11. Meeting Friends.

[Claire]
It had been a week since I'd last seen Jean and the memory of how he last looked at me was still fresh in my mind.
I wasn't able to get the Prince's picture after the gala and my boss hadn't been upset, he just said he knew that I wouldn't be able to get it, when I asked why he still sent me there he gave me the sweetest reply ever.
"I'd just noticed how stressed out you've been and I just wanted you to have fun, if I'd told you my true reason, you'd have rejected." He had said.
And suddenly, there I was receiving a lot of male attention.
But the one attention I craved, I didn't get.
Bernard was also always calling me about that job he'd offered me but I didn't feel comfortable accepting his help since I wasn't fired from my job and I also didn't want to work for a big shot company for fear of being found by my father or my fiance.
I was sure that Ivan was already combing through the world with a fine-tooth comb, our marriage was a big deal to him, he needed to secure the merger between both companies because then his father and my father would both retire leaving the entire company to him and me, but it was all too clear who would be in charge.
I had been blinded to a lot of things being at my father's side, I would've married Ivan and helped him take the company to greater heights though behind the scenes because he would never let me take the praise, all in all, I would've been existing but not living.
I didn't have a lot of work to do at the office today so around lunchtime I was pretty much done with my work, I called the detective I hired and asked if there was any information concerning my mother. He said he had some information and I was hopeful.
"Can we meet now then, you need to tell me what you've found out." I spoke into my phone hurriedly as I sat in the backseat of the taxi driving me home.
"I can't meet now, how about much later in the evening, we can meet for tea or coffee." He said and I agreed.
I put down the phone and sighed, she was the main reason I had come to Denmark, I had no business thinking about Jean, a job promotion, a better job offer, or Bernard.
Just before the taxi pulled up in front of my house, my phone rang and I picked it up expectantly.
"Mon cue, what are you doing right now?" Michele's voice sounded through the phone.
I chuckled slightly before responding, the background noise was loud and I could hear Sophie swearing and cursing someone out.
I did not know that person and I did not need to be in that person's shoes to pity him or her, Sophie was one scary b*tch.
"I'm headed home, I didn't have much work to do so my boss said I could go home."
"That's great," Michele replied.
"Ask her if she can make brunch dingus." I heard Sophie yell before Michele asked me the same question.
"Of course I can do brunch, in fact, I'm still in the taxi, all I have to do is give my driver your address and I'll be there before you know it." I smiled, I hadn't seen them since the gala even though we had talked almost occasionally.
The two of them had become dear to me in just a short period of time, they were my new friends.
I didn't really have friends in America, not that I was lonely, don't get me wrong.
There were a lot of people around me and I had a lot of friends but they were all just plastic, the kind of friendship that is forced upon you and you just play along to be nice or to make your father happy.
"The relationships you keep are very important, they can either make or break you, you have to keep relationships with people of value, people that can be of value to you and not the other way around." My father had said one day when he caught me playing with the maid's son, he fired her immediately and she left with her son.
So you see, I only made friends with the children of my father's friends and they were all spoiled and entitled brats who didn't give two sh*ts about anyone else.
So I had no one to call in America and even if I did, they would tell my father immediately and I would be hoisted back to America before you can even say, Jack Robinson.
"Oh, that's really cool, we're at a french bar, I'll text you the address." It was Sophie that spoke this time, she must've collected the phone from her brother.
They loved each other and it was evident in how they related with each other, I always imagined what it would be like to have a sibling.
Sophie and Michele made me wish I had a sibling, from what I'd gathered from Michele because he was the talkative among them, and boy, did he ever tire of talking?
They had immigrated from France to Denmark after their parents died, Sophie was sixteen and Michele was thirteen, Sophie had run away with her brother to Denmark because she feared that the child services would separate the two of them if they put them in foster care.
They slept in the streets and had to beg for food when they first got to Denmark, they found shelter in a fashion warehouse and that was where they both developed their passion for fashion, the workers there took pity on them when they were caught and they allowed them to keep living there as long as they kept the place clean and didn't steal anything.
They even started paying them and they were able to go back to high school and they graduated, they didn't go to college though, they'd already learned a lot from the warehouse and they began to use their creativity to generate income.
That was over six years ago because now they were both one of the most sought-after make-up artists and clothing stylists in the city.
They also now earned six-digit figures and they lived just a building away from each other in very lavish apartments and they always worked together, you couldn't book one without the other, even if you didn't need a stylist or a make-up artist, their business was still together.
"Ah, very beautiful, grande french bar." The taxi driver commented in a very thick French accent when I gave him the address.
Is it just me or is everybody French these days?
"Thank you, monsieur." I smiled and patted the back of his seat.
I did seriously need to think about getting myself a car though, the taxi fare displayed on the meter was outrageous.
"Michele, Sophie," I called out excitedly and waved at them when I entered the bar.
All eyes turned to me because I was a little loud, but I did not care, the music in the bar was almost as loud as a nightclub's, I wondered why it would upset them that I was a bit loud.
"Oh, belle, welcome, come here." Michele pulled out a chair for me to sit after pecking both my cheeks in greeting.
"Glad you could make it." Sophie gave me a half hug before I sat down.
"Wow, this place is really nice," I commented while looking around. "Why is everyone staring?" I asked when I noticed the people still staring at me
"It's because you're so beautiful mon cue." Michele smiled at me with his dark-lined eyes and he kissed my hand.
I smiled shyly at him and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"Oh no, you shouldn't be doing that for my brother," Sophie said, referring to me blushing. "His beloved would be here soon, you should meet Jack, he's a very charming fellow."
I chuckled and tried to fix my crimson face.
"I think she's very naive, kind of innocent, don't you think?" Michele asked Sophie and started poking my red cheeks.
"Cut it out." I swatted his hand away playfully and tried my hardest not to blush again.
"Yeah, I think she is, Michele," Sophie said.
"No, I'm not." I shook my head to disagree.
"We'll see." She smiled. "What drink are you having?" She asked.
"I'll have a vodka tonic," I replied immediately, too quickly like a preplanned answer.
"Okay, maybe you're not so innocent." She smiled.
"Jack, can you come over here please," Michele called a waiter.
"This is Jack?" I asked when he came closer and tried to hide my surprise.
He was a very big and scary-looking man with tattoos but he looked good though, just the type of bad boy girls would go crazy over.
"He doesn't look gay, does he?" Sophie poked me in the arm and I nodded at her.
I looked away for a minute and noticed a dark figure staring at me, I tried to look closer and the only thing I saw before he moved away was greenish-hazel eyes.
I'd remember those eyes anywhere.