Le Projet
(The Plan)
PROLOGUE
Paris, France
"Would you like a salad with the prawns??" The waiter added with a strong French accent, a kind smile on his face.
Ella nodded. "Yes, thanks."
"And you, sir??" The waiter said, turning towards the well-dressed, but rough looking man.
"Uh, I'll have the spicy chicken with a Greek salad", the man said, looking up at the waiter.
The waiter furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't want any of our Traditional French meals??" He said, slightly confused.
The man glared at the French waiter. "I'm fine." He said calmly. The waiter nodded and walked off suspiciously.
Ella looked at her cousin. "Darrin, you don't have to be so, tense." She said, holding her breath, trying to think of the right word to say.
Darrin narrowed his eyes at Ella. "Ella, since when did you have a say in what I can do and say??" He said, his voice tone getting deeper and angrier.
Ella sighed. "Well, sorry."
Darrin relaxed. "Good, Ella." He said, leaning back in his chair.
The table in the classy restaurant was covered in a white tablecloth, and two candles, one red and the other gold, sat in the middle. It was lit, shining brightly amongst the others throughout the restaurant. Beside the two candles was a champagne bottle. Two glasses were filled with champagne, one Darrin's and the other Ella's.
Ella turned to her left, where the reflection of herself and Darrin sitting at the table was. There was a view of Paris from the window, brightly lit from the several lights on throughout the city.
Ella admired what she was wearing. She wore a red dress. The straps sat perfectly on her shoulders, and the v-neck was subtle, but obvious. She had matching red stilettos on, which she had bought at an expensive boutique in the city. Her dark brown hair was tied up in a bun. She couldn't notice from the reflection, but she knew her deep green eyes were shimmering in the light. Darrin had told her to look nice for the occasion.
Darrin impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. Quickly, Ella's attention returned back to him.
"Ella, you know why I brought you here tonight." He said evenly, more of a statement then a question.
"Yes, I do." She said quietly, so no one could overhear throughout the restaurant.
Darrin's dark brown eyes stared at Ella. They were his fathers. Too much like his fathers. It couldn't be from his mother, because his mother had bright blue eyes. Just like Ella's fathers.
Darrin looked around at the other diners in the restaurant suspiciously. Eventually, after ruling them all out as safe, he leant forward in his chair and spoke in a whisper. "The plane tickets to New Jersey are in my apartment, I'll give them to you later tonight. Your flight is at 7AM tomorrow morning."
Ella shivered at his voice. "Do I really have to do this??" She said, whispering back.
Darrin rolled his eyes. "Only if you want Ray to live." He said, sitting back to an upright position in his chair.
Ray Peterson. Her love. Her fiancé.
Ella nodded. "Ok then."
Darrin looked at Ella. "You have two weeks to get those files. If you don't, then say goodbye to Ray." He said, in a soft tone.
Ella shuddered. She didn't want to even think about that happening. Tears welling up in her eyes, she clenched the tablecloth slightly. "Darrin, why do I have to do it??"
Darrin sighed. "Ella, you're the only one that can do this. You have the charm and looks to get this Dr. House even close enough to showing you his secret to his success."
Tears fell down Ella's eyes. "Darrin, why do you need to know this??"
"We've gone over this several times. If we get the secret to how he's so smart, and how he can solve all these rare cases, we will be millionaires. Well, I will." Darrin said, his voice slightly rising with excitement to the thought.
After a moment or so of silence, Darrin continued. "When you arrive in New Jersey, you are to receive a hire car from the airport. From there, you will be addressed to your apartment, where you will be staying for a while. Then, you are to go to the hospital, called PPTH. You are to go to the boss's office, Dr. Cuddy, and present yourself as a medical student."
Ella raised her eyebrows. "But I don't have any medical knowledge, I can't be a medical student!!" She said, confused about her orders.
Darrin laughed. He put his hand in his pockets for a few moments, then pulled out a mobile phone. He pushed it along the table, and Ella grabbed it. "That's why you're going to be calling your lovely fiancé, Ray. Thank goodness he's a surgeon."
Ella sighed in slight relief. "Alright, I get you."
"Well then, great." Darrin said, standing up. "I'm going, come by my apartment at 8PM and grab the tickets."
Ella looked up at Darrin. "Alright then." She said quietly, as Darrin placed a $200 dollar bill on the table.
Ella sat in silence as she watched her cousin walk off. As soon as he was out of sight, she sighed. Her head in her hands, she started crying.
This wasn't fair. But she had to do it.
