Trouble finding Blondie Read Free

clear that he was heading towards their table.        
    All eyes were on him, except Simona’s. She was still sipping her wine, trying to pretend it had nothing to do with her.  
    Now he was standing above their table. They were all staring at him, then her. She didn’t move.
    “Bonsoir Madame Simona.”
    “Bonsoir Monsieur Bouchard,” she still hasn’t looked at him. She was staring at Aurelie across the table whose eyes were about to pop. Andre was sitting to her left, Stephan to her right. Everybody was staring at her. Simona finally turned to look at the ‘intruder’ with one arm over the back of her chair and the other on the table. She pushed her chair away from the table to get a full view. She slowly crossed her legs and arms. Her smile was simply saying ‘nice show, what now?’.  
    “Vos amis sont americans?”
    “Non.”
    “Français alors?”
    “No, speak English, please.”
    “Alright. I came to apologize for my assistant’s rude behavior. Please, let me buy you all dinner.”
    “Hmm. Your apology is accepted,” Simona said. “But you didn’t have to come here. You didn’t have to cause a scene, and you don’t need to buy us dinner either. And as I said to your assistant, I’m still considering your offer. I will give you my answer. I guess not tonight, but I will call you tomorrow.”
    “I would prefer tonight.”
    “As you can see, we are still not done with dinner. It may be too late tonight.”
    “I will be up, waiting for your call.” There wasn’t any room for more negotiation. It was settled.
    “You know what? You personally came to apologize. I guess you earned yourself a hug.” Simona stood up, gave him a hug and a kiss on each cheek, and sat back down. He smiled with victory and satisfaction.
    “Excuse me again for interrupting your dinner. Good night.”
    “Wait. One more thing. If this makes tabloids tomorrow, I will have you killed.”
    “Always a pleasure, Madame.” He was still laughing as he walked away.
    The restaurant became noisy again, but the table was still in a state of shock.
    “More wine, please.” Aurelie raised her empty glass to be filled.
    “Is everyone able to get over Bouchard, or is this evening done?”
    “Would you like to elaborate on this scene, or do you just want us to ignore it?” Stephan inquired.
    “I understand this may not be easy to stomach. We can either forget that it happened and enjoy our dessert, or we can all go home now.”
    “Does that mean you are not going to say anything?”
    “It’s work related.”
    “Where do you work again?”
    “At the Four Seasons hotel.”
    “Alright then, Nikita.” Stephan was laughing out loud.
    “Stephan, you are terrible.” Simona was pretending to be mad.
    “Could you get me an appointment with him then? I have been trying for years. How long have you lived here?”
    “Off and on for three years.” Simona was smiling, fully aware of her mysterious position.  
    The evening was done. They did have desserts and coffee, but nobody managed to get over the incident. Andre became very reserved. He looked as if his mind was somewhere else. Stephan and Aurelie were very entertained and intrigued. They asked for the check, but Simona started ordering something.
    “Puis-je s’il vous plait commander un double cappuccino et un biscotti?”
    “No, no, this is to take with me. I will pay for it. And thank you very much for dinner.”
    “Don’t be silly. S’il vous plait, rajoutez ça à notre addition.”
    “Who is it for?” Stephan was being curious.
    “For Monsieur Bouchard, probably,” the sarcasm was very evident in Andre’s voice. He got up to pay the bill. Simona simply smiled.
    As they were walking outside, figuring out how many taxi’s they needed, and which directions they were all going, Simona walked straight to a limousine with the cappuccino and biscotti in her hand.
    “Marcello! Where are you?” She walked over to the driver’s side, but nobody was