Beauty and Beast Inc

Chapter 19

Three months later and nothing had changed in my day to day life, including my relationship with Elias, besides the diamond necklace I occasionally cleaned that hung around my neck. The look on Olivia's face when I walked in was a priceless memory I don't think I'll ever forget. Elias noticed her for once and the look she had on her face, and when we got into his office and he closed the door he gave me a very confused glance.

"Is something wrong between you and Olivia?"

I shook my head, smiling as I played with the necklace. "No, not at all," and I got back to work.

Business for Beast Inc, however, was booming. Every day seemed to get busier and busier and at one point I was holding ten phone calls from six different countries for Elias. Lumiere came in more often too, spending less time on the tech floor and more time helping Elias. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, until one day everything changed.

"Hello Beast Inc, this is Mr. Adams secretary, may I ask whose calling?" I answered on a beautiful Thursday March afternoon. Elias was typing away at emails on his computer and didn't bother to look up at me because the interaction wasn't unusual. Yet.

"Bonjour, parlez-vous français?" the voice asked on the other end of the phone. (Hello, do you speak English?)

"Oui Monsieur, comment puis-je vous aider?" (Yes sir, how may I help you?) Elias still didn't look up at me suddenly speaking a different language.

"Je les billets d'avion commandés et hôtel réservé pour M. Adams et son plus un. Je demande de confirmer et obtenir le nom de son hôte," the man said and I looked up at Elias. (I have the plane tickets ordered and hotel booked for Mr. Adams and his plus one. I am calling to confirm and get the name of his guest.)

"Elias?" he looked up. "I have a man on the phone saying he has hotel and plane tickets for you and a guest to Paris this weekend? He wants to know the name of the guest."

Elias looked at me, quiet for a moment before picking up the phone. "Ceci est Elias. Oui, son nom est Belle Seleva. Merci." (This is Elias. Yes, her name is Belle Seleva. Thank you.)

He ended the phone call and looked up at me, one eyebrow raised as he gaged my reaction.

"We're going to Paris?" I asked in a voice so soft I wasn't sure he heard it across the room.

He nodded. "I finally get to open a shop there and I need someone competent enough to handle everything, and it helps that you speak the language. Plus, I think I need a vacation. We leave tonight."

Tears sprung into my eyes and I jumped from my desk over to him and threw my arms around his neck. "I've never been to Paris. Oh, thank you, thank you!"

He awkwardly patted my back and I pulled away and wiped a tear from my eye. "This means the world to me, thank you."

I went and sat down at my desk, with the biggest smile on my face when what he said just dawned on me. "Wait, did you say we're leaving tonight? I haven't had any time to pack!"

He glanced up at me from his computer and then back down and started scribbling something in a notebook. "I've taken care of it."

"But-"

"Belle. I've taken care of it."

I nodded and turned back around to my work but my heart felt heavy. There were some things of my mothers I'd always wanted to wear in Paris and now I wouldn't get the chance to. Who knew when I would be back there? 

The rest of the day lagged on as one of the biggest events to ever happen to me in my life loomed closer and closer with every passing second. So many what ifs were crossing my mind it was hard to keep focused. 

Finally, Elias stood from his desk with his briefcase and a folder tucked under his arm and looked up at me. "Ready?"

"Paris is always a good idea," I quoted as I stood with my work bag clutched tightly in my hand. I never took this bag anywhere unless Elias and I were traveling, so when I walked out with it Olivia gave me a side look.

"Where are you traveling to now Mr. Adams? Should I hold your appointments?" she asked, looking mostly at me with contempt.

"Paris. And no, Belle's already taken care of that. She'll be with me on the trip, she can handle it," Elias muttered over his phone as he walked towards the elevators. I gave her a little wave as she picked her jaw up off the desk and the doors slid shut and we made our way down to the bottom floor.

"So which airline are we taking? I've heard Air-"

Elias gave a curt laugh. "Belle, really? The company has a private jet, we'll be taking that. Lumiere will be coming as well, but he'll get there tomorrow."

I shut my mouth and tried to imagine what a private jet would look like and I got a feeling of deja vu like Julia Ormond in the remake of Sabrina when she and Linus fly out to Martha's vineyard on his private jet. They always looked small in the movies, I wondered how they felt in real life.
Smiling as we got into the back of the car to go towards the airport, I thought of all of Sabrina's adventures in that movie, and how she talks about the sky turning pink and living life through "rose colored glasses". I always thought "Lie Vie en Rose" was about love, but I suppose that makes sense too, seeing the world through the eyes of someone being in love. 

I blushed madly at these thoughts and stole a glance at Elias who was tunnel-visioned into his phone. But was I really in love? This was a work trip after all, not anything romantic. Although he didn also mention needing a vacation.

I sighed and fiddled with my necklace. "How long are we going to be there?"

"Hmm?" Elias looked over at me.

"How long do I have in Paris?" I asked again.

"We leave Monday," he responded and I tried to suppress another sigh. Only three days? Well, as I reminded myself before, it was for work. "I just emailed you the schedule."

I turned and opened my phone and scrolled through the emails until I found his and opened the attachment. Every day was booked almost full until about four in the afternoon with breakfasts, lunches, coffee, visiting buildings, talking to people. The only evening that was booked just said "Reserved Dinner."

I looked up at him. "This is rather ambiguous. And there's a lot of time off, didn't you say this was a business trip?"

He shrugged and set his phone down next to him, turning his attention to me. "You just follow my lead. And yes I did, but I also said it was a vacation. So I added some free time."

I looked back down at my phone and the tiniest hint of a smile touched my lips. "Have you ever been to Paris?" I asked him.

He nodded. "A few times, yes."

"Was it amazing?"

He gave me a funny look. "You'll just have to judge that for yourself my little rose."

His phone chose that exact moment to ring and I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. I just wanted this to be a good trip.

*************

I was right about the size of the jet, it was tiny. But once we mounted the steps and got inside, I took it all back. The inside was incredible, much better than Sabrina's plane. My feet sunk into the plush carpeting as I made my way to the seat across from Elias, noting the long couch in the back across from a flatscreen TV. When I sat down I couldn't help but run my hands over the soft white leather and ease back into the plush cushions.

"This, is an incredible plane," I announced as Elias pulled out his laptop, acting as if this was just a normal experience for him.

"Yes, I had her remodeled last year. Cost me a pretty penny but I open it's use up to most of the top employees and those with a certain amount of vacation days can take it to specific places around the world. Mostly where we have companies," he explained.

"Really? You let other people use it?" I asked in bewilderment.

He nodded. "Just trying to appeal to the people. It's actually cheaper to keep using it than just let it sit here."

"And hows that working, appealing to the people?"

He snorted. "I haven't been fired yet."

We settled back down and I took out some of my work stuff to finish on the eight and a half hour flight over and a stewardess came up and offered me some champagne and finger snacks which I accepted because why not? If Elias was giving himself the liberty of a vacation, then so was I.

The plane took off smoothly and for the next few hours, we worked in silence, sipping on champagne and eating. Finally, I don't know how late, I kept nodding off and yawning when Elias nudged my shoulder and I looked up at him. 

"Come here," he offered me his hand and I took it. He led me over to the couch where I laid down on one of the fluffy down pillows and he pulled a cashmere blanket over me. The lights dimmed in the cabin until it was just the lights lining the floor and the ceiling casting a soft yellow glow around the cabin. 

"Are you going to sleep?" I asked him, yawning again. I was struggling to stay awake, sleep pulling my eyelids down.

"Don't worry about me, get some rest," he answered, brushing the hair out of my eyes with a feather-light touch. He didn't have to tell me again as I fell fast asleep on a private jet bound for Paris.