“This is Brie Anderson.”
Margot’s mouth opens and whatever she’s about to say, Adrien stops it with, “She’s my girlfriend.Be nice.”
“I’m always nice.”She waves her hand dismissively, but my distinct impression is he cut her off from saying something that would have been anything but nice.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, inserting myself between the siblings.
“Anderson…that name’s not familiar,” Margot pauses, studying not only my face, but also my outfit.“What happened to…” her eyes narrow, and I can practically see her trying to figure out if I’m the woman from Monaco with a different name, or if her brother has already dismissed that woman and moved on.
“Brie, would you mind giving my sister and me a minute?”
“Of course,” I say.“I’m going to go down to the basement.Meet me there?”
“Why don’t you head to the security office?Macon is waiting.I won’t be five minutes behind you.”
“Security.This sounds serious.Do you work in security, Ms.Anderson?”Margot asks.
Before I can answer, Adrien’s hand falls to my lower back to usher me out of his office.His touch shouldn’t affect me in front of his sister, shouldn’t register at all when we’re about to fire a potential threat.But my body doesn’t care about professional boundaries anymore.It remembers last night, this morning—all of our stolen moments.
“Forgive my sister.She’s naturally nosy.I’ll be with you in a few minutes.Aaron?”His assistant perks up upon hearing his name.“Will you escort Ms.Anderson to the security floor.Tell Macon that I’ll be five minutes late to the meeting, and Ms.Anderson will be joining us.”
“Yes, sir,” he answers, but the office door closes before sir has left his mouth.
Girlfriend.
The word echoes as Aaron leads me toward security.Adrien didn’t say bodyguard.Didn’t say consultant.He saidgirlfriend.
My first instinct is to correct it—to restore the lines, the distance.But the part of me that woke up tangled in his arms this morning doesn’t.That part lets it stand.Just for now.
We aren’t normal.I know that.But the word still lands somewhere warm and unsettling.
Aaron is quiet.Polite.A little too eager to be agreeable.Which makes him useful.
“Does Margot visit often?”I ask, keeping my tone casual.
“She lives in France.I didn’t know she was arriving.”
That tracks.Adrien hadn’t either.
“How long have you worked for Mr.d’Avricourt?”
“I’m a temp.But I’ve been here about a month.”
He rubs his fingers together as we walk—like he’s trying to spark warmth.A possible tell.Or just nerves.I’m in no position to judge.I’ve spent the entire morning policing my own reactions, pretending I don’t remember the way Adrien looked at me over breakfast.
“I schedule meetings with his sister.”Aaron adds, as if realizing too late that he’s said something notable.“You know—time zones and all.”
He schedules meetings with her.
Interesting.
Then again, Margot d’Avricourt isn’t just a sister anymore.She’s the CEO of a billion-dollar conglomerate.Managing access to her—even for family—probably comes with its own protocol.
As we head toward the security meeting, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing something important.Maybe it’s just pre-operation nerves, but Eddie’s absence feels less like coincidence and more like preparation.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Adrien
