Page 88 of Under A Sicilian Sky
She wiped at her face. ‘But… I booked a hotel.’
‘Non! Absolument pa! My wife, she would divorce me. You are to stay with us.’
‘What did Valerie say when you told her you were collecting me?’ she asked as Philippe loaded her bags into the trunk.
Philippe opened the car door for her. ‘I no longer work for Valerie.’
She gasped. ‘Oh? How come? I hope it wasn’t anything to do with me.’ She climbed into the car.
He shook his head. ‘Not directly.’ He crouched to face her. ‘I was in her office often, trying to find out what was being done to clear your name. I discovered, by chance, that she has done nothing. That she has lied. I told her she must confess this to you. Then I told her she could find another driver. I didn’t wish to work for liars.’
‘Oh no! Philippe, that means itisbecause of me. That’s terrible.’
‘Non. I will not accept this. It was my decision. And I am fine. I have another job now. Please don’t worry. I just felt so strongly after how you were treated. You are like…’ He glanced at the floor. ‘Merde.’ He shook his head and cleared his throat, his eyes glistening. ‘You are like family to us. Like my petite soeur. Little sister. I will not have this treatment of you.’
Hearing him say those things lifted her heart and she once again flung her arms around him. ‘Thank you so much. If I did have a big brother, I’d want him to be just like you. Now, please, can you take me home?’
He gave a single nod. ‘Très rapidement.’ He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
* * *
Relief flooded Ruby’s body as Philippe pulled the car onto the driveway of his pretty, suburban home. She felt her shoulders relax as she climbed out of the car and Jessica opened the front door. She held her arms open and Ruby willingly walked right into them.
‘Hey, hi. How are you doing?’ Jessica asked.
Ruby pulled away. ‘Bloody awful.’
As Ruby unpacked her things for what felt like the hundredth time, in yet another location, she regaled Jessica with the goings-on of Skye.
At the end of her story, Jessica huffed out the air from her lungs through puffed cheeks. ‘Wow. Honey, you really are a dumbass magnet. And I mean that in the best possible way.’
Ruby nodded. ‘Yup. I think I just need to give up on men.’
‘No, Ruby, don’t do that. The right guy is out there. I promise you. I think you’re just finding all the bad ones. So at least when you find the right one, he’ll be perfect.’
Ruby scoffed. ‘Yeah. I actually thought Mitch was pretty close.’
‘It sounds like he was at the beginning. And yet he ended up in bed with your assistant right after being in yours. It’s scary how people can be so deceiving.’
‘I know. He had the audacity to message me, you know. Pretending to wonder why I had left without saying goodbye.’
‘Really? Didn’t you confront him?’ Jessica asked, eyes wide with incredulity.
‘No.’ Ruby sighed. ‘I felt too foolish. I just wanted to leave.’
‘I can understand that. But isn’t he the one who is dealing with the hacking? How will you know it’s all been dealt with?’
Ruby shrugged. ‘I presume I’ll find out somehow.’
Jessica sighed and squeezed her arm. ‘I hope it’s soon. This has been going on long enough. You’ve been through so much.’
‘I know. I’m exhausted. In fact… I’ve made a decision.’
‘Oh? Do you want to talk about it?’
Ruby took a deep breath. ‘I’ve decided it’s time I had a change of career.’
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