Plot Twist

18. let's talk business

There was one thing I needed to do, and it was to take Sébastien up on his job offer. It wasn't a decision I made lightly, nor one I had actually thought about making, if I'm being honest. My job at the restaurant was steady, and it provided me with the income I needed to make a stable living for Lexi and I. But the pros outweigh the cons.

So, with a handful of hope and a dose of unwanted but inescapable vulnerability, I held up my red umbrella over my head and listened to the downpour of rain hitting the fabric, the soundtrack of my go-getter moment.

However, when I got to my destination, the bakery was closed. That wasn't unusual though - the closed sign was facing the outside most of the time, with Sébastien inside, working on the improvements of the bakery. What was surprising was no one coming out to let me in, after I knocked on the door and announced myself. So, I grabbed my phone and quickly called Sébastien, who answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"You're not at the bakery." Was all I said, while impatience was slowly starting to take over me.

"Non." He chuckled. "I need to rest, too."

"Where are you?" The mixture of a lot of different background noises caused me to choke on a breath. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm at the airport." And just like that, my heart sank. "I had to fly to Paris, but I'm on my way back to London. I'm literally just about to get inside the plane."

"Oh." I was hoping my disappointment in my voice wouldn't show, but that seemed impossible.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just really needed to talk to you." I turned around and, holding my phone with one hand, and the umbrella with the other, I walked back to my house. "Have a safe flight."

"I'll stop by your place after I arrive, we can talk then."

In another time, I would fight it. I would tell him no, he didn't need to come to my place after just coming from Paris and spending hours between airports, security lines and a flight, just for a conversation. But today was not any other time, today I really needed to sit down with him and talk about my future at L'Amour and all the details of the job.

"Okay." I replied. "I'll be waiting."

We hung up the phone and I made my way back to my house, and focused on cooking lunch and a dessert, as a way of distracting me from the lingering thought that replayed in my head of David's lawyer coming to look for me.

What he wanted from me was pretty simple - David, my ex-boyfriend wanted to talk to me, so he sent his lawyer to persuade me to pay him a visit in prison. But as simple as that may seem, it wasn't possible for me. That part of my past - the part that David was involved in - was put behind me for a very long time. I had chosen to do that, in order to protect myself and my future. And there was no way I would be throwing it out the window for some random conversation.

About an hour and half later, Sébastien texted me, letting me know he had just landed in London, and that he'd be taking a cab to my house, as a way of escaping the public transportation commute. I replied with a plain Ok, and went back to the oven to check on the meal I was preparing. I grabbed some lettuce leaves, red onion slices, feta cheese, arugula leaves and washed them thoroughly before quickly fixing up a salad. I was just adding the sauce I had prepared in the blender, when I heard the doorbell ring.

"Sébastien." I said, almost in disbelief, part of me deep down never thinking he'd come so quickly.

"Can I come in?"

I nodded in agreement, matching his smile before stepping aside to let him walk inside my house, just like he had so many times before.

"How was your flight?"