Ophélie

Part 51

I shut the door as Fred answers his phone. I watch as Charles sits on the stairs, watching me. I shake my head and turn my back to him.

"Salut Ophélie! Comment allez-vous?" Fred says on the other end of the line. (Hi Ophelia! How are you?)

"Salut Fred. Je vais bien. Excusez-moi de vous déranger. Charles a dit que vous l'aviez appelé à propos de mon contrat pour l'année prochaine." I say lightly. (Hi Fred. I'm doing well. I am sorry to bother you. Charles said you called him about my contract for next year.)

"Oui. J'étais très inquiet lorsque je n'ai pas vu votre nom sur notre liste d'employés. Lorsque je me suis renseigné à ce sujet, on m'a dit que vous n'aviez pas encore soumis votre contrat signé." he explains. (Yes. I was very worried when I didn't see your name on our employee list. When I inquired about this, I was told that you had not yet submitted your signed contract.)

"Il y a une raison pour cela. Je n'étais pas sûr de ce que je voulais faire l'année prochaine." (There is a reason for this. I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do next year.)

"Tu sais que Ferrari adore t'avoir dans l'équipe, Ophélie. Vous avez reçu une offre d'une autre équipe?" he says. (You know Ferrari loves having you on the team, Ophelia. Have you received an offer from another team?)

I laugh. "Non non. Rien de semblable à ça. En fait, si on peut garder ça entre nous pour l'instant. Charles et moi attendons un bébé, et je-" (No no. Nothing like that. Actually, if we can keep this between us for now. Charles and I are expecting a baby, and I-)

Fred cuts me off. "Vous voulez vous concentrer sur votre famille. Je comprends que. Cela signifie-t-il que vous ne travaillerez pas avec nous l'année prochaine?" (You want to focus on your family. I understand that. Does that mean you won't be working with us next year?)

I take a breath. "Oui. Mais je voudrais rester avec Charles jusqu'à ce que le bébé vienne. Si c'est bon." (Yes. But I would like to stay with Charles until the baby comes. If that's okay.)

"Bien sûr, c'est Ophélie. Vous êtes toujours le bienvenu chez Ferrari." he says and I can hear that he genuinely means it. (Of course, it is Ophelia. You are always welcome at Ferrari.)

"Merci Fred. Je m'excuse pour le retard à vous fournir ces informations. J'étais très incertain jusqu'à récemment." (Thanks Fred. I apologize for the delay in providing you with this information. I was very uncertain until recently.)

"Ce n'est pas une décision facile à prendre. Merci de m'avoir appelé. Profitez de votre soirée." he says before we end the call. (It's not an easy decision to make. Thanks for calling me. Enjoy your evening.)

I say goodbye and end the call, staring down at the phone in my hands. I've actually done this.

I look up and see Charles walking towards the door, he's not going to be happy.

He walks over to me and stops a few steps in front of me.

I look up and him and then back at the phone in my hands.

"What did he say?" he asks.

"He said that he understands my decision of wanting to focus on our family." I stand up, look at Charles briefly, and then turn and walk back into the house.

"Ophélie!" Charles calls, I can hear him moving behind me.

I ignore him though, walking upstairs to our bedroom. I pull out a pair of sweatpants and start changing.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"I'm going to my studio to get away from you," I say with a dead voice, not looking at him.