Page 5 of The Billionaire’s Betrayal (Billionaires of Paris #2)

TRISTAN

I spent my days bouncing from meetings to calls to business lunches. My schedule was always packed, but that's how I liked it, fast-paced, always on the move, constantly challenged.

Business lunches often felt like disguised meetings. Another way to negotiate, to exchange ideas... and, truth be told, I kind of enjoyed it.

Each day was intense, sure, but I thrived on that rhythm.

Time flew by without any real break, and honestly, that's just how I liked it.

Before Audrey arrived, though, I had started feeling overwhelmed. The workload was piling up, and even with Maud, Eva’s assistant, helping out, I was losing my grip. Since Audrey took over, I had regained control of my schedule and was enjoying my work again.

Audrey stepped into my office, looking as dazzling as ever.

"Sorry to bother you, Tristan, but I had a few questions," she said, her voice smooth and confident. "Since your next meeting isn’t for another thirty minutes, would you mind answering them?"

"Of course," I said with a smile.

She sat across from me with her usual effortless grace.

"So, I noticed you recently lowered subscription prices on the platform. Is that a strategy to capture a new market segment or a response to competition?"

I was pleasantly surprised by her curiosity and her drive to understand our strategy. I appreciated that quality in my team, people who wanted to learn and think beyond the obvious.

I spent the next half-hour explaining my vision for Community Pilot’s growth, detailing how the price drop fit into a larger expansion and customer retention strategy.

That first informal meeting led to many more.

Audrey had a knack for identifying moments when my schedule eased up, and she took every opportunity to consult with me.

Smart and quick-thinking, she always asked the right questions and wasn’t afraid to share fresh ideas.

Her enthusiasm for validating my decisions was contagious, bringing a refreshing energy to our conversations.

I genuinely enjoyed these discussions, they helped me step back, release some pressure, and rethink our projects from a different perspective. As the days passed, I realized how lucky I was to have hired such a competent and dedicated collaborator.

But Eva didn’t share my enthusiasm for Audrey, despite Audrey’s constant efforts to break the ice...

By the end of an internal meeting on a Friday afternoon, Audrey made yet another attempt at conversation as Eva packed up her things, ready to follow the rest of the team out of the room.

"Eva, I heard about your work with the Hope Foundation, helping underprivileged youth. It sounds like an amazing project," Audrey said with a warm smile.

Eva briefly glanced at her and responded in a detached tone.

"Yes, it is."

Her curt reply left an awkward silence hanging in the air, which Audrey quickly tried to fill.

"If you ever need a hand with brainstorming or anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I love collaborating on projects like that."

Eva offered a small, polite smile, devoid of warmth. "Thank you, Audrey. That’s nice of you to offer. I’ll let you know if we need anything. Have a good evening, both of you," she said before walking out, not waiting for a response.

She left behind a palpable tension. Audrey turned to me, looking disheartened.

"I don’t think she likes me very much," she murmured.

Her expression tugged at my heart, and I silently resented Eva for not making more of an effort.

"Give her time," I said, trying to reassure her. "Eva takes a while to trust people, but once she does, she’s fiercely loyal."

Despite my words, a quiet unease settled within me. The gap between them seemed to widen with every interaction, and I worried about the consequences, both personally and professionally.

I was frustrated with Eva for not being kinder to Audrey.

At this rate, Audrey might decide to leave before her probation period [2] was up, and I’d be stuck without an assistant for months again.

It annoyed me how jealous Eva was acting, as if Audrey’s beauty alone was enough to make me lose my mind.

Why was she always so defensive? It was exhausting!

Dinner was unusually quiet. Eva idly pushed her food around on her plate, lost in thought. The image of Audrey’s crestfallen face after Eva’s cold exit flashed in my mind.

"You know," I began gently, "Audrey is really trying to fit in."

Eva lifted her gaze to me, her expression unreadable.

"I can recognize sincerity when I see it," she said simply.

"She was genuinely interested in your work with the foundation."

The slight twitch of her hand on her glass didn’t go unnoticed.

"Are you criticizing me?" she asked, her voice soft, too soft.

"I’m just asking you to give her a real chance."

"Like you?"

Those two barely whispered words were loaded with meaning, and irritation flickered inside me.

"What are you implying?"

"Nothing. Just an observation. You defend her pretty passionately."

"She does good work. I don’t see why I should apologize for appreciating her professionally."

Eva set her silverware down with deliberate precision.

"I know you won’t believe me, but Audrey is anything but professional when you’re not looking," she said matter-of-factly.

"What are you talking about?"

"She presses her chest against you whenever you’re distracted and gives me these provocative looks whenever she gets the chance. She’s playing a game, trying to make you think I’m the villain."

"Do you even hear yourself? That’s ridiculous."

A heavy silence settled between us. Eva took a sip of water, her measured movements betraying the tension simmering beneath the surface.

"I know appearances are against me, but you know me, Tristan. Do you really think I’d make this up?"

“I know you’re a good person, Eva. But I also see how Audrey brings out your insecurities. You need to work on that, on separating the personal from the professional, if we’re going to keep working at the same company.”

I regretted the words the second they left my mouth. Eva was a pillar of Community Pilot, an incredible CEO, and we wouldn’t be where we were without her. I shouldn’t have let my frustration speak for me. But her accusations had been so far off the mark.

Her expression shut down instantly.

“Wow… well, at least I know where you stand.”

The quiet resignation in her voice stung more than if she’d screamed at me. I searched for something to say, something to soften the blow, but nothing came. I knew I’d been too harsh. Still, she had to understand: we couldn’t run this company on jealousy and paranoia.

In the days that followed, I started censoring myself. I downplayed any mention of Audrey, filtered my words, avoided the smallest detail that might ignite another argument. And yet the silences between us kept growing, longer, heavier, filled with everything we no longer dared to say.

I told myself time would help. That Eva would eventually see her suspicions for what they were and stop seeing Audrey as a threat. But until then, something invisible but heavy had settled between us. A quiet, constant pressure that made everything feel… fragile.

Like any couple, we’d had our ups and downs.

Arguments came and went. But this, this was different.

Slower. More corrosive. And I knew that if it kept going like this, the distance between us would only widen.

Because no relationship can survive if one person has to walk on eggshells.

If you have to hide parts of your life to keep the peace… then something’s already broken.