Made in Paris

Starting Over

Medyo short update po ito.  Babawi po ako sa next chapter :)  Thank you for reading :D

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              Maine couldn't stop fidgeting on her seat as they wait for Victoire to arrive. She has been very nervous about this meeting though this is not the first time that she was assigned by her tito to close a deal. Meanwhile, Alden sits comfortably beside her while reading a magazine full of Victoire's photographs. There's clearly no trace of nervousness in him.

"Uy di ka ba kinakabahan?" Maine nudges Alden and he looks up from what he's reading.

"Why would I be? I'm confident that we can do this. Wag kang kabahan dahil walang maitutulong yan." Alden replies before he turns his attention back to the magazine.

"That's easy for you to say. Close kasi kayo e." She says and sticks her tongue out at Alden.

"We're not close..." Alden's sentence was cut short when the door flew open revealing Victoire and her handler.

"Alden Richards? Is that you?" Victoire, saunters to Alden and gives him a peck on both cheeks while Maine stands there watching their interaction. Di pala close huh. Maine thinks to herself but from how rigid Alden became, she thinks that he was also shocked by Victoire's friendliness. "How are you? It's been so long." She continues with a trace of French accent.

"I'm good. Oh this is Maine, by the way." Alden pulls Maine to his side and introduces her

"Bonjour. C'est merveilleux de te voir. (' Hello. It's wonderful to see you.')" Maine greets while shaking hands with Victoire. Victoire smiles at her seemingly pleased that Maine used French in greeting her.

"Tout le plaisir est pour moi. ('The pleasure is mine.')" Both Alden and Maine also greeted Victoire's handler before settling down on their seats. They immediately get into business as Victoire and her handler ask for the terms of contract. Alden handed it carefully to them and both he and Maine watch as the two exchange whispers in French.

"You did not mention to me that you're good in French. Are you a fluent speaker?" Alden whispers to Maine.

"You never asked. And yes, I am kind of fluent since I really wanted to learn the language."

"Exactly how many languages can you use?"

"Uhmm...syempre English, tapos eto French. I also know, basic lang ah, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, Italian, and Spanish." Alden was open mouthed when Maine finished enumerating the languages that she can speak in.

"Wow, I mean, multi-lingual ka pala. That's...nice." They heard Victoire clear her throat and they jump apart without even realizing how close they became to each other. Alden scratches the back of his head while Maine looks down as if they've just been caught doing what they're not supposed to do.

"Shall we discuss the terms now? After that I'll decide if I'll take the deal."

The two parties exchanged ideas on how to make the contract beneficial for both of them. Their meeting went on for an hour before Victoire made her decision.

"Ano, Maine, okay ka lang?" Alden asks the moment they got out of the building. Maine has been quiet throughout their whole ride on the elevator and he has no idea what she's thinking. "Huy! Ano?" Maine screamed and jumped excitedly before engulfing Alden in a hug. Alden was shocked that he didn't know what to do for a second but, as if his arms have their own minds, they found its way around Maine. They stood there for a while hugging each other and not caring about the world around them. It was when a car honked loudly that Maine realized what they are doing. Maine pulled away immediately and smiled sheepishly at Alden.

"Sorry hehe. I just got carried away because I'm so happy. Can you believe it? We actually closed a deal. Tito will be ecstatic about this." Maine says breathlessly.

"I told you that you will be able to pull this off. Ikaw lang 'tong walang tiwala sa sarili mo e." Alden smiles at her and Maine returns it.

"I couldn't have done this without your help so, thank you, Alden. Since I owe you, let's have lunch. My treat."

"Who am I to reject such a good offer? So san tayo?"

"I know the perfect place." Maine replies and they start to walk together. "You know, I really think we got off from a wrong start, Alden."

"I feel that too. But it's never too late to start again, right? I think that is also the right thing to do since we're in the place where we first met. Maybe it's God's way of telling us that we should start over."

"Maybe..."