Page 6 of Belle Amour

She got in her car and let out a frustrated scream, slamming her hands on the steering wheel. Fuck, she hated that woman. Personally, she thought Bastian shouldn’t have backed down about going after her when she tried to pass her unborn child off as his. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she took a few deep breaths. She had almost instantly regretted saying no to a drink. Bastian shouldn't be left alone with her; he seemed to be incapable of saying no to Kelly for whatever reason, and she was willing to bet one drink would turn into several and another baby scare in a few weeks. Kelly was enough of an airhead to forget Bastian had a vasectomy.

Mirabelle leaned back in her seat, resting her head on the headrest and staring at the ceiling of her car for a moment before shaking her head and reaching for her seatbelt. Every time she shared her frustration with Bastian, he would beg her to have more patience; he was working on getting his ducks in a row to leave Henderson Law and doing his best not to cause waves or problems for John, whom he felt sorry for. Mirabelle didn’t feel sorry for John at all. She was close friends with his wife, Marie, and knew he brought everything on himself. She also knew Marie was quietly getting her things together to divorce him. Kelly and Kade had moved in with them, and it was causing a lot of stress in their marriage because John refused to stand up to his daughter and expected everyone to indulge her as he did.

Bastain was taking far too long to make his exit and had adopted John’s habit of indulging Kelly to keep her fromhaving meltdowns, which meant Mirabelle also had to put up with Kelly's attitude. The attempt to push her down had pushed her past her breaking point. If Bastian wasn't ready to go at ten tomorrow morning, or if she got there and Kelly was in his bed, she would be leaving her resignation on his table, along with the check for his services as her lawyer. He had refused payment after the divorce was settled, and she knew he would never come after her for it, but she had written the check anyway and planned to deposit it into his account, just like he had done when she represented him during his divorce.

She hit the button to start her car and saw Bastian coming towards her. She seriously considered driving away but decided to see what he wanted. When he was beside her, she lowered the window and looked up at him. “Are you sure you don't want to come?” He crouched down next to her door and rested his forearms on the edge of the door, giving her his most charming smile in what she knew was an attempt to convince her to come with him. She returned his smile, leaning closer to him.

“I could come, but you'd be bailing me out tomorrow.” Mirabelle held Bastian’s gaze as she sat back, letting him know she was very serious. Get a few drinks in her and she would let Kelly know precisely what she thought of her.

“Mira...” He sighed, resting his forehead on his arm and slowly shaking it. “You have to be professional.” His voice was muffled and sounded tired and frustrated, but Mirabelle was over feeling sorry for him.

“Why?” She snorted out a harsh laugh. It was funny that he expected her to be professional but was okay with Kelly behaving like a child. “She isn't.”

“You're better than her.” Bastian looked up at her, his expression pleading with her to understand, but it only made her angrier.

“So why don't you hold her up to the standard you hold me up to, Bast? Why does she get away with almost shoving me to the ground, but I'm told to be professional for expressing my displeasure at it?” She glared at him. “By the way, thanks so much for standing up for me back there. The way you came to my defence warmed my cold, dead heart.”

“You're right, Bunny, I'm sorry. I should have said something.” Bastian reached out and ran his fingers along her cheek. She could see he felt terrible, but once again, it only made her more upset. Mirabelle scoffed and folded her arms, aware that she was behaving childishly now but unable to stop herself. “It's only a little bit longer, Mira, and we'll be able to leave.”

“I'll believe it when I see it, Bast.” She shook her head and swallowed the angry lump that rose in her throat. “I'm near the end of my rope; she treats me like I'm less than a dog, and honestly, the fact that you agreed to a drink with her...” She shook her head again, knowing nothing she said would matter at this point. “Be ready at ten. I will leave without you if you're not.” She started to put up her window, forcing him to stand up and stake a step back, then she pulled out of her parking space and drove off before he had a chance to reply.

Chapter Five: The Morning After

Mirabelle

At five minutes to ten, Mirabelle pulled up to Bastian's condo building, parked in his visitor’s space – really her space since she was pretty much the only one who used it – and let herself into the building. She would be shocked if he was ready; he had texted her throughout the night, apologizing several times and complaining about Kelly’s antics, all while assuring her he was going home soon. She answered the first couple of texts dryly and stopped responding at nine-thirty, irritated that he was still there after claiming it was “one celebratory drink.” The last time he texted, it was close to midnight, telling her he was home. Mirabelle left him on read, too irritated to respond, and went to sleep.

She wasn’t sure what she’d do if Kelly was there. She didn’t think Bastian was stupid enough to get drunk with Kelly again after the whole baby-trapping attempt or sleep with her, but she also never thought he would take Kelly’s side with things, and he’d proven her wrong multiple times in the last three months.

Stepping off the elevator, Mirabelle nervously tapped her keys against her thigh as she walked down the hall to Bastian’s condo. She deliberately didn’t text or call to let him know she was awake and on her way, partially wanting to believe that he was going to be up, packed and waiting for her. That theywould be able to have a calm, adult conversation about Kelly and how her attitude, work ethic and John and Bastian’s way of appeasing her was bringing down office morale, then have a discussion with John and the rest of the support staff when they got back next week, and everything would work out… But the other part was looking forward to the fallout that would happen if Bastian wasn’t ready because she desperately wanted to bring Kelly, John and, to a slightly lesser extent, Bastian, the consequences they deserved.

She stood in front of his door and took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever was about to happen, then unlocked it and let herself in quietly, looking it around. When you walked into Bastian’s condo, you were in a small entrance area with a door to the left that led to a small two-piece guest bathroom/laundry room, and then you walked into the open-concept kitchen, dining room and living room. There was a small guest bedroom Bastian used as an office off the dining room and a master bedroom with an ensuite off the living room. It was mostly monochromatic in blacks, greys and browns, with pops of colour in the artwork and throw pillows and blankets. He was minimalistic when it came to knick-knacks, mostly small things he had collected when travelling with Mirabelle over the years.

There was no sign of Bastian, and when she moved into the kitchen, still a little hopeful he would come out of the bedroom with his duffel bag, she could hear the shower going in the ensuite. She huffed out a sigh and ran her hands through her hair, debating on what to do. On the one hand, it was ten, and she told him she wasn’t going to wait for him. On the other, it sounded like he had slept in and was going to be out in a few minutes. Deciding that she had given him more than enough opportunities to prove he was on her side with things, she started to leave, but the bedroom door opened, and Bastianwalked out, still in pyjama pants and a t-shirt. He froze when he saw her, guilt blooming across his face.

“Mira.” He croaked, glancing at the clock and visibly wincing. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Hey Bast.” Mirabelle leaned on the end of the kitchen island, smiling at him humorlessly. “Should I wait and see who comes out of the shower, or is it who I think it is?

“It's not what you think -” He stopped speaking and winced again as the words came out, running his hand through his hair. Mirabelle raised her eyebrow at him in disbelief, and he started toward her. “I know it looks bad, but…” He sighed and trailed off, clearly knowing how pathetic he sounded.

“Seriously?” She laughed harshly. “So, you didn't bring that bitch back here last night after your “one celebratory drink” and fuck her?” She suddenly didn’t feel one bit of guilt about what she was about to do, and she hoped getting his dick wet was worth it.

“I brought her back here, but...”

“Nope. I don't care.” She cut him off, shaking her head as she pulled the envelope with her resignation and the check out of her purse and laid it on the island. “It's none of my business. I'm just your PA, and at the end of my vacation, I'm not even that anymore.” She placed the keys to his condo on top of the envelope and turned to leave.

“What are you talking about?” Bastian moved quickly toward her, shock and panic replacing the guilt on his face. “Mira, let me explain!”

“I told you if you weren't ready at ten, I was leaving without you.” Mirabelle moved quickly to the door without looking back. “I was hoping to have more of a discussion aroundmy resignation, but it clearly wouldn’t have mattered.” She left his condo, forcing herself to walk and not run to the elevator.

“Mira!” Bastian chased her out into the hall and down to the elevator. “Will you just please let me explain!” He caught her by the upper arm, gently stopping her and turning her around to face him. “I didn't sleep with her; I slept on the couch.” Mirabelle looked up at him, raising her eyebrow as Bastian’s hand slid down her arm to grasp her hand. “I swear I didn’t; you know I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole; I’m not stupid.”

Mirabelle wavered slightly. He’d always been honest with her, and he was right; he wasn’t actually stupid enough to sleep with her, but that didn’t explain why he brought her to his place. “So why is she showering in your bathroom instead of her own this morning?” She pulled her hand free and folded her arms over her chest.

Bastian let out a huge sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. She could see he was exhausted and frustrated, but she really didn’t understand why he kept giving in to Kelly, which was frustrating her, making her less understanding and patient with him. “She convinced me to go to the Infamous, and when we got there, she ordered a Long Island Iced Tea and some kind of shot, and she fucking downed them. By the time I finished my scotch, she had three drinks and three shots gone, so she got herself fucking wasted. She hit on me, and I turned her down very bluntly. She started crying about how no one wanted her because she was a single mom and was just a very sloppy drunk. I didn’t feel right leaving her alone in that state, so I brought her back here to let her sleep it off and sober up.”

Mirabelle stared at him in disbelief. “You didn’t feel right leaving her alone and brought her back here to sleep it off and sober up.” She repeated. She really didn’t understand his thought process at all. “So, she sobered up and slept it off; whyhaven’t you kicked her out yet? You knew I was going to be here at ten.”

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