Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“You have one of the keenest scientific minds heading up your R&D,” Fabron says as he gives a pointed nod of respect toward me. His gaze goes to Avril, and his eyes warm slightly. “And your chief operations officer is smarter than either of you men, as well as being undeniably beautiful.”
I roll my eyes because that’s just Fabron being French and a flirt. He’s never made it a secret how much he finds Avril to be attractive on prior visits, but he’s sincerely attracted to her mind as well. To my surprise, Avril doesn’t blush as I would expect. She’s never been that great about taking an honest compliment about her looks.
Instead, she meets his gaze with a steady one of her own, her lips curled up slightly in amusement. “Votre flatteur est inutile.”
Fabron laughs and points to me and Dane as he says, “Je ne cherche pas à te flatter c’est la vérité. Viens travailler pour moi. Tu seras bien plus heureuse qu’avec ses deux prétentieux.”
“I hate that you know French,” Dane mutters.
“What are you two saying?” I ask Avril with a good-natured smile.
Because she’s an overachiever, she stuck with her language studies of French long after she’d satisfied her requirements in undergrad. She’s done extensive traveling for pleasure throughout the country, and that’s normally where she takes her vacations each year.
Avril puts her elbows on the table. With a laugh, she waves at Fabron. Her voice is dismissive yet slightly flirty. “I told him he didn’t need to flatter me. He told me he spoke the truth and then offered me a job.”
Dane laughs, but I can tell the humor doesn’t entirely reach his eyes. He leans toward Fabron and claps him on the shoulder. “My friend… here you are trying to do business with me, but you want to steal one of my most-valued partners and friends? That’s not exactly the way I’d advise you to proceed.”
Fabron chuckles and nods at Dane. He shoots a quick glance at Avril and inclines his head. “Avril… I meant every word I said, but only if I can’t convince your partner to bring me on to help you at Caterva. If he doesn’t, all bets are off.”
Interestingly, Dane’s face hardens over those words because while I think Fabron may be joking, clearly Dane takes that as a threat.
Luckily, Avril diffuses the situation. “Well, I’m actually very flattered you find me worthy of your company, Fabron, but I’m pretty confident when I tell you there’s nothing you could ever offer me to leave these two—what did you call them? Peacocks?”
Fabron lets out a hearty laugh, but doesn’t look even slightly chagrined he must have called us peacocks in French to Avril, or that she outed him to her partners.
That’s my girl.
But Dane and I laugh right along with them because when it boils down to it, we all like Fabron. He’s a brilliant entrepreneur, his company is one of the most revered in the world, and he’s got an impeccable reputation for fair dealings. On top of that, our venture capitalists have been pushing us hard to consider bringing him into the company.
The dinner continues, and we move away from business. We’ve known Fabron for years and have socialized with him at conferences. Avril’s even visited him and his family in Paris on occasion to stay with them when she traveled.
I wonder if she’ll still do that, because as it turns out, the familial issues that kept Fabron from joining our board was that he and his wife went through a very contentious divorce. I’m thinking his newly single status and the appreciative gleam in his eye when he called Avril beautiful was to be expected.
I wonder what Fabron would think if he knew that Avril went to a sex club to get her kicks nowadays, and she probably wasn’t interested in having a long-distance love affair with a Frenchman.
We’ve not really discussed The Wicked Horse since that one and only day in my office. I have not gone back, and Avril hasn’t invited me. I know she’s still going though because Dane told me that he sees her there on occasion. I’ve wanted to pump him for information, but I haven’t worked up the guts to do so.
I mean… what would I ask?
Do you watch her?
Does she watch you?
Are you two fucking?
I shake my head to dispel that. There’s no way they’re fucking. I’d be able to tell, and when the three of us are within the boundaries of our professional relationships with each other, we are just the same as we ever were. I can detect absolutely no change in Avril and Dane’s relationship, although I’ll grudgingly admit that Avril seems happier and more relaxed at work. I wonder if that’s because she’s getting her world rocked frequently at a sex club.