Beauty and Beast Inc

Chapter 24

The next few days followed kind of the same format as the first one. We had meetings in the morning and early afternoon and then we would go sightseeing around Paris for the rest of the day. We went to some more museums, spent an afternoon at Versailles, had an early dinner at Cafe de Fleurs, and passed Moulin Rouge but we never actually went in per my request. Elias even extended the trip past Monday, much to my delight.

Two evenings in particular had me rather stricken. The first we had just came back from a casual dinner in the city, eating crepes bought from a street vendor and wandering the streets. Elias and I still had some work to do and I was sitting in his room on his bed doing work on my laptop, transcribing some notes from earlier that I needed to email to Olivia for her to print and give to some of the partners who were still in New York and not yet in Paris. The time difference made this important to get done quickly so my fingers were flying across the keyboard as Elias read some reports at his desk.

"Hey, can you check this to see if this is right?" I held a piece of paper out to him with a bunch of numbers on it, still typing with one hand. He stood and walked over, sitting on the bed as he scanned over the sheet as I continued to type.

"Yes, it's all correct," he handed it back to me.

"Good because I did it all in my head," I responded, glancing up briefly from my screen. He looked mildly impressed and I smirked and went back to work.

He brought his stuff over from the desk and sat on the bed next to me, resuming his reading. I looked at him but he was absorbed in his work so I went back to mine. Besides he was clear on the other side of the bed so whatever the far reaches of my mind were trying to get me to think it wasn't going to work. 

We worked in comfortable silence for a few more hours when I finally finished at two in the morning and my eyelids were fluttering as I hit send.

I sighed and leaned back on the pillows, the laptop still on my lap and papers spread out all around me.

"Belle why don't you go to bed," Elias whispered, taking my laptop and setting it on the ground.

I mumbled a noise and turned away from him, snuggling deeper into the pillows. I was slipping off into unconsciousness when I felt a blanket being draped around me and most of the lights turning off, saving for the one on Elias's side of the bed. I drifted off into sleep and woke up in the morning, gray light filtering into the room.

I blinked sleepily and noticed the light was on in the bathroom and the sound of the shower running. I fell back asleep and my eyelids cracked open at the sound of the bathroom door opening and Elias walked out in nothing but a towel.

Boy I was wide awake then but too afraid to move as I watched him walk over to his suitcase and pull out some clothes with one hand while the other held the towel. His hair was still wet and his back muscles rippled as he moved. He turned to lay something on the bed and I took a sharp breath. It's not like I hadn't seen him shirtless, I had once after that time in the park, but I was too mad at him to appreciate it. Now I had all the time in the world. He straightened up and the towel slipped a little and I squeaked and Elias looked up at me, a little surprised.

"Good morning," he said, a little surprise in his voice.

"Uh, good-good morning," I stuttered.

"You can go back to sleep if you want, its rather early," he gathered up his clothes, seemingly unbothered at being practically naked in front of me.

"Uh, okay," I answered but I just couldn't stop staring at him.
  
He chuckled and started walking towards the bathroom. "If you can fall back to sleep that is." He closed the door and I blinked. I think I would go take my own shower now, and maybe I'd be able to wash that conversation away.

That evening we had just spent the day at Versailles and I was a little flushed from the sun and all the walking, but Elias had eluded to a very nice dinner so I slipped on this soft lilac dress his cousin had left for me and some heels and he had on a button-down and some slacks and was smiling when I walked into the sitting room.

"Ready little rose?" he held out his arm and I took it and we went and had a lovely dinner at a restaurant on the river. We ate by candlelight and the soft glow of the lights they had strung throughout the restaurant and I don't think I'd ever had such delicious food in my life.

I was feeling a little sleepy and ready to hit the soft pillows on my bed but Elias wasn't done yet so I gave a sleepy laugh and followed as the car drove along and then stopped in front of a very glittery Eiffel tower.

I was suddenly very awake as my door opened and Elias pulled me out and walked me to the fast pass line where we were escorted to the elevator and slowly we climbed up to the top. I was holding Elias's arm for support and when the doors opened I shot out and immediately ran to the railing. The city was like a glowing spiderweb all around me and I looked around in bewilderment. A cool breeze was blowing so high up and I shivered a little but kept walking to all four sides and I was never disappointed.

"Ugh, it's so beautiful. I just... I've never been so in love with anything as I've been with this city," I explained to him, leaning against the rails as I watched the cars below.

"I'm glad you like it," he said, joining me against the railing. I hadn't noticed him on his phone behind me while I walked around, but now it was in his pocket on silent and I had all of his attention.

"I think my father would have loved it. He's been a few times when he was much younger with his family and once with my mother, but he never got to take me. His grandfather or great-grandfather helped build the worlds fair here, the first one," I told him with a hint of pride in my voice. "A family of inventors..."

I sighed, thinking of my father and I got a pang of homesickness for a home I didn't really have anymore. Elias took a step closer to me so our arms were brushing and I looked over at him and the sad expression on his face, deep in thought. He was looking down at the people on the sidewalk, his eyebrows furrowed together and hands folded tightly. He turned his eyes towards me and I saw all of that sadness at once, but only for a quick moment. He was more homesick than I was and while I would eventually get my father back he wouldn't. He seemed to have so much to lose and yet nothing at the same time.

We stared at each other and my heart was pounding but he just straightened himself up and flicked some dirt off his shirt sleeve.

"I have something for you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope with my name written on it in beautiful script.

I gave him a confused look but I opened it. Inside was an invitation to a ball to celebrate the company's expansion into Paris. It was being held just outside of Paris at some fancy chateau the night before we were supposed to leave, tomorrow.

"You? A ball?" I gave a curt laugh. "Was this your idea?"

Elias shook his head. "It was the partner's idea, I didn't have much say."

I laughed and nodded. "I accept, but I don't exactly have a ballgown to wear," I laughed and he shook his head.

"I've already taken care of it."

"Of course you have," I took a deep breath. "Thank you."

He nodded and we turned back to the railing, the invitation clutched in my hand. I shivered again from the breeze and Elias noticed and very slowly with what I assume was much thought, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arm. I smiled at his attempt and leaned into him, gazing out at my city of lights and love. After a few minutes, he broke away from me.

"Ready?" he held out his arm but I took his hand and we walked towards the elevators together, the only people left on top of the world.