Maison Plaisir (Spirit World 1)

Belle gripped the edge of her chair. What they demanded was a pretty tall order. She liked them both. Loved them both. And to choose one of them would be impossible. Silence blanketed them until she finally worked up the courage to speak her mind. “I can’t…”

Armand’s lips thinned into a grim line. He traded gazes with Hervé before he returned his attention to her. “Do you need more time?”

She wanted to, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. She knew in the end she wouldn’t be able to choose. She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”

“So, this is it?” Hervé sounded outraged. “No, I can’t accept this.”

“None of this would have happened if you’d just backed off,” Armand snapped at his cousin.

“Back off? I let you win, once. Now it’s my turn!”

Belle jumped from her seat. “Would you two cut it out?”

That got their attention. Armand and Hervé stopped arguing.

“This is why I don’t want to choose either of you. I couldn’t stand seeing you fighting. If I chose one of you, are you two still going to talk to one another? Are you going to continue fighting forever? You’re family. Nothing should come between the two of you. Not even me.”

Hervé was taken aback. “Belle…”

“I’ve made up my mind. Please honour it. It would be better for all of us if we just go our separate ways.”

Armand clenched his fist. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, too bad! The world doesn’t revolve around you two, you know? You…” She pointed at Armand. “Sometimes women get tired of your macho shit attitude, and you…” She turned to Hervé. “Just because you’re handsome, don’t get your head stuck in the clouds and assume all women will fall for you. I’ve had just about enough of you two bickering. Goodbye.” She felt both men’s gazes burn her back as she made her way to her room. She planned to go back to her own apartment tonight and put this whole thing behind her.

It’s for the best.

Belle tried to focus her mind on her work, but she just couldn’t. A week had passed and not a day went by where she hadn’t regretted what she’d said to Armand and Hervé. She wondered if she’d been too harsh on them. Neither Armand nor Hervé had tried to contact her after she left Hervé’s mansion that night. Were they mad? Should she apologise? At the time, she thought it was the best way to keep them from jumping at each other’s throats. But now, she rued what she’d done. She missed them. Something was missing for not having them around. If they could stay friends, she wouldn’t feel this miserable. At least she would see them from time to time.

She furiously scribbled on her Wacom pad, erasing the vector figures she’d just drawn on the InDesign. Her supervisor had given her an assignment to design a client’s website and she was supposed to create a whimsical commerce layout for a children’s clothing boutique. But since she couldn’t concentrate, her sketch looked more like a pre-schooler’s doodles.

Frustrated, Belle deleted her current digital sketch and started with a blank workspace. She stared at her computer screen for five minutes, waiting for inspiration to kick in. Her mind remained blank. She caught sight of her phone and a terrible urge to call Hervé or Armand pestered her relentlessly.

“Belle.”

She jumped. Her friend Lisa poked her head around the cubicle partition. “You startled me.”

Lisa cringed. “You okay? You’re spacing out.”

“I’m fine. You want something?”

Lisa handed her a folder containing the tear sheets of the project Belle had just recently handed over to her boss.

“Something wrong with it?” Belle asked.

“Hell yeah.” Lisa rolled her eyes. “Marcus said this is the second time this week you did a sloppy airbrush work on the models’ shoots. He wants to see you now in his office.”

“Oh crap.”

“You okay, Belle? I’m worried about you. Lately you seem different.”

Belle waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine. Just tired and all.”

“Uh huh.” Lisa didn’t seem to buy her excuses. “Well. You don’t want to keep Marcus waiting, do you?”

Belle sighed. “I guess.” She rose from her seat half-heartedly. “I’ll go see him now.”

“Don’t forget I need those shoots fixed before the end of the day. We’re running on a tight schedule since the ad is going to be live next week.”