Men Ă la mode
7
Men Ă la mode by StSciurus
K chapter seven
A
was not alone for long, because Mlle. Languissante, returning from lunch, joined him a few minutes after the others had left. “I don’t know why M. Marteau-Piqueur is always on my case,” he said to her. “I came back early from lunch and got criticized even for that!” Violette laughed. “It’s not funny! I have half a mind to tell him what I think of him—or complain to M. László!” “Don’t do that, Adrien. M. Marteau-Piqueur seems to have a lot on his mind lately. I’ll admit that he seems to ride you pretty hard, but there may be more to it than appears on the surface,” and she smiled knowingly. drien
“What do you mean?” But they were interrupted by the arrival of the delivery boy, Thierry. “Any packages to go out?” he asked. “Just this one,” and Violette pointed to a box on the counter. “Oh, and M. László wants you to stop by his house afterwards. His wife has a few errands for you to do.” “How many people have you run down so far today with your bike?” Adrien asked the boy, laughing. “Just one,” Thierry answered. “I mean, it’s winter, right? There’s snow on the ground, right? So this old
bag is in the middle of the sidewalk and won’t get out of my way, and…” “People generally have the right to use the sidewalk, Thierry,” Violette admonished him. “Well… she didn’t fall down or anything.” “Thank goodness for that!” Violette laughed, and then pointing to his bike, “You know what M. László said about bringing your bike into the store.” “It’ll only be there for a second. I’m going out right now.” And the young man grabbed the box under one arm, took his bicycle in the other, and somehow managed to get the front door open to leave.
As soon as he was gone, Adrien asked again, “What did you mean about M. Marteau-Piqueur? What does he have on his mind?” “Now really, Adrien! You’re old enough to know when someone gets hot and bothered by another person, it maybe not be because he finds the other person irritating.” Adrien looked perplexed, but further explanation was impossible at that moment because a customer came into the store. And it was not just any customer, but M. Gaétan Poirot himself, owner of the largest bank in Saint-Michel and the store’s best client. ▼
to be continued‌