Paris, The Ambassador and Me

by Mia Villano

  I smiled at her.

  “What?”

  “I didn’t know you had another life outside the restaurant. You are so private about your personal life.”

  “I don’t like you guys knowing everything about me. I like to keep somethings to myself. All of you are too much into everyone’s business. I don’t need that.”

  We walked up to the garage door and stopped. She had a habit of running her hands through her long black hair. She was always touching it, or playing with it.

  “Call me and let me know. I need to know you are okay. It’s all going to be fine. Everything happens for a reason, Sophia.”

  “Thanks, Izzy.” She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. It was the first time we have ever been this nice to each other. It was nice.

  “Don’t tell Mom or the rest of the crew in there. I will call you later.” I hugged her back and she quickly let go. Too many hugs in one day.

  We made it back for the cake, sending Fabrice in a tizzy. He had three pieces. I loved watching him enjoy it as my mom sat in front of him, practically drooling. He asked for the recipe and said he was going to make it one weekend. Okay, I thought. This guy doesn’t make his own sandwiches, how is he going to make a cake? What he was going to do is give it to his cook or have me make it. He wasn’t fooling me. My mom wrote it down neatly on a recipe card for him and gave it to him, along with some more cake to take home. He looked like a little school boy being rewarded for good behavior. It was completely adorable and made me horny as hell.

  My two aunts wouldn’t leave the table and brought him coffee after coffee. It was quite the scene. I sat back and watched. I loved it. I loved how he fit in so well with my family. He was comfortable, adorable, and mine to do whatever I wanted after we left. And boy, did I have things in mind I wanted to do to him. My brothers had to tease me for a while about my dress before I left. It was a typical Sunday afternoon. My mom said they were gushing about my dress on CNN, and I was the talk of the broadcast. They wanted to know who this strikingly, beautiful woman with the Ambassador was, and compared me to a young Sophia Loren again. One of the broadcasters said I stole the show. I didn’t mention how bad I thought I looked. I agreed and said thank you.

  “What is this Sophia Loren comparison? No one has ever told me I looked like her. Mom, on the other hand, you do.”

  “Please, I look nothing like her. I did sort of, at one time. That is who your sister is named after,” she gloated. Everyone agreed with her.

  “That’s why I asked her to marry me?” My dad laughed.

  “That’s the only reason. He was obsessed with her. He told me on the first date I looked just like her. I never could see it.”

  “Well, I look nothing like you so I don’t know where this is coming from.” I said, as I stood up to get more coffee and a sliver of the cake.

  “Yes, you do. You look like your mom,” My dad said.

  How come I didn’t see it? I didn’t look like her. Why couldn’t I ever see things other people saw in me. Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough.

  On the way home the desire to show Fabrice how special he was took over my rational thinking. It was dark out so I took off my clothes and let him look at me in my new expensive bra and thong. He prefers red, but this was black and lacy and sparked his attention right away. I wanted to suck him off and this was the best opportunity. I loved what it did to him and I loved how he spewed on me as we drove through the backroads to my condo. I was being a bad girl he said and he loved it. He wanted to come in and finish what I started. I wanted to keep him wanting me, so I put him off and told him we would pick up the next day. Plus, I didn’t want him there while I dealt with whatever news I would receive from Sophia. I gave him my thong I wore to take home. He smiled, raised his eyebrows, and told me it would come into good use. I went home to my condo and slept alone, I needed to get some rest.

  Sophia texted me as I was about to go to sleep. I tried to stay awake so when she did text me I could answer her right away. I was afraid to look.

  Izz, I took the test.

  I held my breath.

  Chapter 4

  It’s positive. My heart sank.

  Are u sure? You read the signs correct + means yes and - means no.

  I know Izzy. I took 2.

  It will be ok. I promise.

  I don’t know why I was promising. At that moment it wasn’t okay. Both of them were intelligent. He was a doctor for God sakes. He knew what he was doing. They both did, and I couldn’t for the life of me not think they did this on purpose. This is what Sophia has wanted since she was little. She met the man of her dreams and she did it.

  Fuck, I wanted to scream. I wanted to shake her. How could she be so careless? If she would have come to me first I could have told her what to do and not to do. Maybe if I was closer to her she wouldn’t have made such a stupid mistake. To Sophia, this wasn’t a stupid mistake. This is what she wanted forever. As you could guess, I didn’t sleep. All I could think of is how my family was going to go insane. My little sister, the baby of the family, got herself pregnant by a Korean man no one had heard about. The girl my mom had hoped would get the calling and go into to the convent, was now going to be a single mom. This was not going to go over well. When I told my mom about Anthony, and the fact that I was pregnant, she didn’t go nuts like I thought she would. I know she doesn’t expect us to wait till we are married before we have sex, but she does expect us to use our heads and not go off “half-cocked”, as she liked to say, and do something stupid. I had to be there for my sister and back her up. I looked up this guy on the internet and found out he was extremely smart. His whole family was a bunch of geniuses. His sister was a world renowned physicist. His mother was a professor, and his brother was a lawyer. However, my sister was pregnant and still in college. Yes, she was almost done with her degree but my parents are going to be so disappointed and upset. I texted her and told her she could come and stay with me if it became too bad. She wanted to tell Ben before she broke the news to my family. She had no intentions of getting rid of the baby. She said she was in love with Ben and nothing else mattered. She promised she would finish school. Unlike me, she would be happy to stay at home and have a house full of kids. I guess it was starting earlier than expected.

  My alarm went off five minutes after I fell asleep, or so it felt. I forced myself up and out of the cozy warm blankets and hit the shower. I thought about bringing boxes with me to work in case I was told to pack up. With my sister on my mind, I thought more clearly about my situation with Fabrice and my job. Fabrice was the boss of the Embassy; he would have to fire me, right? This was stupid and I was being ridiculous. The only thing that could be a problem was what the other women in the office would say. They talked about each other nonstop. When someone wasn’t around they talked about them. They could be cruel and hurtful. It was something I didn’t want to be a part of. My grandmother told me,

  “Isabella remember gossip dies when it hits a wise person’s ears.” I didn’t know what she meant until later. The worst thing I needed to worry about was what the other women would put me through, and of course, Marin.

  Standing in the bathroom, drinking a second cup of coffee, I was dressed and ready to head out an hour before I needed to be at work. I stood in front of the mirror looking at myself one last time before I headed out for the day. I made sure I looked extremely professional and overly dressed.

  “Girl, you’re packing some bags today.” Avery stood behind me looking at me in the full length mirror. I was tempted to tell her about Sophia, but I wanted to wait till the news got out.

  “Thanks, I will be packing boxes soon, so it fits. I’ve tried all kinds of cover-up this morning and nothing will hide this. I didn’t sleep last night. What time did you get in?”

  “Around midnight. I knocked on your door but I heard the shower running so I went to bed. I was exhausted too. Cherise and I went boating with some friends.”

  She walked to her bathr
oom and came back handing me something that looked overly priced and in a tiny fancy bottle. I loved going through her cabinet to see what kind of different lotions and moisturizers she bought. She could care less, but it was so much fun to see the things she had. This one must be new.

  “Put a dab of this on. Ellen swears by it after a good drinking binge. I haven’t tried any yet, but it will work. It’s French too, so there you go. “

  I looked at the bottle and thought it couldn’t hurt. I dabbed a little on each eye and waited for the magic to happen.

  Avery checked in the mirror and smiled.

  “It worked. You look fresh as a daisy. Not bad for five hundred a bottle, I guess.” I spun around to look at her in shock.

  “Avery, that’s insane. I just put fifty dollars of it on. How can you spend money like that?”

  Avery was living off a trust fund from her parent’s remarkable fortune that made them zillionaires. Though she was attending law school and close to being done, she didn’t worry about spending money or where it came from. It was always at her disposal.

  “I didn’t buy it, Ellen did. I wouldn’t spend that kind of money on eye cream. Clothes, yes, but not eye cream.”

  I finished getting ready as Avery busied herself to go to class. She was dating one of the law professors still and seemed to be in love. So far, they had been together for three months. It’s record for Avery with anyone. Usually when she dates someone, she has another person on the side. With Cherise, there was no one else. Cherise was gorgeous and didn’t look her age of thirty-two. She was smart and could handle Avery and her moodiness. I was so thankful she found someone. I adored Cherise.

  “Want to go out to dinner tonight, just you and me?” We tried to have our BFF time together even though both of us were in steady relationships.

  “Sounds perfect,” I smiled. Maybe I would break down and talk to her about Sophia. I told her everything anyway. This shouldn’t be any different.

  “Don’t worry so much, Izz. It’s all good. You will be fine, Fabrice is fine, and he loves you.”

  “I guess. I hope he did the right thing.”

  “In his mind, he did, and no one would have changed his mind. Be happy.”

  I grabbed my purse and started to head out the door.

  “Hey, are you doing okay? You seem a little depressed.” She was right. I was. I wasn’t in complete depression. I was headed there though, and I didn’t know why.

  “I’m okay. I don’t know, Avery. I should be on top of the world and something is dragging me down. I can’t shake this sad feeling. This feeling I’m not good enough for Fabrice and did I make the right career choice. I look at myself lately and I see what Anthony used to tell me I was fat, ugly, and stupid. I see all of that for whatever reason. I don’t know where this is coming from. When things go good in my personal life, I try to make something come out bad. I don’t feel I deserve the good. Everything is so unsettled right now. How did you know? I thought I was hiding it well.”

  “I told you before, babe. You can’t hide anything from me. I know you as well as I know myself. Let’s talk tonight. Maybe you need to see a doctor again before it gets out of hand. You know you’re beating yourself up for whatever reason. You have everything to be happy about right now. The fucking CNN reporters couldn’t get over how beautiful you are and how much you look like Sophia Loren. Wolf Blitzer even mentioned you the other night.”

  “Let’s talk tonight. Maybe if I get through the day and put this past me, I will start to feel better. I go through this in spurts and it started when I was dating Anthony. Maybe it’s because I know he’s getting better and will probably be out soon.”

  “I don’t know. It’s something deeper. We’ll get through it tonight over a bottle of wine. Have a good day and remember, you are gorgeous. You look amazing and Fabrice has the hots for you.”

  “I guess.”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Text me and let me know how it goes.”

  “Wait a second. You said Wolf Blitzer mentioned me?” Avery stopped and walked up to me by the door.t

  “Yeah. He said the French Ambassador was accompanied by the beautiful and stunning, Isabella Piori.

  Wow, that’s pretty cool I thought. Even Wolf noticed me.

  “I have to go. Text me.” I couldn’t help but smile.

  “I will. Loves you.”

  “Loves you.” Avery hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. Her and those hugs. I walked to the train station and waited for the early train to take me to work. Fabrice had been insisting he send his drive to drive me in, but I don’t want that. That was the last thing I needed.

  Chapter 5

  Like the night of the gala, the clacking sound of my heels soothed my fear and uneasiness I had walking into the French Embassy. My heart pounded in my ears. With an unsteady hand, I swiped my ID card and when the green light came on, I let out a sigh. I cleared one hurdle. I was okay to walk into the building. That was a good sign. There was no guard at the door to escort me out when I arrived early on Monday. I took the elevator to my office, as usual, I was the first there. General Gerard was not in yet and it was me and Fran, the office manager. She smiled like a Cheshire cat and I knew why.

  “Congratulations, Isabella.” My faced flushed and a line of perspiration formed over my lip.

  “Did I win a prize?” I wanted to see what she said, and not act like I was as nervous as I was.

  “I’d say. The biggest most eligible prize there is.” She giggled like a schoolgirl.

  “Oh, that. Yes, thank you. He’s quite the catch.” I felt my face heat up.

  “I would implode if he even looked at me, let alone touched me. You are one lucky girl. He’s one of the most eligible bachelors in Washington. I watched it Saturday with a bottle of wine and popcorn. You looked so beautiful. I didn’t even recognize you at first and then I put on my glasses and low and behold I said to my husband, it’s Isabella.”

  “Thanks, I don’t know what to say. It just happened.”

  “I loved the dress. Where did you find such a stunning gown?”

  “Well, Fabrice picked it out for me. It’s Chanel. The size and the color were perfect.”

  “Christ, he’s even dreamier than I thought.” Fran was fanning herself with her hand. She was an older lady with twelve grandchildren and a seventeen year old son. She loved to shop at Target and ate chicken salad sandwiches on rye every day since I had been there. She handed me a folder fuller than usual of work.

  “Here is your work for the day. Jean is running late as usual. He should be in at ten which in Jean time means noon. He wants to have a meeting at one. The defense ministry of Algeria is coming in later this week and he wants something put together for them. He should have them in the database for food and where they like to stay. He wants you to have it set up by meeting time. Let me know if you need any help.”

  “Thanks, I should be fine.”

  “Do you want me to get you a coffee? I don’t know how you can keep yourself so professional, Isabella.” Fran didn’t bring anyone coffee but Jean. I moved up on the ladder from dating Fabrice.

  “No, I will get it. Fran, get yourself together.” I laughed and walked away leaving her at her post. She may be nosy, but she was always willing to help me if I needed it, and today was just over the top. So far, I made it to my office without any problems. It seemed to be working out for me and not the other way around. My desk was left alone and there were no boxes sitting out for me to fill up.

  After getting started on the assignment General Gerard had for me, I felt Fabrice standing behind me. In fact, I smelled him before he said a word. The warmth of his body enveloped my back as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the nearness of him, breathing him in.

  “I see you still have an office.”

  “Hey, yes, I suppose I do. I’m the envy of the office, well at least, Fran.” I wanted to run into his arms. He looked edible in his dark navy suit, five o’clock shadow, and piercing blue eyes.

>   “How was your night last night? I didn’t sleep without you next to me.” Dear God, I thought.

  “I didn’t either. I thought it was because of my nerves, but I missed you terribly.”

  “Stay with me tonight?” He whispered and his gaze was intent.

  I looked into his eyes and saw he needed me. He looked sad.

  “I promised Avery I would spend some time with her, but I can come over after.”

  “Please do. I need to have you next to me tonight. I will come and get you and we can ride into work together.” His hands were in his pockets and he was staring into my eyes.

  I got to my feet and faced him.

  “Is everything okay? You look upset.” Something in his face told me he did need me.

  “I need you, Isabella. It’s lonely without you.”

  “I will be there.” He winked at me and walked out of my office. He was keeping something from me. I could tell. Something was on his mind.

  It was around eleven when General Gerard came strolling in. He looked tired and frail for some reason. I don’t know why because he was always getting into work late, and handing me the work. He shouldn’t be over-exerting himself.

  “Hello, General. I have some ideas to run by you. I’ve been working on this Algerian visit this morning.”

  “Very good, I would like to wait until one, when we have our meeting before we go over anything.”

  “Can I get you something? You look very tired, coffee or water?”

  “No, I’m going down to see Fabrice. I have a new employee we need to brief before they get started. I will steal a cup of his fabulous coffee. I will see you at one.” A new employee? This was a surprise. No one heard there was going to be a new employee, or at least I hadn’t heard. This was not something that was overlooked in an office with a bunch of women.

  I nodded my head and went back to work.

  By lunch time I was the talk of the office, both good and bad. As I suspected, most of the women were talking about me and were either upset or jealous. I grabbed my salad from the office refrigerator and went outside for some air. I don’t usually eat anywhere but my office, but the day was perfect outside and I needed to step out for an hour. Later when I walked to the copy room, I was met by sneers and whispering. The lovely greeting I received from Fran earlier was the only one. The rest of the office didn’t take as kindly to me. Not only were there whispers, the place would clear out wherever I walked. It began to piss me off.