The Billionaire's Pearl Ring

Chapter 7 - The Move

Chapter 7 - The Move

Emily's POV

I get to the address I was supposed to meet Lucille at, but to my absolute shock and horror the place is an airstrip.

"Uhm, sorry, but are you sure this is the right place?" I ask the cab driver, but he shoots me a deadly glare to which I frown. What is wrong with this guy, I am being extra nice.

"You're the one who gave me the address." Re rudely retorts, clearly annoyed that I doubt his knowledge of the area. "Are YOU sure this is the right place?" I catch his glare in the rearview mirror and match it with one of my own. Well he's no fun, but before I can come up with a snarky remark I notice Lucille waving and jumping up and down like a child to get my attention. Honestly, I' not sure if I should be relieved that I'm actually at the right place, or scared of what this means.

"You can drop me off next to the waving lady." I politely tell the driver, not bothering to wipe the smirk of my face. It's going to be only 3 stars for him.

"Emily, I'm so glad you made it. Come, Antoine is going to take your bags on board." She snaps her incredibly well manicured fingers, and a tall man pops up like magic. He looks like a hybrid between butler, chauffeur and pilot. I can't help the small chuckle that escapes my throat.

Clearing my voice awkwardly I ask the million dollar question. "And what exactly are we doing here? Are we going to start our search in this plane?"

"Your search now, cherie. And kind of. Oh, did I fail to mention the job requires relocation to Paris?" She asks innocently.

My mouth falls open and I'm sure my jaw is way down on the tarmac. So I guess I was right about the French accent, but why didn't I ask her sooner?

"You kind of did, yeah." I watch how a flash of disappointment mixed with slight panic crosses her face and I don't know why I said that, but my mouth took over without my brain's consent.

"But since I'm already packed and have nothing tying me to London anymore, I guess I'm cool with that." Lucille's face lights up like it's Christmas morning and I am Santa Claus delivering the present she wished for the whole year. She grins cheekily before looping her arm into mine and we start walking to the plane.

Once inside I need to hold my lower jaw so it wouldn't drop to the floor anymore. I have seen luxury like this only in magazines, reality shows about the rich and famous, and movies. Somehow Lucille seems unphased. She must have worked for this guy for quite some time, that luxury that this is no longer affecting her. Meanwhile, I shamelessly look around touching the soft cream leather seats. Until now flying Economy Plus has been the best treat I ever received. And that was only once when Robert and I flew to Tenerife for our honeymoon.

We both take a seat in the leather heaven that those chairs are, and listen to Antoine who's giving us some information about the weather and landing in Paris. I just nodded without any word registering in my brain. I really hope the man didn't ask me any questions and thought that I was retarded when I would only nod.

The flight was meant to be just 1 hour long, that I understood, and right now we're almost half an hour in, and I spent the whole time agreeing to whatever crazy thing Lucille was saying, including to her suggestion that we pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate. She assured me that my employer would not mind and also told me that I would not be meeting him straight away, but most likely tomorrow or in two days time.

There's a moment of comfortable silence between myself and Lucille, and I take the opportunity to think of my life starting over. I keep looking outside the small plane window, smiling at myself, and marvelling at the same time, at how I managed to somehow be making my way to France in a private jet, to start working for a mysterious young billionaire. OK, I don't really know if he's young or not, but I choose to believe he's not not some old creepy dude.

Lucille is the first to break the silence. "It was the private jet that did it, wasn't it?" When I don't reply she adds "That convinced you to say 'to hell with it' and come to Paris?"

"It totally was!" I say half joking and we both giggle like crazy refilling our champagne glasses. For a woman who's both broke and broken, I'm not doing too bad.

It might have been the champagne or it might have been Lucy, but I spent the last stretch of our flight pouring my heart out to her. For the first time ever, I told someone else the whole story, and it included the part where my parents used me as a bargaining chip. It's great to have someone listen and not judge. Fine, she might have judged, but did it silently and I felt safe, I felt like I had made a friend.

Antoine landed the small plane on what I can tell is another private airstrip, just outside Paris. As we got out of the plane, I noticed a large black SUV waiting for us. The driver took our bags from Antoine and politely held the doors open for me and Lucy to climb in. I didn't dare say anything, or ask anything, already feeling like in a Bond movie.

"We're going to the chateau first, so you can get settled in your new room, and I can give you a tour of the estate." Lucille explains but I tune her out, still focused on the word 'chateau'. My French is limited to say the least, but I believe that's some sorts of castle, isn't it? I think I might have been right about this all along. I'm starting to get excited about finding hidden passages and secret doors when Lucille tells me to look in the distance because we're almost there. And I looked, my mouth hanging open once more. There, in the distance, surrounded by an endless stretch of vineyards, I see a beautiful yet imposing stone structure, not looking quite like a castle, but more like a big mansion.

It only took us a few minutes until the car stopped in front of the majestic building. It truly looks like something out of a fairytale.

"Bienvenue chez moi!" Lucy jumps out and stretches her arms as if she were to introduce me to the house. But why did she say that this is her place? Or maybe I misunderstood. I really need to brush up on my French. I don't want to seem rude only speaking English.

Not minding our bags, she grabs my arm and shows me around the property. The gardens are kept neat and tidy, and I can see a couple of gardeners in the distance working on some topiary, making sure it's trimmed to perfection. My favourite part are the vines that climb up the stone walls and give that enchanting look to the chateau. To say I am in awe would be an understatement, and Lucille drinks in my reaction, pride oozing out of her pores.

"Lucy, bring that girl inside right now. You are being a rude host by keeping our guest outside." A small, curvy woman steps out from the house and points an angry finger at us, while Lucille makes herself small at being scolded.

"I was showing her the garden first, Camille."

"She's not sleeping in the garden, is she? Come inside!"

As we approach the scary, yet sweet, Camille, she surprises me by engulfing my body in a big, tight hug. I kid you not, I have never in my life felt such a loving and motherly hug. I was close to tears and begging this woman to adopt me. Lucy gives me a knowing look and introduces Camille as the majordomo of the house. And no, it does not mean 'butler' as I thought, but instead it means that Camille is the property manager. The older woman explained to me that she's basically 'a mother to those brats' and I was curious to see who the kids were, because so far there is no indication of any children residing in this house. Maybe my employer already has children, I thought.

I was left with Camille as she helped me get to my room, while Lucy said she's going to come find me later. I didn't mind, it felt comforting being in the presence of Camille. She explained a bit of the chateau's history and more about her role here. I was listening to her story and both trying to pay attention to the turns we took, which floor we are on, and I think I'm going to need an escort to get to my room every time. This place is so massive that it should have indoor signs to point you in the right direction.

My room was also huge, and Camille proudly showed me the bathroom and walk in closet, telling me how she performed a miracle arranging everything, considering Lucille only told her about my arrival last night. The room is gorgeous, but the best part, as expected with a place like is, is the balcony. A huge set of french doors open to reveal a small balcony and a breathtaking view.

"I take it you approve?" Camille asked while grinning at me.

"I am speechless. This is beyond amazing and I think you were wrong, Camille. I AM definetely going to sleep outside." We both start laughing and the older woman shakes her head at me and my silliness.

"Oh, cherie, Thomas is going to absolutely love you!" She whispers, but I still hear her lound and clear, before she leaves me alone in my new room to get settled, wondering who Thomas is.