Boxed Set: At the Billionaire’s Command – Vol. 1-3 (17 page)

My funny Valentine / Sweet comic Valentine / You make me smile with my heart / Your looks are laughable, / Unphotographable / Yet you’re my favorite work of art…

...

The delicate, fragile, evanescent voice of Chet Baker... An apt, brooding romanticism... which suits Daniel so well....

Don’t change a hair for me / Not if you care for me / Stay little Valentine stay / Each day is Valentine’s Day...

...

I couldn't have dreamt a sweeter awakening.... The music is coming from another room; I'm in the bedroom, alone in the middle of the gigantic bed.

Did Daniel spend the night with me?

One thing is for sure, last night, he kept his promise....

I get up, shower and slip on a short skirt and a t-shirt. Daniel and I converged so deeply last night, that this morning I feel fresh as the dew, serene and ready to talk to him about his father. I slip through the small gap left by the sliding doors and let myself be guided by the music. I go through a study-library, a small lounge and another, larger living room.
Daniel is inside, sitting in an armchair and reading a newspaper. He hasn't heard me coming.

"Good morning."

Daniel looks up and gives me a big smile.

And what a smile! I would kill for that smile, for the way in which it brings out his dimples and lights up his green eyes
.

He puts down his newspaper, gets up, walks towards me, kisses me on the forehead and says in a smooth voice:

"Good morning, Julia. Tea? Coffee?"

"I'd like some tea, please."

"Some croissants?"

"I'd love some."

"Sit down. I'll go ask Martha to bring everything to you."

Daniel comes back into the living room, followed a few minutes later by Martha bringing my breakfast.

"What an appetite!"

Daniel catches me in the act of gluttony. In the blink of an eye, I've gobbled up one croissant and am biting into another.

"Didn't you notice?" I reply, with a mischievous look.

Daniel chuckles merrily, a complicit smile creasing the back of his eyes.

Right, time to broach the subject, the sooner I pass on Camille Wietermann's message, the better.

I take a deep breath, my eyes fixed on the teacup held between my hands, and open my mouth as if to speak. But Daniel pulls the rug from under my feet and beats me to it.

"Julia?"

My head snaps up and I look up at him blankly, his voice breaking my train of thought. Daniel's expression is serious. Warm, but serious.

If he wants to talk, that's fine by me! I'll just lay my cards out later.

"Julia, please accept my apologies for what happened at Sterenn Park. I don't know how my mother knew I was there, or how she found out about you. It doesn't matter. She acted in an appalling manner towards you, and I understand that you were hurt by her attitude and what she said. I lost my composure and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

Hold on just a minute, not so fast! I'm glad you see things my way, but I want to know why. Why your mother lost her temper like that. Why you didn't react.

Daniel waits for me to answer.

"I didn't understand... I didn't understand why you didn't stand up for me. And why you let me go."

"I told you, I was caught off-guard and I didn't know what to do on the spur of the moment."

"Yes, but that's not like you."

"Well, now you know that everyone answers to someone, even me. My relations with my mother are complicated and conflictual, all the more so because they are based on deep affection. For me to confront her at that moment would have been devastating, the situation would only have gotten worse and she might have gone for your jugular. I wanted to spare you, to give you the chance to run away, for you not to get caught in the middle of our row."

That's just what Sarah supposed....

"But I would much rather have defended you in the face of all opposition, Julia. I hate having had to choose the lesser of two evils, I'm not proud of it. I'm asking you to please try and understand where I'm coming from."

"And what about your mother? Why does she hate me so much?"

"My mother has nothing against you personally, Julia. She's always been overprotective over my sister and me, ever since we were children. She certainly had her reasons back then... The problem is that she still wants to play that role today. She can't stand the thought of someone getting involved with either of us on anything other than professional grounds. She's afraid we'll be hurt, that people will harm us both physically and emotionally. She's created a bubble around the three of us, which she thinks is invulnerable, or so she wants to believe... She can't accept that I can be by her and my sister's side and with a woman at the same time, or even with friends. I thus take care not to introduce anyone to her, especially not without warning. In any case, she didn't single you out on purpose, please don't take it personally. That's what I wanted you to understand."

"I think I understand. And I accept your apology."

"I'm so glad, Julia, really I am," Daniel smiles, his face relaxing once more.

"Shall we forget this incident, then?" he resumes. "I hope you will agree to return to Sterenn Park."

"I'd like that very much."

My reply seems to relieve him, even to fill him with enthusiasm.

"What did you think of the estate? Did you like it?"

Daniel looks at me inquiringly. He isn't just trying to make small talk: my opinion really seems to matter to him. I tell myself that I wasn't wrong, that the house means a great deal to him and that it mirrors him.

"I thought it was... in the likeness of its owner. I loved it."

Daniel lowers his eyes. Surprised, no doubt, perhaps moved by the veil I've just lifted.

I have to make the most of this shared moment to take the leap.

"Daniel? There's something I need to speak with you about. You see, it's a bit awkward because I'm only acting as a go-between, as a messenger, in fact. And I don't want to be a bird of ill-omen...."

"What's this about?" he frowns.

"Well... First, promise me you won't interrupt."

"You're being all mysterious. Don't beat around the bush. Spit it out!"

Seeing that his tone puts me off and adds to my apprehension, he calms down:

"Promise. You can say what you need to say and I won't interrupt."

"The day I left New York, Camille Wietermann, your father, came to the hotel and spoke with my friend Tom...."

At once, Daniel's face stiffens and his eyes harden. I notice he's clenching his teeth and biting his lips, probably to keep himself from getting a word in. He promised, and he's a man of his word. I swallow and continue calmly.

"You father asked after you. Remembering your instructions, Tom at first said that he didn't know any Daniel Wietermann. Your father then changed tack. He told Tom that he knew you weren't at the hotel any more because he had been watching you from a distance. He had wanted to approach you, but couldn't bring himself to do so and regretted it. That's why he came to ask for Tom's help. He had noticed that Tom and I were friends and that I had often gone out in your company. So he told himself that, perhaps if I was willing to pass on his wish to speak with you, you would agree to get back in touch with him."

Phew! There, it's out now....

"Have you finished?"

"Yes."

Daniel is furious. He gets up abruptly and begins pacing the room.

"Not only does he dare to spy on me, but on top of it he uses you to get to me. He has no hesitation in using you. That man has always been a coward, a good-for-nothing!"

Daniel doesn't stop pounding back and forth and motioning savagely. His voice is trembling with hatred, with rage and contempt.

"And your friend fell for it! What on earth made him listen to that monster! Even though I forbade it! He should bloody well have been thrown out!"

I stay seated without making a move, without saying a word. Just one peep, and it could all come crashing down on me. I'll have to ride out the storm.

"And you, what are you playing at? You know I don't want to hear so much as the name of that bastard, don't you?! Couldn't you have kept it to yourself? Were you trying to make me mad? What, then? I apologise profusely to you, and the only thing you can think of is to ruin my life with my father's whining?"

I stay calm. I can see that he's too beside himself to think about what he's saying.

"Have you nothing left to say?"

Very calmly, in a clear but measured tone, I say:

"You're very upset, it's your right and you most probably have every reason to be. Who are you angry with? Your father? Yourself? Don't make me responsible or take your anger out on me. Make sure you don't accuse the wrong people. And besides, you're making my head spin, stalking around like that."

My composure seems to take him by surprise, I can sense he's thrown a bit off balance by my calm in the face of his fury. He must be realising that he went too far, that he overreacted, that he may have sounded a bit ridiculous. He sits down again.

"Did he say anything else to your friend?"

I hesitate to tell him the truth. To the extent that I can't be sure of the accuracy of Camille's story, and in view of the fact that it's not up to me anyway to reconcile father and son, I can only tell him, in order not to lie to him, that Camille confided in Tom.

"He had to make an effort to convince Tom to help him. He told him certain things about his life."

"What things?"

"I don't know, exactly. Only your father could tell you. You should give him a chance...."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Julia."

"Probably not. But after what happened at Sterenn Park, I was really mad at you and felt terribly let down. And yet, I agreed to listen to you and your explanation showed me that I didn't have all the facts at hand to judge the situation. Why couldn't you do the same with your father? At least listen to him. You can judge afterwards."

Daniel's voice is no longer raised, his eyes are no longer threatening but staring slightly into space. His anger has given way to thoughtfulness.

"You're right."

It takes a long silence to clear the air of all its heaviness.

"I'm not angry, Julia," Daniel finally says, before giving me a kiss. "Are you busy today?"

"I need to hunt around for a flat. Sarah and I have to move in by the beginning of October."

"In that case, I'll ask Ray to stay with you. In which district are you looking?"

"I don't really know, I was actually thinking of doing some research today."
'Well, Ray is here if you need to go somewhere. Otherwise, there's a computer in the study that you can use for your research. But don't worry about your flat. Enjoy the nice weather on the terrace. Relax. I have to take care of some business. I'll be back around 6:30 pm."

"All right."

Alone at Daniel's place, I realise that I don't even know what it looks like. The night was dark when I came here yesterday and Ray showed me straight to the bedroom. I decide to look around. The living room I'm currently in sits at the centre of a long series of linked rooms, visible by the edges of the walls jutting out. None of them are closed, save for the bedroom. Each room is painted white from floor to ceiling. Even most of the furniture and the material is spotlessly white. Nothing like Sterenn Park. Here, the lines are strict, the objects functional, with designer furniture and an almost clinical feel to it.

Right, then: behind me, a study and a small lounge. In front, a dining room and a large open-plan kitchen right at the end. In the main living room, a massive sectional sofa and four armchairs surround a glass coffee table. Some wall decorations, a few lamps. Over here a silver-plated vase, over there a sideboard with a gloss finish. And then, in pride of place, a grand piano. Something is resting on it, I go to take a closer look. A silver frame, with a woman's picture in it. I grab it and peer at her. Dark-haired, flawless, magnificent. As if by instinct, I turn over the frame. At the back of the board, some words and a name are inscribed in elegant handwriting:
'To the man who...
Haydée.'

I know about his sister, his mother, so... who is this woman?

I put the photo back and continue to look around. A wide terrace runs all along the length of the storey. I go through the French windows in the living room and look out onto a magnificent view of the Seine river directly below and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Deckchairs, sofas, tables, plants and flowers, lamps... all kitted out. Looking up, I see another floor above. I thought we were at the top of the building.... I go back inside and pick out a small staircase between the living and dining rooms. This is actually a split-level apartment. Right at the top are four large en-suite bedrooms.

I must say that after having surveyed this penthouse, my enthusiasm to go look for a little two-bedroom flat has waned slightly... But I nonetheless decide to switch on the computer and view the latest offerings. It would be great to bag a nice little flat, we could always squeeze into Sarah's little studio until we find what we're looking for.

Between surfing the net, eating lunch (courtesy of Martha), napping on the terrace and reading the first few chapters of a novel, I don't notice the time pass and am surprised to see it's 6:30 pm when Daniel comes in to find me stretched out on the sofa, reading.

"Good evening, Julia!"

"Good evening. Did you have a good day?"

"It was all right. I feel like eating out tonight. Are you game?"

"Why not."

"It will be just the two of us this time," he laughs, with a wink in my direction. "I'm going to take a shower and change. Stay as you are, you look gorgeous."

Daniel empties his pockets onto the coffee table – phone, keys, wallet – and disappears into the bedroom. He isn't gone five minutes when his mobile phone rings. I can see the screen from where I'm sitting. The name of the person trying to call him appears on the display.