The Call Boy I Met in Paris – Episode 45
Everyone turned toward Justin. Derek laughed first, delighted that the man he considered a hired companion had challenged him again.
“You?” Derek asked. “Are you going to flirt with the fire marshal?”
Justin ignored him and kept his attention on Sophie. “The suspension can be reviewed. Give me a little time.”
“How?” Sophie asked. The confidence in his promise sounded dangerously similar to the confidence he had shown inside Lake Enterprises.
“Just wait and see.”
Derek stepped into his path. “You have no idea who you are dealing with.”
“Neither do you,” Justin replied.
For a moment, the insult seemed to carry a meaning only Justin understood. Then he guided Sophie away from the table and toward the hall.
“We are not leaving my own apartment,” she said quietly.
“Then they are.” Justin opened the door and waited.
Sophie’s father bristled at being dismissed, but Derek stopped him. Their trap depended on Sophie panicking, not on another argument they had already lost.
“When Lake Enterprises cancels the contract, call me,” Derek said. “If you beg convincingly, I might still be generous.”
“Hold your breath,” Sophie answered.
After the door closed, she reopened the suspension notice. Justin stood behind her and discreetly sent Patrick the reviewing officer’s name and the entire file number.
Sophie caught the movement. “Who are you contacting?”
“Someone who understands approvals.” He slipped the phone into his pocket before she could see Patrick’s reply.
Trusting him had become both easier and more dangerous. Sophie wanted to believe his promise, yet the company could not depend on a mystery she did not understand.
When Justin left to “make a few calls,” Sophie reached for her own phone and chose the oldest number she trusted. “Hey, Ted. I’m in trouble.”