Beauty & Her Billionaire Boss

“Seems to be,” Patience replied.

“See? I told you he’d understand. It’s not like you went to work in that place because you liked dancing naked on tables.” It was the same reasoning Piper used on herself whenever the teasing at school got to be too much to bear. Of course, she never told Patience about what the kids used to say. Her sister was embarrassed enough.

Case in point, the wince crossing Patience’s face right now. “Of course I didn’t, and you were right. Stuart says he understands.”

“Wait—what do you mean ‘says he understands’? Don’t you believe him?” There was a note of reluctance in the comment Piper didn’t like.

“No, I believe him. Stuart’s been great.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Patience shook her head.

Nothing came with a very dreamy sigh. No way was Piper letting the reaction go by unnoticed. “Patience? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Um...”

Son of a gun, her sister was red as a tomato. There was only one thing that would make her blush that deeply. “Oh my God! Is something going on between you and your boss?”

“He’s not my boss,” Patience said quickly. “He’s my boss’s nephew.”

She was splitting hairs and they both knew it, which was why Piper asked, “What exactly is the difference?”

“About the same as between you dating your boss and you dating his next-door neighbor.”

“Pul—leeze.” Like that was a good example. “The only neighbor I’ve met is an eleven-year-old boy, and my boss doesn’t even...”

“Doesn’t even what?”

Notice I’m here. That’s what Piper was going to say, anyway. Only he had noticed tonight. Absently, she ran a knuckle down her cheek as she remembered his kind gesture.

“Piper?”

“Sorry,” she said, shaking off the memory. “I lost track of what I was about to say. And you still haven’t answered my question. Are you dating Stuart Duchenko?”

There was a definite darkening to her sister’s blush. “For now, yes.”

A different kind of heaviness took up space in Piper’s stomach. The same uncomfortable feeling she used to get as a kid when waiting to be picked for dodgeball. She was always left for last.

Ignoring the sensation, she pushed her lips into a smile. “No way! That’s great! I’m so happy for you.” She was, childish reaction aside. She had no reason to feel anything but happy, really. It was just her pity party making its reappearance.

“Don’t go making a big deal,” her sister was saying. “The two of us are having fun together, that’s all. It’s nothing serious.”

The sparkle in Patience’s eyes said otherwise, but Piper kept the thought to herself. Patience would admit the truth soon enough.

The two of them talked and joked while Piper worked and for a little while, her loneliness receded.

“Why aren’t you making some fancy French dish?” Patience asked as she was putting the casserole in the oven.

“Because I felt like macaroni and cheese. Would you feel better if I called it macaroni au fromage?”

“A little.” From her chair on the other side of the world, her sister frowned again. “Are you sure you’re all right? You mentioned your boss earlier. Is he still treating you okay?”

Once again, a paper towel and a smile flashed before Piper’s eyes. “He’s treating me fine.”

“That sounded weird.”

“What do you mean?”

“The way you said ‘fine’ with a long sigh.”

Piper rolled her eyes. As if her sigh could be any longer or dreamier-sounding than the ones her sister made. “How should I say it? He treats me fine. We hardly see each other.” Today’s encounters notwithstanding. “Not everyone socializes with their boss, you know. I meant Ana,” she added quickly before Patience got the wrong idea.

“So long as he isn’t giving you a hard time.”

“I swear, he isn’t.”

They talked a little longer, mostly about silly stuff. Patience told a few stories about Nigel the cat and about how things were going with Stuart. Piper lied about how well school was going. By the time they said goodbye, she’d cooked and eaten her casserole. She would have said that the night was exactly what she needed, except that as soon as she turned off the computer, her melancholy returned stronger than ever.

“It’s Hollywood’s fault,” she said to the Eiffel Tower a little while later. “All those movies making Paris look so wonderful. Leading a woman to hope life might be more magical under French skies.”

There was a smudge on the glass. Breathing some fog on the pane, she wiped at it with her sleeve. Patience would be horrified by her casualness. Her sister took cleaning very seriously.

Maybe if she tried a little harder. Gave more effort in class, learned to appreciate her surroundings more. Maybe then she could work up the enthusiasm she was supposed to feel for this adventure. Right now, she only felt tired. The carbohydrates were kicking in. Merging with her sad mood and killing what was left of her cleaning ambitions.

Discarding her plans to dig out the cleaning supplies, she sank into a nearby chair. The same one she found Frederic sleeping in this morning, she realized. Outside, the tower twinkled mockingly. Leaning her head back, she watched the lights dance. They were beautiful, weren’t they?

“Easy chair to fall asleep in, no?”

The voice close to her ear was deep and rough. Piper jumped to her feet. Grabbing the first thing she could find, she whirled around ready to attack.

Frederic raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t...” Considering she was wielding a pillow as a weapon, she gave up the argument. “I wasn’t expecting you home so early, is all.” It was early, right? Please say it was early.

“My date wasn’t feeling well, so we left the concert at intermission.” His eyes narrowed, as if zooming in on her. Too late, Piper realized she still wore her chef’s jacket instead of her uniform. “You were working hard?”

“No. I mean, I planned to but I...”

“I am joking.”

“Oh.” Thank goodness the lights were dim and he couldn’t see how red her cheeks were.

“If I recall, I suggested you take the night off to relax. I’m glad you did.” He crossed to the window. Hands clasped behind his back, he stood looking out at the tower.

One of the things Piper had noticed while working for Frederic was the way he concentrated so intently on whatever he was doing. Walking. Looking out the window. Some of the focus she attributed to his bad eyes, but lousy vision didn’t explain the power behind his movements. He moved with such deliberation. As though nothing could deter him from the action at hand. The guy could give Chef Despelteau a run for his money when it came to laser glares, that’s for sure. She could only imagine what it was like to be one of his students.

Or one of his dates, for that matter.

All of a sudden she realized those slate-colored eyes were looking at her. He’d said something, and she missed it. Again, she thanked the dim lighting for protecting her from bigger embarrassment. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you were enjoying your year in Paris so far.”

You mean her crying jag earlier didn’t give him a clue? “It’s a beautiful city.”

“That it is. Have you done much sightseeing?”

“A little.” When she first arrived and was still in her starry-eyed phase. After a couple weeks, however, solo sightseeing lost its luster. “Between class and work, I haven’t had much time.”

“That is too bad. You should make sure you see as much as possible. You never know when you’ll have another chance.”

“I’ll try to remember that.” For some reason, Piper felt as though he was talking about more than sightseeing. Or maybe fatigue was making her read too deeply between the lines. For all she knew, this was his normal way of making conversation. He approached everything else with intensity; why wouldn’t he approach talking the same way?

Regardless of the reason, the exchange left a hum in the air that made her antsy. Piper couldn’t help thinking how crisp and elegant he looked in his summer suit. Meanwhile, she was growing more aware of her wrinkled jacket by the second. Not to mention the smell of onion and cheddar cheese clinging to her fingers.

Suddenly, she needed some space. Setting down her pillow, she announced, “I’m going to finish cleaning the kitchen.” The kitchen was spotless, but she needed some kind of excuse. Then, whether because of the thickened atmosphere or something else, she added, “I’m really sorry, too, about my meltdown earlier.”

“Already forgotten, Piper. I hope whatever caused your distress is gone by tomorrow.”

“I hope so, too.” Not very likely, but a girl could hope. She went to say good-night, but Frederic had already turned his back to the room, his attention once again on the scene outside his window.

Must have been a trick of the shadows. Standing there with his hands behind his back, he suddenly looked alone and far away. Maybe I’m not the only lonely person in Paris. The thought was in her head before Piper could stop it.

Frederic Lafontaine, lonely. Sure. Now she knew she was tired.

CHAPTER TWO

THE NEXT MORNING, Piper called Marie Rougeau-Montpelier and introduced herself. To her surprise, the elderly woman said she would be thrilled to meet with her, especially once Piper mentioned her brother’s artwork. She invited Piper to visit after lunch. The appointment meant skipping a day of class, but Piper didn’t really mind. A day off, in fact, might do her some good. Help her get her head back into the game.

Marie’s address, which turned out to be a luxury tower near La Défense, the business district just outside the city, was easier to find than she expected. Not wanting to ring the woman’s bell before she was expected, Piper found herself wandering around La Grande Arche, the city’s twentieth-century version of the Arc de Triomphe. It was the perfect summer’s day. Not too hot, not too cold. Being lunchtime, the square was filled with people. Business executives sat on nearby steps soaking up the sun while tourists and others lounged on the grass in the nearby park. Piper strolled the perimeter and watched as they laughed and chatted with each other. Was this what Frederic meant when he told her to see as much of the city as possible?

Thinking of her boss made her insides sag. He was nowhere to be found when she woke up this morning. That didn’t surprise her, he was nowhere to be found most of the time, but Piper sort of hoped that after last night, the routine might have changed. She still couldn’t shake the image of him staring out his salon window. Looking so solitary and distant. So alone.

There’s a word for what you’re doing, you know. Projecting or connecting, something like that. Whatever the word, she needed to stop. Just because she was in another sad mood didn’t mean her boss was too.

Her feet hurt, protesting having to wear sandals after months of wearing sturdy shoes. She looked around for a café where she could give them a break. There was one on the corner with a maroon-and-white awning that wasn’t overly crowded. Helping herself to one of the empty rattan chairs that lined the sidewalk, she had just pulled out her cell phone when she heard a familiar-sounding voice ordering an espresso.

No way. She looked to her left. Even with aviator sunglasses covering his face, she recognized Frederic’s profile instantly.

He was alone. At least the chair across from him was empty, and judging from the way his long legs were stretched out to claim the table’s real estate, he wasn’t expecting a guest to arrive anytime soon. Piper’s eyes traveled their length, from his wingtips to the muscular thighs that disappeared beneath the tablecloth. In contrast to last night, today he looked the picture of ease.

Must be nice to feel so confident instead of having to fake it all the time. And to be that good-looking. Patience was always saying that being beautiful wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Piper wouldn’t know. She was never someone people thought of as beautiful. When the guys in high school made fun of Patience’s job, they did so with a glaze of lust in their eyes. No one’s eyes ever glazed for Piper.

Just then, as though sensing her stare, Frederic turned in her direction. Piper started to shrink back into the shadows, then caught herself and waved instead. He didn’t wave back.

She was about to take offense when she realized she wasn’t in his field of vision. Smoothing her skirt, she walked toward his table.

“Bonjour, monsieur,” she greeted with a smile.

* * *

The sound of an American accent jarred Frederic from his thoughts. He knew of only one person who spoke French with an accent like that. Blinking out of his fog, he found a whirl of yellow and red in his line of sight. Lifting his eyes, he saw a familiar brunette head. “Piper? Where did you come from?”

“Two tables over. I waved, but you weren’t paying attention.”

She was being polite. They both knew he didn’t wave because she wasn’t sitting in his field of view.

“Lost in thought,” he replied, continuing the pretense.

“I’m not bothering you, am I?” Piper’s question brought him back.

“Not at all. I’m killing time after an appointment is all.” Yet another pointless meeting with his ophthalmologist. He went every few months simply to hear that his eyes were still diseased.

“And you?”

“Killing time before an appointment, actually.”

Sitting back in his chair, Frederic found himself wishing he’d been paying attention when she approached. Whenever he saw Piper at the apartment, she wore either her chef’s jacket or that awful maid uniform that was the antithesis of every French maid fantasy ever written. This sundress, however... The bright colors definitely suited her better. Plus, there was an expanse of flesh around her shoulders he didn’t normally get to enjoy.

“Are you meeting a classmate?” he asked. A date would certainly explain the dress. Why he was suddenly intrigued by her social life, Frederic wasn’t sure, except that the memory of her crying by the kitchen counter refused to leave him. He found it odd, an attractive American—and she was attractive as that expanse of skin attested—spending her evenings in Paris alone.

“I’m supposed to meet with someone at the Rose d’Arms,” she said. “It’s a retirement home a block or so from here.”

“Looking for a surrogate grandmother?”

“Hardly,” she said with a laugh. A very pleasant-sounding laugh, too. Like bells. “I’m doing a favor for my sister.”

“At a retirement home?”

“It’s a long story. I won’t bore you with the details. I really just stopped by to say hello. I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were...”

“Please. Stay. We can kill time together.”

“Are you sure?”

There was hesitancy in her voice. Frederic couldn’t blame her. Eight months of hardly talking, and now here they were on their third conversation in two days. “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure,” he told her. “There is no reason for the two of us to sit at separate tables when we are both by ourselves. Besides, you have me intrigued.”

The café had arranged the tables as so many cafés in the city did, with the seats side by side so that patrons could enjoy the view. As Piper slipped into the seat beside his, Frederic was struck by an aroma of vanilla and spices that made his mouth water. “Did you bake today?” he asked.

“No. I skipped class. Why?”

“No reason.” Who knew a person could smell delicious? “Tell me this long story of yours.”

Piper took a deep breath. “Apparently, Ana, my sister’s boss, lived with an artist here in Paris in the seventies and posed for a bunch of paintings. Her great-nephew, Stuart, is hoping to surprise her with one as a gift, so Patience asked me if I would talk to the artist’s sister to see if any of his paintings survived.”

“Doesn’t your sister realize there are easier ways to track down an artist’s work? If he is well-known...”

“This is where it gets complicated.”

She paused while the waitress brought his espresso and she placed her order.

“Complicated how?”

“The artist died in an accident a long time ago. According to Ana, he would have been huge—like Picasso huge—but then Theodore Duchenko went and bought up...”

“Wait...” Frederic needed to go back a step. “Did you say Theodore Duchenko?”

Piper nodded. “That’s right. Patience works for his sister, Ana Duchenko.”

Unbelievable. Duchenko Silver was world renowned. Frederic knew curators who gushed over adding a piece of the famed Russian silver to their collections. As for the late Theodore Duchenko, the man had been considered one of the most ruthless tycoons of the twentieth century. “You’re saying that you’re trying to track down a portrait of Ana Duchenko.”

“Not just a portrait. A nude,” Piper replied. “Nigel painted a bunch, and they were supposedly pretty racy, which is why...”

“Duchenko wanted them destroyed,” he finished for her. “This is astounding. The Duchenko name, it is...well, let us say that if a portrait still exists, the significance in terms of pop culture alone would be immeasurable.”

“I don’t think Stuart cares if the painting has any kind of value—he just wants to give his aunt back a piece of her history. The way my sister tells it, Ana truly loved the man.”

The waitress returned with her café au lait. “It’s all very tragic, really,” Piper said, taking a sip.

Tragic but exciting. Frederic found his curiosity piqued in a way he hadn’t felt in years. Not since his university days. “There is nothing like the thrill of discovering a new artist,” he told her. “The euphoria, it hits you like a...” The sexual metaphor was too crude to share with a woman. He settled for saying “There are few pleasures like it. I envy you.”

“The whole thing is probably a long shot.”

“Perhaps,” he said, reaching for his drink. It quite probably was, in fact. “But long shot or not, the chase is always exciting.”

“Want to come with me?”

Frederic set his cup down with a clink so he could focus his gaze on her. “Pardon?”

“You just said you envied my going on the hunt. Besides, I don’t know anything about art. What if there’s a giant painting of Ana hanging on this woman’s wall? How will I know if it’s worth Stuart’s money?”

And she thought he was the best person to evaluate? “You just said the painting wasn’t about value.”

“It isn’t.” There was silence as she shifted in her chair. When she spoke again, Frederic heard a change in her voice. It became lower, with less spark. “Never mind. It was only a suggestion.”

“No, I’d love to join you.” Unsettled by the sadness he thought he heard in her voice, he spoke without thinking.

The smile worked its way back into her voice. “Awesome! I’ll finish my coffee and we’ll go.”

A visit to a retirement home, Frederic said to himself as he sipped his espresso. To meet with an old woman. No harm in that.

Why, then, did he feel as if he was getting involved in something more?

* * *

There wasn’t, of course, an undiscovered painting hanging in Marie’s apartment. Only a very tall, pinched-looking woman wearing a velvet tracksuit. She greeted the two of them with a wide smile. “A professor. How exciting,” she gushed, squeezing his hand. “Please come in.”

“I knew you’d be a hit,” Piper murmured as she stepped inside.

Frederic grinned in response. His insides were feeling the thrill of the hunt.

While he still wasn’t entirely sure why Piper had asked him to come along, he’d decided to embrace the opportunity. Who knew when another chance would cross his path? Or, for that matter, come with such an attractive package. Piper was far enough into the room that he could finally see her figure. She had curves a sculpture would love. Soft and supple. The kind meant to be traced by a person’s hands.

That’s it. He was getting rid of the maid’s uniform.

“What period do you study, Professor?” Marie was asking. The older woman was already limping across the sitting room en route to the bookcase.

“Medieval. Pre-Romanesque mostly.”

“Nigel would have called you stuck in the past, but then he prided himself on being antiestablishment. We all did back then. Please, have a seat.”

She gestured to a sofa barely large enough to deserve the label. Feeling overly large, he perched on the edge of the seat and wondered how a woman Marie’s height could ever sit comfortably. The cushion dipped and Piper sat beside him. Vanilla and spice teased his nostrils again. It was like walking into the most pleasant bakery on earth every time the woman sat down.

“He had such promise, my brother. My mother used to brag he knew how to paint before he could walk. An exaggeration, I’m sure. Come to think of it, though, I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t drawing or painting or something.”

Reaching up, she pulled out what looked like a large plastic binder and opened it up. “This is him here,” she said. “Five years old and he’d already won his first competition.”

She set the album on Frederic’s lap. The old photo was too small and blurry for him to focus much on, but he leaned forward and pretended all the same. Piper leaned in as well, her left knee knocking against his as she shifted angles. Frederic sucked in his breath at the awareness shooting up his thigh. Even with two layers of material, he felt every bump and bone pressed against him.

“Impressive,” he murmured. Although he wasn’t sure if he meant Nigel’s childhood art or Piper’s knee.

“He could have done so much,” Marie said. “We all told him to stop riding that motorbike, but he was stubborn.” A crack worked its way into the end of her voice. “I’m sorry,” she said, pressing a fist to her lips. “It’s been a long time since I’ve talked about Nigel at all.”

“We’re sorry if we’re bringing up bad memories,” Piper remarked.

“That’s all right. They aren’t all bad. In some ways, I think Nigel wanted to die young. He once told me that art only reached the masses once you were gone.”

“I could name a few living painters who might disagree,” Frederic replied.

Her resulting smile was watery, but strong. “I never said his theory made sense. In the end, it didn’t matter anyway, because his work never reached anyone.”

Because Theodore Duchenko ordered it destroyed.

“That is why we’re here,” Piper said. “My sister works for Ana Duchenko.”

Every ounce of humor disappeared from Marie’s face. “That family destroyed my brother,” she said, stiffening. “I was only a child, but I remember how my parents cursed Theodore Duchenko and the rest of them.”

To her credit, Piper didn’t stiffen in return. He always thought how a person reacted when challenged said a lot about them. His housekeeper, it appeared, knew how to stand tall. “From what I hear, Theodore Duchenko deserved cursing,” she said. “What he did was awful.”

“It was an outrage. Ruining my brother’s life, decimating his art all because he was afraid his family would be embarrassed.” The rest of her rant disappeared in a soft mutter.

“For what it’s worth, Ana never spoke to her brother again because of what he did.”

Marie stopped muttering. “She didn’t?”

“No. My sister says Ana blames her brother for Nigel’s death as much as you do. She never married, either.”

“Because of Nigel?”

“She loved your brother very much.”

This was the part of the story that made Frederic uncomfortable. Love stealing a young heiress’s future. The idea of a life stolen out from under you struck a little too close to home.

Marie was back at the bookcase, a long purple silhouette whose head was cut off in darkness. “I only met her once,” she was saying. “Nigel brought her to Sunday dinner and told us all she was his muse. My parents were not happy. I remember my father whispering that Ana ‘looked expensive.’” Frederic could picture the scene. Nigel, their starving artist son, walking in with his wealthy seventeen-year-old lover.