and pulled me out of the ballroom. Evidently, we were fleeing.
People were still staring at us, but at least most of the phones had disappeared. Disbelieving laughter floated out of me as we hurried toward the door, but I didn’t look back.
I’d made my stand. Now all I had to do was hope I still had a job after that. I’d already been on desperately thin ice, though. But as bizarre as all this was, I didn’t think I was ready for it to end. I simply wanted to be able to be myself going ahead.
That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Chapter 34
DANE
“Was that insane?” Leah asked once we slowed as we hit the sidewalk outside the hotel. “That was insane. It’s official. This job has made me mad.”
“You’ve had a lot of ups and downs in a very short time, but I think that’s called change,” I said. “Not madness.”
“It feels a lot like madness.” She wrinkled her nose as she stopped to look up at me. “What do we do now? I’ve just told off the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company and I might be out of a job. It’s also not likely that I’ll ever come back to Paris again now. I’m definitely not just about to go to bed.”
“Then we won’t go to bed,” I said. “It’s still really early, we haven’t even eaten yet, and it’s our last night. We should squeeze every minute we can out of France and possibly get one more dinner out of them.”
“Agreed.” She glanced down at her feet, only covered in stockings, and then pursed her lips. “I’d love to walk the streets of Paris with you all night until it’s time for our flight tomorrow morning, but we’re going to need to get me a new pair of shoes before we can do that.”
“You want to see Parc de La Villette anyway, don’t you?” I asked, securing her hand in mine before marching toward the curb to find a cab. “There are some shops around there where we’ll find you a pair of shoes, and it’s an attraction that’s a little off the beaten path. It’s a win-win.”
She smiled, but I could see the shadows dancing in her eyes. “That sounds like a dream come true, but are you sure you want to stick with me? My bad attitude might rub off on you.”
“You can rub off on me anytime you like,” I said, a smirk forming on my lips before I arched a brow at her. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, so don’t worry about it, okay?”
Her teeth sank into her lower lip, but she nodded just as a cab pulled up. “Is there a reason why we’re not taking our car?”
“Yep.” I grinned and opened the back door for her. “It’s not very touristy. We’ve only got a couple of hours left here to be tourists. We’re already going to be exploring the city in our formalwear instead of having fanny packs and sweaters on. I figured taking a cab would make our experience feel more authentic.”
“You’re sure that it’s not because you think you’re in hot water with Jefferson and you don’t want him thinking we’ve stolen a company car?”
I laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to her temple before motioning her into the cab. “You really need to stop worrying about my relationship with Jefferson. He and I understand each other. Our relationship isn’t fragile. None of this will affect the way things are between the two of us.”
While I really did believe what I’d said was true, I was also worried about the old man. Jefferson was as stubborn as a mule and as proud as a peacock. He wouldn’t take well to having been schooled in front of all those people. He also wasn’t just about to let go of his ideas overnight.
It would take time before he came around. If he ever came around. I doubted he’d fire Leah over this, if not only because it would look really bad if he did after the videos of this evening surfaced. But it was more than that.
I didn’t think he would fire her because I was ninety percent sure that, deep down inside, he admired her spunk. God knew I did. I was in absolute awe of the way she could get people eating out of the palm of her hand in seconds and how everyone she met was charmed by her. But I liked her more