in the middle and it’s only when I get close that I see seven beautiful koi fishes dancing together. The exotic plants that surround the terrace only add to the tranquility of this rooftop sanctuary.
Man, these tech moguls know how to live.
I sit on one of the lounge chairs with my eyes closed, soaking in the Parisian sunshine, when his hands rub my shoulders.
“Are you okay, Amanda?”
“Bryce, I hope I’m doing a good job down there?”
“That’s not the question I asked. I asked if you were okay.”
“Thanks for your concern. It’s a lot of work translating at that pace for such a long time. I just need a few minutes, a bit of lunch, a latte and I’ll be fully recharged.”
“Good. I was worried. You didn’t look too good when you left the room.”
“I’m feeling the jet lag. Thank God I have to translate. If you had asked me to sit at the meeting and take notes, I would have fallen asleep.”
He smiles as he slides one hand under my jacket to feel the lingerie he asked me to wear. “Nice. I can’t wait to see it on you later tonight.”
“Thanks for the lingerie and suit, Bryce. They are perfect. I’ve wanted to thank you since this morning, but couldn’t find a time where we were alone.”
“No need to thank me. I take a lot of pleasure in seeing you in the clothes and just feeling your breast covered with the lace bra makes my cock hard.” He slides his hand up to the back of my neck, pulls my hair back and murmurs in my ear, “Let’s get back to the meeting,” while kissing my earlobe.
The catered lunch gives me a boost of energy and the latte perks me up. We’re back to the grind and hammer out for another four high-paced hours a deal that could represent several hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for Bryce’s already successful company by the end of the week.
I wish my business transactions had been this smooth and successful.
I most likely wouldn’t have found myself here in Paris playing the role of an escort-slash-translator if they had.
Bryce is an astute businessman and it’s obvious after a few hours of translation that, although he might not have fully mastered French, he has such a keen intuition that he can guess the objections the French might voice and he always has a brilliant reply for me to translate.
“Monsieur Van Der Linden and Madame Hardy, this has been a great day for François, Mathis and me. We will discuss and give you an answer before the end of the week. Perhaps we should book an immediate meeting to conclude.” Gabriel thanks us with a thick French accent and his English flows mechanically.
Bryce smiles wide as he pulls out his iPhone to book a lunch meeting on Friday with the tech trio. Gabriel seems ready to sign the deal and his partners seem to also feel confident about moving forward.
“Madame Hardy, it was a pleasure to have you as the translator. You have done a superb job and we know it must have been quite tiring. We have asked Gaëlle, our secretary, to run out to get you a little French thank you.” Mathis’s English is as academic as Gabriel’s, but he’s sweet nonetheless. Gaëlle approaches me and hands me a large bouquet of colorful flowers and a big box of pastries.
“We hope you’ll enjoy them with Monsieur Van Der Linden.”
I feel myself blushing in the face of such unexpected gratitude and kindness. “Oh, that’s not necessary, Mathis, but thank you so much. The flowers are so beautiful.” I dart a quick glance in Bryce’s direction and he seems genuinely impressed.
“You will like the desserts. We have an extraordinary pastry shop that rivals any Ladurée shop near our office. They were the ones who prepared our delicious lunch.”
After a few more parting words of politeness and gratitude, Bryce and I are sitting at the back of our chauffeured Benz heading in the direction of our hotel. It takes him a long time to break the silence. As he turns his eyes towards me, he weighs his