Road to Destiny (Scorpio Stinger MC Book 5) (41 page)

But, talking to her wasn’t going to be easy. I’d have to surprise her, preferably in a place where she couldn’t run away. I knew exactly where she was headed.

I
took a sip from my water bottle. Damn, it was hot. Standing in the long queues made me appreciate how Alain had just whizzed us past the red tape before. I’d just have to get it the same way every other tourist did. I missed him. I wished he were there to share his knowledge of the Louvre with me.

I was there to see three things. First up, the glass pyramid, a famous icon of Paris, which I glimpsed from the top deck of the bus. The other two were inside, so I paid for a ticket and made my way in.

Signposts marked the way to the Mona Lisa, so I followed the crowds through the halls. Hundreds of people thronged around me to see the small heavily framed picture which was protected by thick glass. The painting was so much smaller than I expected, it was a bit of a disappointment and not nearly as grand as I’d always imagined it to be.

Leisurely roaming around the cavernous rooms, glancing at rows and rows of artworks on the walls, I made my way to the Venus de Milo, the goddess shrouded in mystery whose arms had never been found. Intrigued, I wanted to see her. I admired her sensual feminine curves which were only half covered by a draping cloth around her hips.

I walked into the large, cool space and switched on the little camera Alain had given me, a pang going through my heart as I took a picture of the beautiful statue. In a heavy French accent, a recognizable man’s voice floated to me.

“Can I offer to take your picture next to the statue, mademoiselle?”

Pivoting on my heels, I crashed into a familiar hard chest. Alain grabbed hold of my shoulders, as if he was afraid I would bolt. His eyes were serious, only a slight upward curve of his lips showed that he was pleased to see me.

“Mademoiselle, could I have a word,
s'il vous plait?
” To strangers around us, it would seem as if we hardly knew one another. Yet his palms were damp and his eyes were pleading, a small vein in his temples ticking.

My mouth fell open. I’d never expected this.
How on earth did he find me?

His hands burned into my flesh. I was standing as if I was made of stone. The irony was not lost on me. My gaze quickly took in his dark hair falling over his brow and I noticed that he’d lost weight since I last saw him.

Captured, I let him steer me toward a bench.

“Sit,” he commanded. My knees were trembling, I was grateful to sit down.

“Rebecca, I need to explain what happened.” He glanced around, the room was overcrowded and noisy. “Let’s go somewhere quieter?”

I couldn’t go anywhere where we’d be alone. I didn’t trust him, or myself.

“Coffee...cafeteria...” I stuttered.

Alain steered me toward the closest cafeteria, silence hanging heavily between us. I was grateful for the masses of people surrounding us, masking my apprehension.

He ordered two coffees while I sat down at the corner table, my legs still shaking. He took a seat across from me.

“So beautiful,” he murmured, brushing away an errant strand of hair from my cheeks.

His touch had a strong effect on me. It sent a shiver down my spine straight to my core.
Oh, my god
. Angry with myself that he still had the power to liquefy my insides, I stared into my coffee, hiding my eyes from him.
He can’t know
.

He reached out and cupped my chin, lifting my face and looking me squarely in the eyes.

“Don’t hide from me, Cher...Rebecca.”

I studied his beautiful face for a few seconds. His face was open, but I could see traces of worry around his mouth.

“Since you left, I can’t eat. I can hardly fucking breathe.” He stated it as a fact, not an accusation. “What you saw...it was indiscreet...I’m sorry if it hurt you...” He cleared his throat.

“
Indiscreet? Hurt me?
Are you fucking kidding me?”
Heat rose to my cheeks as I remembered what I had seen that morning. 

“Give me a chance to explain. Please. Just listen.” His voice was terse. “Adrienne came to my house that morning to seduce me. Yes, we’d been lovers. But, that was for a very brief period and it ended over a year ago.
Long before I met you
.”

“You really expect me to believe that? After what I saw?” I gazed into his eyes. I would find the truth there.

“Yes.” His simple statement seemed genuine.

“Why did it end? She’s very beautiful,” I whispered, the memory of her lithe and ripe naked body against his taunting me.

“I grew tired of her quickly. She’s superficial. Money, power and sex. That’s all she wants.”

A flicker of contempt passed over his eyes.

“Why wouldn’t you grow tired of me too?” The wall around my heart wasn’t crumbling easily.

“I could never tire of you. You are different.” He took my hand and pressed it to his lips—like he had done a hundred times before. And as always, it sent a delicious tingle down my spine.

“Adrienne won’t give up. She still pursues me, believing that she is destined to be the new mistress of the chateau.”

“So what happened that morning?
Tell me
.” I was finally ready to hear more.

Alain continued: “She came that morning to plead with me to take her back, to be lovers again. She promised a lot of money if I were to marry her. But I told her I had no interest in her, that I only had eyes for you. She became...angry. Next thing, she ripped off her trench coat to reveal her nakedness.  She was hoping to seduce me with her flesh. But, I told her it was over for good, that I could never love her.”

“That’s when I walked in—”

“Yes. That’s when you saw the spectacle I was hoping to save you from. Gaston came minutes later. I’d already summoned him to take her away.”

“Oh, Alain...” Tears welled up behind my eyelids, my throat burning as I tried to control them.

“I’m so sorry, Cherie, you should never have been exposed to that. Please forgive me?”

“It’s me who should ask your forgiveness...not trusting you...” Warm tears were rolling freely down my cheeks.

“Please, don’t cry.” He wiped my tears with the pads of his thumbs.

To his surprise I started laughing, through my tears. “What...a...fool...I...was...” Relief flowed though me. Alain wasn’t fucking Adrienne.

“Come back to the chateau with me. We’ll catch up on lost time.” He wiggled his eyebrows, his lips curved into a smile.

“I can’t come this week.” The disappointment on his face pulled at my heartstrings. “My workshops finish next week. I’ll come then.”

As much as I was elated by discovering the truth behind that awful day, I needed time to digest it all. If I was going back to being lovers with Alain, I wanted to be sure it was because I was ready to do so.

Without any pressure.

A
little saddened that it was the last day of workshops in Paris, I couldn’t believe how fast the first few weeks of my contract had gone. I had really enjoyed working with the group, and a night of  celebrating was in order.

It was time to move on to the next destination. Munich, Germany. How would it affect my relationship with Alain? I wouldn’t be far away, but it was in another country. And, I’d have to adjust to a new culture again. If things worked out between us, Alain would have to understand that I’d be away for a week at a time. Getting back to him would be wonderful, of course. I could just imagine the mind-blowing sex we’d have.

Back at my hotel room, I changed from my business suit into something more appropriate for an evening out. I dug up my little black designer dress I’d packed especially for occasions like these, where I wasn’t quite sure what to wear.

It was a good choice, smart and just a little sexy but not over the top. Hugging my body in just the right places, with wide straps over my shoulders that added just the right amount of elegance, I felt confident that I looked good. I was ready for a night out and to have fun with my friends in Paris.

We met up at a popular bar before dinner. I virtually threw back my first Cosmopolitan and ordered another. It was great to just hang out and not worry about anything. We laughed and chatted around the bar. It wasn’t long before the topic of conversation came around to our mighty CEO.

“He’s an awesome chess player,” said Jean-Paul. “Apparently, he won a championship when he was at university.”

Really?
I had geeky tendencies, but I couldn’t see Maxwell Grant as a geek.

“
Oui
, he’s also raised millions of dollars running across the USA to raise awareness for epilepsy when he was in his final year. His mother suffered from the disease and he took it really hard. Took him six months to achieve that mean feat.”

“Wow, I didn’t know...” I said, genuinely intrigued by the adoration in Jean-Paul’s voice for his boss.

“I can top that. Did you know he won several awards for designing low-cost housing to help young families?” chirped Celeste, a gorgeous leggy blonde.

“OK, now you’re making him sound like a saint.” I laughed as I took a sip of my Cosmo.

“Well, here’s the thing, if Time magazine hadn’t highlighted it in several articles, we wouldn’t even know about it. Mr. Grant never brags about any of it. He is a very humble man,” said Jean-Paul.

Humble wasn’t a word that sprang to my mind when I thought of Maxwell Grant.

And, I was curious as all hell about his wife. Since they all seemed to know so much about Maxwell’s private life, I figured it was time to dig a little deeper.

“Oh, Natasha...she’s absolutely gorgeous, isn’t she? Wish she was my wife. But, the strange thing is that Maxwell very seldom brings her to work functions, and I’ve been to a lot over the years. If she were my wife, I wouldn’t let her out of my sight,” young Tommy said with a grin.

“That’s because she’s a super model, knucklehead,” Celeste reminded him. “She’s too busy.”

“I heard it was a marriage of convenience,” Jean-Paul piped up as he ordered a round of shots.

“Don’t be ridiculous, buddy. A babe like Natasha could have her pick of men...” countered Tommy. He clearly fancied Mrs. Grant.

“...and Mr. Grant is so hot, he could have any babe he wants. I know I wouldn’t say no to him, married or not,” Celeste chuckled.

“Celeste.” Both guys gaped at her, their mouths hanging open. “Well do you agree, Rebecca?” All eyes were on me. I felt the warmth spread upward from my chest.

I was cornered.

“Agree to what?” I heard a booming voice behind me.

No, it couldn’t be. Speak of the fucking devil.

Luckily I didn’t have to answer. Everyone was falling over Maxwell—happy to see him. It would’ve been nice if someone had warned me that he would be here tonight. Arms crossed over my chest, I watched the backslapping spectacle with amusement.

“We have Dr. Clarke to thank for the workshops. Remember, I told you she was very talented?” He slowly turned to me, acknowledging my presence.

“We aim to please, Mr. Grant. I’m glad they liked it.” I was still peeved by his turning up out of nowhere and ruining my evening out.

“Can I get you another drink?” he offered.

I picked up my purse, thankful we were due at the restaurant in five minutes. “No thanks, we were just on our way to the Bistro across the road.”

“Mind if I join you?” He smiled down at me. I couldn’t really refuse, after all, the evening would be billed to his company.

“I'm not sure there is space, we only have reservations for eleven people...”

I wish he would go away.

“I'm hurt, Dr. Clarke, that you don’t want me there.” My head jerked up and I looked into mocking eyes.

“How is
Mrs.
Grant?” I asked coolly.

“Fine...she’s on an assignment in Africa.”

“Cool,” said Tommy, “wish I could go to Africa...”

“You’d get eaten by lions,” Celeste joked as she batted her eyes at Maxwell.

Celeste was gorgeous. And tall. And skinny. And blonde, like his wife. She was exactly his type. Exactly the opposite of me.

Well, fine then
.
If he must come,
she
can entertain him
.

I had to endure watching more backslapping before we left the bar and crossed the road to the Bistro, amazed at how easily Maxwell got on with his employees. They genuinely admired him. Some, more than others. Like Celeste.

Celeste hooked into Maxwell’s arm as we crossed the road. Her long legs were bronzed and sexy in her ultra-short dress and high heels. She looked sensational. Did she know Maxwell was coming?

We entered the bistro and before I could even ask the waitstaff if there was an extra place for my boss, the maître d’ just about fell over Maxwell. It was clear he’d been here, often.

“Ah Mr. Grant, we set an extra place for you just in case. Your secretary said you may join us tonight. We’re delighted you could make it.”

He directed Maxwell to the head of the table. I wanted to be seated as far as possible from him, so I held back, letting everyone else go in front of me. Celeste held on to his arm for dear life.

He indicated to a seat next to him and Celeste sat down, grinning widely. Tommy darted for the other chair next to him, but Maxwell held out his hand to stop him.

“Dr. Clarke?” He gestured toward the empty chair.

Really?
I suppressed the impulse to roll my eyes as I took the place next to him. He casually placed his hand on my shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Champagne?”

Everyone cheered and he ordered four bottles of Moet.

Celeste hung off every word Maxwell uttered. She laughed at his jokes and touched his arm as often as possible. I’d seen her records, Celeste was twenty-three years old. The huge age difference between her and Maxwell didn’t seem to be a deterrent—to either of them—because Maxwell was gracious and charming, smiling at her warmly.

Clearly her flirting wasn’t lost on him. It irritated the shit out of me. Why? I had no idea. They were both adults, it was not my business.