Chapter 4

“And what do you ladies do? Are you independently wealthy? Do you have rich husbands?”

“No husbands. And my job at French immigration hardly qualifies me as rich.”

Jean Claude turned to Margaux. “Me either. I’m her assistant.”

“It is admirable that your boss remains your best friend.”

“There are days…” I shot her a look so that she would go no farther with that. I didn’t want any distractions for Jean Claude about my shortcomings.

The conversation flowed easily as we all loosened up after more wine. I kept myself in check, however, as I always did on evenings such as this, wanting to be in full control of my emotions and actions as the evening progressed. I was always careful to be sure I didn’t wake up the next morning with any regrets. Jean Claude told us that his father owned a car dealership and wanted him to go into business with him. He started working there as a teenager and now owned the dealership, having inherited it from his father.