Page 12 of Flame True

“Hello, Maman,” he kissed both her cheeks.

Livia Laurent’s high heels clicked on the hardwood floors as she took in the mess of the condo. She made a face. “Really, Nick, you could at least call the cleaning service. Did you forget to put on a shirt?” His Maman pressed her lips together in silent judgment.

“One moment.” Nick did the inhale/exhale thing as he took a shirt from his bedroom closet and threw it on.

“Better,” his mother said. She sat down on a stool at his island, glancing around.

In a pale pink skirt suit, with her chestnut hair in a bun, her face barely lined, she looked like the successful businesswoman that had graced the cover of Women’s Day International last year.

The truth of Laurent Industries was though his father Henri may be the face of the company, the guy who got lucky and loved messing with computers, his mother was the one with the sharp business intellect that made it a household name.

“Have you been working?” His mother reached over, closing his laptop lid.

“Yep, I’m running some new software.” The accent-reducing program he hadn’t decided on if he was going to show to Henri yet.

“Amazingly, you won’t work for your father, but you’ll play with the toys.”

“I duck into our satellite office once a week, Maman. What brings you by?”

His mom and sister exchanged glances, the smirk on his sister’s face raising all kinds of alarms. Nick searched for his glasses on the crowded counter.

“I guess you haven’t seen the news.”

His mother gave him a sly smile and glanced at his sister. Nick squirmed in his seat; those secretive looks never met anything good.

“I’ve been busy this week. What? Did Henri’s stocks tank or something.”

Colette and his mother stared at him as if he had grown three heads.

“Qu’est-ce que tu fais dans tes temps libres, Nick?” His mother asked. “You are a master of wasting it.”

“I do lots in my spare time. I volunteer at the dog sanctuary, teach software classes, and keep busy with the Satellite office. Why?”

“How often do you go into the office?” His mother raised her perfectly groomed eyebrows.

“Okay, tell me what’s up.”

“You’re an idiot.” Colette held out the sleek, super light, newest mode of Laurent Industries smartphone to him.

Nick pressed play on a news clip as his mother handed him his glasses from the table.

On-screen, behind a news desk of the ‘business report,’ a woman in a blazer stared at the camera. “Laurent Industries has announced that they are moving most of their operation from Quebec to Vancouver, having closed a deal on the old Alexister Furnishings building in the downtown business sector.”

Nick’s stomach lurched as he watched the clip.

“The move puts Laurent Industries less than a block away from the Axis Management building. We reached out to Ares Montague for comment.”

Nick bit his lip as his co-boss appeared on the screen, smiling with his curly blond hair perfectly smoothed down, despite the wind whipping in the background.

“It’s great for the city, it’s great for us, and we look forward to working with Laurent Industries in the future,” Ares grinned.

Nick stared at the screen, then looked at his mother.

“There is no way this is real,” Nick said. “Dad wouldn’t leave Montreal.”

“He’s not leaving it, but he wants to be here. Axis Management is turning out great products, and dad wants first digs. He thinks being here will create more of a partnership.”

Nick closed his eyes. This couldn’t be happening.

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