________

SEBASTIAN

 

I was beginning to get the feeling that Bryan was not completely comfortable in Paris.  He didn’t tell me anything specific, but I could tell something had changed in his voice when I talked to him.  I had to get to the bottom of what was going on because the last thing I wanted was for him to be unhappy.  I decided to give Eva a call to see if there was something going on to cause Bryan discomfort.

 

“Sebastian!  It is so good to hear from you!  How is Switzerland?  Are plans for the hotel moving right along?”

 

We were building a beautiful hotel in Switzerland and it was one of my favorite projects because it was practically effortless.  It was the least stressful project I had ever created and the only thing missing was having Bryan by my side.  If we didn’t have such a hard deadline for Paris, I would have given Bryan the Switzerland project to work on.

 

“Yes, things are fine, no issues.  How are things in Paris?”

 

“To be honest, we had a slight hiccup last week, but now everything is moving along.”

 

My ears perked up.

 

“Slight hiccup?  Did something happen?”

 

She hesitated before she spoke.  “Jean-Luc had a family emergency, so Pierre Toussant filled in for him.  It took about a day to catch him up to speed, but now we are back on track and where we should be.”

 

Pierre Toussant, well that instantly explained why Bryan sounded uncomfortable the last time I spoke with him.  Pierre, while an excellent designer, was a notorious playboy alpha and he had a reputation for just taking what he wanted.  It bothered me that I was not there when Bryan met him because Bryan was just Pierre’s type.  The last thing I needed was to be worried about Pierre going after Bryan.

 

“Hmmm, I was not aware of this.  Why didn’t someone call me?  Jean-Luc should have gotten in contact with me.”

 

“I suppose he didn’t want to bother you, Sebastian.  He had a backup in place in case anything went wrong and we are all working well together, so there is no issue.”

 

“Have you heard from Jean-Luc?  Is everything okay?”  I asked, concerned for his well-being.

 

“We have not heard from him and he has not responded to any of my calls,” she said.

 

“Eva, you really should have called me.  I am going to call Jean-Luc to make sure he is okay.  I will be in touch when I learn more.”

 

“Okay, I’m sorry Sebastian.  We didn’t want to bother you since we had everything all sorted out and we were able to continue working seamlessly on the project.”

 

“Next time something like this happens, let me know.  One more thing; does Bryan seem comfortable around Pierre?”

 

I had to know if I needed to intervene.

 

“As far as I can tell.  Bryan doesn’t really interact with him very much; I am usually the one to work with him.  Don’t worry Sebastian, everything is moving along smoothly.”

 

Little did Eva know that I was not worried about the project, I was concerned about Pierre going after Bryan.

 

“Okay, I will be in touch soon.”

 

As soon as I hung up I dialed Jean-Luc.  On the fourth ring he answered the telephone.

 

“Sebastian, how nice to hear from you!  I suppose you are calling because I had to leave so abruptly.”

 

“Yes, Jean-Luc, that is exactly why I am calling.  What caused you to think that it was acceptable to leave without contacting me and letting me know?”  I did not try to hide my irritation.

 

“I honestly did not want to bother you and knew that you approved of and respected Pierre’s work.  In fact, years ago you told me that I could always call Pierre in an emergency, no questions asked.”

 

He was right.  I had forgotten about that.  Pierre was truly one of the best in the business and I knew the project was in good hands.  I just didn’t want Bryan to end up in Pierre’s hands.

 

“Yes, that is correct.  That slipped my mind.  Well, is everything okay?  The family okay?”

 

“Amelie fell ill and will have to be in the hospital for at least another week.”

 

Amelie was Jean-Luc’s 10-year-old daughter so I was sorry to hear she was so ill.
 

“I am so sorry to hear that, Jean-Luc.  Is she going to be okay?  Do you need anything?  Is there anything I can do?”

 

“Yes, thankfully she will be fine.  Thank you for asking but I am fine.  Aside from being terrified at first, Marie and I are just fine.”

 

“Give Marie my best and kiss Amelie on the cheek for me.  Please let me know how she is doing once she gets home, okay?”

 

“Of course, thank you Sebastian.”

 

“Don’t worry about work.  There are several projects waiting for you when you are ready to come back.”

 

“That means so much, thank you Sebastian.”

 

“Take care, Jean-Luc.”

 

After we hung up, I sat there, playing several scenarios over and over in my head and the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t like Pierre being around Bryan.  I decided to call Bryan later that night and get to the bottom of what, if anything, was going on with Pierre.