In Class Act, Nicole is Bernard Tapie’s secretary who refuses to watch him destroy everything that they have built over the years. Camille Chamoux plays Nicole.
When Bernard and Dominique buy Diguet-Deny, they meet Nicole, a woman who works there. Nicole assists Bernard and Dominique in everything, and soon, they manage to turn the business profitable.
Nicole ends up becoming a trusted employee who is almost like family to Bernard and Dominique. She is even present with them when Dominique goes into labor and is taken to the hospital to give birth to her son.
A resourceful employee
Nicole wanted to be a novelist, but she ended up working for a paper company. She tells Bernard about her dream, which she has never shared with anyone before. Since Nicole knows Diguet-Deny better than Bernard and Dominique, she overlooks various things like cost management.
She is smart and dependable, and that is why Bernard and Tapie trust her judgment. Furthermore, when Bernard thinks of expanding his business, he asks Nicole to come with him and Dominique. Nicole agrees, and Bernard promises her that he will not let any employee at Diguet-Deny lose their jobs.
Alexis Cleret de Granval is buying Wonder, a company that Bernard wants to buy but does not have enough money to compete with Alexis. He asks for Nicole’s help in stealing the company from Alexis.
Nicole meets Alexis and pretends to be the intermediary for the emir of Dubai. Nicole and Bernard’s friend Farid, who poses as the emir of Dubai, almost get caught, but Nicole handles the situation expertly.
She immediately comes up with a convincing lie and makes Alexis comfortable enough to reveal that he plans to close the factory and sell the equipment after buying Wonder. This allows Bernard and Dominique to win over the union and buy Wonder.
However, Bernard also breaks his promise of not abandoning any of the Diguet-Deny employees. While Nicole gets to keep working for Bernard, the other employees lose their jobs.
Nicole’s decision to quit
With time, Bernard starts a TV show and also goes on to become a politician, which leaves him no time to take care of the business. It is Dominique who oversees the business with much help from Nicole, who seemingly manages everything.
When the workers at Wonder protest, it is Nicole who is asked to deal with them and bring the situation under control. Later, when the Tapie Group faces a financial crisis, Nicole brings it to Dominique’s attention.
She explains everything to Dominique and tells her that selling Adidas is their only choice. However, the two women know that Bernard will never agree to this. They try their best to find other solutions, and Nicole even renegotiates the debt with the bank. Other than that, there is not much that can be done.
Nicole and Dominique try to convince Bernard to relocate to Asia, but he refuses. He is not even willing to sell Adidas, and Nicole knows that because of Bernard’s stubbornness, this will not end well for the Tapie Group.
Nicole cares a lot about Bernard’s business and his reputation, so she decides to quit her job. She has worked very hard all these years to build Bernard up, and now she refuses to watch him destroy everything. Bernard, who is too arrogant to see his own faults, does not try to stop her.
A few years later, Nicole attends Bernard and Dominique’s wedding. Bernard and Nicole treat each other like old friends and do not hold a grudge. Bernard even tells her that she is welcome to return to them anytime she wants, but Nicole has gotten married now, so she does not take him up on his offer.
