Muse [18+] • REVISING

07 | Femme de Sexe

V E R A

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It had officially been a month since I moved to Paris, as well as three weeks since I started working at Musée de l'Érotisme. While I haven't had the easiest time settling in, I was still grateful for everything I had experienced so far. This also happened to be the first time that I felt like I actually fit in somewhere.

Entering my office, satisfaction filled me up as there was a newfound warmth the room had given off due to me finally settling in and truly making it a space I felt comfortable in. I filled the once blank walls with small pieces I had finished over the past month as well as a few works I picked up when Cordelia and I had raided an artists' auction. I also placed some picture frames on the bookshelves—some of my parents, some of Eli and I, and some baby ones.

Sitting at my desk, I tried reading through my emails but was too distracted to thoroughly comprehend anything I was looking at. In fact, I hadn't been able to focus on work for a while now.

I would have had a much easier time concentrating if it wasn't for the fact that I hadn't seen Damien in three weeks, the last time being when I had been tied up and bent over my boss's knee.

The day he and I had overstepped our boundaries with each other, he was called to Marseille for some kind of business-related emergency and has been gone since. On top of Damien being absent, Cordelia had put me in charge of everything that Damien was responsible for doing as he sent her to a collector's convention somewhere in Toulouse.

For the past three weeks, it had been Nicolas and I in charge of the entire museum's operation. Why they couldn't have chosen one of the sixty other people they've employed here to work at the helm instead of me, was a whole riddle in itself.

"Hello, Miss Adams. Would you like to go for lunch?" Nicolas asked, knocking on my office door to get my attention. Looking at my watch, I realized I had only been at work for two hours. Why was he asking me to lunch?

"Isn't it a bit early for lunch? I haven't done much work yet—" I tried to reply but was interrupted with his laugh.

"Miss Adams, it's not always work here. Play is just as important. Here in France, if we decide we want to have a break, we take it. I am making the decision for both of us right now to take a break." He said, gesturing his hand for me to come with him.

"I don't know..." I said, hesitantly. Damien had put me in charge of the grand reopening of an exhibit here and making sure it was ready before he returned. All I had left to do was check off a few more things from my list and it would be ready to go for this weekend.

"If you're worried about Damien and the exhibit, don't be. You've done a fantastic job and I'm sure he'll be pleased when he returns this afternoon." Nicolas said, causing a sudden panic within me.

"He's coming back today? When were you going to tell me? When he was standing outside?" I snapped, standing up from my chair and frantically pacing around.

"Attitude, Miss Adams. Don't forget, I am still one of your superiors." He added, crossing his arms.

While Nicolas had been much nicer when it came to how he treated me, there was still a part of him that led with authority. I knew better than to talk back to him, especially someone that has helped me do my job while everyone else was gone. But like Damien had said, my impatience had a way of showing up in other aspects of my life. This was no exception.

"I-I'm sorry, sir, I'm just stressed. I feel like I haven't been doing my best lately. Look—if I go with you to lunch, will you promise that I'll be back in time to finish this exhibit?" I asked.