Ducking his head, Laurent placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “All the same, I abhor petty jealousy.”
“Jealousy?” I repeated, frowning.
He snorted as if I were silly for not having already picked up on it. “My dear, the twins have been jealous of you ever since you set foot here.” With a slight pressure on my shoulder, he paused our stroll, reaching down to touch my chin with his gloved finger.
“I don’t understand how they could be jealous of me,” I responded, shaking my head. “They’re beautiful and stars in the show.”
“You are more beautiful, and your star will shine even more brightly.”
Tilting my head upward, Laurent’s eyes met my own and I swallowed hard.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“I want you to feel comfortable here, Bindi,” he said, his voice soft and deep, his eyes hypnotic, trance-like even. “This is your home now and I want it to feel like home to you.”
“Thank you, Laurent,” I answered, my voice barely rising above a whisper. He didn’t release me. Instead, he took a step closer and, as my heart started to pound in earnest, he leaned down and placed a brief kiss on my lips. I stood still and calmly let it happen, although my blood rushed through my veins and my mind was trying to comprehend what in the world was happening.
How was it possible that my boss had just kissed me? And, what was more, even though he’d pulled away, he was still looking at me like he wanted to do it again. And I… I… I wanted him to do it again.
“Bindi,” Laurent started, his voice lower.
“Yes?” I managed, breathless.
“Certainly you… you must feel this—”
“Hey!” Rex’s voice sounded from behind us and I immediately felt a sense of doom and guilt flow through me. Laurent dropped his hand from my chin, taking a step away from me as he turned on his toes to face the interloper. A second or so later, Rex clapped a large, heavy hand on my shoulder and yanked me further away from Laurent.
“What the hell was that all about?” he demanded, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking to Laurent or me. Furthermore, I also wasn’t sure if he was talking about what just happened between Laurent and me or the situation with the twins. I responded to the latter.
“I—I don’t know. I was walking and the next thing I knew, I was flat on the ground.”
“The twins are jealous, you know that, Rex,” Laurent pointed out, and I was surprised by his smile—it was one that seemed amused, yes, but there was something more to it—something that almost seemed… victorious?
Rex didn’t spare Laurent a glance. Instead, he continued glaring at me, anger churning in his frosty blue eyes. “I knew it. I knew you’d cause trouble.”
“Me?” I started.
Rex continued nodding and his eyes were furious. “Some things never change.”
That floored me more than the entire day’s events combined and underneath the shock, was a growing anger that surprised me. “I… excuse me?” I’d about had it with Rex. Being unfriendly was one thing, but this was completely uncalled for. Not to mention I had no idea what he was talking about. “We’ve only just met, so how in the world would you know I was a troublemaker? Which, I’m not, thank you very much!”
Rex didn’t seem the type to keep his vitriol to himself, but I must have tugged the rug out from under him because he didn’t say anything more. Instead, he just grunted and began fidgeting with the collar of his shirt.
“I didn’t mean you specifically,” he said finally, breaking the silence. “I meant your sort.”
“And what ‘sort’ am I, exactly?” I demanded, my voice harsher as I crossed my arms against my chest and returned his glare. I’d had enough bullying for the day and Rex wasn’t my boss, anyway. Laurent was and the sooner Rex remembered that, the better.
“You’ve done it this time, Rex,” Laurent said with a laugh.
Rex ignored Laurent, bolstering himself against my surly attitude; something else he most likely wasn’t used to. I didn’t imagine many people spoke back to him—most likely because they were all much too afraid of him. Well, I wasn’t going to allow him to push me around.
“This circus runs smoothly and I don’t want any setbacks.” He stepped closer, ostensibly trying to use his size to establish dominance once more as he waved his index finger in my face and glared at me with everything he had. “You have one chance, so don’t screw it up, Brandi.”
“It’s Bindi,” I replied, this time plopping my hands on my hips as I stared up at him. “And I did nothing to screw anything up!”
Breathing heavily, I waited for his response. But Rex didn’t have one. Instead, he continued glaring at me for another few seconds before turning on his heel and stomping away.
It was only then that I realized my heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty. Maybe I’d made a mistake by joining the Cirque du Noir.
Maybe my life back home on the farm wasn’t so bad, after all.
Maybe I should have just stayed put…