This is a fan fic inspired by the lovely Gio Rossi. It predates his arrival on Ugly Betty for the first few chapters. I hope you all enjoy. It explains how Gio got the job at Mode and then other things thereafter.

December 2006

I stepped out into the bitter cold and immediately I wished I was back inside. I watched as the trees began to collect snowflakes and develop into a winter wonderland. It was two weeks until Christmas and family members from Italy would be flying over to see me. At the mention of my name, I glanced over my shoulder and looked up at a window that had just opened three stories up.

"GIO! Come back inside. I'm sorry!" the female voice called down to me. I knew all too well that she wasn't sorry. I looked back at the trees collecting snow and intentionally ignored her.

"Come on baby! You know I didn't mean it." She continued to cry. Already I had drowned her out. Too many promises broken.

Her name was Natalie and she had been my girlfriend for a good three years. We met the last semester of my Junior year in college. The year was 2003, when I actually knew what I wanted to do with my life. English was always a passion of mine and I wanted to analyze and critique literature. I had a gift of being upfront and good with words, well in a manner of speaking. I was always the analyzer and never one to jump into anything without thinking. Natalie was the typical girl next door. She was incredibly beautiful and exceptionally intelligent. This was the semester that changed my life.

Hard times came for my family, which created a rift in my career choices. I had another love besides literature, cooking. I was gifted especially with sandwiches. I wanted to prove that I could make a plain old sandwich into something better. The only sandwich that was too plain to change was egg salad. I met and fell in love with Natalie around this time. She accepted the fact that I could no longer keep myself going through college. Two years passed and we were passionately in love, until another brick hit the wall.

About a year ago, I found out that she had cheated on me with a much older man. As hurt as I was, I didn't show it much. I was never one for showing my feelings. Naturally, I forgave her because I knew that humans all have their faults. Then, today it happened again and I knew this was a fault that I could no longer live with.

"You had your chance!" I yelled up to her. I could see my breath through the bitter cold air.

Natalie was quiet for a minute, but then responded. "I never knew what I saw in you! Come on, why should I waste my life waiting for you to change into a better person, when I know you'll always be 'that guy selling sandwiches' for the rest of your life." She sneered. She paused and continued, "I deserve better."

I sighed. "You know what? You're actually right Nat! You do deserve better…" I paused and knew that my next comment would completely piss her off. I smiled to myself. "You deserve someone better equipped to deal with all of your lying and cheating. It won't be me anymore." I began to walk away.

"Don't walk away from me!" she yelled down to me, in a pleading manner.

"Nat, that's funny…but you said that to Richard last night. Perhaps he could be your next victim because he listened to you…all night long! Goodbye Natalie, I wish you the best of luck in the future because I'm no longer in yours." With that, I walked away completely.

From an early age, I knew I wanted to live in New York. I lived in Queens on my own. I worked hard to take care of my family and especially help provide for my sister Antonella. She was intelligent and witty and was often compared to me. Beating the snow off of my shoes, I entered my cold flat.

"I forgot to pay the damn heat…" I muttered to myself as I tried to find some blankets to help keep me warm. I sighed and looked over at my answering machine. It was blinking and so I pressed the 'play' button.

Gio…is that you? I hope you're not there and ignoring our calls. Anyway, Giselle and Francesca will be arriving from Italy next Saturday. I need you to pick them up at the airport for me. Oh this is mom by the way! Gio…I hope you're not scrawny and that you have plenty of food to eat.

I grinned and wondered why my mother always had to announce who she was, like I hadn't gotten to know her voice in my 25 years of living. I looked over at my small Christmas tree with very little ornaments and then wandered into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. I turned on the light and rummaged around in the kitchen.

"At least I didn't forget to pay the electric bill…" I told myself.

With a sandwich in hand, I sat in front of the television and flipped through the channels. There was nothing on, so I settled with FashionTV. They were going on about some Fey Sommers chick I had never heard of. Mode magazine was named in the process, whatever the hell that was.

A week passed and before I knew it, I was standing at JFK waiting for my aunt and her daughter to arrive. I hadn't seen either of them in a few years. It was then, that I first saw her. She had a handful of papers and was bustling through the open area. I watched in slow motion as she missed the 'Wet Floor' sign and slipped, with the papers flying everywhere. I seized the opportunity.

"Usually, the 'Wet Floor' sign implies that you need to watch where you're going." I said in my usual sarcastic and flirtatious manner.

"Usually, people consider it impolite to stare at a stranger." She quickly replied without smiling. I loved a girl with a tongue.

"Why all the important papers?" I asked helping her pick up the papers. "You know they have a limit to the amount of items you can take on board." I managed a smile.

"It's not your business what I do with these papers and if you're not careful, I will find a nice place to store them…" she gazed acidly at me.

"Ooo…I see how it is. Well, I promise to be careful, on one occasion." I paused and waited for her to nod, which she did. "We should go over to that coffee shop and I'll buy you a cup. Then, I can comment on the fact that you can't read very well." I chuckled to myself as she began to swell up with anger. "…but of course it must be hard to read when you've got the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." I searched her impassive face and held out my arm.

"Well, I guess I could have….one cup of coffee." She sighed and took my arm. "I'm Adrienne Hamilton." She smiled.

"Gio Rossi, Sandwich Connoisseur. " I replied as I walked her over to the coffee shop.

An hour passed of us basically insulting each other in a flirtatious way before it came time to pick up my aunt and cousin. She gave me her number and promptly walked away, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds. I motioned for her to watch where she was walking and grinned. I looked at my watch and made my way to the waiting area and waited for another 30 minutes.

"Gio….my beautiful baby nephew!" Aunt Giselle replied as she kissed me on both cheeks. "You remember you cousin, Francesca?" she asked motioning over to a goddess.

I did a double take as I saw her. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her straight, yet waxy hair fell down just below her shoulders. Her perfect teeth sparkled and as I looked around, other bystanders were definitely taking notice. She used to be an ugly duckling with buckteeth.

"Her English is not very good…so forgive her. She works as a model now." Aunt Giselle replied happily. I continued to stare at Francesca.

"Hello…cousin…how are you?" she asked me very clearly.

It took me a moment to find any words. "I'm…I'm great…come on…let's get your bags." I stammered as I guided them through the airport. She glided like a goddess as we walked through the airport. All the men were staring because they wanted to be with her and all the women stared because they wanted to be her.

"My God Marc…You think I could ever look like that?" a girl asked a guy standing next to her.

"Oh no Amanda, you eat way too many carbs when you're depressed and moping over Daniel Meade at the Mode office." The guy replied. It was strange, but that thought seemed to comfort the girl. My head subconsciously turned to them as they said the word 'Mode'. I remembered hearing that on the television the week before.

Once we had their bags, I raised my hand for a taxi and helped my aunt and cousin into the cab.

"Welcome to New York." I said as I motioned to the skyscrapers coming into view.

"Not as nice looking as Milan." Francesca replied as she sat straight up, surveying the area.

New York was wonderful to me. There was always something to see and do. In New York, you were almost guaranteed to meet someone new. My thoughts were suddenly filled by Adrienne's name as we pulled into the Queens area.