Chapter 23: What Makes a Family? (II)
Once again, the family had settled in the living room around the fireplace with full glasses of wine in hand. This time though Angela was sitting in one of the wingback chairs with Tony at her feet, Sam was in the other wingback and Jonathan and Katie were sprawled on the floor. The fire had again been lit since the temperature was about the same as the previous night.
"So, Angela," Sam started. "I believe it was that French client of yours that you pimped Dad out to wasn't it? What was her name?"
"Geneviève," Tony answered a little too quickly realizing that everyone had turned to stare at him.
"What?" he asked as the tips of his ears turned red. "She was French!"
"And apparently hard to forget," Angela said teasingly giving Tony a nudge with her foot as she thought back to that very interesting and somewhat embarrassing night. She had almost convinced herself that Geneviève really did just want to use Tony as an escort for the party at the French Embassy until Mona had shaken her resolve when they talked right after Tony had left in the Jag (she smiled ruefully to herself at how reluctant she'd been to give him her car that night even though he had driven it many times in the past to run errands, pick her up or drop her off at the station or to take Jonathan and Sam around to their various activities). But once her mother had spoken the truth about what Geneviève really wanted, she had flown into action. There was no doubt that she wanted the Peché Fragrances account, but the idea that she would only get it if Geneviève got her way with Tony made her stomach drop. Tony's head was easily turned by a beautiful woman, so she knew he wouldn't necessarily see the issue with it, but she couldn't live with herself if she didn't try and do something.
So, she had high-tailed it down to the hotel to try and put a stop to things. In the end, they had cleared the air, albeit with her feeling incredibly awkward and Tony feeling confused but grateful that Angela was willing to give up a $10 million account on his behalf. She still wondered what would have happened if she hadn't interrupted them when she did. She couldn't help feeling a little smug that Tony didn't end going there with a client especially one that she ended up doing business with for the next 10 years. That would have been incredibly awkward once she and Tony finally got together.
"We were definitely confused that night," Tony said bringing Angela out of her reverie.
"What does that mean, Dad?" Katie asked.
"Well, Geneviève, being French and all, was, I think, the first person to call your mom and me out on our feelings for each other," Tony said with a blush as he looked up at Angela.
"I think hearing someone, especially a virtual stranger, say out loud that your dad and I were confused about our feelings really got to us because it meant that we weren't as good at hiding how we felt, to the outside world, as we thought. Of course, we denied it to her and to each other," Angela said her cheeks turning red.
"As I recall, the rest of the night was pretty good," Tony said chuckling. "I took Angela to get pizza and beer at a dive in Brooklyn and then…" he trailed off raising his eyebrow at Angela.
"Then what?" Sam asked quickly. "Did something else happen that night?"
"We were both still fairly wired, especially after grabbing something to eat, so we ended up at a little jazz club not far from that dive bar," Angela said the blush on her cheeks intensifying. "And let's just say, it was very cozy and the music was a little seductive." She remembered how she and Tony had inched closer and closer to each other in the dark little booth until their thighs were touching and somehow, they had ended up with their fingers intertwined. And when Tony told her again, with his brown puppy dog eyes, how astonished he was that she had been willing to give up such a huge account for him, she had leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips and the floodgates had opened and soon his lips were all over her mouth and neck. But, as had started to become their norm, one of them pulled back before things could go too far. This time it was Angela as she wiped lipstick off his cheek. Giggling, they'd made their way back to the Jag and, with the radio tuned to a jazz station, had driven home in companionable silence; neither of them willing to break the spell of their illicit little interlude or to actually talk about whether it meant anything in the long run.
"You guys," Katie said shaking her head. "All these little stops and starts to your relationship. How frustrating!"
"No kidding!" Sam said. "In fact, it wasn't too long after that when your appendix burst, right Dad?"