Right Girl for the Job

Chapter 24

Javi raised her brow- there was no way that they didn't have a romantic relationship, there was no way.

"Not until much later anyways." She said, looking directly at Javi. Jack frowned, he hating discussing this type of things, and it was even more uncomfortable to have Javi hear them.

"So... what's good?" Javi asked, looking down at the menu, trying to pretend she was anywhere else.

"Don't worry- I've got just the thing for you two." She said, turning to the girls behind the counter an saying something in French before turning back to Jack and caressing his arm playfully.

If Javi wasn't so hungry, she might have just gotten up and left, have come up with some excuse to wander around on her own- it was beginning to get uncomfortable and to be honest, she didn't like the way it was making her feel.

Fortunately, the food came soon enough and she was able to concentrate on eating, rather than watch how Jack flirted with the woman in front of him.

"What do you think?" Javi looked up at Jack who had tried to include her in the conversation they were having and she started blinking.

"I'm sorry- I drifted off." Javi said, making Jack frown. Could it be he had made her feel left out? He hated thinking he had been that rude.

"That's okay." Dee said with a smile. "It's more a private joke anyways."

"The food is amazing- but I'm actually a little light headed. I hope you two don't mind if I take a walk in the shops nearby." Javi said, standing. Jack raised a brow.

"Are you okay? Would you like me to come with you?" He asked but Javi shook her head with a smile.

"No, that's fine. I'm fine- I just need to get some fresh air." She insisted. "Stay with Dee- Dee, it was so great meeting you. Take care and thank you."

"You're very welcome and I hope you'll recommend us to any friends." Dee said as Javi walked out.

Javi tried not to laugh- she was sure that Dee knew that someone like Javi wouldn't have many friends. She shook her head, stepping back out onto the cool ocean breeze and the warm sun- it was a pleasant combination especially as she was beginning to feel stifled, but she couldn't help looking back towards the restaurant and noting how Jack was right back to his conversation with Dee.

----

"Hats! Hats! Hats!"

Javi had been in and out of a few shops for a while and had been quite fascinated by everything she saw. She had learned that Monaco was the second smallest country and the most densely populated in the world, she'd even purchased a map, deciding that she would start a collection of maps from every place she visited, recalling that she had one of Nice they'd given her at the hotel.

As she continued to walk, she fanned herself with the map, finding that the warm sun was actually becoming quite a bit to handle.

"Hats! Hats! Pretty Lady- would you like a hat to shield you from our sun?" She turned as a man held out a beige hat with a dark ribbon around it. She smiled, taking it from him and trying it on.

"Does it match my dress?" She asked with a grin.

"It does." A voice from behind her said, making her turn, surprised. There stood three boys, maybe 21 or 22, and they all stared at her with smiles.

"Great- I'll take it." She said to the hat man, taking out a few euro and handing them to him.

"Always a pleasure to help a pretty lady." The man said, bowing his head slightly.

"Thank you." Javi said with a grin, turning to walk back towards the way she came. She decided she would go in search of Jack- he'd had long enough. It had been nearly an hour since she left him.

As she turned the corner, Javi frowned- she could not quite recall what street she had taken to get here.

"Is there a problem mademoiselle?" She turned and saw the three boys from before hovering behind her.

"She looks lost." One of the boys said to the other.

"I am a bit- but I'll figure it out." Javi said, opening her map. "Thank you."

"Oh look - she is a Madam- please forgive us." The third boy said.

"No problem." Javi said, trying to thicken her accent so as to not sound American, feeling a bit discomfited by the boys. Maybe if they thought she was European, they would leave her to her own devices.

"Why don't you let us help you figure it out?" One boy said, snatching the map from her hands and holding it up above him. Javi sighed.

"It's not necessary, but thank you." She said, reaching for the map but they began to play keep away with it.

"Come on, let me have a look, I'm better at directions." The tallest boy said, stepping forward and putting an arm around Javi's shoulders so that they could look at it together. Javi tried to shove him away.

"Really, I can figure it out myself- I'm going to meet my husband." Javi said, trying not to start a fight. She would hate to have to fight them in this pretty dress.

"Well, listen, there is a small bar..." The boy said, pointing to a random spot around the corner on the map. "Where we can go sit and talk while we figure it out." He began to pull Javi in that direction, the other two boys moving behind them. Javi looked around- there wasn't many people in this alleyway and so there would not be too many witnesses if she had to give them a good lesson.

"I already said, I'm fine on my own." Javi said, getting ready to pull away.

"But we are lonely and we insist on keeping you company until your husband shows up." Another boy said.

"Besides, what an inconsiderate man and a fool to leave such a pretty woman like yourself alone on these dangerous streets." The boy with his arm around her shoulder said, pulling her forward and causing her hat to flutter away.

"Oh!" Javi said, reaching for it but watching as it landed a few feet away at someone's feet.

"I suppose it was inconsiderate of me- but I'm here now." Jack said, picking up the hat and dusting it off.

The three boys stared at Jack- who was very large and intimidating, especially in the small alley.

"Who are you?" One of the boys asked. Javi smiled.

"That's my husband." She said.

"And that's my wife. I suggest you let her go." Jack said.

"We were only going to go have some fun with her-no harm intended." The boy said, without taking his arm from around her shoulder. "Isn't that right?"

"I'm sure I heard her say she did not want to go." Jack said, "So if you know what's good for you, release her."

"Is that a threat? You may be a big man but there's three of us." One of the boys said.

"Oh no, I won't have to do a thing- she's the one you should be afraid of." Jack said with a grin. Javi tried not to laugh.

"This tiny woman?" The boy with his arm around her shoulder asked.

Javi looked up to Jack with a raised brow, silently asking for permission and with a wink he conceded.

"I warned you." Jack said, with a shake of the head, turning his back to them to keep a look out.

"What in the..." Jack heard the boy holding Javi begin to say but almost immediately it was cut off by a cry of pain.