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Paradoxically, Clémentine is helping me grieve. I see her belly growing rounder, week after week. And when I hear her talk about this future baby with such emotion and tenderness, I feel nothing but love and admiration.
Maybe I’m finally moving forward.
Maybe my heart, split in two, will soon become whole again.
***
Maximilian and I arrive at the immense Plaine Saint-Denis studios in the early afternoon. Vadim was supposed to come with me, but he got caught up in negotiations with investors. So, I tour the brand-new building with Max, following closely behind the location manager and the cinematographer hired to oversee the filming of French Kiss. Most of the movie will be shot in the streets of Paris, between Montmartre, the Batignolles, and the Champs-Élysées, but some scenes will be shot here, on soundstages spanning more than a hundred thousand square feet.
The French can have delusions of grandeur, too.
Max is strangely quiet today. He usually loves butting into every conversation, especially when no one has invited him to, but today he seems distracted. As if something’s bothering him.
At the end of our visit, I shake hands with the location manager and leave him to work out the technical issues with the cinematographer, before joining Max in the parking lot. When my colleague sees me coming, he gets behind the wheel and starts the car without saying a word.
“Max, is everything okay?”
“These studios are incredible. It feels just like Hollywood!”
“Max, is it something… personal?” I ask, hoping to get him to talk.
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
“But not for me. For you…”
I stare at him, speechless.
“I didn’t want to say anything but if I stay quiet, I’ll never be able to look you in the face.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“No, no, it’s nothing serious. I just… I… came across some emails. From Mr. King.”
“Emails?”
“Personal ones. That you sent to each other.”
“I see,” I reply.
“I know you two are together, Alma. That you’ve known each other for years.”
An alarm goes off inside me, and my protective instincts kick in. Anything that threatens You + Me has to eliminated.
“Maximilian, do you realize that your job is on the line?”
“I—”
“Being his assistant doesn’t give you the right to snoop through his private life! He could fire you on the spot.”
“I came across those emails by accident!”
“You could have looked away from the screen! You may have stumbled upon them, but no one forced you to read those messages!”
He sighs and fidgets nervously with the steering wheel.
“I’ll talk to Vadim about it and try to save your ass,” I say. “But you can’t speak to anyone about this. Forget everything you read, Max.”
