MGN | Chapter 18

“No need to argue. You even asked me to join you right away. Aren’t I a parvenu too?”

“That’s… Maël, you’re different from that guy. What are you trying to say?”

Charles, who had flinched at Maël’s outburst, stammered belatedly.

“Different, sure. I didn’t buy shares in the Riviera Hotel with my own money. It’s all thanks to Manon.”

Charles leaned in, squinting his eyes and raising his eyebrows. Maël could predict the tone and words that would follow. A clumsy attempt at appeasement.

“Maël, I get it. You’re acting like this out of jealousy. I understand you’re still mad at me. But you heard it earlier, right? My feelings. My future plans.”

Feelings and future plans are things you care about when emotions are still involved.

Maël wasn’t shouting out of jealousy. He was disgusted by Charles’s rude behavior, talking about origins and status in front of others. He felt ashamed of his past decision to meet someone like that.

The worst part was that Yves, with his cold-colored eyes, was quietly observing everything. This was undeniably a homoerotic drama, wasn’t it?

“Maël, you know.”

“Don’t you understand when I say I don’t want to? Then I’ll report you for stalking to HR. Office romances have their perks. When the disciplinary committee convenes, you’ll realize we’re over.”

Only then did Charles’s expression twist comically. With icy blue eyes, he glared, conveying a “who do you think you are” vibe, then lifted his chin and glared.

His gaze briefly brushed Yves before returning.

“Are you seeing him?”

“I’m not.”

Maël answered because he knew Charles would become persistent otherwise. But Charles didn’t stop.

“Do you know what that guy says about you?”

“I said I’m not seeing him. Why ask if you won’t listen?”

“The guy you’re siding with…!”

For dramatic effect, Charles pointed at Yves and then abruptly shut his mouth.

But it only looked ridiculous. Maël wasn’t curious at all about what Yves might have said about him.

Maël’s fondness for Yves Valois and Charles Duverger was equally low. He hadn’t spoken up to take sides. He was appalled by Charles’s talk of parvenus in front of people.

‘They won’t need me to take sides anyway.’

Certain of this, Maël looked up.

Pale cheeks like a plaster statue, with bored, ashen eyes. A face sunk low, like someone dragged onto a stage they had no interest in.

Yves met Maël’s gaze leisurely before speaking.

“I said I was drooling over you. You already know that, right?”

After a long stare, that was all he said. Charles clenched his fists, and Maël was too dumbfounded to laugh.

Charles, barking up the wrong tree, and Yves, constantly provoking him. Maël’s thigh ached, a reminder of stress and poor condition.

Maël bit the inside of his cheek and moved. He didn’t even want to waste words on those two, so he quickly widened his stride, but a slow voice stopped him.

“Let’s have the consultation now. It’s hard to wait. It’s urgent.”

“I’m busy today…”

Without looking back, Maël instinctively gave the easiest excuse. Then he remembered Antoine telling him to take a break just minutes ago.

Ha. Maël hesitated for a moment but eventually stopped. If the first excuse didn’t work, he could come up with a second one.

“Yves, weren’t you called by the crown prince? You must be busy.”

As he turned back, Yves was fiddling with his phone. After swiping the screen a few times, he put it to his ear and said just two words.

“Can’t go today. Lawyer issue.”

Ending the call, Yves put his phone inside his black suit jacket and looked at Maël. The man, equally rude to both the crown prince and Maël, seemed to answer with his eyes.

He wasn’t busy.

There were no more excuses.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a bad thing for Maël either. If he moved up the consultation with Yves scheduled for the day after tomorrow, he’d have two more hours to check paparazzi shots from a party to confirm if Mr. Marchisio’s husband, currently in a custody battle, really had an alcohol problem.

“Where would you like to have the consultation?”

Maël said weakly. Yves, instead of answering, put his hands in his pockets and nodded. The gesture was clear: follow me. Maël swallowed something that might have been a curse or a sigh.

“Hey! Maël! Are you really going with that guy?”

Charles yelled from behind. A few startled court officials were seen heading toward Charles from the end of the hallway.

“It’s nothing, geez, why make a fuss?”

A huffing voice was heard. Wanting nothing more than to ignore it, Maël fixed his gaze on the broad back wrapped in a black suit and followed.

* * *

The outdoor parking lot of the Grand Palace. Yves stopped in front of a large black sedan that resembled him.

Without a word to get in, Yves grabbed the driver’s side handle, then looked at Maël, who was still standing at a distance. After frowning briefly, he spoke.

“Not having the consultation?”

A man who had thrown basic manners into the sea. Knowing it was useless to argue, Maël reluctantly opened the passenger door.

The car wasn’t cramped by any means. Yet, when Yves sat in the driver’s seat, the scent of leather mixed with fresh roses wafted in. Maël didn’t mind the rose scent, but he disliked that it was Yves’s. He briefly considered opening the window and checked his watch.

“Let’s finish the consultation in the car. Say what you need, and when you’re done, drop me off there.”

“As you wish.”

Yves said, putting on sunglasses. Maël began to unravel the thoughts he had organized in his mind.

“The clauses you mentioned have been added, and the contract was completed with today’s signature. I can’t show the contract to a third party, but if you’re uneasy about not being able to confirm it…”

“I’ve checked the entire contract.”

Yves said lightly, backing the car. Maël bit the inside of his cheek. How on earth. But knowing would mean responsibility, so some things were better left unasked.

“I’ll send the retainer contract tomorrow, so sign it and send it back.”

It was a choice to minimize face-to-face time, but Yves didn’t even nod. Assuming he heard, Maël continued.

“Even if I’m handling all the practical work, Diane Croix, the lawyer, needs to be roughly aware of my tasks. She might not care until she learns the name of the person presumed to be your father. Even so, nothing will leak outside our team.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then you can’t work with me. I’m a lawyer affiliated with 377. I’ve mentioned this before.”

The car, leaving the palace at the edge of the old town, smoothly headed for the road. Maël spoke, watching the scenery change rapidly through the window.

“Once the retainer contract is over, send me all the evidence related to the paternity lawsuit. We’ll coordinate the timing of the lawsuit, and we should start a public opinion campaign before filing the lawsuit. We might use the evidence then, but I’ll discuss it again when the time comes. Illegally obtained information can only be used for the public opinion campaign. We’ll check it first. Hmm, I think that’s all I have to say. Any questions?”

Probably not. Maël thought so, checking his wristwatch.

Three minutes.

The large car was just passing the tax office building, about to enter the road. Just as Maël was about to ask Yves to stop if there were no more questions, Yves tilted his chin and looked at Maël. Through the sunglasses, only half of his eyes were visible.

“What about what I asked earlier?”

“Sorry?”

“The answer I didn’t hear before.”

That question momentarily took Maël’s breath away. Probably because it was so absurd, Maël convinced himself, opening his lips but saying nothing as Yves spoke casually.

“Handling a clingy ex is faster with a new lover.”

“No… For me, Law No. 1457 is faster. The workplace harassment prevention law.”

It was sincere, but Yves scoffed. That sound snapped Maël back to reality, and he asked in a clear voice.

“Yves, you’re not even gay, right?”

“Does what turns me on affect your answer?”

“What do you think?”

“If you’re asking if I’ve ever been interested in a guy’s backside, obviously not.”

Such vulgar words weren’t worth a response. Maël looked out the window as if to cleanse himself. The Mediterranean and the vividly blue greenery that stung the eyes. But it was impossible to focus there for long.

“At most two years. I can give you enough money to go independent from that law firm or hotel shares. If you don’t need money, information is fine too. Whatever you want.”

Whatever, he said. But Yves showed no hesitation in making such grand declarations.

A condition offered by someone who could truly do it and thought it natural. But Maël didn’t think long.

“Whatever the purpose, whether it’s white or black, it doesn’t matter. I don’t like lies or pretending to be a fake lover.”

“A lawyer who doesn’t like lying?”

“Especially outside the courtroom.”

There was no need to ponder. Maël, staring straight ahead, immediately added.

“I took on the paternity lawsuit because you helped with the prenuptial agreement. Let’s just be client and lawyer. Now that we’re done, you can drop me off there.”

Ahead, a bus stop and the oceanographic museum with gathered cars came into view.

The car stopped surprisingly smoothly. Maël checked his watch and, after a brief hesitation, unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Consultation time is 6 minutes. I’ll add it.”

Yves’s three-minute nonsense was to be included in the consultation time. That was the conclusion after much thought.