When they arrived in Paris, it was raining. Ari hated rainy days. She caught a cold most times it rained. Thankfully, by the time they got to the airport, the van was already waiting to take them to their hotel.

Ari had not flown for this long in a while. The last time she flew out of the country was to go see her father in Poland, and that was about seven to eight years ago, so she had a jet lag by the time they arrived in Paris.

It was a five-star hotel. Xavier had already reserved rooms for them before they arrived, and when they got to the hotel, they were given the cards to their respective rooms.

As they walked to the elevator, Xavier spoke;

”Take a quick rest. We are meeting the investors by noon. ” 

Ari looked at her phone, and she wondered what rest they were having with barely three hours. Her head was spinning and the only thought in her mind at that moment was to get to her room, lie down, and sleep.

”Are you okay?” Zac asked when he noticed her pressing her temple. Ari smiled and nodded;

”Yes, just a little tired,” she said.

When they arrived at their floor, Ari noticed their rooms were next to each other’s, except Xavier’s. His was the penthouse.

Ari couldn’t understand why he would pay such an incredible sum for just three nights. Staying in a presidential suite would not hurt a bit. But who was she to say, the rich could spend their money on how best they deemed fit.

Ari slumped on the bed once she was inside the room. She set her alarm for 11:30 before she dozed off. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell into a deep slumber, and only woke up minutes past 12. All sleep cleared from her eyes when she saw the time;

Shit!

She cursed/ It was about 10 minutes past 12, and she had not even had her shower yet. Running to the bathroom, she showered quickly, making sure not to wet her hair, as there was no time to dry it.

She hurriedly put on a change of clothes and made for the door. As she opened it, she saw one of the female employees in front of the door.

The woman looked her up to down, as though sensing she had hurriedly gotten ready;

”A newbie like you should not keep everyone waiting, not to talk of keeping Xavier waiting.”

The woman said and turned around without saying another word. Ari mentally slapped herself for oversleeping. What would everyone think now?

That she had slept her way to the list of those going to Paris, and now she would not behave herself? Was she telling everyone that she was both unfit and improper for the job?

In the elevator, Ari noticed her disheveled hair. Using her fingers, she quickly brushed it into a better shape. The woman stared at her with disgust in her eyes, as though wondering how Xavier employed such a clumsy person. Ari could feel the dissatisfaction in the woman’s piercing gaze. There was no need to please her, she already didn’t like her; Ari took her time with her hair.

Ari lowered her head apologetically when she saw the others sitting and waiting for her in the lobby.

”I’m sorry for making everyone wait, please forgive my manners.” She apologized as she stood in front of them.

Even though Xavier took a liking to her, he hated sluggishness and someone keeping him waiting. He was annoyed when he came down and she was not there. He had asked one employee to call her, but she was not picking her call, and only when he sent the lady to go check on her, did she appear.

”What were you doing that was more important than the purpose of this trip?” Xavier asked, his tone sounding angry. The other female employees were surprised. They had thought he would overlook it since they had something, but it seemed they guessed wrong.

Ari clenched her fingers, not knowing what to say.

”I asked everyone to be here by 12, and it took you an extra 30 minutes to come down. Surely there must be something more important than this, that would make you late. Please enlighten us; ”

Ari bit her lower lip;

”Sir, I overslept; I’m really sorry for keeping everyone waiting, I apologize for my actions.” Her excuse sounded right in her mind, but the moment she spewed it out, she realized how stupid she sounded and she regretted it instantly. She wished the ground would just open and swallow her whole. The women were already gossiping quietly, and she knew this was the next gossip in their group chats once they left there.

”I see.” Xavier nodded; ”Since Maria has sleeping problems, she would be our clerk on this trip. All meetings should be documented, and completely error-free. Every word said, from now till we go back to the states, is that understood?”

Ari nodded, ”yes sir.”

”Good, now let’s get going. The investors are waiting. ”

Ari sighed as she tagged behind as they walked towards the van.

She deserved the punishment. Xavier was even kind to her; she had thought he would give her something worse. Even though it wasn’t a simple task to do, she did not want to anger anyone, so she did not complain.

”Xavier can be like that sometimes. He can be fun, but whenever it concerns work, he tries to be very serious, and he expects everyone to be serious too. ”

Ari only noticed that Zac stood beside her when she heard his voice. She smiled;

”I deserve it. I shouldn’t have overslept.”

”it’s not your fault, don’t beat yourself up, okay?”

Zac consoled her, patting her shoulder; Ari smiled;

”I’ll try. ”

Xavier glanced at Ari as they entered the van. She looked sad as she stared at something on her phone. Although he was annoyed that she wasted their time, he did not ask her to do that to punish her. He just wanted some time alone with her.

He knew there were meetings he would have alone without the other employees, and he needed a reason to be with her without having to fight with her, and that was the only way.

Xavier brushed his fingers through his hair; 

She was quite stubborn, and she was making him do petty things to get her attention.