Maxim Chernov was not a calm man. He had always been high strung, and defecting had left him positively paranoid. So when he'd seen the patio jam packed save the one specific table, he'd anxiously glanced at all the patrons before rushing away to make his report.
Which is why today, hovering by the door to the decadent sitting room of his employer, he was in a state of near-panic to see two familiar faces inside.
A beautiful and dainty woman with long lashes and perfect posture sat on an emerald loveseat with her male companion, both smiling widely as their host animatedly told some anecdote. Chernov entered the room hastily, an old tic in his right eye fluttering. "Sir," he interrupted suddenly, earning a curious look from the woman and an irritated one from the man he addressed, "I beg your pardon, but there's a matter of urgency I need to bring to your attention."
______
"Almost ready, Princess?"'
"I've been ready for an hour, Solo," Gaby replied with a roll of her eyes. She turned the page of her book, listening to the man hum as he gave himself one last look-over in the mirror.
"You know, when I proposed to you on the patio, you seemed less than enthused," he commented, coming to sit beside her as he put on his shoes of glossy Italian leather.
"How excited do you expect a woman to be during her second proposal of the day?"
He huffed a small chuckle and tightened his laces. "There was something brewing and I wanted to know what. Sometimes the best way to spy is to be seen. People's reactions are very telling."
She gave him a smirk and put her book aside, standing up to tower over him for a few precious moments with her hands on her hips. "And what did you discover about the brewing, mm, Nicky?"
Napoleon craned his neck up and gave her his signature smile, closing his hands over hers. Leveraging himself by his hold on her slender frame, he pulled himself up to his full height, staring down at her. They were close, too close, and Gaby shivered in spite of herself as Solo gripped her hips more tightly. "Not a damn thing, Fürstin," he replied with an undeniable husk to his voice. "Not yet." Releasing her from his grasp, he made his way to the door of the hotel room, glancing back as she remained stationary. "Coming?"
______
Chernov's employer shut the door a little too firmly behind him as he vacated the sitting room in which his guests lounged. "I told you I was busy," he snarled at the antsy underling.
"I-I beg pardon, but, but those two, they were-"
"At the cafe, I know."
Maxim gawped at the taller man and received a cuff upside the head for his troubles. "That's why I've brought them here, you fool," his employer hissed. He turned away, reentering the room with a beaming smile suddenly washing over his features. "Excuse me, my friends, for my man's impolite behaviour," he offered effusively, earning a incline of the head from Solo and an indulging smile from Gaby.
"Not at all, Monsieur Garreau," she replied softly. The man in question sauntered toward the drink cart at which he'd previously been occupying himself. "Where were we?," he asked over the quiet clink of ice being dropped in a tumbler.
"You were telling us of the last proposal that you had witnessed in this darling city," Gaby prompted, and 'Nicky' hummed in agreement.
"Ah! But that was so long ago. And this! This is the present, your moment. A toast, then, to the lovely new couple." Garreau held his glass up to his guests with a grin.
"You honour us, Monsieur Garreau," Napoleon replied, after drinking in unison with his soon-to-be bride and their obliging host. "Had I known such an outcome would occur at my asking Colette to marry me, I would have done so much earlier." He earned a chuckle from the man and a playful (or so it would appear) swat on the arm from the lady. "You know I would not have accepted you so easily," she replied in a over-sweetened tone.
"Oh?," Garreau intoned with amusement in his eyes. "Had the groom some flaws to be corrected? I'm a very curious man, Mr. Harding, you must indulge me."
Napoleon laughed warmly in response. "Colette only means to say that had I proposed sooner and in my previous vocation, she would not have been at liberty to give me her-" he paused, kissing her wrist with a wicked glint in his eye - "beautiful hand." Gaby suppressed the shiver that ran through her at the touch of his lips to her flesh, feeling suddenly guilty for a reason she couldn't define.
"And what, pray tell, was this disagreeable form of employment?"
"Imports and exports."
The older man snorted at the response, draining the rest of his glass and setting it down. "A noble profession, I daresay," he chuckled, coming to sit across from his guests. "But perhaps not the sort one would settle down in." Solo nodded silently, a smirk listing to the left on his face. "And what do you do now, Mr. Harding? Other than propose to beautiful women in cafes." Gaby affected a modest blush and her partner silently congratulated her improving acting skills.
"Now," he answered, a more serious tone filtering into his voice, "I am a cultural advisor to.... certain emissaries." He looked to Gaby quickly, as if trying to cover a near-blunder. "My love, I've just remembered we need to deliver a parcel on our way back to the hotel. We really should be going." He turned back to Garreau apologetically. "I am truly sorry to cut your hospitality short, but may we repay you in kind? Join us for dinner tomorrow."
Garreau smiled and inclined his head to affirm. "Worry not. I would be happy to dine with you, my new friends. Just leave the address with my man as you go, and we shall meet again tomorrow."
Many pleasantries and thanks were exchanged as the young couple left, at last escaping to the street arm in arm. Their host peered down from his curtained window, something between a smile and a grimace on his face. Their tail was quick and quiet; he would not be noticed. Soon they would know everything about Mr. Nick Harding, his employer, and what business they had in the city.
Garreau felt a prickling at the back of his neck, an alarm to someone else's presence. The expression he wore vanished, with only stone in its place. "Come in, Maxim, we have work to do."
A/N: Hello my dears! Thank you so much for reading my nonsense and for the sweet words in the comments! I hope you enjoy where I take this, and I do apologize for the slow pace at which I publish. Hope you had a lovely weekend! Xoxox! - FF
