The Call Boy I Met in Paris — Episode 24
Sophie stared at Justin’s darkened phone for a moment longer than he liked. The glimpse had been brief, perhaps no more than a blue logo and Patrick’s name, but every second of silence made exposure feel inevitable. Justin slipped the device into his pocket and waited for the question.
“Your friend really takes that fish seriously,” she said at last. Amusement, not recognition, warmed her eyes. Whatever she had seen meant nothing to her yet, and Justin released a careful breath.
“Tommy inspires loyalty,” he replied. He hated how easily the ridiculous lie continued growing, but Sophie laughed softly, making the danger almost worthwhile. Soon she was introducing him around the office as her new assistant, and no one dared question the speed of his hiring after seeing his résumé.
Justin spent the next hours reviewing preliminary drawings with Sophie. Working at the same table changed the rhythm between them. She was decisive without being arrogant, quick to defend an idea but equally quick to revise it when evidence demanded. He began to understand why Swift Architecture mattered to her beyond inheritance.
She, meanwhile, discovered that her supposedly inexperienced husband could identify structural inefficiencies at a glance. Justin softened several observations so he would not overwhelm the team, but even his restrained comments improved circulation, light, and material use. Sophie’s pride grew with every useful suggestion.
“You were hiding all this talent while letting me think you had no plan,” she accused near the end of the day. Justin met her gaze over the drawings. He had hidden far more than talent, but her pleased smile kept him from confessing.
“I told you I’ve done a little of this and a little of that,” he said. The answer earned him a skeptical look. Before she could interrogate him further, the office clock gave him an escape.
Sophie gathered her bag and car keys. “Anyways, come on. I’ll give you a ride.” Justin followed her toward the elevator, wondering whether Patrick had sent a rescue vehicle. The executive had finally stopped calling, which was more ominous than the calls themselves.
“Where are we going?” Justin asked once they reached the parking garage. He had several residences, but none matched the struggling life Sophie believed he lived. Letting her drive him to a Lake mansion was obviously impossible.
“I don’t want to overwork you on your first day,” Sophie said as they entered her car. “Let me give you a ride home.” Her offer was casual, yet refusing too forcefully would create another inconsistency.
“My home?” Justin repeated. He searched for a suitable address while she pulled into traffic. One modest property used by temporary Lake employees came to mind, and he directed her there while silently praying no one would recognize him.
The apartment building was clean but crowded, set near a busy transit corridor far removed from his usual world. Sophie stopped at the curb and looked toward the entrance. “This is where you live?”
“Yep. Thanks for the ride.” Justin reached for the door with suspicious speed. “I’ll catch you later.” If he could get her away before she asked to come inside, he could have Patrick arrange something plausible for the future.
“You can head out now,” he added after stepping onto the sidewalk. Sophie remained behind the wheel, studying him through the open window. “No worries. Go ahead.”
Her concern made her stubborn. Instead of driving away, she switched off the engine. Justin turned toward the locked entrance and discovered that his escape plan had reached its obvious flaw: he possessed no key.
“You know, I forgot my key,” he said, patting his pockets for effect. “I’ll wait for my roomie to get here.” The lie sounded plausible until Sophie looked past him at the names listed beside the apartment buzzer.
“You share this place with a roommate?” she asked. Justin counted the number of Lake employees assigned to the unit and realized honesty, in this tiny matter, might be safer.
“Four,” he admitted. Her eyebrows rose. “Four roommates.” The apartment suddenly looked smaller, noisier, and more precarious through Sophie’s eyes.
“No, no, no. This won’t do.” She restarted the car with the decisive motion Justin had seen at the drafting table. He hurried back to the passenger side, asking where she intended to take him, but she only ordered him to get in.
Less than an hour later, Justin stood beside Sophie in the gleaming sales center of a luxury residential development. A scale model displayed villas built by Lake Enterprises, and the featured single-family home carried a price of thirty million dollars. Sophie turned to him as if buying property for her supposedly penniless husband were perfectly reasonable and declared, “Let’s go buy you a house.”
