Atonement(66)
“One can only hope he’s learned the error of his ways though he isn’t exactly the apologetic type,” Colin responded as we continued our leisure walk.
“What does that mean? Should I expect to be a victim of sexual harassment because Liam knows what I look like without any clothes on?”
“I would hope not unless he wants uConnect to have a major lawsuit on their hands. You can already get him for sexual harassment. He seduced you after he hired you and no way can he prove you did it because you were strictly attracted to him. You could argue you were scared he might fire you if you hadn’t slept with him and there isn’t a damn thing he can say to the contrary.”
I squeezed Colin’s hand. “I’m not going to sue your brother for having a one night stand with me. For one, I don’t need the money and I certainly wouldn’t want the publicity. It was hard enough avoiding the press after my dad died. I try to avoid them at all costs. Not easy when your parents are wealthy and your father dies in a hit and run.”
“Yeah, I noticed your sister and you both try to keep a low profile. Must be kind of hard with a cousin like Aubrey.”
“Not really. We don’t have the same last night and I wasn’t raised with my real mom due to her death so most people just assume we’re friends. Most people don’t realize we’re cousins which is probably a good thing,” I replied.
“Well it’s good you’re so blasé about your relationship with her because I got a call from Drew. Seems like you can have your old room back as she’s moved out of it,” he said in a quiet voice.
We stopped walking and I faced Colin fully. “What do you mean? Where has she gone?”
Colin looked around before he stared into my eyes. “No where but Drew’s room. Seems like she finally manipulated your best friend into a relationship. He wanted me to let you know he really likes her and although he wishes she wouldn’t take her clothes off for a living, they are working on her prospective future career choices. She did tell him she would stop stripping when he actually got a proper job himself and stopped working in the coffee shop and bar so I’m not the only one who is being forced to grow up. So we talked about it and he’s going into the venture with me. That’s fine with me because at least it is a joint effort and I won’t have to put up all the money.
“Aubrey has agreed to go to Bartending School and get her certificate so she can officially serve drinks. He would rather her half-naked working at the bar then naked at one of the most notorious strip clubs in Seattle and I can understand where he is coming from. I wouldn’t want my girlfriend to be a stripper, regardless how bangin’ her body is.”
We began to walk again and I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Speaking of bangin’, you wanna go back to the apartment and practice some horizontal moves? We might as well take advantage. I think that is, without a doubt, one of the best apartments we have rented this whole trip. It’s so art deco and cute. I love it and the bed is very comfortable.”
“Agreed.” He kissed my forehead. “Let’s gather our stuff and go back to the apartment.”
Colin and I made it back to our picnic set-up in record timing before we cleaned up. He wrapped up everything while I disposed of our trash and recycled the wine bottle. We walked to the closest RER station where we caught a commuter train to the main hub and transferred to the Metro and took the line that would drop us off a mere five blocks from where we were staying.
As soon as we arrived to our designated stop, we got off and walked home without incident. It didn’t take us long after that before we were inside our apartment and Colin soon found himself inside of me.
Chapter Eighteen
THE REST OF our time in Paris flew by. We managed to get a half day at the Louvre in along with trips to Montmartre and the Notre Dame Cathedral. I also fit in a little retail therapy and managed to purchase an Hermès Birkin that was almost as much one year of the salary I would be making at uConnect, several pairs of Yves Saint Laurent Tributes and a couple of pairs of Christian Louboutins. I also stopped by Hervé Leger and picked up several cocktail dresses I would never find in Seattle so in one afternoon, I blew more than one hundred thousand dollars. Not that it would make a dent in my trust fund but it was sure to get back to my mother because I’d charged everything to the family Centurion American Express Card and she would be less than pleased.
Although we shouldn’t have, Colin and I spent that last night at one of the most exclusive nightclubs in Paris and had a blast. It was his belated birthday present to me and I loved him for truly going all out. Most of the time, my birthday was a low key affair but he was determined to make this year different. Club Silencio was a members-only club before midnight but I didn’t ask Colin how we managed to get in shortly after eight in the evening.