Chapter 466
Chapter 466:
Priya: “Nope, not a word. I think they’ve wiped me off the family tree. Suits me fine. I’m staying here, where they can’t marry me off to some rich old guy just to cash out p>
She kept going, message after message.
I read every word.
She’d clawed her way out of that backwater town.
Now she had a flat, a job, a clean slate.
I was happy for her.
She sent me pictures of a stray cat she’d adopted off the street.
I stayed propped against the headboard, flicking through them with a grin.
Then I opened Yvaine’s chat.
I started typing, pausing to check Ashton beside me.
He hadn’t stirred.
His mouth hung slightly open, one arm curled under the pillow, the other draped across my side of the bed. His breathing was slow and steady.
It was probably the first proper sleep he’d had in days.
I hit mute on my phone and tucked it under my leg.
Yvaine had just replied when a call screen flashed across the top of the chat.
The number wasn’t saved, but I recognized it.
I slipped out of bed slowly, careful to keep my weight off the floorboard in case it creaked.
I padded across the carpet into the bathroom before swiping ‘answer’. A man’s voice, low and polished: “Miss Vance. Hope I’m not interrupting p>
I paused, trying to place it.
Then it clicked.
“Mr. Marchetti p>
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Fabrizio Marchetti, CEO of Valmont & Cie.
I’d met him once at an exhibition in Sunset City, where he’d asked for my number.
At the time, I hadn’t taken his offer seriously.
Besides, I wasn’t about to move to France.
He let out a smooth, apologetic laugh. “I know it’s a holiday on your end. Thought today might give me a better shot at catching you p>
“I’ve got time,” I said.
“I’ve been waiting for your call since we met. You never got in touch, so I assumed I’d been forgotten. Still, I want to ask again. Would you be open to working together p>
“Um, about that, thank you for p>
“Don’t say no just yet,” he cut in, his voice smooth as silk. “I’m offering thirty percent. Full creative partnership. You wouldn’t be working under me, but with me. It’s not just a job, and there’s no need to relocate. I’d love for you to visit the Paris office, just to get a feel for it. If frequent travel’s off the table, we’ll coordinate remotely. You stay in Skyline, we work by email, calls—whatever suits you p>
Damn it, I was tempted.
This could actually work.
Valmont & Cie wasn’t just some fancy Parisian label.