Playing for Keeps: Finding Love Beyond the Lies - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

I started strategically placing myself in Amaury's path.
He came in thirty minutes early every day. Three times a week, I'd time it perfectly to catch the same elevator—just the two of us in that small space.
I kept things simple. Quick "good morning," hit his floor button, then stood quietly in the corner.
Every day at noon, I'd grab coffee from the break room.
He usually showed up around then too. I made sure to never actually run into him—always leaving right before he arrived, but making sure he'd see I'd been there.
Sometimes I'd stay late, timing it so he'd walk past my desk on his way out.
Maximum exposure, zero pushiness. Let him notice me without making it weird.
On my seventeenth carefully planned late night, his steps slowed. He actually came over.
"You're here pretty late again. Everything okay with your workload?"
I looked up with carefully practiced surprise, hesitated for a beat, then slid the files across my desk.
"Just this new acquisition. I'm not totally sure about some of their asset valuations, so I figured I'd dig deeper."
Amaury dropped into the chair next to mine without hesitation. "Mind if I take a look?"
He smelled incredible—some expensive woody cologne that mixed with my light rose perfume to create something almost intoxicating.
"This project looks solid to me," he said, spreading the documents out. "Check out their 2023 financials—cash flow is strong. And if you look at this debt-to-equity ratio..."
He broke everything down with the kind of easy confidence that came from years of high-stakes deals. I nodded thoughtfully, asked intelligent follow-up questions, and let understanding dawn across my face at all the right moments.
"That makes total sense. Thanks so much—I would never have approached it from that angle."
"You've got good instincts. Just need more experience. Don't stress yourself out so much."
He stood up, straightening his tie. "Go home. People are gonna think I'm some kind of monster making everyone work until midnight."
I packed up and walked out with him.
The second we stepped outside, wind-driven rain hit us sideways. I immediately stepped back under the overhang.
Amaury was already heading toward the parking garage but stopped when he realized I wasn't following.
"You good?"
I waved him off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Go ahead. I just... forgot something upstairs."
He shrugged and kept walking.
Five minutes later, his sleek black BMW pulled out of the garage. I was still standing by the building entrance.
He rolled down his window. "Wait—did you not drive today?"
I looked sheepish. "No, and with this weather, Uber's surging like crazy. It's whatever though—I'll just wait it out."
"Get in. I'll drive you."
During the drive, we talked more than we ever had at the office. Amaury seemed genuinely surprised by how much we had in common—similar taste in books, movies, even music.
When I mentioned loving Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain," his eyebrows shot up.
"No shit, really? Everyone thinks that movie's pretentious garbage."
"It totally is. That's why it's genius."
He actually laughed, and we got so caught up in conversation that when we reached my building, he drove right past it.
I was about to say something when he caught his mistake.
"Fuck, sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
After he pulled over in front of my building, I thanked him again for the ride.
Amaury nodded, his lips parting like he wanted to say something before thinking better of it.
"What?" I asked.
"Your perfume—what is it? It smells really good."
The second the words came out, he looked like he regretted them.
But it was too late to backtrack without making it even weirder, so he just stared down at his steering wheel.
I had to bite back a smile.
"Penhaligon's Fox. See you tomorrow, Mr. de Brissac."