Page 84 of The Innovator

CHAPTERFORTY-TWO

NATALIE

Wearing a floral dress and always looking fashionable, Mom led me to an unfamiliar café packed with people getting lunch. We sat outside at a table under a pergola adorned with beautiful vines crawling and draping over the beams like lovely curtains. The crowds of people drowned out the gentle music playing at the café. The ambiance would have been romantic with fewer people. I could take Grayson here one day.

It had only been a day since I last saw Grayson, and I already missed him tremendously. Was he thinking of me right now? I couldn’t wait to call him later this evening.

“Why are you blushing?” Mom asked, holding up a hand. “Don’t answer, I already know. When do I get to meet this special guy who makes my daughter blush at random?”

Mom had recently started wearing auburn bangs, which I loved on her. It made her look five years younger. Bangs wouldn’t work on my face—I’d tried it.

“Soon.” I wanted to plan a trip with Grayson so he could meet Mom. He’d been to Paris before, but I doubted he knew all the special shops that only residents knew. I wanted to show him around where I grew up. But right now, we both had too much going on.

“That necklace is beautiful on you.” Mom gestured to the multimillion-dollar gemstone that I forgot to hide under my shirt. I only knew its price after googling how rare the red diamond was. Ilovedit, but I didn’t want to attract unwelcome attention. From a distance, it looked like a ruby, which I preferred people to assume.Rubies were affordable. Red diamonds weren’t. I’d rather keep the identity of the gem a secret.

Fearing my mom would ask more questions about the gem, I looked at my phone and asked,“When is she coming?”

Mom had run into Aunt Estelle’s former housekeeper at a market, and Camille had some interesting information she wanted to share. A noisy place to meet was the perfect location to “accidentally” bump into old friends for a friendly chat.

“She’ll be here soon.”

The waitress came to take our orders. I wanted acroque monsieur, which was a delicious ham and cheese sandwich. Mom got thejambon beurresandwich, another version of ham and cheese on a baguette.

Mom’s eyes darted behind me. “Hi, Camille!” She stood from her seat and waved.

Camille looked to be in her late sixties, with short silver hair and a pretty face. She wore an adorable long skirt and a simple top with a gold poodle pin.

I’d seen Camille a few times at Aunt Estelle’s home. She wasn’t around when I’d been mistreated at my aunt’s place.

“It’s so good to see you. Are you out for lunch?” Mom extended her hands, welcoming Camille in for afaire la bise. Air kissing was a common greeting amongst family, friends, and loved ones.

“Yes, indeed. Now that I’m retired, I look for places to enjoy my time.” She looked at me and offered a kiss on each cheek. “You’re more beautiful every day.”

“Thank you. You look younger every day too.” I pulled out a seat for her. “Please join us. What would you like to eat?”

“A strawberrycrêpewith a side of fries would be lovely, thank you.”

When the lunch arrived, Camille grabbed a fry.

Her hand shook a little, and I placed mine over hers, calming her nerves. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to my family and me. No one will ever know you said anything to us.” I squeezed her hand. “I promise.”

Mom reiterated the same assurance.

Camille nodded. “I trust you both. It’s just nerves.” She sighed. “A week before the plane crashed, I overheard Estelle—I hope it’s okay to address her this way now that I no longer work for her.” She looked at Mom and me.

“Of course, Camille,” Mom said.

“You were always nicer to me, Charlotte.” Camille smiled and continued, “Estelle was speaking to someone on the phone. She often had conference calls in her office, but that day her windows were open. She had ordered me to replant the herbs she’d gotten from someone into bigger pots, so I was outside in the garden.”

Camille paused for a sip of her tea as a nearby toddler screamed for his toy that had fallen to the ground.

“Take your time.” Mom bit into her baguette.

Camille continued, “I heard her conversation. She said something about disrupting a plane’s engine. Then she spoke about money. It sounded like a negotiation of millions of dollars . . . I thought nothing about her phone call until I heard about Monsieur LaRue’s plane crash.” Sorrow haunted her eyes. “It seemed too eerie, and I feared for my safety. I wasn’t sure if Estelle saw me working outside that day, so I made an excuse to retireearly. It was time anyway.”

Nausea gripped the muscles of my stomach.

Mom rubbed Camille’s back while her face tensed, probably trying to calm the angry storm within.

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