Gillaume Men #01: Ranzar Craestok

CHAPTER 10: Chauffeur Duty

~ Julliane Laurent ~

"Julli, my dear you're finally here", Mrs. Clayton said as she pulled me for a hug and greeted me outside of a restaurant near my hotel. She invited me to have dinner with her inner friends here in L.A. and I gladly said yes when she asked.

"Hello, Mrs. Clayton. How are you?" I asked as I kissed her cheeks as greetings.

"Oh I'm great dear, now let's get inside so you can meet some of my acquaintances here in L.A.", she said as she guided me inside the restaurant.

I was in awe of how the place was decorated inside. It's a combination of continental and modern, and colors of teal and black.

We arrived at the table and there were five other ladies already seated on it. All of them were dressed in elegant dresses. I wasn't familiar with most of them but among all of them, the one who caught my eye the most was Mrs. Westbrook, the lady seated on the left side. She wore a blue dress with gold embroidery on it. Then I noticed that I was the only one possibly below their age group.

I tried to turn to Mrs.Clayton to say whether it was alright if I was here, but before I could, she already sat down and gestured for me to do the same. Now, I am sitting across from Mrs. Westbrook who smiles at me.

The whole time, the ladies' talks were about different gossip and rumors roaming around their social circle. To be honest, I find listening to their talk interesting and intriguing--- makes one curious about what more there is. But there is also that bad feeling of being nosy about other people's private lives.

"By the way Kala, is this the young lady you told us about?" one of them asked when the talk finally died down and they now want to shift to another topic.

Mrs. Clayton nodded and they all looked at each other and me with delight.

"Don't worry Julli dear. I will never talk badly about you", she said, probably sensing my small worry.

"Yes, dear, and besides we heard a ton of good things from Kala about you. She would always manage to mention your boutique whenever she has a chance", one of them added and I smiled at them.

"Speaking of her boutique. I heard that your company will handle it Kala", one of them mentioned. Then Mrs. Clayton put down her wine glass.

"Oh yes, but it's Ranzar's company now, not mine." She paused and continued "Though the other day I went shopping with Julli and introduced her to some places. But we haven't really talked about the location yet", Mrs.Clayton added and looked at me for confirmation, which I gave through a form of nod.

"Oh, of course, Ranzar's. Though how will he balance out his concertos and the company?" one of them commented while they sipped on their wine.

"Hmm... He's still on edge about it but I know he'll do the right thing. My darling son wouldn't be foolish to let this opportunity go", I noticed a weird tone from Mrs. Clayton as she replied.

Throughout my years of knowing her, I know that her family is not an ideal one. Though I wanted to comfort Mrs. Clayton most of the time, I do know that I shouldn't meddle in these things as I am an outsider in their family. Even though she's what I would consider a great partner and friend to the business, she is also a client.

I need to keep my relationship with people professional as I would say. Having more than that in business is dangerous as it clouds the fair and unbiased judgment of a person. My mind then lingers on the thought of Ranzar Craestok, as he keeps living in my mind rent-free for the past few days.