The Deadly Nightshade | { BOOK 1 of The Flower series }

[53] Francesca Sawyers

⏳ 2014, Paris

The large crowd of people mingling, enjoying the catering, talking about business. . .it was all the same for the eighteen-year-old daughter of the third richest family in the continent. She walked around, her dark brown eyes going from one person to the next. She kept a polite smile on her face as he mother's words repeated in her mind; You're a lady, show elegance and respect to everyone you walk past. Please keep our family name in the positive press, not the negative.

But she didn't care. She wasn't the most known family member because she didn't like being in the spotlight. Her older brother took most of the attention to help boost his ego. Plus, he was about to take over their father's enterprise company, and the press was all over him.

"Hey! Francesca!" Liam, her older brother, called after her in a French accent.

She glanced over her shoulder, her long dark ginger hair whipping to the side as she looked over in his direction. The ginger-haired boy waved her over to a group of his rich friends, and she mentally rolled her eyes. She strolled over to the table with a fake smile on her face. "Bonjour messieurs," she greeted in her crisp and rounded voice that sounded mellow.

Hello, gentlemen.

"Les gars, c'est ma petite soeur, Francesca," Liam introduced his friends to his sister. "Francesca, this is Juan Silva, Odell Peterson, and Tyler Brooks."

Guys, this is my younger sister, Francesca.

Tyler was the first to extend his hand out for her to grasp. "Êstes-vous deux jumeaux?" He joked since Liam and Francesca looked a lot alike. They could fool anyone that they were twins, but Liam was three years older than her.

Are you two twins?

Francesca chuckled, shaking her head. "Non, nous ne sommes pas."

No, we're not.

Tyler's crystal blue eyes shone with amusement as he backed away to allow Juan to introduce himself properly. The black-haired male smiled at her politely as he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Francesca," Juan said in a heavy Cuban accent.

She returned the smile, understanding the language the boy was speaking in. "You too, Juan."

Odell was the last one, and when Francesca turned her attention on him, he froze. He scratched the back of his neck nervously as he gulped, sticking out his other hand for her. "Bonjour."

Francesca grasped his hand, noticing his bright hazel eyes held nervousness. Liam and his other two friends were quietly snickering at Odell's behavior. She shook her head at the three boys before sending Odell a warm smile. "Tu parle francais?"

Do you speak French?

The hazel-eyed boy blushed in embarrassment. "Um, huh?"

Francesca chuckled, nodding as she understood that he was only limited to English. She pointed behind her towards the bar. "You want to get a drink with me?"

"Yeah, sure, okay," Odell rambled as he moved out from behind the table. He caught up with Francesca, who was already leaving. She held up her head with confidence as she got judgmental stares. They had stopped by the bar, and the bartender smiled at them. Francesca spoke smoothly as she gave off the drink order, even ordering Odell's for him.

Odell cracked a small smile. "Whoa, you sure know your drinks."

The ginger chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, if you had to deal with my family every day, I think anyone would know." She handed the rounded wine glass that was filled with Merlot to Odell. Her glass was filled with Cabernet Sauvignon. She brought the glass rim to her lips as she took a steady sip.

"So Francesca, how can you speak English so fluently, yet, Liam struggles to have a decent conversation with me and Juan?" Odell questioned, swirling the dark red liquid around.

"My father takes me to America every four months for business purposes," Francesca started to explain, her gaze lowered. "The daughter of one of my father's business partners actually inspired me to start learning. I'd see her every once in a while as we waited for our fathers to finish their meetings. We tried to make small talk, but neither of us understood what we were saying, so she taught me English, and I taught her French." She shook her head at the thought of her own brother. "Maybe one day he will learn."

"Well, whenever you revisit her, tell her that I said 'thank you' because if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be able to have a conversation with the most beautiful girl here."

Francesca raised a dark brow, nodding as she brought her drink to her red lips. "Hmm, not a bad pick-up line. Who knew that the nervous boy had game."

Odell let out a small laugh as he smirked. "Just trying to impress you." He scooted his body closer to her, his side leaning against the bar counter as he looked down at her. "Is it working?"

She stared at him with a blank expression. "You talking about it is making it fail."

He released an awkward cough when the bartender had overheard and snickered as he filled up three wine glasses. "Well, that's embarrassing."

Francesca giggled, her dark eyes twinkling with amusement. "I'm just messing with you." She sighed, fiddling with the rings on her fingers. "Besides, I haven't seen Jade in two years. She stopped showing up to the meetings with her father."

Odell stared down at her with sympathy as he noticed the sad expression on her face. "There must've been a reason."

"Her father, Mr. Stark, never spoke about her whereabouts, so who really knows," Francesca mumbled under her breath.

Odell's hazel eyes widened, almost choking on the wine in his mouth. He swallowed, placing his glass down on the counter. "Mr. Stark? As in, Tony Stark, the man who used to own Stark Enterprises?"

Francesca looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "I see that you must know him."

He flashed her an admirable smile. "Who doesn't? I look up to that guy as if he's a god. He's my biggest role model ever."

"Have you ever met him?"

Odell let out a quiet scoff as he shook his head. "No, my parents hate him. They assume that all he cares about is money and himself. Even once said that he probably rolls around in large amounts of cash before he goes to bed. To piss everyone off."

Francesca snorted, trying to hold back her laughter. "Wow."

He nodded, cracking a smile as he watched her laugh at what his parents had to say about Tony Stark. "But, uh, Jade, she went missing back in 2012. She's still not found, so honestly, she's probably dead."

Her eyes widened in pure shock. "Really? I had no idea."

"Yeah, it was a shame to hear," Odell started. "From what I saw of her, she seemed like a really good person."

Francesca smiled, thinking back on the conversations she and Jade shared. "Yeah, this kid had visions of making the world better. It was crazy to hear how much she wanted to do. I told her that I would definitely help her out."

"You know, Liam is taking over your father's company. You could do whatever Jade wanted to do," Odell suggested.

Francesca nodded. "Yeah, I did have a career path that I wanted to indulge in, but hearing that she is possibly dead, I would love to carry on her dream."

Odell nodded his head towards the exit of the building that the party was being held in. "Come on, let's have actual fun. I heard that there's a specific building straight on from the Eiffel Tower and it provides a great view. Wanna go?"

Francesca looked up from the counter to meet Odell's hazel eyes, a tiny smirk evident on her face. "Thought you'd never asked."

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