MGN | Chapter 14

Fortunately, there was no need to step in and correct a huge misunderstanding. The waiter, who had to bring the bill, approached and gently asked.

“Sir, as per your reservation request, today’s meal has already been charged to the card number you provided. Is that okay?”

“Oh… I forgot about that.”

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“It was really delicious. Thank you.”

The conversation ended briefly. However, even though he didn’t have to pay over a thousand euros for a meal he couldn’t even remember with someone he didn’t like, his mood wasn’t clear.

As soon as the waiter disappeared, Charles grabbed him.

“What’s going on? Didn’t you call me because you wanted to talk? Maël, you invited me, but you’re being so rude.”

“You seem to be mistaken. I didn’t call you, Charles. Shouldn’t you find the person who did?”

His irritation added to his accumulated anger, and his mood began to plummet. Even as Maël stared at the hand that grabbed him, Charles didn’t back down and smirked.

“Alright. Ha, I know I hurt you. It’s my fault, so I have nothing to say. But you know, Maël.”

He leaned in. The complex scent of a custom-ordered perfume from some atelier wafted over.

“I wasn’t and am not gay. So I wavered and made a mistake just once. That’s all. Now I’ve even told you I love you.”

His voice was lowered as if sharing a secret, despite the distance between the tables.

Is there any reason to be embarrassed now? It’s all over.

Even while lowering his voice, Charles showed off the watch Maël had gifted him on his wrist.

“Can you buy this? A watch is time, you know. It symbolizes the eternity of our relationship, so I think of you every time I wear it.”

Maël had nodded at that shameless request. He was easily weakened by words like eternity or family. Despite being a lawyer who made money from moments of family collapse, he arrogantly thought that separation wouldn’t happen to him.

However, how Charles interpreted his gaze at the old gift was beyond him, as Charles gently stroked the hand he held.

“Maël, you’re thinking about the time we spent together, right? Yeah, where would that go? It was good, wasn’t it, us?”

Feeling only discomfort, Maël tried to pull his hand away, but Charles smiled and held it tightly.

“You know, Felix wants us to meet sometime.”

“The crown prince… Why would he?”

“Seems like he found out about us somehow.”

“What are we?”

Charles had a soothing expression at the absurd question. Seeing his face, still smiling while furrowing his brows, Maël felt pathetic for having been involved with such a person. He pulled his hand away and stood up.

“Charles Duverger.”

He disliked noise, but he disliked misunderstandings even more. Sometimes, embarrassment becomes a definite solution when a reasonable answer doesn’t come. Above all, he had handed over Ms. Clermont’s divorce decree, including property division, just yesterday.

In the restaurant where gentle classical music floated, Maël spoke in a clear voice.

“We broke up because you cheated. Tell the crown prince that meeting together is disgusting and difficult.”

He felt glances. Charles’s face, looking around at the unexpected attention, was obvious.

“You make strange jokes, Lawyer Montmatier.”

Leaving Charles, who awkwardly raised his voice, Maël exited the restaurant.

Holding his throbbing right thigh, he searched his phone. He had hesitated to call or not about an hour ago in front of Le Louis, and Maël had contacted that number only twice. The owner of the number did not answer.

“Ha.”

Maël, his eyes reddening, got into his car and started the engine.

* * *

A message arrived from his drunken half-brother saying he had received the watch well.

Instead of replying, Yves reread the official document sent from the grand duke’s family. It was a list of cooperation requests for the crown prince Philippe’s wedding reception. It included rooms to be vacated, venues to be lent, and a long list of things to be prepared on their side.

As soon as he finished reading diagonally, the elevator doors opened.

The smell of dust was thick. Since everything needed for the hotel came and went through the loading dock on the basement floor of the hotel, it was inevitable. “Everything needed for the hotel” included hotel staff and partner companies, and Yves did not exclude himself.

Several people who recognized the executive director’s departure greeted him. Yves nodded and passed them.

What he found at the parking spot was a new white car parked diagonally blocking his own.

As he approached without concern, the driver’s door opened. It was Maël.

The air was stuffy and dark, with goods coming and going. Through it, the man approached with long strides. His eyes, looking up at him, were wide with excitement.

“Take this.”

Maël held out a white envelope. Yves’s gaze lingered longer on Maël’s unusually vivid eyes than on the envelope. Thanks to that fleeting moment, he could tell the man was angry. Maël was more eye-catching when he was angry.

But that was all.

Yves dropped his gaze again. Honestly, he was more curious about other things than the contents of the envelope.

“How did an outsider, not even a partner company, get in here?”

Yves tapped the tip of Maël’s shoe with his own. Maël stepped back for a moment, and Yves muttered slowly.

“Should I replace the security team?”

“Getting into the loading dock past the security team is no big deal. No matter how many times you change the security team, it’ll be the same. I know Riviera Hotel better than most security teams. More importantly, take this.”

Even while claiming a hole in hotel security, Maël stubbornly held out the envelope. As he looked at the envelope again, a tightly clenched explanation came back.

“This is the cost of my dinner today. Excluding the dinner cost of Mr. Bernardi, whom Yves invited.”

“I invited you too.”

Yves replied. He couldn’t understand what Maël was trying to achieve by coming all the way here to push a small amount of money on him. Some ridiculous pride? As he watched, Maël clenched his teeth and spoke clearly.

“Yves, I’m not a puppet that moves according to your plans.”

When there was no response, his cheeks trembled, and he continued.

“It’s really unpleasant, so don’t ever act like that again. Calling someone pretending to be me without prior notice, if you do it again, I’ll take legal action for impersonation.”

“I thought we needed to talk about a lot of things.”

“I can handle that on my own. If you don’t trust me that much, why do you want to hire me?”

His light eyes were boiling. It was a kind of temperature Yves didn’t have.

It was a bit funny. Wasn’t he the one who worried about the lipstick smudged on the lover’s cheating partner? He was also the one who advised to let it go when things got annoying.

‘I thought you were quick-witted,’

And now, chasing all the way here, fuming because his pride was hurt.

At least his expression gained some liveliness when he was angry. It was one of the few advantages this lawyer had. While finishing that thought, Maël spoke, clutching the envelope.

“Take the money, and don’t create situations I don’t know about without consulting me. I’ll handle it myself.”

In a few seconds, he seemed ready to shove the money envelope into his hand, so Yves deliberately didn’t take the envelope. Instead, he twisted his lips into a smile. What came out was a genuinely curious question.

“You can handle it yourself?”

“Yes. And even if I concede a hundred times, Mr. Bernardi is one thing, but do you have the right to interfere in my personal life?”

“Your lover seemed quite affectionate. It was different from what I saw and heard, so I thought it might be a communication issue. It was out of goodwill.”

When he teased, Maël looked as if he had been hit. His lips opened and closed. Yves could bet his entire fortune that there were several kinds of curses he swallowed back. Yves swallowed his laughter and asked.

“Is everything sorted out now?”

“Does it have anything to do with my work?”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s a personal matter. But.”

He hadn’t intended to propose like this in such a moment. He knew it wasn’t the best timing, but he was suddenly curious. So.

“I need a lover.”

“…”

“I think you’d be suitable, but I don’t want to be a second.”

Yves said. Maël looked confused, then twisted his eyes as if he had heard a terrible curse.

“If you agree, I’ll take this envelope.”

The last words were a joke.

Whether he lacked a sense of humor or not, Maël threw the envelope on the ground and slammed the car door shut with a bang.