The Call Boy I Met in Paris — Episode 19
Ted settled into the dinner as though the table had been waiting for him. Sophie asked about Barcelona, and Justin listened while pretending to study the menu.
“Business was fantastic,” Ted said. “We broke record sales three years in a row. Revenue is up over half a billion now.”
“Congratulations,” Sophie replied with genuine pleasure. “Your father must be so proud.” Her familiarity with Ted’s family made Justin feel like the only outsider at his own dinner.
“Wow. Half a billion.” Justin allowed the number to hang between them, sounding impressed while privately comparing it with figures Lake Enterprises surpassed without celebration.
He leaned forward. “What line of work are you in, Todd?” The incorrect name was deliberate enough that Sophie shot him a warning look.
“Ted,” the other man corrected. “Construction. We’re one of the largest construction companies in Spain.”
Sophie supplied the history before Justin could respond. “My mom was an architect. That’s why our families are friends.” Her voice softened at the mention of her mother.
The explanation made Ted’s place in her life clearer. He belonged to the years Justin had missed, connected not only to Sophie but to the mother whose company she was fighting to protect.
“Profit margins in construction are usually pretty low,” Justin observed. He knew the international market well enough to dissect Ted’s claim without effort.
“So if your revenue is five hundred million, you took home what—three hundred million? Even after taxes, that’s…” His tone remained mild, but the calculation exposed the boast’s convenient vagueness.
“Justin, stop being so rude,” Sophie said. Embarrassment sharpened her whisper. She believed her husband was attacking a guest because he felt insecure.
“No, it’s fine,” Ted replied, smiling as though he were the more gracious man. “He’s right. We have a long way to go.”
The humility lasted only a moment. “I’m certain we’ll surpass Lake Construction here in no time.” Ted did not know he had made the prediction directly to the man whose company he hoped to defeat.
Justin’s expression barely shifted. Ted’s Spanish firm was respectable, but it was nowhere near threatening Lake Enterprises. The arrogance would have amused him if Sophie had not been looking at her friend with such admiration.
Ted turned the conversation with practiced ease. “What about you, Justin? What type of work are you in?”
The question dropped into the exact gap Justin had been trying to hide. Dennis hovered at a distance, Joey knew the truth, and Patrick was probably canceling another board meeting—but Sophie still believed he lived on the edge of financial survival.
Justin could have answered honestly. He imagined the shock on Sophie’s face and the certainty that every tender moment since City Hall would become contaminated by the lie.
Sophie mistook his silence for shame. She remembered Derek calling him a boy toy and her family treating him like trash. The last thing she wanted was for Ted’s success to make Justin feel small.
“Shit,” she thought, reaching beneath the table to touch Justin’s hand. His gaze dropped to their joined fingers, surprise quieting his jealousy.
Before he could speak, Sophie faced Ted with protective certainty. “Justin works with me now. He’s my assistant architect.” Ted nodded politely, but Justin stared at his wife as a new problem took shape: she had just given the CEO of Lake Enterprises a job at her architecture firm.
