S E R P E N T I N E

I

- No! protests Gia, I don't even want to hear it. She watched Sergio and Anna stare at her in the window, perplexed. Her sudden stubbornness frightened them.

"Perfect, thought the attractive woman using her black eyeliner, looks like they've both capitulated." Sergio insisted with sweetness in his voice:

- Just a minute, Quennie...

With a sudden twirl, Gia managed to move her chair and admonished Sergio with a glare.

- How long have I been working in this company that's on the rocks, Sergio?

The dry man ran his hand through his hair, as if hearing it for the first time.

- I have no idea... three years?

- You got it right! And for all that time, I've demanded you stop using that nickname. This second, I'm asking you again. Stop calling me Queenie!

To her astonishment, the commanding tone left Sergio speechless. He stared at her for a long time with that deep-sea stare.

- Be like you, Gia, he growled at last. Sorry.

- So we're agreed, the young woman concluded, turning back to her table.

Getting dressed up was an art well practiced. Numerous spots highlighted small imperfections, so traces of makeup were undesirable, skin tone had to be even, and the stubbled dark brown locks perfectly stretched.

Fortunately, this preparation was about to end, it

Gia calmed down, shaking the Gliss tube one last time. The last three years of striving to maintain her outward appearance - from her figure to her style of dress - had benefited her like nothing else in her career. She had propelled herself as one of the Capital's few star presenters. But suddenly, this exaggerated attention to herself - the secret that had secured her unparalleled notoriety - had become totally irrelevant.

- At least tell me you won't give up so easily, Anna urged her.

As a producer, she held on to her old project with her teeth, discouraging unannounced changes.

Gina was grateful to Anna for her continued success, also showing her genuine friendship. Beyond that, she was more than determined to give up the collaboration and go in the opposite direction.

- I'm sorry, but I have no choice, Anna. I've thought about it for months, and I won't back down from this new challenge.

The gorgeous woman swiveled her chair to the right again, to face Anna and Sergio.

- Understand, no, I am very indebted for all your support, but please believe that I don't want to go down the same road with you. They don't represent me anymore! For three years I've been forced to control even my smallest gesture, even my sleeping hours. I've had enough of my fans' exaggerated interest. I can't linger anywhere without feeling watched by prying eyes.

Unbidden, she remembered the cyclist he had noticed again the previous evening, when he had just returned from his weekend shopping trip. Gia had tried unsuccessfully to suggest to herself that he had stopped on the sidewalk across the street by chance, even though he had appeared a few feet away - always in front of the store she preferred - and had synchronized with her, to have sworn to her that she was expected and hadn't missed the schedule of her weekend routine.

These synchronicities, which at first seemed like mere sporadic clashes, had unexpectedly turned into something akin to habit to be overlooked.

Gia wouldn't have wondered, and who knows if she would have noticed anything unusual if the man hadn't caught her attention with a globe-trotting physique and a slightly amused expression that didn't leave you indifferent.

He was certainly over five foot five although his style of dress was rather casual to casual, not necessarily the classic dark colours favoured by a well-proportioned and even-tempered body on mountain trails or at the pool for example.

The woman had nothing to complain about - you wouldn't have thought he'd recognize her every time - but instinct warned her that for her sake he'd make his presence felt there, when the time was right. True, he hadn't questioned her in the manner of an ardent fan. He was content to be unfailingly close to her.

There were weekend days when she didn't spot him. So she decided not to fall prey to anxiety or to an ego typical of her public status. Eventually, however, the man was once again present not far from her, and Gia no longer considered him a mere stress or challenge.

She noticed unexpectedly that Anna and Sergio had remained completely still, not understanding his silence.

- It's over as it was, she muttered to herself.

- Gia, darling, it's not the time, Sergio tried. I...

Anna's worried look silenced him.

- It's okay, Gia, Anna whispered with a smile, I think I know what you're going through. It's happened to others before you. But why don't you take one last offer? Do it for both of us. Sergio went out of his way to make it work.

For a moment, Gia was tempted to accept. The fear was clearly great for both of them, especially for Sergio, as was the stakes. Gia clenched her head back.

- You're the emblem of the company, don't forget, Sergio pointed out, sensing her state of uncertainty. A career like yours has a lot of potential: CEO MIND EDUCATION in a foreign subsidiary, would that tempt you?

- To be the boss? Don't you know me at all? If I get out of the... media spotlight, will you throw me into the power struggle? Why don't you make that offer to someone like

Delia? She's always wanted this kind of leadership, we all know it!

- And you know why I've had you in mind for a long time. Besides, our partners in America, the Communication Department, want only you, believe me, or else our joint project for the next three years is over. Not to mention my campaign: Emotional Intelligence, the story behind success - which I've been working on for over a year now. If anyone can prove to them that we're as good as they are, it's you.

- I know I'm going to disappoint you, Sergio, Gia confesses, but we've talked about this before. It hasn't even been three months since I warned you this was my last job.

Gia notices how sad the two are, so she adds:

- Hey, let's not forget my age, thirty-seven. Besides, I have a university degree, and it's time to make the most of it, otherwise. On a personal level. In two or three years I don't see myself in the spotlight.

- You're not right there," Anna interrupted, not shy about giving three or four counter-examples of people over the age of two who were continuing to raise the bar in the field of Geography. Besides, I'd bet you wish we were equal partners in Contemporain.

- I thank you for the offer, but for me the idea of business remained at the abstract level, Gia points out, already with her bag over her shoulder.

Matching her watch, she stands up.

- Goodbye, my dears, I don't want to leave him hanging.

With her cloth jacket over her shoulders, she waves her hand briefly, leaving the make-up booth.

*