The CEO's Assistant

Liam started to guide Arianna up to the lookout area, overlooking all of Paris. A tall lanky man wearing a black tuxedo and long rectangular glasses, stood in front a large glass elevator.

"Monsieur Clair," The man bowed as he opened the elevator letting into only to three of them.

It wasn't until they were inside that she realised, Clair? Wait what? She started to get anxious, he wasn't just from any of 'those' families, he was a Clair. She felt so stupid. "Mademoiselle Richard, are you alright?" The man asked noticing her anxious expression.

"Oh, it's nothing." He called her Miss Richard, had Liam knew who she was all along? Why didn't he say anything?

"It's normal, a lot of people become uneasy here. Please let me know if you start feel nauseous." His voice was calm and polite.

"Thank you, I will." Arianna simply focused on the people on the ground getting smaller and smaller. When the elevator finally stopped.

"I trust this will stay our secret Thomas?" Liam said with a cold tone as he raised his eyebrow.

"Of course, Monsieur Clair and Mademoiselle Richard on a date at the eiffel tower would certainly cause a public ruckus." He replied with a serious tone as he nodded his head.

"Oh this isn't a..." Arianna's cheeks went pink, she could feel her face and ears heating up. But the elevator doors shut before she could finish.

Liam walked over to the look out at the city below, while the city was usually loud and noisy, up here it was peaceful, beautiful and he could understand why people come from all over the world to visit this city he calls home.

"Are you going to come and have a look?" He didn't need to turn around to know she was just standing there awkwardly. She slowly walked over and stood beside him, a little further away than usual. "What are you thinking about?" He knew, but he wanted to see she was going to tell him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She took a deep breath, finding the courage to confront him. How long had he known? What was he going to do to her? Was this the last time she was going to see him? And why was the thought of that so painful?

"Tell you what?" He didn't look at her and neither his expression nor his tone changed.

"That you are Liam Clair." She finally pulled her eyes from the river below to look at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you're Arianna Richard?" This was a fair observation, they'd both kept their identities a secret.

"Well because I... didn't want you... to use me." She dropped her eyes shamefully.

"Then you understand why I didn't tell you." He finally looked at her, his expression softened into an almost sad look. "After what happened with Chloe - my ex-fiancee - I didn't want you to cling to me hoping to get something out of it."

"Oh I'm sorry." She looked both shameful and understanding. "So when did you know?"

"When I saw you this morning, I realised you're was very similar to Madam Richard's daughter. We met once about 8 years ago at fashion week, we didn't speak but I remember your mother saying you were from Australia..."

"And when I said that at breakfast..." She continued his sentence.

"That's right, that's when I was sure." After that moment, he should have left and never looked back, he should have ignored her and the feelings he had bubbling inside whenever she was near. They were enemies, right? "Did you really not know?"

"No, Juliette told me that you were from one of the big five families, but didn't tell me which one." She knew at this moment she should run and never see him again, but why was the thought of that so painful, they're enemies right?

"So Juliette and Felix knew?" He wasn't surprised, but he was a little shocked that they didn't tell him. He'd known Juliette wanted a girl friend that wouldn't want something off her, but was Arianna Richard, the daughter of their father's biggest rival, really the best person to be friends with?

"Yes they told me not to tell you, because you aren't as forgiving, where that means?" She shrugged, the awkwardness surrounding them was slowly starting to dissipate.

"Of course, she would've believed that I would have guessed that you knew from the moment we met that you knew who I was." He placed one hand on the railing beside them, for a moment looking back out at the city, taking a deep breath.

"When did you realise I really didn't know?" She looked at him with a kind and curious expression.

"When Thomas greeted me." He brought his green-blue eyes back to meet hers. "When I saw your reaction, that's when I came to the conclusion you mustn't know and that you'd come to the same realisation as me. We're not supposed to be friends. That or you're a good actress" He sighed, both of them didn't say anything, simply looked out at the Parisian city. They stood silently leaning on the rail, wondering if they should ask what to do next.

Liam thought the next step was obvious, drop her home and never speak to her again, but he thought about the same they spend together. For the first time in two weeks he hadn't thought about Chloe, or her betrayal. Instead he thought about the way his heart warmed when she smiled and laughed, the way his heart ached when was hurt and sad. When he realised that he may never see her again he was in more pain than when he'd found Chloe in bed with another man. What was this he felt for her?

Arianna realised Liam was about to tell her they should never see each other again, and that killed her inside. Not just him, but Juliette and Felix, for the last 24 hours she'd had friends for the first time in almost a decade, she forgotten what it was like to have someone to depend on and to comfort her. But what she was going to miss most, was the way he smiled when he thought she wasn't watching and the warmth of his skin on hers. They'd known each other for less than a day, yet she felt she was going to miss Liam and his sister more than she missed her own parents and brother. They seemed to have a connection she'd never had with anyone else, how cruel was this world? 'I guess now I know how Juliet felt when she was separated from Romeo' she thought as she rested her head on his shoulder, not looking at him just out the window.

"Arianna..." He hesitated, he didn't want her to move, but he knew she couldn't stay.

"I know, when we leave here, that's it the end of this adventure. Let's just let it last a little while longer." She closed her eyes, taking in his warmth and smell for the last time.

"Okay," he smiled down at her lovingly, giving into his emotions for the last time. He rested his head on hers and they stood there in silence for what must have been an hour, trying to prolong the inevitable.