Early Friday morning, Liliana had just finished making sure that the jet was set for Mr. Cavalier's arrival, when she received a call from Carlos, who was waiting for her outside.
"Hey, what's going on?" Liliana stated, as she approached Carlos's car, a few feet away from the plane. Liliana knew she had a few minutes before Mr. Cavalier arrived, so she had no worry that he would catch her of the plane.
"Nothing, just wanted to see you before you left." Carlos replied, sweetly, and Liliana smiled as well, as she felt her heart fluttered. Carlos was just too sweet.
"Stop you're making me blush." Liliana muttered as Carlos pulled her into his arms and she hid her face in the crook of his neck.
"Well I guess my mission is accomplished. All I wanted was to see you smile." Carlos replied, as he embraced her tightly.
"You're so corny." Liliana laughed as she looked up at him.
"Yeah, but you like it." Carlos shrugged, and Liliana nodded as she said, "you're right."
Liliana absentmindedly sighed and shuddered, and Carlos looked down at her as he said, "nervous?"
"Yeah a little. I haven't flown with him in a while, so I hope I haven't forgotten his ways." Lili admitted, feeling comfortable with Carlos.
"I know a way to make you feel better." Carlos stated, his tone soft and suggestive.
"Yeah? And what's that?" Liliana decided to play along.
And with a simple smile, Carlos leaned down, and kissed her softly. Liliana was slightly shocked at Carlos's bold move, but the way he held her allowed her to relax, and slowly kiss him back.
His arms pulled her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
When Carlos pulled away, he caressed her cheek as he asked, in a whisper "better?"
"Yeah." Lili smiled, and then laughed when Carlos nuzzled his face in her neck and landed a soft kiss against her skin.
Just as Lili prepared to pull away, the sound of a car door closing registered in her ears, and the moment she heard it, her heart dropped.
Oh. No.
Carlos and Liliana were both quick to untangle themselves from each other, like two teenagers caught by a strict parent.
Liliana red faced couldn't bring herself to look up at the tall man standing beside the car. Clearing her throat, her face on fire, she dared a look, and his eyes were enough to scare her to death. Not only was it embarrassing to get caught having fun at work, but she also had to get caught by Mr. Cavalier.
Lili was ready for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
Carlos cleared his throat awkwardly as he said, "good morning Mr. Cavalier."
"Carlos." Frantz replied, coldly, then headed straight for the plane without sparing Liliana a second glance.
Oh Dear.
When Mr. Cavalier had disappeared inside the plane, Liliana released a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.
"You're in trouble." Carlos pointed out, and Liliana slapped his arm as she said, "it's all your fault. Now I'm going to have to worst flight ever."
"Good luck." Carlos stated, and landed a quick kiss on Lili's forehead before she headed to the plane.
The moment Lili climbed the stairs and sealed the door, she found it hard to breathe. Before heading towards Mr. Cavalier, she chanced a look at him and was thankful to find his eyes glued to his laptop. Gulping, with palms already drenched in sweat, and a heated head and neck, Liliana made her way to Mr. Cavalier. It felt silly to introduce herself at point, so Liliana simply ensure that he was already strapped in, and before she could open her mouth to speak, he closed his laptop, so Liliana had no reason to speak with him.
Knowing quite well he was disappointed in her lack of work ethic and professionalism, Liliana made her way to the back of the plane to her seat, feeling sorry. After alerting the pilot that Mr. Cavalier was strapped in and ready to go, they were off. Once in the air, Lili took a few moments to compose herself before she headed over to check on Mr. Cavalier.
When she reached him, he was once again on his laptop. He didn't bother to acknowledge Lili's presence, something Liliana was used to, and so she decided to speak up.
"Good morning Mr. Cavalier, I hope that the takeoff was comfortable enough. As we begin our trip, would you like anything to eat or drink at this time?" Liliana tried to speak as clearly as possible, without stuttering, only for her efforts to be met with silence.
Radio silence.
"Mr. Cavalier?" Liliana called out. knowing quite well he most likely wasn't going to reply. After standing and waiting for a few moments, she prepared herself to say something else, only for Mr. Cavalier to stand, and walk around her, heading to his room, without a sound.
Speechless, confused, and hurt, Liliana looked after Mr. Cavalier, until he disappeared into the small bedroom. Unsure of what to do, Liliana decided to head back to her seat and focus back on her newest book. However, Liliana found the words to blur, especially when he mind kept drifting to the moment when Mr. Cavalier caught her with Carlos.
Liliana remembers that split moment when she made eye contact with him, and it was the worst feeling in the world. His cold eyes struck fear deep within her heart, and the moment she realized that he had caught her kissing Carlos, her stomach twisted uncomfortably. What was she supposed to do now?
Lili waited for an hour to go by, then he headed to his room. She knocked on the door but received no response. Liliana waited a moment before she knocked again, but once again, was met with no response. After debating for a few, Liliana decided to open the door, only to find it locked.
Great.
Lili pursed her lips then shrugged, it seems Mr. Cavalier did not want to be disturbed.
For the entire trip, Mr. Cavalier remained in his room. Liliana had herself a small lunch but could barely keep her food down as she thought about just how disgusted Mr. Cavalier was probably with her. What she did with Carlos was careless, not to admit completely unprofessional, and Lili believed that Mr. Cavalier had every right to be angry with her.
When the plane finally landed in Rome, it wasn't a moment too soon. As soon as the plane stopped moving, Liliana headed to the door, and opened it, and not even a second later, Mr. Cavalier was already exiting the plane without sparing Liliana a second glance, and as soon as he entered the car, the driver sped off. Liliana followed through with her post flight routine, then when she was ready to head to the hotel, the driver who had initially picked her up her first time in Rome, was there to pick her up once again.
Liliana quietly entered the car and felt down the entire ride to the hotel. She hoped to catch a glance of Mr. Cavalier at the hotel. She had hoped to apologize for her behavior with Carlos, but she didn't see him. When Lili was settled in the hotel room, the first person she called was her mom, then Carlos, but his phone went to voicemail. She tried him again, but he did not answer.
For a moment, Liliana felt lost. She knew she had screwed up as a professional, and Mr. Cavalier was probably planning her dismissal, but Liliana felt the urge to see him, and speak with him. She had to apologize for what he witnessed earlier today. Liliana was ashamed of her actions, and she never planned to repeat them.
After building up her strength, Liliana headed up to Mr. Cavalier's suite. She knocked in the door, her rushing heartbeat reflecting in her throat. After a few moments of waiting, Liliana knocked again, but Mr. Cavalier didn't open the door, but she felt that he was close by. An intuition of sorts. So, knowing that it was a long shot, Lili decided to apologize across the door.
"Mr. Cavalier, it's Liliana. I am sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to apologize for earlier. I know that I haven't been the most efficient hostess you've worked with, and what you witnessed today most likely made me appear extremely uncomfortable, but I just want to let you know that it would never happen again. I enjoyed being a valued member of this team, and I know that my behavior earlier today did not reflect the work ethic you search for in your employees. So once again I apologize, and you can believe me when I say, it will never happen again. Have a good night Mr. Cavalier, and I am sorry again." With those words, Liliana departed, her heart feeling a little heavy. She screwed up.
Frantz sat on his couch, as he gulped down a small glass of scotch. He was angry, hurt, and confused. It took it a whole month to prepare the perfect approach towards Liliana, only to find her happy and comfortable in the arms of another man. Frantz wouldn't have believed it was Liliana if he didn't see her. When her eyes met his at the airport, Frantz made sure she noticed just how disappointed he was. And he was still shocked that she was naïve enough to believe that the only reason why he was pissed was because she was being unprofessional.
But that wasn't the case at all.
Frantz felt like doing some serious damage to Carlos, then he wanted nothing more than to show Liliana exactly why he was a feared man. But Frantz didn't want her to scare her away. He kept telling himself he had to take it slow, win her over the right way, but the more he reminisced about Liliana giggling in Carlos's arms, the harder his fingers gripped the glass, and at that moment, Frantz knew that it was just a matter of time before he snapped, and once he did, Liliana had no escape.