The Millionaire Waltz [ENOLA HOLMES 2]

one; the uninvited guest

chapter one; the uninvited guest

Working had its perks. Amélie loved the real-world experience. She wasn't cooped up in the flat all day long, bored out of her mind. Sure, this wasn't her field of choice, but she learned to love it. She worked mostly as Enola's secretary, handling the paperwork and cleaning the building, but she joined Enola for all meetings. She learned to handle people of all kinds. She learned more and more about the detective field with each day too. It was a wonderful learning experience, some things she'd never learn otherwise. She also got the spend the day with the love of her life... which was why she loved it so much. What more could she want?

The Enola Holmes: Detective Agency. This was Enola's lifelong goal and she loved every second of it. This is what she wanted to do all her life. She wanted to prove that she could be like her brother (if not better!) All of Enola and Amélie's efforts were put into one company. Amélie loved to see her girlfriend achieve her dreams and Enola loved how supportive her girlfriend was.

However, a dream is still a dream... it doesn't always reflect well into reality. That was an unfortunate lesson Amélie learned with this job. Sure, working had its perks... but this job had plenty of negatives. Case and point: the clients. There were none. Well... not none... The prospective customers in the previous weeks and months haven't been... how to put this nicely... they weren't keen on hiring a "young girl" (their words, not Amélie's) to deal with their affairs and cases.

Time and time again, clients came in for meetings. Time and time again, they left without hiring the girls. Amélie could recall the previous meetings:

An old lady sat before them, adjusting her glasses and tilting her head at the two girls seated in front of her. She couldn't believe who she was meeting with. "How old?" She questioned. She left almost immediately after that.

The sentiment of disbelief about who the clients were hiring continued. Another time an older gentleman met with them, unsure of what he was getting into. Upon seeing two young girls sitting before him, he stared them up and down in disbelief. "But you're a girl!" That one comment annoyed Enola, who visibly rolled her eyes before the man. The man didn't like the "disrespect" and left.

Another man came in with serious business. He appeared willing to have a conversation with the two. He leaned forward in his chair, hands folded on the desk. "Tell me."

Enola's eyes brightened. A possible first customer! Amélie passed her the pad of paper and a pen to take notes. The Holmes girl clicked her pen and held the paper, leaning forward as well with an eager smile. "Yes?"

"Might your brother be free?"

Enola's face dropped upon hearing those words. When they told the man that they had no association or connection to Sherlock, he left without any hints of his problem. The bell signaled to the two girls that they were alone once again, and Enola slammed her head against the desk. That was the third person to ask for Sherlock... in one week! God! Couldn't they see that it was Enola Holmes, not Sherlock? Amélie rubbed the girl's back to console her, gently whispering her love to her in French. She knew how much it hurt Enola to see customers leave the building without hiring her.