Paris and us

Chapter 14

I woke up from my sweet dream in Côte d'Azur, and found myself in the piles of old portfolios.

My adventure with the budget started. I was looking at the old accounts for the AP foundation and found something very odd. For the last five years, every sponsored art events hired a PR consulting company called C&W, paying them in several instalment in cheques, 5000 to 8000 euros each time. I had never heard of a PR firm called C&W, and it didn't make sense that AP Group will hire some unknown firm as a consultant. After all, we were not a company with 2 employees. I googled this C&W consultant agency, I found nothing. They didn't even have a company website. That was even more suspicious, a PR firm without a website was nearly impossible in the 21st century. I. The same account, there was the payment to another major PR firm too. All the accounts were approved and signed by Madame De Blois and Charles Portier, who was the VP of the foundation.

I supposed in my budget planning, I had to include the C&W this time too. I did not know what to do with this new piece of puzzle. I sent Aurélien a text to asked him if he is in Paris today.

Yeah, I am at my office in La Défense right now.~ Aurélien

Can I see you now? I replied

I will send someone to pick you in 30 minutes. I am in a meeting.

I went to the top floor with his assistant. She led me to Aurélien's office. I shut the door behind me and locked it.

"Now Miss Pelletier, what did you want to do to me that it required locking the door? The walls are thin, people can hear us if you moan too loud, that is too risky," he smirked.

"If I really wanted to fuck you right now, I would not care of what other people think of it. Let them hear that we had fun while they had to work hard in their sad lives. I needed to talk to you in private. What I am going to say in this room remains between us. I cannot let anyone else know. I don't want someone enter and hear a word."

"Is it private or for work?" His smirk disappeared, now he looked concerned.

"About the company."

"Then we can't say it here. Let's go to a cafe somewhere, then we can talk."

We exited the office together and walked to the elevator, Louis left the conference room with a man and saw us. I avoided his eye contact.

"Hello Delphine, are you coming here to find me for lunch?" He said as he waited with us for the elevator.

"Another time perhaps, not today," I crossed my hand on my chest. Four of us entered the elevator together. This was awkward.

"How was your Easter weekend, Louis?" Aurélien asked.

"Splendid. I took Delphine to my house in Cap Ferrat, we just chilled out there under the sunlight. How was yours?"

"Not as exciting as yours, I was in Milan for a meeting, then we had a family dinner in the house in Lake Como."

How many lakeside villas does a billionaire need? One was definitely not enough, they needed to own at least one per country.

Thank god the elevator went down in 20 seconds. I had enough of their villas properties competition.

"Have a nice day, Louis," I said.

"You too."

I suddenly remembered that I did not bring my purse with me. I pulled on Aurélien's arm and stopped him, "Do you have your wallet with you? Because I had nothing on me, you have to pay for my tea."

"My pleasure, you can order all the drinks on the menu and I will pay for them," he laughed.

Aurélien and I sat in the Starbucks of the other office building. I was pretty certain that it would be a safe place, for none of our French coworkers would walk so far away for a tasteless Starbucks coffee. The clients here are mostly Americans expatriate, or people who suddenly craved for a frappacino.