‘She is in the bathroom, so I do not have long to talk, but things haveprogressed…’
‘So you’ve…y’know?’ Cassie said.
‘Oui,’ I confirmed.
‘Amazing!’ Cassie screamed down the phone. ‘And?’
‘Cassie!’ Nico scolded. ‘Gabriel is a gentleman. He will not discuss such details.’
‘I don’t need the ins and outs, pardon the pun!’ She laughed. ‘I just wanted to know whether they connected.Well, clearly, theyconnectedphysically, but I’m asking if he felt that connection. Like, if it felt different.’
‘It did,’ I said. ‘I am more sure than before that she is special.’
‘Bien,’ Nico replied. ‘I am happy for you.’
‘But she said we do not have a future together. That it is just a fling.’
‘I see,’ Nico said, his voice measured. ‘It is still early. Things can change.’
‘He’s right,’ Cassie added. ‘When we first hooked up, there was no way that I thought it’d be more than a one-night thing and look at us now!’
Cassie and Nico had met in London one Christmas when Nico was over from Paris. He invited her to visit him and despite the obstacles, now they were married with a young daughter. Knowing that they had found a way to make it work gave me hope.
‘Sorry! There was a queue,’ Laila said as she stood beside me. ‘Oh! I didn’t realise you were on the phone.’
‘Laila is here,’ I said. ‘À toute à l’heure.’
‘Laters!’ Cassie replied before hanging up.
‘I was just speaking to my friends. They are also coming to the party tonight.’
‘Really?’ Laila’s brows knitted together. ‘How come?’
‘Nico, he…’ I paused, thinking how best to phrase this without revealing more about my app or business situation. It had been nice this week to not have to worry about people’s motives and whether they were just speaking to me because they wanted something.
I knew that Laila would not be like that, but once she found out I had sold my app, she would no doubt mention it to my mother, then everything would become more difficult.
‘Nico is a very influential man,’ I said, downplaying the fact that he was a billionaire. ‘He started as my mentor and now he is a good friend. He is actually an investor in the Love Hotel. It was him and his wife, Cassie, who recommended that I apply.’
‘Oh, wow. I didn’t realise that you had friends in such high places!’ Laila nudged me playfully with her elbow. ‘And good to know that I have them to thank for bringing us together. Nottogether, together, obviously because we’re not?—’
‘Together?’ I raised an eyebrow.
‘Yeah.’
‘I know,’ I said. ‘You may have mentioned that a few times. And I admire you for believing that we will just remain friends or how do you say? Fuckbuddies.’
‘What do you mean,you admire me for believing that? It’s true.’
‘We will see.’ I nodded. ‘I know that you are telling yourself that we will not sleep together again and that our connection is temporary, but you are wrong.’
‘Gabriel—’
‘It is fine. Like I said from the beginning, remember, when you said that absolutely nothing would ever happen between us, which I assume meant that we would never kiss or fuck which we have of course now done multiple times, I will not push or chase you. I do not need to, because I know that it will all happen organically. You will see.’
Laila blinked rapidly and her mouth opened, closed, then opened again forming multiple shapes, like she wanted to say something to protest but could not find the words.
It did not matter what she said though, because I knew that I was right.
