Chapter 10

"Alex, darling, where have you been hiding yourself?" Amanda gushed, flinging herself into his arms and trying to kiss him.

Alex turned his head, avoiding her lips and worked to disentangling himself from her incoming hug as much as he could. She smelled of cigarette smoke and bad perfume, which he deplored. It always made him wonder how bad her sense of smell had become. He disliked her on several levels. He did not smoke and could not stand to be around those who did for extended periods of time. Amanda, further, had made no secret of her desire for him and her open willingness to do anything for him. She was so thin as to make Kat Moss look healthy and Samantha positively curvy by comparison and he was not a fan of that look. She had wanted to be a model but lacked the general look that the current crop all seemed to share. Her eyes were small, almost beady, her cheek bones just a little too sharp and overall he did not find her photogenic. An opinion shared by a number of photographers he had learned both in alcohol fueled rants from Amanda as well as from talking to the photographers themselves. Finally, it was her personality that just turned him off. Whether it was the artificial openness of her nature or an innate desire to make sure he still had his wallet after every meeting with her, it was enough to just make her unattractive and not one of his favorite people.

Michelle, on the other hand was a joy to hug and she, unlike her coworker, did not smoke and was as revolted by it as he was. When they had first met, they had enjoyed several evenings together, walked along the Seine and generally did all the things that lovers did in Paris, except make love. They had been climbing, cycling, riding, seen plays and tried a number of both good and bad restaurants as their mutual schedules allowed but there was no real chemistry between them. Good friends were all they would ever be and both of them were quite comfortable with that arrangement. Michelle was tall, standing almost six feet in the low heels which she favored. Most of her length was in her body rather than in her legs which made it difficult to find blouses that were long enough for her. Fortunately she was a bit of a health nut and her abdomen was flat and sexy; a navel ring or dangle added to the overall allure she projected when she was not running errands and scheduling meetings for Amanda or Monique.

Monique had mentioned several times in his hearing that Michelle would make the perfect buyer for her London office, but Michelle did not want to go back to England for reasons that she would not go into, so she worked in Paris and did the things that were expected of her and had fun when she could get out of the office. Alex, for his part kept an eye on her for any signs of boredom. Not because Monique asked him to, but because Monique could not afford to lose her and he would make sure that she got what she needed. So far she was happy with her job.

It is difficult to be ugly in Paris. That was the first thought Samantha had when she met Amanda. Her second thought was that she wanted to take lessons from Michelle. Where she was sure Amanda had to work to be as she was, she was equally sure that Michelle's look was as effortless as it was elegant. Both women wore grey pleated skirts. Amanda had chosen a bilious red silk blouse to go with it and white stockings. She knew they were stockings because when Amanda sat down, her already short skirt receded just that much more up her thighs to show the top of them and the clips of the black garters that held them up. Michelle, in contrast had a vibrant multihued blouse on that highlighted her eyes and a collar that framed her face and worked with her braided black hair. Her stockings were nude and her black pumps were stylish and looked comfortable as well.

"Where can I get a pair of those shoes?" she asked as people were taking their seats. Both Alex and Monique looked at her and then at Michelle's feet.

"They're great aren't they?" Michelle said her British accent strong as she showed off her shoes. Knightsbridge, London. There is a little cobbler there. He makes a couple of dozen pairs a month. Craft stuff, but really comfortable and really well made."