📖 The Story Continues
The story doesn't end here.Continue reading the full story adaptation below and discover what happens next.
The Call Boy I Met in Paris – Episode 6
Sophie stared at Justin beneath the skeletal frame of Maple Plaza, startled by how naturally he seemed to belong among the workers and machinery. “It’s you,” she said, her surprise quickly giving way to concern. In less than a day, she had encountered him in two completely different worlds.
Her mistaken explanation adjusted without breaking. “So you work the hotels at night and then here during the day?” she asked. The idea of him moving from wealthy clients to construction shifts seemed exhausting, but not impossible for a man trying to survive in an expensive city.
Justin opened his mouth to correct her, then caught the sincere worry in her expression. She was not mocking him. Somehow, Sophie had looked at a billionaire inspecting his own development and decided he was an overworked laborer who needed help.
“Well, jeez, don’t overwork yourself,” she said. The protectiveness in her voice reminded him of the young woman who had once handed money to a stranded stranger in Paris. Seven years had changed her circumstances, but not the instinct that had made her impossible to forget.
Justin let amusement overtake the correction. “I usually handle it just fine,” he told her, lowering his voice, “but I’m especially tired after last night.” The deliberate implication sent color racing into Sophie’s cheeks.
She knew she should ignore him, but the question slipped out before caution intervened. “How many rounds?” The instant she heard herself, she wished the construction noise could swallow the words.
Justin’s smile widened. Sophie lifted a hand between them. “Okay, stop it right there,” she said, refusing to let him answer. She had enough trouble without discussing their night together in the middle of a professional site.
“Anyway,” Justin said, sparing her for the moment, “what brings you here today, Miss Swift?” He already had people gathering information about her, but he wanted to hear the answer in her own words.
“You can call me Sophie.” She shifted the blueprints against her side, regaining a measure of composure. “I’m supposed to meet the construction site manager, but I’m late, and I think they’ve already left.”
She glanced around the busy site without realizing that the man she sought stood directly before her. “I guess I can call them later,” she added. Frustration crossed her face; every delay mattered when her family was using the company as a weapon against her.
Justin connected the blueprints, her name, and the scheduled meeting. “She’s from the architecture firm that’s partnering with us?” he asked, turning toward one of his employees. The confirmation explained why fate had brought Sophie into his path for a third time.
Sophie barely registered the exchange. Her father’s warning remained fixed in her mind: three days to marry or lose her mother’s firm. She looked at Justin again, taking in the clothes she assumed belonged to a site employee and the weariness she imagined his two jobs must cause.
An audacious solution formed. He was attractive, apparently unattached, comfortable with unusual arrangements, and already accustomed to being paid for his time. Most importantly, he had no visible connection to Derek, Stella, or Tony.
“Justin, you must be exhausted from working two jobs,” Sophie said. Sympathy and calculation blended in her expression. “Why don’t you come work for me instead?”
“Huh?” For perhaps the first time, Justin could not predict where her misunderstanding was leading. He had expected another tip, not a job offer.
“I can double your current salary,” Sophie promised. She did not know what that salary was, and she had no idea that doubling it would require wealth beyond the reach of her mother’s company. “Whatever it is.”
Before Justin could ask what she meant, Sophie caught his hand and began pulling him toward the site exit. He could have stopped her easily, but curiosity kept him moving. Few people dared to command him, and none had ever tried to recruit him away from businesses he owned.
“Where are we going?” he asked as she hurried him toward the waiting car. Then, recognizing the far more important omission, he added, “What’s the job?”
“City Hall,” Sophie answered. Her heart pounded as the plan became real, but desperation left no room for retreat. A legal marriage could satisfy the will, protect the firm, and prove that Derek no longer held power over her.
She opened the car door and faced Justin with fierce determination. “And the job is to marry me.” His teasing expression disappeared. “What?” he demanded, but Sophie was already looking at him as if the supposed call boy she had met one night ago had become the only man who could save her future.
