Subject Unknown
Chapter 4
"So let me get this right, Samantha got an offer from a different firm, when she didn't even put out her resume? She was head hunted?" Foggy repeated in confusion.
"Yes and since Samantha is such an asset, we have made a counter offer and she has been promoted. I realize this will leave a vacancy for you, so therefore, I have already lined up several outstanding candidates to replace Samantha." Jeri Hogarth assured him. "Of course you are always welcome to do some head hunting of your own. You have complete control over who can be your secretary."
"Thank you." Foggy nodded with a warm smile.
Within the hour Foggy had a waiting room full of candidates. All of them were, in his opinion, astonishing good looking.
The first candidate, Ms. Sasha Pierce, was French, her accent putting a beautiful flourish to her words as she spoke them. Shorter dark brown curly hair, light green eyes, very warm and easy going personality. She offered to give him French lessons if he hired her. Perhaps a little too eager.
The second, Ms. Mila Almonduvich, was Ukrainian by nationality, however her parents had moved her to the states as a young child as they pursued and achieved the so called "American Dream". Her eyes were such a deep, rich brown, Foggy could practically fall into them. She did have a sense of humor though that was profoundly hilarious, even though it bordered on the inappropriate.
The third, Ms. Mako Morimoto, was Japanese American, extremely sophisticated and had a nobility about her, tempered with almost a sense of shyness that Foggy found intriguing.
The fourth, Ms. Natalie Thompson, reminded Foggy very much like Reyes, very driven, very focused, very methodical. It was, if Foggy was completely honest, intimidating.
The last, Ms. Ambre DuPont, also French, was perhaps the most reserved out of the lot. She answered his questions concisely and directly, not shying away from eye contact. She was however not forthcoming about her personal details but something about her ignited a curiosity within Foggy. Her mannerisms were shy, quiet and delicate. However, when Foggy made the mistake of calling her Amber she had no qualms about correcting him and going through the trouble of repeating her name with him until he had the pronunciation perfect. The smile of satisfaction when he did get her name right though, it made Foggy's heart melt a little.
On Ms. DuPont's way out, Ms. Pierce had waited for her.
"How did it go?" Sasha asked Ambre in French.
"So-so, I don't even want this assignment, only as a favor to Nova am I here, otherwise Marseille is calling me home, do you miss Brittany?" Ambre inquired.
"Of course, there is a restaurant here that I think we would like, Nova will be paying of course." Sasha grinned.
"It is owed," Ambre grinned back.
"Shall we invite the others that interviewed today, maybe we can discuss what we found on our mark and see who will most likely get called back." Sasha invited.
Ambre nodded in agreement before they finally caught a taxi.
Once at the restaurant, the others had beaten them there and had already ordered drinks.
"So, what do we think about Mr. Nelson?" Sasha instigated.
"He is not used to his new role yet, he needs work commanding respect in his presence." Ambre criticized.
"He is looking for a friend as well as a secretary. There has been loss in his life, he may be looking to fill that." Mako offered.
"I agree with the friend thing, he laughed at all my jokes, he's eager to make a friend." Mila noted.
"I also agree, I think I intimidated him, I probably played the roll of an 'aspiring secretary' a little too well," Natalie said as she took a sip of her wine.
"He's Irish, and a bit round, perhaps food would be a good way to sway him, excellent way to dispose of him if need be," Sasha grinned. All of them grinned at that.
The next day it came as a shock when Ambre was called back for a second interview. Sasha was also called which was no surprise for her. And to the further surprise of everyone, Ambre got the job.
Back at Voxhe, Ambre was on the verge of losing her temper. She did not want this job, to go to an office everyday, having all the other women judge you and thinking you're some dumb secretary as the men in the office would look at her as some hot piece of ass, it all disgusted her. She would be paid in US dollars rather than diamonds as was her preferred method of payment. Why her? Sasha was much more keen on this kind of thing. Being a sleeper was so mundane. However Sasha had some great words of advice. "Ambre, remember, this is only temporary, get an apartment, have an excuse to wear all your couture clothes and shoes, be the envy of every woman there. In your resume it said you were a former model, you should strut. Every woman on Earth is intimidated by us. Give them more reasons not to ever underestimate you. I'll stay with you if you would like. I'll learn Marseille cooking so you don't feel so homesick." Sasha offered.
"Would that work? You don't mind sacrificing?" Ambre asked, astonished at Sasha's offer.
"Of course, Nova is bank rolling all of this. I'll get paid to stay at an apartment, cook my favorite dishes which I love to do any way. We could get a dog or even a cat." Sasha smiled.
"I like cats."
"And I like both so we can get both. The important thing to remember is this is important to Nova so we need to keep it important to us, besides, I always wanted a sister."
"Me too." Ambre nodded, her wrath abating.
Nova didn't hesitate to agree to the plan. And soon every day, Nova and Sasha would go on shopping trips together to get Sasha and Ambre the ingredients and things they needed from all over France to make sure Ambre didn't feel too homesick. Nova even offered for Ambre's parents to visit her.
"So, Miss. Ambre, do you have plans for lunch?" Foggy asked one morning.
"I do, my parents are coming from France this evening and I have to make sure everything is ready for them." Ambre informed him as she worked on typing something up he had given her earlier.
"Oh do you need to get off early? You can have the whole afternoon off if you want." Foggy offered.
Ambre stopped typing and blinked a few times as it registered with her.
"Really? You don't mind?" Ambre asked, turning to look at him directly.
"Sure, how long are they in town for?"
"Just a few days," Ambre answered.
"So take a few days off, be with your parents, show them the sights," Foggy encouraged. "It's not like we have any huge cases right now, I'll be fine, take a few days off to be with your family. I'll talk to HR to see if I can get you a little bonus or something so you can really show them a good time."
"Oh that is not necessary, they are not that poor," Ambre blushed.
"Oh it's absolutely necessary. Here, go get these file cases and I'll go ahead and call HR." Foggy insisted.
"Je vous remercie Monsieur Franklin." Ambre said in thanks, tears pricking her eyes. She had never met a more accommodating person other than Nova. Everyone else had been so exacting.
"Would you...would you like to meet them? Perhaps tonight at dinner? We are going to Eleven Madison Park, we should be there at six tonight."
"I would be honored. Can I pick you up? Will your parents be meeting you there at the restaurant?"
"No, they will be coming to my apartment first to rest and get refreshed." Ambre explained. "If you do not wish to pick me and my parents up, I will understand." Ambre murmured.
"What? No, I'll have a limo ready, we can all go together." Foggy smiled.
"I would like that." Ambre smiled, one of the few times she ever did.
Ambre took the rest of the day off and went to the spa and also went to a salon to get her hair and makeup done after she had also gotten her manicure and pedicure. Sasha had joined her for all of it and insisted on coming along so that Ambre didn't feel like she was on a double date with her parents to which Ambre was incredibly thankful for.
Sasha and Ambre even tried on different outfits before Ambre's parents arrived. At 5:30 sharp Foggy had a luxurious limo waiting for all of them. Foggy's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw Sasha and Ambre walking out to meet him.
"Hello Mr. Nelson, I hope you don't mind I join you tonight, I'm Ambre's room mate." Sasha smiled brightly as she leaned toward Ambre."
"The more the merrier!" Foggy exclaimed as he smiled brightly.
"Monsieur Franklin, allow me to introduce you to my parents, this is my mother, Beatrice DuPont," Ambre began as her mother held out her hand to Foggy. Foggy shook it before he realized he was supposed to kiss her hand and did so a bit unceremoniously.
"And this is my Father, Basile DuPont, he is one of the representatives for France to the European Union." Ambre introduced proudly.
"You don't have to kiss my hand," Basile joked.
"Oh thank god." Foggy laughed before turning to Beatrice. "Not that it wasn't a pleasure to kiss your hand mademoiselle." Foggy clarified.
All he got in response was a polite smile. Now he knew where Ambre got most of her character.
When they got out of the car Foggy and Basile helped the ladies out and Sasha instantly took Foggy's arm so he could escort her into the restaurant, Foggy offered his other arm to Ambre. Ambre blinked blankly for a moment before she also took his arm. Foggy proudly walked two of the most beautiful women in New York into the restaurant. Once inside, the ladies took off their coats, wearing stunning dresses that showed off their best assets. Foggy had to swallow a few times and remind himself to keep looking into their eyes. All eyes were on them as they walked to the table, Foggy eagerly pulling out chairs for Sasha and Ambre as Basile pulled the chair out for his wife. Foggy chose to sit in-between Sasha and Ambre seeing as Ambre sat next to her mother and Basile sitting on the other side of his wife so that he was just about across from Foggy.
As the dinner progressed, Foggy fell into a really easy and exciting conversation with Basile and Sasha since they were quite gregarious. Ambre and her mother said very little except to each other and only in French.
At the end of the meal when it came time to pay, Foggy and Basile nearly had an argument on which of the two of them were going to be paying for the group. Foggy won and paid generously for the meal.
"Quite magnanimous of you," Beatrice said graciously as she stood, Basile taking the trouble to help get her coat on. Foggy did his best to do the same to Sasha and Ambre.
"Well that was an interesting evening." Basile had said once they made it into the apartment.
"He wears his heart on his sleeves, he's an easy read." Beatrice criticized.
"He is sweet and naturally good natured, he didn't have to pay for the whole meal and he didn't have to tip our wait staff so well either." Sasha defended.
"He did give me the next couple of days off with pay and a 'bonus' to splurge on you," Ambre pointed out quietly to her mother.
"Is that so? That shows a strength of character to show such devotion to family, even if it not his own." Basile noted.
"He's my mark, I feel...perhaps...guilty, for taking advantage of him."
"You should not feel guilt, you did not pressure him into anything, if he chooses to be generous, that is on him. You are doing your duty very well." Beatrice assured her daughter before she raised her hands to hold her daughter's face in them. "I am very proud of you for taking on such a humble and noble task, just don't get too emotionally involved my love."
"Oui Maman," Ambre nodded, smiling softly at her mother who tilted her head to kiss her daughter on the forehead.
The four of them had a lovely time in New York before Ambre's parents had to go home.
The next morning at work, Basile had sent dozens of various shades of white and pink roses. Ambre smiled when she read the card. "To my little love" which is what her parents had called her from infancy.
"Who got you flowers?" Foggy asked as he came into the office.
"My parents," Ambre answered as she wrote out a thank you note by hand to mail back to her parents, they always did enjoy getting physical mail from her.
"Are these your favorite flowers?" Foggy asked as he looked them over, smelling them from a respectful distance.
"Sort of. I like sweet and fragrant flowers, Jasmine, Hyacinth..." Ambre said as she continued to write her note, not catching herself from telling him the truth.
"So...perfume would be the same?" Foggy inquired.
That's when Ambre realized she had slipped.
"I rarely wear perfume," Ambre answered hesitantly.
Foggy simply nodded and went into his office. "When you're done, I have a few things for you," Foggy said over his shoulder.
Karen peeked through the peep hole in her door to see Frank on the other side.
"Frank?" Karen said as she hastily opened the door.
"I trailed your lead." Frank informed her as he came into her apartment.
"What did you find out?" Karen asked, getting her notepad for work.
"Oh things you won't believe..."
Author's notes. Again this is unbetaed. I was talking with a reader and they pointed out how important it can be to also have a varied ethnicity as well. So I'm trying to be more conscientious about that.
Some new people, yay.
For the interview-ies.
Sasha - Marion Cotillard
Natalie - Paula Patton
Mila- Mila Kunis
Mako- Rinko Kukuchi
Ambre- Le'a Seydeux
For the roles of Ambre's Parents
Basile -Lambert Wilson
Beatrice- Monica Bellacci