
"And
it is our pleasure to finally get a chance to meet you, sweetheart."
Well. I definitely wasn't expecting that...
Sabine brought her hand across her hairline, smoothing it back, as if it hadn't
already been expertly coiffed. "Where is Gervaise? I thought he would be
back here, helping run things?"
I didn't know whether she was asking me were just asking in general, but I
shrugged my shoulders. "I haven't seen him in a while."
Julien walked up to me, pulling me into his arms and giving me a quick peck on
the cheek. A wave of relief rolled over me.
He turned and faced his mother, gesturing out the door. "I'm sure he'll be
here quickly, but we need to go ahead and get started in the ballroom," he
explained.
My eyes widened, the anxiety in my face plain and clear. "The ballroom?
Julien, he never said anything about the ballroom. That room is huge!" I
quickly whispered to him, trying to be as quiet as possible so that his mother
didn’t hear me from ahead of us. "Just how many people are coming to this
thing?"
He chuckled nervously in response, giving me his answer in the silence. I shook
my head at him, wishing I could get just a few minutes alone with him. I had
quite a few things to say.
"Don’t worry… My family members know about us. They know about you and the
baby and they are nothing but happy for us. I’ve hired security and everything
is locked down tight as a drum. Relax and enjoy yourself!"
I didn't know what else to say, so I kept quiet and walked along next to him,
trying to give people the vibe that I was completely comfortable.
As we stood outside the double doors that led into the ballroom where most of
the guests had already assembled, I took in a long deep breath, pacing myself.
Julien looked over at me and smiled, squeezing my hand in his.
"Just be yourself. That’s all you need to do."
When he said it like that, he made it sound so simple. Of course it really
wasn't, but maybe I could pretend for myself that it was.
I’d
come through this room before, but it was always so empty and cold… Now, it had
transformed. The ballroom was decorated beautifully, and I gasped as I realized
that Julien had fixed the old stained-glass that covered the skylight above us,
replacing it with shimmering colored panes. It was just the right touch to make
the room seem new again.
There
were five tables covered in all sorts of different food, courtesy of Gervaise. He
stood near the tables, ready to help dish out the food. I was actually
surprised to see that it was a buffet style lunch, much to my satisfaction.
I
tried to concentrate on other people spread throughout the vast room. Some
caught sight of Julien and his mother, and began their way over towards them.
Some others were conversing among themselves, seated at one of the numerous
small roundtables to the one side. I was still stuck on the beautiful
decorations that were tastefully strung here and there.
I nudged Julien as an older couple paused to talk with him, and I told him I
was going over to grab something to eat.
As I
made my beeline towards the delicious smelling food, someone tapped me on my
shoulder. I spun around and was taken aback as a young woman stood in front of
me, one hand on her hip, smiling at me.
"Bree, right? Hi! I'm Veronique! Or rather, Julien's younger cousin. It's
very nice to meet you, finally!" she exclaimed, pulling me into a
surprisingly tight hug, given her petite size. I must've had the goofiest look
on my face, because when she pulled back she frowned at me.
"I’m sorry, I’m just so excited to meet you… We’re pretty much cousins
now. Oh my gosh, you know I heard you were beautiful… but really!"
"It’s nice to meet you, too. I'm sorry that I don't really know much about
you, Julien rarely talks about his family,” I replied, smiling.
"He doesn't like us. Not that I can really blame him, because we’re kind
of crazy. Not me, of course, but everyone else. Anyway, Julien is practically
my older brother so it's really cool to finally meet you," she said, nearly
out of breath when she finished.
Her grin quickly turned into a frown.
“So,
have you had a chance to meet the monster-in-law?” she asked.
I looked at her, trying to gauge her reaction. “Yeah… I did. She actually seemed
very nice...”
Veronique laughed, patting my elbow gently. “It's okay,” she replied, looking
all around us before she continued. “I know our family’s not exactly the Brady
Bunch, so it's okay. I totally understand if you are freaking out right now.
You got a lot going on, right? At least that's what I've heard.”
“What do you mean exactly?” I asked. What all did everyone know about me?
“Well . . . you know they made us all sign this crazy long non-disclosure thing
before we all agreed to attend, right? I mean it was nuts! I wouldn't have
suspected that it was going to be that crazy, but it really was. There were all
these lines about possible incrimination . . . but I guess it was for the best.
So what’s your secret? You some kind of spy? Seriously!”
She
seemed out of breath again. This girl could talk. No non-disclosure agreement
was going to stop that. I was pretty sure she’d tell half of France all about
me…
I smiled, almost wishing she could read my mind. “You have no idea.”
“Ok,
I get it. You’re not going to tell me… Did Julien give you introductions to everyone
else besides his mom? I doubt you've met my lovely parents. I haven't seen them
yet, myself,” she muttered, her voice dropping lower at the last and of her
sentence. “Not that I’m complaining.”
I raised a brow at her. “Do you and your parents not get along, then?” I asked.
Even as she looked like she was wanting to avoid the subject, she clearly
brought it up for reason.
“Oh,
well you know. I'm at that point in my life where I would rather have a little
space... And they don't exactly agree with my life choices. I'm engaged to be
married, actually. And they hate that.”
“How come?”
“He’s an artist. A good one. David Bowie bought a couple of his paintings, and
he has some really good taste, if you ask me. The guy’s like a walking canvas,
so he knows art when he sees it. Anyway . . . Marco is a very established
painter at this point, but my mother wants me chasing after old money... But that's
beside the point,” Veronique replied, sounding defeated.
“Well, I'm sure they'll eventually get to know him and like him. He sounds like
a pretty cool guy.”
She smiled at me, showing off the small gap between her two front teeth.
"That's very sweet of you. I think he is, too."
We sat there and chatted for a few more minutes, while I tried to delicately
stuff my face with the delicious food Gervaise had made for the party. It
seemed like Veronique knew a lot about the family, and definitely all about the
gossip. When she finally ran out of things to say, I was halfway through a
masters course on Julien family history.
"You know, I should really let you go meet everyone… It was nice talking… I'll
catch up with you later. And if you need to be saved at any point,” she
whispered, sounding conspiratorial. "— just let me know. Just say the word
and I'll find you and get you the hell out of here. Good luck!"
And with that, Veronique was gone, skipping away to another part of the
ballroom. I slouched against the back wall, wondering what I should do next.
I
practically flopped back on our bed, completely exhausted from the evening’s
events. I hadn’t realized that baby showers could turn into an all-day affair,
and apparently neither had Julien. We were only too happy to see everyone
leave, although I had to admit it was a rather nice party after all. I had
gotten so nervous over nothing.
Julien
rolled over to his side to face me, snuggling up against my chest. “You did
great today,” he murmured into my already bountiful cleavage, as his hand
traced a soft line against my hipbone.
I
scoffed. “I love you and all . . . but I’m way too tired for all that. My feet.
Are. Killing. Me.”
He
chuckled, his warm breath tickling my skin. “I apologize, then. It’s just so
damn hard to keep my hands to myself when I’m around you,
ma chérie
.”
I
definitely wasn’t about to complain. Even as tired as I was I could feel my
blood warming up in my cheeks. He just had that effect on me, I guessed.
“So…
Who opens the first one?” I asked, looking toward the foot of the bed. A few of
the staff had piled all the little gift boxes into the room, and I couldn’t
wait to see what was inside.
“I
guess I’ll do the honors,” Julien said, grabbing a little box and bringing it
up onto the bed. I held my breath as he opened it up, peeling away the
beautiful wrapping paper.
“Oh
my God! Look at it! It’s so cute!”
I
practically squealed when Julien pulled the tiny pair of baby Veritas
cross-trainers out from the small blue bag filled with tissue paper.
“I
can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I’m one of the heads of the company, for
God’s sake!” Julien mused, passing over the tiny shoes to me. “I don’t recall
seeing this product. I wonder if it’s new?”
I
rolled my eyes. “No shop talk, Julien.”
He
smiled sheepishly at me before turning around to grab another present from behind
him. I grabbed the bag and placed the shoes back inside of it. Before I could
open it, one of the security guards appeared at the door.
“Excuse
me Julien, I need to speak with you for a moment.”
“Is
everything ok?” Julien asked, concern filling his voice. The look on the man’s
face wasn’t inspiring confidence. Julien didn’t wait for a response. He leapt
from the bed and cast me a quick glance.
“I’ll
be right back. Keep the bed warm for me.”
“Just
don’t be too long, please!” I called after him as he walked out of the room, my
heart racing as he quickly followed the security guard out of the room.
I
couldn’t just sit here… When I heard his voice raise up a few levels, I hopped
up as fast as I could and tried to quietly make my way down the hall after him.
I
crept around one of the end of the corridors, keeping an eye out for him. He
was pacing back and forth at the end of the hall across from me, his eyes
trained on the floor. One of the bodyguards, Rafe, came up to him, pulling him
away from his conversation with the security guard. Julien turned towards Rafe
expectantly.
I
couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, which didn’t really matter
considering they were speaking in French… But judging by Julien’s tone it
wasn’t good. The more he talked with Rafe the angrier he got. I didn’t know
what to make of it.
I
didn’t exactly want to get my anxiety levels up, but it was hard not to. For
all I knew he could be talking about something work-related. But something deep
down inside me told me that wasn’t the case. I really wished I had taken high
school French when I had the chance.
Julien
called out for Johan, one of the other bodyguards, who came hulking around the
corner. He was a huge Swedish dude, who looked like he could easily pass for a
Viking on Halloween... And I’m not talking about the ones from Minnesota, either.
Luckily
for me, Johan didn’t speak a lick of French, and they had their conversation in
English. I made my way quietly down the hall.
“Explain
this to me. How did he get past you?” Julien demanded from Johan.
“I
am sorry, Mr. Malveaux. He gave me his name, and it was on the list. Here, I
have it with me in fact,” Johan grunted, pulling a clipboard and paper from the
table beside them. “See? He gave me his name, right here. Augustus Fendi. His
name was on the list . . . so I let him in. He gave me his photo ID and
everything.”
Julien
pinched the bridge of his nose as he usually did when he was stressed out,
slowly shaking his head. “I just don’t understand. How did this name get on the
list? Who was in charge of the list?”
Both
of the bodyguards shrugged.
“That
doesn’t make me feel any better. I need to know who was in charge of printing
this list, and if anyone knows and is not willing to give me the information
that they know they will be immediately relieved from their duty. Someone put
Fendi’s name on this list and it sure as hell wasn’t me.”
It
struck me how odd it was to see Julien like this. He was clearly livid at
whatever situation had arose, and watching him yelling at two grown men was
just so out of character.
We
can certainly find out for you, Mr. Malveaux. I know it wasn’t one of us, but
that doesn’t mean we can’t find out who it was. If I had to make any guesses, I
would say it was the party planner that your mother hired. Maybe that’s where
you could start?”
Julien
stood there scratching his chin, mumbling to himself. “That does sound like a
proper place to start. Please let me know if you hear of anything else, Johan.
Vous aussi, Rafe.
”
My
stomach dropped. Sabine? She hired the party planner? That seemed oddly weird
to me. For someone who had only spoken a few short sentences to me at the party,
she was clearly more involved than I knew.
The
two men walked off, mumbling to one another, and Julien walked back towards the
bedroom. I scrambled to get out of his sight, ducking into an alcove and skipped
down the main hallway to the end where the kitchen was, hoping that maybe if he
found me there he wouldn’t be surprised. After all, it was usually where he
found me these days…
Gervaise
was nowhere to be found. I helped myself to some of the leftovers that were
sitting out on the giant kitchen island, groaning as I finally tasted some of
the food I hadn’t had the chance to test out earlier at the baby shower. I
didn’t know what the little pâté was that went on top of the special crackers,
but whatever it was, it was delicious. I swore up and down that Gervaise needed
to open up his own five-star restaurant. But that would mean he would have to
leave us, and I liked having him all to ourselves at the château.
I
waited for a moment before I heard Julien clearing his throat behind me.
“There
you are. Did our little guy get a little hungry again?”
All
traces of anger gone from his face. I pasted on the best smile I could give him,
and offered him one of the special crackers.
“Mmm,
terrine de canard mousquetaire.
Délicieuse.
Usually I don’t get to eat this unless it’s Bastille Day,” Julien
replied, licking his full lips.
No,
Amira. Don’t get sucked into staring at his amazing lips.
“Well,
I don’t know what all that means, but it certainly is tasty. Maybe I would
prefer not to know what it means, actually. Now that I’m looking at it . .
.
it does look a little sketchy. Oh
well,” I added, popping another cracker with the special pâté in my mouth.
Sometimes
it was far too easy to pretend everything was hunky-dory. But at the moment,
and after being so tired from the day’s events, I didn’t want to disturb Julien
with my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if I would get very good sleep that night, but at
least I knew he was next to me, trying desperately to keep me and the baby
safe.
“I
have an idea, actually, myself,” Julien said, repeating a phrase from earlier.
“How about we order some Thai from my favorite place? They’ll deliver it to us,
no problem. What do you say?”
I
bit my lip. It was definitely hard to keep my mouth shut, but I would do it for
his sake. “Sure thing. You know I’m always down for thai!”
