The White Canvas Operation

SIXTEEN. (Stella P.O.V)

Picture by: Randa Haddadin

'White Canvas Operation' phase seventeen: Paris.

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.

"The luxury of traveling first class... I think I'll never get used to this..." I mumble while getting comfortable in the large space of my seat. Sunny snorts by my side but she keeps her eyes fixed on the documents she's reading: she's confessed me before that she needs to pay great attention since mathematics aren't really her thing but Leonard insists on the fact that she must understand at least a bit about how her investments are being managed so no one will be able to swindle her when he retires finally. To be honest, I highly doubt that the old lawyer will leave Sun helpless and he'll be watching his employers and my boss' businesses even if he's lying on a beach under palm trees with his lovely wife probably... that man adores Sunny. But he's right, having accurate information gives you power and the more she knows about how her money is being managed, the better: there's less risk involved. I've even learnt some tips about financial management while we chatted because this is a 7 hours flight and I was getting bored to death after watching a stupid movie and reading a magazine. "Oh come on, don't tell me that you miss flying coach and eating rancid peanuts."

"I wouldn't know, my first time on a plane was when I went to London with Cassie. I was very excited and nervous, I didn't know if I'd have a panic attack in mid-flight, and I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings although I remember the flight attendants were very kind, they took care of our luggage, food didn't taste as awfully as everybody says... and I had a massage chair... I still can't believe that I didn't break that button because I never stopped pushing it."

"So you never flew coach? You don't really miss anything important: uncomfortable and narrow seats, bland food and flight attendants stricter than a Victorian governess. My first flight from Australia to Paris was a torture... although I was so excited about starting my new life that I barely remember it. My second time on a plane was very different since Cassandra bought my expensive ticket to New York, I felt treated like a queen..."

"Yes, she had the gift to make people feel like that... not only because she was wealthy, but because she payed attention to details..." I nod and close my eyes, my mind travels to the city of light while I keep talking.

"After our first date, I mean a real one with a fancy dinner, a walk by the shore of the river Seine and... all that... We saw one of those small stalls that sells flowers, she told me it was a pity that it wasn't open because she would've liked to buy me a rose and I answered that I'd never got flowers as a present... Next day, when I went back home after spending the whole evening working in Montmartre, my small mansard-roofed room was full of roses, dozens of flowers all over my place... the landing was packed with bouquets because the delivery guy couldn't find a free surface to put them in my room and I had to give them to my landlady, a very old woman but lovely that didn't know I was interested on girls. The poor French lady was so excited thinking that I'd got a very romantic boyfriend and she asked me who he was..."

"And what did you answer her?" Sun asks amused, her documents forgotten on the small table next to her.

"I'd bought a magazine on my way home and it had collectible pictures of famous actors and singers... that week was Robert Pattinson's turn and showed her the photo, she told me he was handsome and that she expected to get a wedding invitation... Later, I had to explain Cassie that I had a picture of Edward Cullen stuck to my fridge with a magnet just because it made my landlady happy."