________

BRYAN

 

Two weeks later I was a nervous wreck as I waited for Sebastian and three executives to meet me in the penthouse.  I was really proud of my work and it was better than anything I had ever done at the boutique.  It was amazing what could be done with an unlimited amount of funds.  The master closet was a work of art, if I did say so myself, and as I was designing it, I vowed that one day I would have a closet like that.  I wanted to prove myself at the company so that I could be promoted quickly and often.

 

Sebastian walked in a couple of minutes later with Tom, Jeremy and Mila and I wished there was a way I could have captured the look on their faces when they first walked in.  They walked around looking in every room and I just waited for them to return to the main room when they were done.  They were all smiling when they came back to the living room and it made me feel really good.  Their expressions solidified what I already knew about my talent.  Sebastian was the first to say something.

 

“Bryan, you did a phenomenal job.  The penthouse is immaculate and beautiful.”

 

“Yes, Bryan, it looks amazing in here. You are so talented and will be a real asset to the company.” Mila was the head of art direction and a compliment like that from her meant a lot to me.

 

Sebastian looked over at me and smiled.  “Well I guess there is no question that you are perfect for the Paris trip.  I suggest you go home and pack your things because we are leaving tomorrow.”

 

I looked at all of them in disbelief.  “Tomorrow?”

 

They nodded in unison.  I had been so busy over the past two weeks I didn’t even have a chance to talk to Carl and tell him everything that was going on.  I would have to email him from Paris.  The whirlwind was just about to begin.

 

~*~*~*~

 

I had never been on a private plane and it was easily the most exciting experience I had ever had in my 22 years.  The plane had three bedrooms and a conference room along with two showers.  I was blown away by how gorgeous it was and how much it felt like an apartment.  There were six of us from the company on the flight so I didn’t really have a lot of alone time with Sebastian but it gave me a great opportunity to get to know everyone else. Mila, Jeremy and Eva were having lunch in the conference room and Sebastian pulled me into one of the bedrooms.  I giggled as he wrapped me in his arms.

 

“What are you doing? They are going to see us.”

 

He leaned down and kissed me softly at first and then with more passion. My arms instinctively wrapped around his shoulders as I pressed my body to his and we both let out soft moans.  He gave me one last soft peck before slightly pulling away and looking at me.

 

“I have been wanting to do that all day.  Bryan, I am so happy that you are coming to Paris with me. This is going to be amazing.”

 

“I am excited to be going to Paris with you and with the company. I can’t wait to get started on designing my store.  We are going to be here for four weeks, right?”

 

“Well, the unveiling is in four weeks and we are going to have a gala to unveil all of the work that we will be doing over the next few weeks.  The gala will be held the night before everyone is scheduled to fly back to the United States, but I have a surprise for you.”

 

I looked at him, my eyes bright and eager. I loved surprises.  “You do?”

 

“Yes, you and I will be staying in Paris for an additional week and we are going to do a little bit of traveling and sightseeing since we won’t have much time to do that while we are working.”

 

I felt like I was living a dream. The opportunities I was getting were not things that happened to people like me. I was initially kind of bummed that I wouldn’t be able to do much sightseeing while I was working, especially because I had never been to Paris, but Sebastian had just made it all better.  A week with him in Paris, just the two of us, it was going to be amazing and I couldn’t wait. I felt like the next five weeks of my life were going to be the best weeks I had ever had. I flung my arms around him and gave him a big hug.

 

“Oh my gosh, thank you! I can’t wait to see Paris with you! It is going to be so amazing. How am I supposed to focus on work when I know that I have a wonderful trip with you coming up at the end of everything?”

 

His eyes sparkled as he smiled at me.  “I wanted you to have something special to look forward to because I knew that the next four weeks were going to be grueling.”

 

I pulled his face down to me and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. “Thank you, Sebastian, I can’t wait.”

 

He winked at me and gave me one last quick peck on the lips.  “Okay, we better get out there before they start wondering where we are. We don’t want anyone to start talking about us.”

 

I wondered when we were going to be able to tell people about us because there was no way I was going to be his little secret forever. But I decided to let that question go for the moment. I had more important things to focus on for the next four weeks and I figured when we were alone in Paris we could talk more about what was happening with us.  Thankfully the others were still eating lunch when we left the bedroom.

 

“Why don’t you go join the others and have lunch with them, I have some things to do.”

 

“Okay.” I went into the conference room and Eva gave me a look.

 

“I was wondering where you were, is everything okay?” she asked.

 

“Oh yeah, everything’s fine, I was just going over some last-minute questions.”

 

“You don’t have to worry about anything, you’ll totally be fine. I heard your penthouse design was beautiful and I actually can’t wait to get started working with you.”

 

I looked around at everyone at the table and asked my novice question.  “So how exactly is this going to work? How many stores are left for us to design? I know that I’m working on one store, but is there a ton of work left for everyone else to do? I want to help out as much as I can.  Also, what are we calling the mall?”

 

Mila chimed in. “The mall will be called Chateau Magnifique.  You will be designing the store called Ciel Pur, and there are four other stores that we are going to be working on but we have a team in Paris that is meeting up with us and helping us out. I don’t know if Sebastian told you, but you also have someone from the Paris team who is going to help you. Eva, do you know if Pierre is the point person for Bryan’s store?”

 

“No I think Michele is the go to person in Paris for the store we are working on.  When we arrive, you will meet everyone in the Paris office and then we are going to get started right away on designing the store. Between laying out the design, ordering fabrics, furniture and accessories, we will probably finish up right around the deadline but we have to make sure that we are 100% complete by that time.  Honey, the gala is going to be major and easily the event of the season. I hope you packed a beautiful suit.”  She looked at me and then chuckled. “What am I talking about? We are going to find something fabulous for you in Paris!”

 

Mila, Tom and Jeremy left the room and I was happy that they did because I didn’t want them to know how broke I was.

 

“Eva, I can’t afford to buy a suit in Paris, I’m sure it will cost a fortune!   I brought a couple of nice suits so I’m sure one of them will be fine.”

 

“One of them will be fine? Sweetie, this is Paris and this is an elegant affair in Paris for a very prestigious company. Are you not aware of what a big deal Blocke Designs is? The suit will be on me, don’t worry about it.”

 

“Yes, of course I know what a big deal we are.  I’ve only wanted to work here forever!  Eva, that is a very generous offer but I cannot let you do that.”

 

“Consider it already done. Now don’t argue with me about this. We’re landing in a couple of hours and I’m going to get a little bit of shut eye before we do and I suggest you do the same; because once we land it is going to be a nonstop, wild ride.”

 

I gave her a big smile.  “I can’t wait!”

 

When our car pulled up to the hotel I knew I looked like the biggest tourist in the world and I probably looked like I had never seen anything nice in my life, but it was so beautiful it literally took my breath away. We were all staying in the same hotel but we were each on different floors and Eva said the company always did that because while they wanted us to work hard, they also wanted us to have privacy while away from work.

 

My room was stunning.  It smelled like vanilla and it was just beautiful inside. I would say the décor was shabby French chic and it was a little slice of heaven for me. I tipped the bellmen after he brought my bags to my room and then for the first time in several hours I was alone.  I looked around and plopped down on my bed and lay there for just a minute soaking it all in.  I was in Paris.  A couple of minutes later I got up and walked around my suite checking out everything right down to the cute little soaps that were in my gorgeous marble bathroom, when I heard a knock at the door.

 

I went to my door and looked out the peephole but did not see anyone.  I didn’t open it because I was in a foreign country and it could have been anyone. I just assumed that someone had knocked on the wrong door. I walked back over to my suitcase to begin to unpack when I heard the knock again.  I looked at the door, walked over to it, looked out the peephole and again, no one. While standing at the door I heard the knock again but finally realized it wasn’t coming from the front door.  I spun around and looked in a corner across the room and saw a door that I had assumed was just a closet. I walked over to the door, pressing my ear against it.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Sebastian.” Chills ran down my arms as his deep, sexy voice permeated the wall between us.

 

I turned the lock and a second later there he was standing in front of me.  I looked at him in disbelief and with a little bit of excitement as I jumped into his arms.

 

“We are on the same floor and have an adjoining door? Just like with our offices!”

 

His crystal blue eyes sparkled at me.  “Of course, I had to be close to you.  We have a meeting in an hour with our team here in Paris so why don’t you change and we will meet in the lobby.”

 

“Okay.”

 

He gave me a quick peck and then closed the door.

 

I hopped in the shower; still not believing it was all real and so grateful for the opportunity.  I was determined to do a good job and make a good impression.  I put on a suit and went down to the lobby ready to get started.

 

We all rode in a limo over to the office building and I was filled with nervous excitement as we walked into the office.  If I thought everyone in the New York office was dressed impeccably, the people in the Paris office put them to shame.  Every single person looked like they were wearing couture and they all looked rich.  I hoped I looked like that one day.  It was definitely something to aspire to.  Everyone was very friendly toward me and I was surprised that no one turned their nose up at my discount designer suit.  I had brought my best clothes and because I knew my clothes were not as nice as everyone else’s I made sure I at least looked neat and professional.

 

As we sat around a conference table, Sebastian made introductions.

 

“Jean-Luc, Michele, Emmanuelle, Adelaide, Alain, Florine, and Frederic, I would like for you to meet Bryan Steele.  Bryan just completed a beautiful design of my corporate penthouse in New York and I am sure you will all welcome him and answer any questions he may have.”

 

The responses were immediate and I could tell that every single person in that room hung on every word Sebastian said.  They were all very welcoming and I had a really good feeling about everyone.  The vibe in the room was awesome and the energy was high.  Sebastian looked around the room and asked if anyone had any questions and when there weren’t any he looked satisfied.

 

“Okay, so we will get started tomorrow morning at 8:00.  We have had a long flight, and are going to get some much-needed rest.  I just wanted to make sure we got in front of you before we got the ball rolling.  Four more stores to go and Chateau Magnifique will be a beauty brought to life!  We will see you tomorrow everyone.”

 

We confirmed working logistics in the limo and Eva was going to swing by my room at 7:30 so we could head over to the space at the mall together the next morning.  Sebastian had a ton of meetings and Eva told me he was rarely ever present during the overseas trips because he was always booked with meetings.  I was actually happy to hear that because Sebastian was a distraction and I needed to have my head in the project 100 percent.

 

Sebastian had a meeting with executives who were in from Switzerland so he did not ride back in the limo with us.   We all went our separate ways at the hotel and I couldn’t wait to change into comfy clothes, order room service and crash.  I had a long month ahead of me.