Mistress for Hire Read Free

requirement.” He spoke as if he had had this argument many times before.
    “And shouldn’t everyone indulge themselves once in a while?” Nikki retorted. No wonder Jessica had referred to him as cold. Except, all Nikki could feel was heat. Calm down, girl . She pushed up her glasses.
    The man shrugged his massive shoulders. “It is discipline which breeds success, not indulgences.”
    “I didn’t say that.” Why was she bothering to argue? She turned pointedly to Madame. “Perhaps you can recommend someone else who has a job available?”
    Madame merely looked at Beauvais. He raised an eyebrow in silent communication with the older woman as she nodded in return. He sighed and looked back at Nikki. “I find myself in need of a new assistant. Someone I can rely on. Someone I can trust.” He raised his eyebrow as if he’d already evaluated her and found her lacking.
    Nikki straightened, angered, but intrigued by his offer. “I will look for a job with a bakery, but thank you all the same.” Mimi would be ashamed to hear how ungracious she sounded. She stood and instantly regretted it as her thigh connected with Beauvais’s knee. Pushing her glasses up, she turned to take her cape from its hook. But Beauvais reached over her head and grasped it for her, unfurling the folds to drape over her shoulders. She twisted away from him, pulling her hair from underneath her collar as she stumbled against the desk.
    His hand shot out to grasp her elbow. Their eyes locked for an instant and she stopped breathing. She wrenched her arm away to fasten her collar.
    “ Merci, Madame. Thank you for breakfast,” Nikki said stiffly. She hadn’t imagined the woman would turn her away.
    “Ah, Nikki, please consider Gérard’s offer. He has a beautiful office. Right on the Seine.”
    “A water view? Sounds like an indulgence to me.” She couldn’t resist the gibe.
    He laughed and the whole room filled with the rich, booming sound. Nikki smiled, despite herself.
    “Here. Take my card.” Beauvais retrieved a slim wallet from his inner breast pocket and handed Nikki a business card.
    Nikki fingered the engraved gold letters on the stiff, cream-colored stock. She looked up and he gave her a wry smile.
    “Come see me today and I’ll buy you lunch.”
    Nikki merely nodded and said her goodbyes. Anger drove her out to the sidewalk and down the street. She considered throwing Beauvais’s card into the gutter, but something made her hesitate and she tucked it into her backpack. After all, she might need a meal later. Arrogant man. She’d show him. Soon he’d be on his knees begging for a bite of one of her pastries. Nikki shook her head over her fanciful musings. The grand Gérard Beauvais. Begging. Oh dear .

Chapter 2
    Nikki made her way through the morning streets of Paris. Workers zipped by on scooters. Shop keepers hosed down dirty sidewalks. With a full belly, even the air felt different than home and the excitement of finally being in the city buoyed her steps. She walked past a bakery, the heady perfume of baking bread stopping her in the middle of the sidewalk. If she could find a bakery job, then she wouldn’t have to rely on the Beauvais family for a handout. She doubled back, ducked in to talk to the proprietor, and was promptly laughed out of the shop. Not giving up, she tried another baker who pretended not to understand her American-accented French. The last proprietor gave her a rude stare and turned his back to her.
    Nikki had done a lot of studying in preparation for her dream. She’d read all the food magazines at the library every month. She’d watched most of the cooking and food shows, even when Tim whined about missing the ball game. She’d taken French classes at the community college at night to work off the rough edges of the dialect Mimi had taught her. And she’d read blog after blog of foodies living in Paris and what they did there. And, of course, she’d cooked, earning a reputation around the