Page 31 of Blue Gold

Maya fell for Elliot the first time she saw him, which was less than two weeks ago. Claiming he looked like a prince, she announced they would get married one day. My wife found it charming, while me? Not so much. Seeing how well Elliot merged with my family made me bitter and angry. While Claudia and Maya freely showed their affection toward our new private chef, I watched from the sidelines, bottling it all up. Seeing my two worlds colliding annoyed me beyond words as it forced me to accept reality for what it was—unfair.

Until Elliot’s outrageous suggestion to come and work for us for the summer, he was my breath of fresh air. Just seeing him at the bistro provided me with a few hours of peace away from my life, which felt like a race against time on most days. He was what I wished to have and couldn’t, while my family… well, they were my reality. I knew yearning for another life while practically having it all was incredibly selfish, hence why I settled for so little when it came to Elliot. Once a week, I drove all the way to Brooklyn to see him for no more than a couple of hours at a time. It was more than I could have asked for. In fact, it was just enough so I wouldn’t ask for more. But that was no longer possible because now, he was right there, next to me and my family, all day long.

With a kind smile, Elliot gave Maya a muffin from the tray he was carrying. My daughter chuckled before running back to her dolls, her blonde curls bouncing in the air as she did. Once she sat down on the ground, my eyes quickly wandered back to Elliot, who looked absolutely stunning with the sun shining on his porcelain skin, adding more to his rosy complexion.

He turned his head, and the moment our stares met, I quickly looked down at my newspaper and pretended to read. Hearing him getting closer, I stiffened in my chair until he placed a plate and a cup in front of me. The smell of brewed coffee and freshly baked pastries reached my nostrils, making my mouth water with hunger to taste what he’d cooked. Yet, I held back from showing my craving and kept my attention strictly on the newspaper.

“I see you’re still mad at me,” he said in French.

Flipping to a new page, I shrugged.

“I’m not mad.”

“So you just don’t want to look at me?” he asked, moving closer until he nearly hovered over me, and poured me a cup of coffee.

His proximity made my heart race faster, and I held my breath until he was done and moved aside. A bitter taste filled my mouth, so I reached for the coffee when he put his hand on the cup. With a frown, I looked up to meet his sapphire eyes.

A satisfied smile spread on his lips, yet before I could ask what on earth he was doing, Elliot reached for the sugar canister.

“I know you like yours—” He added two tablespoons into the coffee. “—sweet.” He slid the glass on the table closer to me.

Out of words, I quickly reached for the cup and took a deep gulp.

It had been like this ever since we arrived last week. While I tried keeping it cool, Elliot was playing game upon game. I wasn’t sure what his goals were, but he’d succeeded at one thing, and that was to grow my frustration to an immense level.

After finishing my coffee, I put the cup down and cleared my throat.

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing.”

My jaw twitched. “So why do you keep taunting me?”

Elliot put down a basket full of pastries on the table before serving me a fresh croissant, with his homemade fig jam on the side.

“I don’t like being ignored.”

His blatant audacity to admit something like that was unacceptable.

“I don’t know what treatment you expected to receive by coming to work here, but may I remind you this is a job?”

I could feel his body tensing beside me, but I refrained from looking at him.

“I know this is a job. The one who’s acting like it’s more than that is you, Daniel, not me.”

My eyes snapped to his, and astounded by his statement, I stared at him with my jaw clenched. I might have acted like a child around him, but only because he put me in this uncomfortable situation.

“Daddy, look what I found!” Maya’s cheerful voice cut into the tense atmosphere, and I removed my eyes from Elliot to see the ladybug she was carefully holding in her palms.

“That’s lovely, sweetheart,” I told her while stroking her hair, only for Maya to quickly move from my side to Elliot’s.

“Look, Elli, it’s a ladybug!”

Elli. If things weren’t bad enough, that was what Maya called him.

“Beautiful,” Elliot said in English as he crouched down. “I love the points.”

Maya giggled. “They’re called dots.”