Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Then we’ll have to remain one step ahead.”
“You will have to remain one step ahead. I adhere to the Fifth Republic that my brother has worshipped like a cult, but that doesn’t mean I’m obligated to defend it.”
“If that’s true, why are you feeding me information?”
He took another slow puff of his cigar before he let it out, letting the question simmer. “My brother told me you’re his replacement. That because of you, he’s able to focus on what really matters. So, he asked me to treat you the way I would treat him. To watch your back with one finger on the trigger.”
7
LUCA
I checked in with the receptionist before one of the armed men escorted me inside President Martin’s office. It was a beautiful day, sunshine in a cloudless sky, and the light hit the trees in Luxembourg Gardens just right. Reminded me of Bastien and Fleur’s wedding ceremony on the grounds—under the eyes of the Fifth Republic.
Bastien believed in the Fifth Republic the way others believed in God.
President Martin finished firing off a text from his phone before he acknowledged me. “Luca, let’s talk.” He rose from his desk and came around to my side before he shut the door to his office. “My popularity among the Senate and the people has never been lower. I need some good news.”
It had been brought to his attention that the treasury hadn’t foreseen the expanse of the population over the decades, that there simply wasn’t enough funding to supply retirement benefits for the civilians after twenty-five years of service. It had to be extended to thirty years, and the second that was suggested, the city was in an uproar. Organized strikes were on many streets. Farmers were refusing to work. Waitstaff walked out of the restaurants. Chefs left hotels.
“I don’t have a choice, but people act like I do.”
This was why I preferred emperors to presidents and prime ministers. Their word was law—and they got shit done. Republics gave the people too much say, especially when they only thought about themselves rather than the prosperity of the many. Republic had a much different definition to me than it did to everyone else. “They’ll get over it.”
“Having to work for another five years isn’t something people just get over.”
“They will when they know they have to. You know the Senate will support you.”
He stood in a suit and red tie, a cigar poking out of his front pocket like he’d forgotten he placed it there. He slid his hands into the pockets of his trousers, and he stood there with bloodshot eyes, like this affected him at the office and at home. “If people discovered the tariffs, I would be ruined.”
“Why not use the tariffs to support the treasury?”
“Because most of it is going to the reconstruction of Notre-Dame and the filtration of the Seine. I’m tired of hearing people complain about the water quality. People forget these systems were built hundreds of years ago. Not to mention our adherence to the Paris Agreement and the investment in new infrastructure to maintain our compliance.”
“Raise the tariffs.”
“When it’s so volatile?” he asked incredulously.
“It would fix everything.”
He gave a sigh as he dragged his hand across his face. “There’s already so much pushback from the gangs right now.”
“That’s my problem. Not yours.”
His eyes remained elsewhere for a while, lingering on the picture on the corner of his desk of his wife and two young children. His eyes eventually came back to me. “We need at least a two percent hike.”
“Consider it done.”
For the first time, his eyes relaxed. “That really would fix everything.”
“It’ll take a few months for business to flow as usual. It’s been a big cleanup.”
“I understand, Luca.” His hands returned to his pockets. “I was disappointed when Bastien left so suddenly. Wasn’t sure how this setup would continue without him to oversee it. But he assured me you were far more than capable—and he was right.”
My day ended around ten in the morning, when everyone else was getting into the hustle of their day. I walked into my bedroom, and it had been prepared for bedtime, the curtains drawn closed to block out the sun, my bed already turned down for the night.
I undressed and left the clothes on the floor of the closet for Andre to take care of later. I stepped into the hot shower and scrubbed the scent of booze and cigars from my skin before I did a quick towel-dry.
When I returned to the nightstand, I saw my phone light up with a message.
Can I come by?
It was her.
The woman who now lived down the hall. The one with the mouth I hadn’t stopped picturing. I’d been dead tired and eager for bed up until the moment I saw her text written out on my phone. She must have heard the machinery of the elevator or the beep when the doors opened.