We're expecting you in Paris.
for the contracts.
We're ready for the meeting.
I'm coming. Close the door.
I don't know
what's happening with the line.
I can't hear you.
Can you hear me?
I can't hear you.
I'll call you back.
Ok, I'll call you back.
Everything ok? - Yes, sure.
Where are you going?
See you later then. - Ok.
Hi. How is it going here?
Fine.
There's something wrong with your tie.
See you later.
Hello, Sandrine.
Everything ok? - And you?
How are things with Delacroix? - Fine.
Will we see each other tonight?
Yes, see you tonight. - See you then.
Miss...
I need you right away.
A shame I could never afford that.
Do you want to see my stockings?
Stop it.
You're crazy.
Taxi!
2 months ago I couldn't have known you'd make me discover life...
at the age of 50.
Every second without you hurts.
Please don't get attached to me. - It's too late.
It can't last between us...
but I can't think of that or I start to panic.
The direct line. Must be your wife.
Hello?
Oh, it's you.
I must have given the loser a short moment of happiness.
He told me all these
sweet little things that showed he's in love.
I never experienced it myself. I started to envy him for it.
I pretended I loved him, as if I came with him.
Everything. And in the end I had nothing at all.
Except Nathalie, but she was no knight in shining armour.
That's why I wanted Christophe.
Do you know the Barnay family well? - Especially the father.
He's a self-made man, old school.
With a strong sense of honour
and responsibility. A dinosaur.
We founded the company together and overcame a lot of problems.
That created a bond of mutual trust.
I've often been invited to his chateau. - Chateau?
Can't you take me one day?
You know that's impossible.
And Christophe?
He got the most beautiful women of the company.
Tell me...
Now that you're here, I'm jealous. - Silly.
No, really. I'm very afraid of him. And of his father.
He wants me to keep a discrete eye on him. - Why?
It goes back more than 20 years.
The old man had to work hard in his new company.
One day he had to go to Africa for 2 months.
Little Christophe stayed with his mother and his sister, who was a baby still.
They had no staff yet, back then. The mother died suddenly.
A heart attack. Totally unexpected.
Little Christophe was unshaken and stayed with his dead mother
for almost two weeks, without telling anybody.
Not even his father over the phone.
The body started to decompose.
The boy only moved to feed his little sister.
How old was he?
Nine.
There were no consequences, he was doing fine even.
Except, he wasn't afraid of anything or anybody anymore.
He said: "We're just a piece of wood."
He kept saying he wanted to attack the sun,
take it away from the earth or set the world to fire with it.
he also said: "That would be criminal."
Or "Would that make me as evil as God?"
Boy talk.
Except he still said it when he was 19 and when he was 25.
And he defied death, in the air, with his car.
He manipulated people for fun
and he hung out with dangerous types, to see whether they would kill him.
He pushed women to suicide.
Gossip. - No.
He seduced a number of employees.
They say he tortured and hurt them to the point
that two of them poured petrol over themselves
and set themselves on fire.
They buried alive in front of him.
Do you think he's mad?
He knows perfectly well what he's doing.
It's the women who are crazy.
Crazy about him. Especially if they know about their predecessors.
I wanted to fire him
or at least put him out of action. But that's impossible.
His father feels so guilty he forgives him for everything.
Maybe, after his death, he'll give me some control over his son.
That would be good.
Thanks to his relations, Christophe's untouchable.
If he had the power, he'd be terrifying.
I've been wanting to tell you for a while...
Why don't you get a replacement for Mrs. Mercier?
But I'm constantly drowning in work.
They'd be on to us soon and they'd start gossiping.
Not at all. I have a friend who'd be suitable.
Please don't insist.
leave me alone. Don't touch me.
Give it.
You didn't want to take the whole bottle, did you?
What's wrong?
Please... tell me.
Come on.
You don't want to tell me?
You should talk about it. It relieves.
You act like a girl in love who was rejected.
Was it a man who wasn't available?
We're all the same.
You can't do anything for me.
It's nothing anyway.
I was just dreaming.
It'll pass.
All that counts...
is that we pursue our plan.
You've got Delacroix.
Convince him to replace Mrs. Mercier with me.
But never forget my advice.
Don't fall in love, stick with comedy.
That doesn't hurt as much.
Yes? - Mr. Delacroix? The personnel department.
Miss Tessier reported in sick and will be absent for at least a week.
What's wrong with her? - Stress from over fatigue.
Mr. Delacroix?
Mr. Delacroix, the signatures please.
Come back in an hour.
It's urgent, sir. - Please.
Come in.
I'd rather talk to you alone.
Why? Nathalie can hear everything.
Are you in love with her? - No.
What then? - We both felt like it.
Isn't it the same with you?
That was not the same. - It was.
Why did you do that to me?
I didn't want to see you again, but it's not possible.
I wanted to kill you the other day.
I was in such pain I wanted to strangle you.
I'm not your daughter or your wife.
But I am your slave.
I'm in the office 13 hours a day.
Most evenings I'm with you.
And also on Saturdays and Sundays now.
And I have to be beautiful.
Beauty parlour, shopping, the laundry on Saturdays.
But you refuse to help me.
Do you want me to leave my wife?
Do you want us to live together? - No.
I only want a bit less work.
And for discretion's sake, I want it to be Nathalie.
And I look the other way when you two make love in the office?
I'm free.
When will you come to work again?
Maybe never.
What does it depend on? - On you.
Sandrine?
I've been selfish. When can your friend start?
The man entered hell.
Beat it, sister. I'll see you at home tonight.
Come along, please.
Please wait here ladies. Mr. Delacroix.
Sit down.
True enjoyment is rare.
Many women or people will never know it.
It's a drug.
A she-devil that grabs you and then keeps escaping.
You'll only live for her.
Not?
Your relationship with your wife and family is none of my business.
In a way, I envy you.
Except, you work for the Barnay company.
You carry a huge responsibility. Suppose everybody acted like you do.
The company would be one big fucking palace. It wouldn't function anymore.
Unfortunately.
You should have been an example.
Am I saying things you disagree with?
Well then.
This document states what you did
with your two subordinates. Sign it.
You also accept your dismissal as a result of grave professional misconduct,
so without severance pay.
I'm being sacked. - No.
I'll keep my mouth shut about the affair.
I'm placing you under surveillance.
Under surveillance of an assistant of my choice, of course.
Right.
I'm expecting your signature.
Thank you.
Poor loser.
What are you doing to him?
Did he pressure you?
Did he abuse his authority? - No.
So you don't choose hypocrisy as your defence.
Should I have?
Useful and socially acceptable vices soon become virtues.
We appreciate the same truths.
First I thought he wanted to show off his wealth. I thought it was vulgar.
But he was handsome. I longed for him
and could forgive him anything.
Money.
It rules our dreams and desires...
determines the size of our prisons.
See ladies, just like you, I'm going to have a taste of true freedom.
Dare to play with the social order...
whether it's just or not
or of divine or human origin.
I reject the rules...
the straitjacket.
I propose to you a game.
Nathalie, you go work with Delacroix again. - Do you know each other?
We're lovers.
Well, sometimes.
Sandrine, I know all the employees.
I have a confidential file about everybody.
And I'm often looking for distraction one way or another
with one person or the next.
Nathalie has slowly replaced Delacroix. Ok, not officially.
He's still my technical advisor.
And, in secret, she's
my eyes,
my ears,
my mouth. - Also with me?
Miss Sandrine Tessier...
it's my honour to ask for your hand...
for a temporary commitment. A game.
What kind of game?
Maybe the game of chance or love.
A new form of entertainment.
Who will say?
For just a few months. A game with a useful side to it.
My father will die soon.
And he's still hesitant
to trust me with his entire empire.
He's heard rumours saying I'm too whimsical,
too careless with people to be entrusted with a large employee base.
But I want that power.
Because debauchery isn't possible without money and protection.
"Depending whether thou art mighty or poor..."
I disabled Delacroix.
My potential rival and guard dog.
But I'm not taking any risks.
Before my father dies, I want to make him think I gained respectability
and seriousness as a result of love.
This, of course, is a deal you'll accept...
like the donkey, lured by the carrot and threatened by the stick.
And what's the stick?
Immediate dismissal and a public scandal.
And the carrot: I marry you.
for the law and for the church.
I insist on the church and on community of property.
My father could be suspicious. And not without reason.
The religious side plus participation in my fortune.
will be a firm foundation of our short lived amour fou.
Of course, in a couple of months we'll divorce.
and you'll receive a generous allowance.
But we remain married in the eyes of the church.
I'll patiently await God's punishment.
Why me and not Nathalie?
Nathalie's more useful at the office, to keep an eye on Delacroix.
And you're a likelier candidate as the young woman
from a working class background, innocent, refreshing and lively.
Good for my image as a dynamic employer.
Shall we start our game now?
You go to the ladies' bathrooms...
you get into a cubicle
and you start making love. I'll join you in 5 minutes.
Wait for me before finishing.
And, Sandrine, do you accept my game?
Will you continue your brilliant social rise or end it?
Then, for the first time I came with a man.
But I'm sure he hadn't reached his climax yet.
Have you been lovers for long?
From when we started at Barnay's?
He knew things that could only come from you.
He knew were he could catch us with poor Delacroix.
Your mysterious lover was Christophe.
Now I understand why you warned me about him.
Shall I tell you something?
While you were manipulating Delacroix.
Christophe was manipulating me.
I thought I'd made him fall in love.
How could I be that stupid?
Even though I wasn't naive anymore.
Well, he's stronger than you, than me, then the two of us together.
He's had so many women,
so many people, in bed or somewhere else
and in each possible combination
that love nor any other form of normal sexuality can hold his interest.
And the tragic thing is that he loves enjoyment.
Do you know why he needs you?
Like he said: for the enjoyment of playing with others on a large scale.
He already pushed women to commit suicide, he'll be able to destroy many more.
And I cheat...
I lie to everybody.
He leads me in everything.
I actually behave like a slave.
A slave who even enjoys it, out of love.
You're talking nonsense. Like a crazy woman.
Listen to what the crazy woman reads in your little head.
You secretly hope he loves you.
Sometimes you even believe it.
You think that, at the very worst,
you keep your chances open because you stay in the picture.
Well, you're dreaming, girl.
When you're no longer required and all used up,
he'll dump you like an old rag.
Why make such a scene about a staged wedding?
I never had anything in my life.
Nothing and nobody.
You don't love him. He's mine.
I won't let you or anybody else take him from me.
Christophe had transferred me.
I now had my own office at the Champs Elysées.
Sandrine?
Can I talk to you?
Are you ok?
I wanted to tell you that everything's over between us.
And it's better that way.
But out of everything that happened, I'll remember one thing.
You gave me some of the only moments of real happiness in my life,
of intense passion,
of pain,
but also of great tenderness.
I will always keep you in my heart.
That's what I wanted to say. The rest doesn't matter.
Take good care of yourself, Sandrine.
Goodbye.
This man wasn't after revenge.
I only realised later that he loved me...
with an intensity I couldn't comprehend,
without expecting anything in return, not even my presence.
I should have been very touched, but back then I only thought of him as a weak man.
Besides, I was pining for a phone call from Christophe. And then...
Make yourself very beautiful tonight. Charlotte will pick you up at midnight.
You'll become my sister-in-law. The only one before God.
For a very short time. - A day, a month, a year.
What's that in the face of eternity?
My new sister.
Welcome among us.
I only ask one thing of you. Be who you are.
We're born in a world of lies.
Be nice to us, genuine...
and never lie to us.
Christophe and I always speak the truth.
Especially when the truth hurts or burns.
Let the party begin. And may we all enjoy ourselves.
Charlotte, get up.
Sandrine, you too.
Sandrine, stand against her back.
Caress her neck.
Her arms.
Her breasts.
Everything I do to you, you should do to Charlotte.
I open your dress.
I take it off.
I caress your breasts...
your belly...
the inside of your thighs.
How dare you spoil my pleasure?
Why do you choose them? I can still pleasure you the way you taught me.
Why do you reject me?
Where did you get the key?
I'm from another race than all the women you seduced and rejected.
I'll never commit suicide. I won't give you the satisfaction.
Never.
But you're nothing anymore.
Tomorrow, the lock will be changed.
Today, I see you for the last time. And give back that key.
Come and get it.
I repeat.
I'm stronger than all those you rejected. - Give it back!
Come and get it.
Hit me.
You taught me how pain can lead to pleasure.
I never want to see you again.
Can't you see I'm suffering?
That means you're alive.
Unfortunately.
But creatures like you are like dogs.
Unfortunately, I need you at the office.
But as soon as my father dies, you disappear.
For me you already don't exist anymore.
I'll give you a new party that's worthy of you. I promise.
I can still help him and protect him.
You'll only be hated more.
Which means he loves me.
I have no more pride or dignity.
I've got nothing left.
Give me the money you owe me.
The next day I went to get my savings.
I gave her everything I had, which wasn't much.
She took the notes and sat on the ground.
She counted them en counted them again.
I no longer existed.
She sat there on the floor of her apartment,
looking almost ugly with her eyes closed tight.
She counted and recounted difficult things using her fingers.
I was never more touched by her than then.
For the first time, without wanting it, I had the heart of a 15 year old girl.
I couldn't believe it. My husband was so beautiful.
And I was wearing my white wedding dress.
Christophe had chosen the tactics of the surprise wedding.
I was only going to be introduced to father Barnay the next day.
And then there was Nathalie.
Christophe had gotten her a restraining order.
When I came outside, I suddenly saw her.
Our eyes met.
She hated me.
Admire this beautiful symbol of our worldly lives.
"And I am the death of everything
and I am the birth of everything.
Word and memory, stability and mercifulness
and the silence of the secret things."
Sir, your father just passed away.
Our father is no longer alive.
He just passed away.
He left me as only president of the group.
Isn't that a beautiful coincidence?
The president is dead!
Long live the president. And tonight
more than all other nights: Love each other.
Oh, my sister...
"You cry for people you shouldn't cry for.
A wise man doesn't mourn the living or the dead,
since we have never been,
me... nor you... nor these kings...
and never shall we cease to be."
Finally we enter the kingdom of princes,
pharaohs and gods.
Please, stop!
You had no right to treat me this way.
Am I more cruel than life and creation?
More cruel then the Creator, if He exists?
Have you watched the violence of death on the faces of the creatures?
Alive we are like chained gods...
most of the time too cowardly to taste real freedom.
Vanity of vanities.
Only death is the big cleansing.
You might have helped me to skilfully plan
the fate of man.
You could even have brought me the sun.
A shame.
Once the divorce is settled, you're free.
It will take a couple of weeks.
You again?
Leave us alone.
Look at me.
What's the use? You don't exist anymore.
No, don't do that.
I'd see you again up there.
To aggravate us, me,
the devil and all my other fellow players.
To endure you until eternity...
How horrible.
The police came. Nathalie was cuffed and taken away.
She never answered the question everybody asked:
Why?
The media got on to the case,
but the essential truth remained carefully hidden.
Nathalie was sentenced to years in jail and the case was forgotten.
Married in community of property and widowed so quickly,
I automatically became the heiress of my legal husband.
With Charlotte I ruled the empire here brother had wanted so badly,
with the expert assistance of Delacroix,
who proved to be a discrete and loyal employee.
Life went on.
After her sentence, Nathalie married
her prison guard.
Of the three of us, she's the only one who really married.
Years later, I happened to see her.
There she was...
with her husband and child.
They all looked nice.
After a while we approached each other.
We looked at each other.
In silence.
I only saw her.
Then we had to go our ways.
We kept looking at each other...
knowing it was the last time.
Then she bent over to me
and asked for forgiveness.
Me.
We looked at each other one last time
and then I kissed her.
Then she walked on,
with her husband and child
and disappeared.
Forever.
And for the rest of my life, every day that went by,
I'd think about her at least once.