Chapter 13

Mona, Tony, and Angela were booked on the latest flight they could get on a Thursday evening to Paris, after making sure that Jim Peterson would not be on the same plane. A day ago Tony had flirted with Amber on the phone and found out about that indirectly. Peterson would take a flight on another airline. Relieved that they would be in Paris early, the trio collapsed in their seats. They were tired but happy to get away from Fairfield and the tumultuous events of the last few weeks. Luckily, Mrs. Rossini was able to babysit the children the whole weekend. She came over from Brooklyn, happy to see Samantha again and happy to feed up Jonathan with every kind of Italian food she brought along. Tony and Angela knew their kids were in the best hands. On the plane dinner was served and hardly cleared when Mona leaned back and put on her sleep mask.

"Wake me up when Charles de Gaulle is in sight," she murmured and fell asleep.

"Good for him, he is already dead. Who knows what would have happened to him and his career if he ever had met mother," Angela chuckled.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Angela, we've to sleep too. It's going to be a long day for us. Besides, you've promised me a date tonight," Tony made himself comfortable by taking of his shoes and jacket. He asked the stewardess for a blanket and pulled it over Angela and himself.

"You're right as always." She snuggled herself into the blanket and rested her head on Tony's shoulder. Tony wondered whether he would be able to sleep so close to her, but decided not to think about it so much. Anyway, it felt so right. Her hair tickled his cheek and he stroked it away tenderly. A light smile appeared on her face.

"Sleep well," she whispered low-voiced.

"You too, baby."

Her smile got brighter. He had said it again.

Incredibly, they managed to sleep most of the time and arrived relaxed and optimistic. Geneviève had sent them a big limo with a driver who brought them to the Rue de la Fédération where Pechet Fragrances had its impressive office. At a distance they could see the top of the Eiffel Tower and Tony, who of course had never been to Paris before was excited.

"Angela, you didn't tell me how wonderful it is." Tony couldn't get enough of the view surrounding him.

"It isn't that wonderful when you are here only for business and you travel alone. Paris is a city for lovers." Angela replied, preoccupied. In her thoughts she was already at the inconvenient dispute with Peterson.

Tony noticed her worried face and took her hand.

"Everything will come out all right and tonight we'll celebrate."

"It's about time you two had some fun," Mona mocked.

They gave each other glances that spoke volumes.

Pechet Fragrances was headquartered in an awesome building. Geneviève awaited them in her office which was tastefully furnished with antiques and decorated with modern paintings and sculptures.

"This is impressive, Angela. Our gumball machine looks a little cheap compared with this," Tony whispered into Angela's ear.

"Angela, Tony, quelle joie! Nice to see you again!" Geneviève welcomed them, "Mrs. Robinson, we've talked very often recently."

"Please call me Mona, Mrs. Robinson sounds so old, "Mona suggested.

"Merci, Mona, but you look wonderful, young and vital just like my father. You all are going to meet him. The last time I was in New York he couldn't accompany me."

"Geneviève, I wanted to thank you again for your support and help," Angela hugged her and air-kissed each cheek.

"I know Peterson is an unpleasant person. It has been found to be impossible to do good business with him after you left Wallace&McQuade. Without you that agency had never been the same. I'm glad you are self-employed now and I'm looking forward to our future business connections."

Geneviève smiled, now looking to Tony, "Tony, enchanté! You haven't changed a bit. The same handsome man as two years ago. I think I was the most envied woman in the hall when you escorted me to that banquet last time we met. Even though your head and heart were somewhere else." Geneviève laughed.

"Hey-oh, oh-hey, I was the most envied man when I took you out," Tony flattered her.

"Ok, but it seems like those days are over and your confusion is gone?" she asked, teasing him.

"What confusion? We never were confused, were we?" Tony turned to Angela and when their eyes met in remembrance of that night it felt like an electric shock.

Geneviève looked from one to another and shrugged her head with a sigh.

"I can see it, you are more confused than ever. If you both lived in Paris everything would have been cleared a long time ago. This city works miracles. The next miracle is lunch in a very fancy restaurant we are going to visit now. My father awaits us there. It's just around the corner and we can discuss the further course of action. Jim Peterson will be here around four o'clock and we have to be as well prepared as possible."

When they entered the restaurant the waitress led them to a separate room. A man with a moustache and salt and peppered hair rose from a chair and approached.

"This is my father, Louis Pechet," Geneviève introduced him, "Papa, c'est Angela Bower from the Bower Agency, her mother Mona Robinson and her… ," she stopped, thinking, " personal life counselor and closest friend, Tony Micelli."

"Je suis très heureux, Madame Bower," Monsieur Pechet kissed her hand then turned to Mona, "and Madame Robinson." He kissed Mona's hand as well but didn't let go.

"So much beauty in here, a great enrichment for Paris." M. Pechet diffused his French charm on the ladies. He gave Tony a handshake but laid his eyes on Mona again who was pleasantly surprised by the handsome older man.

"Mother, pull yourself together and don't do any stupid," Angela whispered a warning in her ear, but Mona was already about to take place beside Louis Pechet.

They sat down and started to enjoy the planned four course meal. During the lunch they forged a plan….

Back in the office, later…

Genèvieve was seated behind her desk when her secretary, Adeline, led in Jim Peterson. To her surprise he was not alone. His secretary, Amber, was right behind him. Adeline winked, signaling the identity of the unknown woman. Geneviève wrote something down in her papers, pretending not to see the wink, the woman or Peterson.

"Rhmm," Peterson cleared his throat, waiting in front of her desk.

"Ahh, Mr. Peterson, I didn't notice you come in," Genèvieve gave him a smile," who is your companion?"

"It's my secretary, Miss Sutton, "he told her, giving Amber a quick jog," Geneviève Pechet, may I introduce Amber Sutton."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Sutton," Genèvieve gestured them to sit down in front of her desk, wondering why Amber looked so pale and nervous, "my time is short, so we will come straight to the point. Please let me see your hopefully well prepared concept."

With self-confident appearance and a greasy smile Jim Peterson approached Amber who seemed to be shaky. She had beads of sweat on her forehead and was obviously not feeling well.

"Give me the file."

Amber hurried to give him the requested folder, but in her nervousness it slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor. Peterson was almost to the point of bursting.

"Miss Sutton, what's gotten into you? Aren't you even able to give me a folder? You are always so clumsy and awkward. It's unnerving!" Peterson bleated at her.

Amber, now embarrassed, kneeled on the floor and collected the papers. Peterson snatched them out of her hands rudely. "Miss Sutton, when we are back home we'll talk about your impossible behavior. There will be consequences!" He fumed.

"Mr. Peterson, there is no reason to be that furious. Misfortunes happen sometimes."

Geneviève felt pity for the now blushing secretary, but she became aware that Amber was the reason of Angela's trouble. It was almost unbelievable that this insecure person did such a thing, but she saw the photos which Mona had sent to her and there was no doubt that Amber was guilty as charged. She came around her desk and with a smile she helped Amber up on her feet, trying to read something in the girl's eyes. Amber turned completely red now and avoided Geneviève glance.

"Thank you so much, Miss Pechet," she whispered bashfully.

"You're welcome."

"Mr. Peterson, could you please give me the file; I want to have a look at it. I want to make my decision soon."

"Weren't we already with 'Jim'?" Peterson gave her a fake smile.

"Were we? Sorry, I don't remember that." Geneviève took the folder out of his hand and took her seat on a small couch without another word. She enjoyed letting him stand there like having been ordered and never picked up. Those manners weren't very Parisian, but at this time she didn't care about being polite. Men like Peterson belonged in his place. Leafing very slowly through the pages, already knowing them very well she thought about her next step. Sometimes she observed the man who was still standing in front of her desk. Inwardly laughing, she noticed the uncomfortable feeling which showed up on his face. Amber however looked like she was going to faint which Geneviève still didn't understand. After she took her time reading, she closed the folder and glanced over to Peterson.

"Mr. Peterson, you did a very good job. This is the best work I've ever seen. I'm surprised you spent so much time on a small shower gel campaign. Wallace & McQuade usually works on larger deals. Why did you put so much energy into this?" Geneviève asked.

"Please, call me Jim," Peterson answered, "hm, yes, uhm… we always try to gain new customers that's why I worked so hard on your campaign."

"Mr. Peterson," Geneviève faked a smile, completely ignoring his offer to call him at his first name, "did you create this on your own?" The last chance for him to get out of this, she thought.

"Uuhm, … yes, most of it," Peterson murmured, "it pays to work on your own when you are the best man in advertising in town."

Opportunity missed. Obviously, he didn't suffer from lack of self-confidence. Geneviève almost got sick of hearing him speak. Time to put a damper on him.

"Best man in advertising? Then I'm pretty sure you will be happy that I'm giving the account to the best man in advertising." Geneviève rose from the couch and crossed the room. She opened a small door which was almost invisible.

"Even though the best man in advertising is a lady, and for certain the woman who created this campaign."

Angela, Tony and Mona came out of the next room. They all looked to Peterson with earnest faces.

"You.. " Peterson yelled and stepped over to Angela, "you damned bitch again. You always bring me trouble."

"I have to ask you to behave better, Mr. Peterson, otherwise I will call my security," Geneviève cut him a look.

"That's not necessary," Tony's overprotective nature got the upper hand. He made a move to Peterson, stopping when their noses almost touched, "I'm sure he will be more polite now to the ladies present, otherwise I will strangle him with his own tie or do I need you to remind you how it is to fly through a door?"

Peterson stepped back. He remembered that night when Tony threw him out of Angela's house very well and he didn't want to have that experience again. How was it possible he got caught? How did they manage to get wise to him? He glanced from one to another. At last his gaze rested on his secretary. Could it be all her fault? It had to be.

"I should have known, you're too stupid for everything, "he hissed through his teeth, "you're fired."

Amber sat there, looking at him. An incredible anger overwhelmed her. Time to tell the truth. Time to stand up for herself. If she did not tell the truth right now it would always come back to haunt her.

"You didn't find me stupid when you harassed me," Amber stood up, "and ran after me, and when I made it clear that I wasn't interested in you, you blackmailed me. You said you would tell everyone that I was the one who ran after you. That you felt sexually harassed. You wanted to disgrace me. You wanted to make a fool of me and I… I didn't know how to defend myself. Maybe I'm naïve and as far as I'm concerned you can call me stupid, but where I come from people don't do such things."

Amber sat down again and buried her face in her hands. She was crying now. She had ruined her life and her reputation. New York would never give her a second chance. Her parents were right: she wasn't made for the urban jungle.

"Mr. Peterson, as far as I can see you blackmailed an innocent young woman to reach your goal to destroy Angela Bower's business. That outrageous behavior doesn't go over well. In fact, I hate it if men can't cope with successful women. These are the eighties, Mr. Peterson. If you can't get used to doing business with women like Angela and me you should consider retirement, maybe you're too old to handle change," Geneviève spoke with dangerous sounding voice, "and you should retire as soon as possible before I make some calls and land you on the black list."

"Don't underestimate her power in the world of advertising," Tony kept a watchful eye on him, "you'd better believe her."

Peterson looked from one to another. He saw the strange look in their eyes and in an instant he knew he'd lost the game. He was beaten by two women, but wasn't willing to give up so soon.

"Now, you're the ones doing the blackmailing. I thought you didn't like such behavior," he drawled.

Angela went over to him. "I wouldn't say we are blackmailing you. We're just giving you well-intentioned advice. Keep in mind, Grant Paxton has you in his sights. One call from me or Geneviève and you can forget every Country Club membership and move to the other side of the world."

"No Angela," Geneviève smiled, "he is already and I don't want him living in France."

Mona, who stood closemouthed in the corner of the room so far, smirked at him. "I'm going to meet your wife next week, Jim. I wonder if she has a say in that. I guess she wouldn't be amused knowing about your interests in girls who could be your daughter. So, the choice is up to you my friend."

Peterson saw his chances dwindling. His shoulders fell. He looked to the floor and the only thing he wanted to do was to escape out of this room where four women and one man were drilling their eyes in him. He inhaled deeply. "Time to take another path," he said and turned to the door, but was held back by a strong hand on his elbow.

"Wait a minute, "Tony pushed him over to Amber, " I want you to apologize. You destroyed the faith this girl once had. The faith that a good life in New York is possible. I won't let you get away with that."

"Ahhm… uhh. I'm sorry, Amber," Peterson stuttered, embarrassed.

"Let him go, Tony, he doesn't mean it seriously and I can waive of an apology like this." Amber was calm and her tears ran dry.

Tony let go of him and Peterson ran through the door as fast as if there was a swarm of bees behind him.

"What will happen to me? "Amber whispered eyes on the floor, "I'm so ashamed of it all. My parents will be so disappointed in me and they have every right to be. They saved all their money so that I could go to secretarial school.

Geneviève felt pity for this girl. One mistake and everything was over? She decided that everybody deserved a second chance. Especially when she was the one able to give somebody back their faith in humanity.

"Comment est votre francais, Miss Sutton?"

"Très bien, Mademoiselle Pechet, "parlés et écrits couramment.

"Would you like to change New York for Paris for a while?"

Amber looked up to Geneviève in total disbelief. Was that an offer?

"I… I don't understand," she said with wide eyes.

"Look, I always need secretaries and I'm sure you would never do something like that again. Hopefully it was a lesson for you. If you want to live in Paris I offer you a one year contract. After that year we'll talk again. What do you say?" Geneviève gave her a friendly smile.

"It would be my greatest pleasure to work for you, thank you so much… Merci beaucoup." Amber could hardly believe her luck.

"So, please make an appointment with my personal secretary for tomorrow. Adeline is in the outer office. We will work everything out." Geneviève shook Amber's hand and led her out of the room.

Standing at the door Amber turned around for the last time.

"Mrs. Bower, Tony, I'm so sorry."

"Everything will be fine, "Tony consoled her, "and be careful."

Angela breathed a sigh of relief. The upheaval was over. Now she could look forward to the future. Her financial problem wasn't solved but she was a step closer to a permanent improvement of her business. Once again it was Tony who had helped her through this hard time, who had supported her like he always did for more than four years now. She looked in his warm brown eyes and was overwhelmed with the love she felt for him. In a reflex reaction she put her arms around his neck and pressed her lips on his quickly. If he was surprised he didn't let show. He put his arms around her and held her close.

"I guess that means you haven't forgotten our date," he whispered in her ear.

"How could I?" she whispered back. Smiling, she stepped back and turned to Geneviève again.

"How can I thank you? I'm so grateful for your help."

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure to kick that man in his… 'fesses' and how you can thank me? Well, Angela, do me the favor and heed my advice: Never mix anything with pleasure and follow your heart. You remember: " Les affairs du Coeur."

"That's what I said for years, but was there anyone listening to me?" Mona had to have the last word while they all said their good byes.