Moments Lost and Found (5 page)

Their last night was spent back in
Paris. Sam could feel the tension come over both of them as they drove back
into the city. Laurent had phoned ahead to their hotel to let them know they
were on their way. The hotel made the employee parking entrance available so
that they could arrive in privacy.

As Sam and Laurent walked through
the lobby towards the elevators, they both stopped as they saw George LaRue
sitting, oh so casually, clearly waiting for them. Laurent’s grip on Sam’s hand
tightened. Instantly, paparazzi was the least of their concerns.

 “Laurent, Samantha, what a
surprise running into you both here!” Of course, this was not some random
coincidence. Laurent started to walk again, not wanting to engage him, but
George had other plans, as he stood up, effectively blocking their way, “Oh
Laurent, come now, we didn’t get a chance to catch up the last time you were in
town, and we have so much to talk about.”

 “We have nothing to discuss,
George.” Laurent bit out through gritted teeth.

 “Oh, but I think we do. Now,
we can do this here, in the lobby, with the paparazzi outside,” at which, Sam
and Laurent both turned to follow George’s gaze out the front window. Sure
enough, there were a few men with baseball caps and cameras milling around just
outside the front. “Or, we can go up to your suite and discuss like old friends.”

 “We are not friends, George.”

 “I think you’re giving
Samantha here the wrong impression about us, Laurent! Now, let’s go upstairs
and have a chat. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to talk with my new friends outside
and give them a nice juicy story about you and that poor woman, what was her
name? Emilie? That you killed her and fired me because I was the only one who
knew the truth. Hmmm, that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

 “You always did have a very
active imagination, George.”

George’s tone went cold and
sinister. “You have no idea, Laurent. Now, you’ve kept me at bay long enough.
Let’s go have a chat.”

 “Laurent, we could call
security.” Sam said, which just added fuel to George’s fire.

 “
Mon dieu,
Laurent. I
never thought I’d see the day that you would be led around by a woman.
Samantha, what is the American phrase, pussy-whipped,
non
?” George was
smiling, clearly enjoying this.

At that, Laurent dropped Sam’s hand,
put it on the small of her back and started leading her to the elevators. “Ok,
George. Let’s get this over with.”

 “Now that’s more like it,
Laurent!” he said as the three of them walked into the elevator together. They
rode up in silence. Sam could feel George’s gaze on her, on them, but she
forced herself to focus on the numbers ticking by as the elevator ascended,
floor by floor. She stared at those numbers like they were the most interesting
things she had ever seen. Aside from her heart pounding, she could hear every
creek, every whir, every tiny noise the elevator made. The ride felt like it
took an eternity, when in reality, it was probably less than a minute.

When they finally got to their
suite, Laurent turned to Sam and said quietly so that only she could hear him,
“Go wait in the bedroom.” She was about to argue but knew better. She didn’t
want to give George any more ammunition than he already seemed to think he had.
And the look on Laurent’s face, there was no question that this was the Laurent
she had seen only a few times, but she knew him well enough to know that she
would not argue.

When Sam got to the bedroom, she sat
and wondered, is this what reality with Laurent would be like? Outside of their
little bubbles, when issues came up, would he always push her to the side to
deal with them? Their relationship had come so far so fast, but the reality was
that they both had pasts, they both had their own lives, and figuring out how
to live with each other and work with whatever baggage there was, that would
take getting used to. She didn’t have a lot of relationship experience, but she
knew enough to know that Laurent’s baggage was far more dramatic than what most
‘normal’ couples brought to a given relationship.

Sam was not the type of woman who
would try to listen to what was going on in the next room. If Laurent wanted to
share, he would have included her or would tell her after. He knew who George
was, and Sam obviously didn’t. She understood that whatever it was that George
had to say, his beef was with Laurent, and she would just be a distraction. The
last thing she wanted was in any way to weaken Laurent’s position. But the
longer she sat alone in the bedroom, the more time she had to think and the
more clear it became that she needed to keep her own identity, her own life. As
great as things were when she and Laurent were together, she needed to still be
Sam. She couldn’t be defined by Laurent, not that he asked her to be.  But
these last few weeks that they had spent together, with his family, she was
slowly fitting into
his
world. And she hated to admit, that she was
fitting so easily into it. Was it only because they were here in France? She
wouldn’t know until they got back home and got into whatever their new routine
would be. Everything up until now had been so intense, and figuring out how to
be in a relationship with him was such a defining part of who they were, what
would their reality be when they stripped away all the extreme circumstances?

One thing was clear, she was
suddenly alone. Granted, Laurent was in the next room, but this brief
intermission made her realize just how much of an effort it was going to be for
her to maintain her identity. As a single person, that was never an issue
before, but it was much more difficult now that she was with Laurent. So much
of her identity had suddenly become defined by him, by her relationship to him,
much of it because of their working together, but sitting there in the bedroom
alone, she made herself a promise: she would not let herself get lost in the
world as defined by Laurent.

Sam decided it would be a good time
to check in on her emails. She would be back home soon and now was the perfect
time to get mentally set for her return to reality. After the past two weeks,
her focus had been all on her relationship with Laurent, with Mme. Román’s
health, with her introduction to his family, and of course, with becoming a
target for the paparazzi. For the first time ever, she had not focused on work.
She knew that what she had with Laurent would change her life. If she were to
be with him, it would never again be just about work for her. And,
surprisingly, she liked that her life was so much more multi-dimensional than
it had ever been. She just became acutely aware that none of it could be all or
nothing anymore. Sam would have to learn balance. Maybe that’s what normal
people did every day, she thought. If the vast majority of people juggled kids,
relationships, jobs, friends, then there wasn’t any reason Sam couldn’t either.
Then again, most people weren’t Sam. More importantly, most people weren’t
Laurent.

 “You can’t possibly be
serious, George. Why are you wasting my time with this?” Laurent asked as he
poured himself a scotch.

George chuckled that Laurent made no
move to offer him a drink. “You have lost your manners, Laurent? I’ll take a
drink too, thank you.”

 “My manners are just fine. You
won’t be staying long.” Laurent declared as he circled the room, watching
George. He was going to sit, but didn’t want to give George the appearance of
superiority.

 “Ever the dominant, eh
Laurent? That must be difficult with such a strong willed woman as Samantha,
no?”

 “Leave Samantha out of this.”
Laurent’s tone was even, his mouth in a flat line.

 “Seems I’ve struck a nerve, eh
Laurent?” George chuckled as he walked over and had the balls to pour himself a
drink. George clucked his tongue, “Laurent Román, wearing his heart on his
sleeve. She must really be, uh, special.” George winked. Laurent knew better
than to react, he knew that George was trying to go for the easy target. “So,
she’s ok with your, how shall we say, uh, tendencies? It’s surprising, no? Just
looking at her, she seems almost, plain.” He chuckled, “But it is often the
plain ones who are secretly wild in bed, non?”

Laurent was not taking the bait, but
he was not going to roll over, “The difference, George, is that with you, you
mistake women who are struggling to get away from you as being wild in bed.
Unlike you, I’ve never had to force anyone to be with me.”

 “You always were a stickler
for semantics, Laurent.” George chuckled, making Laurent sick. He had heard the
stories about George, but George had him so convinced that he couldn’t possibly
be the monster that these women claimed he was, Laurent turned a blind eye.
After Laurent learned the truth about George’s embezzlement, he also realized
that the women’s stories must have also been true. He felt awful that he never
helped any of them, but by the time he found out, he tried to put as much
distance between him and George as possible. Still, Laurent was disgusted by
this man in front of him, and disgusted at himself for having been duped for so
long.

Laurent had enough of whatever this
ruse was, and was anxious to be rid of George, “George, I’m not sure what
misguided thoughts led you to believe that I would ever, in my right mind, do
business with you again. So let me be perfectly clear. I don’t care what you
threaten me with, I will never work with you again, I will never employ you
again, I will never be associated with you, in any capacity, ever again. The
thought of you running the French division of The Network is laughable. I know
you well enough, unfortunately, to know that there’s something else you’re
trying to get at, but I’m not sick and twisted like you, so I can’t figure out
what angle you’re playing. Yet.”

 “Tsk, tsk, Laurent. Such a
cynic. Seems you’ve been crossed before, eh? Poor baby.” George could be such a
patronizing ass, but again, Laurent did not even flinch.

Laurent chuckled, “I guess you’re
right, at least about one thing, George. Yes, I am a cynic. But I prefer to
think that I’ve learned from my mistakes. It seems to me, that after all this
time, you’re still right back where you were when I fired you. Angry and alone,
and looking to ride my coattails, again.”

George became deadly serious. He
could dish it out, but he most definitely couldn’t take it. “Trust me, Laurent,
you would prefer to have me within the fold than not.”

Laurent laughed, “Trust, George?
Really? That’s rich coming from you. I’ll take my chances. I seem to have done
quite well without you.” Laurent paused and then said, “We’re done here.”
Putting his glass down and crossing his arms over his chest.

 “Oh, I’m sure our paths will
cross again, Laurent. Until then.” He raised his glass to Laurent and drained
it in one last gulp before putting it down. He reached for the doorknob and
then turned back to toss one last sling, “Oh, and do give that adorable
girlfriend of yours a kiss goodbye for me. I was so looking forward to getting
to know her better.” He winked and then added, “Next time.” And with that, he
let himself out the door. Once it closed, it was all Laurent could do not to
hurl his glass at the door.

Laurent couldn’t immediately figure
out what George’s angle was, but he knew there was something far beneath the
surface. He would be back in LA soon enough and resolved to put all the
resources necessary to finding out. Laurent knew that he could handle whatever
it was that George was scheming, but the fact that Samantha was pulled into
this made him even more concerned. It also made Laurent vulnerable. He knew
that the simple fact that George had now seen Laurent twice with Samantha meant
that she was important to Laurent. She was a liability for Laurent when it came
to whatever game George was playing. He knew she was a weak spot that George
would seize upon when the time was right.

When Laurent and Sam got back to LA,
there was a period of adjustment. They were back in the real world, with their
own respective lives and companies to run, but this time, they were a couple.
And not just a couple in private like before. They agreed there was no reason
to keep their relationship secret any longer. The Network was a success, the
campaign was award-winning, and, Sam realized, few people thought much about
how Sam and Laurent came to be together.

It was odd though. Great, but odd.
Sam had spent her entire adult life single. She had never been one part of a
couple. She had always just been Sam. Or Sam of Sam Davis Advertising. But now
she was also Sam of Sam and Laurent. While she and Laurent were great together,
Sam couldn’t suddenly turn into someone she wasn’t, as in, instantly attached
at the hip to another person. She had always gone to dinners, parties, industry
and work events alone, and was still much more comfortable going solo than
having Laurent with her. He teased that she must be embarrassed of him, but the
reality was that it was just new and different. He was patient with her,
understanding that she was still getting used to everything that came with
being part of a couple, and she thought he was probably relieved not to have
more mindless cocktail parties to go to than necessary.

That said, he did expect her to
accompany him to his business dinners or events, and being the ‘spouse’
definitely took some getting used to. She was normally the one schmoozing or
working a room. To be someone’s plus one was not a role Sam was familiar with.
She had to push down the feeling that, by being on Laurent’s arm, she was
immediately thought less of. She knew that was probably just her mind working
overtime, but she also knew that when she was with Laurent, he was typically
one of the most powerful people in the room, and it stood to reason that no
matter what, he would be the focus of his colleagues’ attention. Thankfully,
there weren’t too many functions and Sam sucked it up to taking the bad with
the good. And by and large, the good far outweighed the bad.

They were still a very private
couple, but given who Laurent was, there were public functions that couldn’t be
avoided, including red carpet events every now and again. One more thing that
Sam couldn’t get used to was seeing her picture in the trades after one of
these events. Thankfully, once they ‘came out’ the tabloids left them alone.
The reality was, they were far too boring for much of anyone outside the
business world to take an interest.

No one at Sam’s agency ever actually
came out and asked her about her relationship. Her being the boss probably had
something to do with that. Steve already knew, and every now and again would
tease Sam, but she knew that he was genuinely happy for her.

And, for the first time in Sam’s
adult life, she was having regular sex. Not just regular, regular sex, but
amazing sex, regularly. Ever the chameleon, Sam never quite knew what Laurent
she would be with on any given night. After experimenting with the riding crop
in France, Laurent started introducing more and more toys into the bedroom. And
the kitchen. And the car. And the office… And anywhere else they could. Sam had
never been so adventurous sexually, she had never been with someone she felt so
comfortable with, and yet so turned on by. She trusted Laurent completely,
which enabled her to let down any fears or barriers and just be free to enjoy.
He could be so tender and loving, and yet so very, very naughty.

He also made Sam feel sexy. She had
always known she was attractive, and had always kept herself fit and trim, but
never before had she felt sexy. She never really understood lingerie, or toys
or role-playing. She had always been far too practical. More than that, she had
never been with anyone who she could experiment with. But now, being with
Laurent, she had never felt sexier. Almost 40 and he made her feel like a sex
kitten.

Sam knew that Laurent was also
adjusting to being a couple with her. Granted, he’d had more relationships in
the past than she did, but he admitted that they were never with someone he
considered his equal. Of all the compliments that Laurent paid Sam, this was
probably the biggest. But they both had been so used to living their own lives,
on their own schedules, and being their own bosses, neither ever really
answered to anyone. Well, Sam answered to her clients, but for Laurent, Sam got
a kick out of seeing him try to compromise. Except of course when it came to
any interaction with other men that wasn’t strictly business, most notably,
Mark Ives.

 “Laurent, honey, Mark and I
have history, and he’s a close friend. Nothing more.”

 “Samantha,
Cheri
, you
know that when you call me ‘honey’ it’s one of your tells, right?” he smirked
at her. Sam rolled her eyes and sighed as she smiled. By now, she was used to
his accent, but there were still some words that sounded so damn cute when he
said them. Honey was one of them, with a long ‘o’, for whatever reason, it made
her giggle whenever he said it.

Sam deadpanned, “I’ve been told
before that professional poker player is not in my future.” Laurent couldn’t
help but laugh, even if he didn’t like the topic of conversation.

 “All I know, Samantha, is when
you pull out the ‘honey’ it’s for something you know you’re going to have to
convince me of. And,
Cheri
, using ‘honey’ only makes me more
suspicious.” He winked as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the tip of her
nose.

 “Anyway,
honey
,” Sam
emphasized and stuck her tongue out, “Mark and I are having dinner tomorrow
night. We’re both up for the TimeCap network rebrand, and I wanted to make sure
there’s no hard feelings, whoever wins.”

 “Pure intentions doesn’t make
me like it any more.” He said as he raised an eyebrow, and continued, “but I
respect that regardless of who wins, it’s a classy move, on both of your
parts.” Sam picked up his arm and started massaging it. “What, what are you
doing?” he asked.

 “Well, I know that must have
pained you to admit that there’s merit to our dinner, so I was just looking to see
if your arm was somehow twisted.” She winked.

 “You know,
Cheri
, that,
the dinner, they’re all just going on the punishment list.”

Sam smiled, “That’s what I’m hoping
for. Come on, let’s go see if we can’t make a dent into that list.” She said
playfully as she grabbed Laurent’s hand and led him to her bedroom. He laughed
as he swung her around, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder so that
her head was at his ass and her ass was on his shoulder, which he swiftly
swatted now that it was right there.

 “I think someone’s getting far
to brave for their own good.” He laughed and threw her down on the bed, closed
the door and indeed started to make a dent into their list.