Here ya go! The first installment of When Life Gives You a Good Thing the second part of When Life Gives You a French Man.

I hope you love this one just as much, if not more, then the first part! Rate, Review, Follow, Favorite, I'm not picky. I do want to hear your feedback on this though.

Just a note before you start: the Rating is M due to language and suggestive themes.

O N E: Lights, Cameras, Action and Tempers

"We are incredibly excited for this opportunity to not only expand our business, but also to service the community in this way. The past month has been spent fervently preparing Bo's Alley for the upcoming festivities. Matteo and I love throwing parties and we can guarantee that this Marathon After Party is one you do not want to miss."

Aleena Sinnette flashed a brilliant smile at the flashing cameras. Her business partner, fellow chef, and best friend Matteo Bourdieu slid his arm around her waist as they posed for pictures that would appear in the morning papers.

Bo's Alley, a hip bar and restaurant, thrived at it's location on one of Chicago's main strips. Minutes from a multitude of companies, businesses, schools, parks and residential areas, the independently owned restaurant and bar went from a local hangout to a thriving hot-spot known for great food, quality alcohol, a unique atmosphere and a guaranteed good time.

Aleena had a knack for details, designing and marketing. She took care of the aesthetic aspect of things and worked closely with Jackson Carson, their web designer, social media writer, and general main marketing guy.

Matteo met with Lisa Marachi, the finance guru of the crew, as he mostly handled the technical side of running the business. A France native who grew up in his parents Café, his experience provided an authentic European influence to the atmosphere of Bo's Alley.

All in all, the place was Matteo and Aleena's love child. They spent countless hours creating it and continue to spend countless hours sustaining it. At twenty-four years old, they both possessed youth and vivacity that gave the restaurant an obvious vibrancy.

Running a successful business is far from easy. The dynamic duo came to realize this as they struggled through the bumps and roadblocks everyone has to face as with growth. Thanks to a great support network, useful connections and invaluable friends they made it through not only the walls put up for the business, but also the struggle Aleena and Matteo's friendship underwent only a month ago.

After answering a few more questions, Aleena and Matteo escaped to the former's office with the excuse of still having things to get done. While this was true, the two really just wanted to get away from the reporters and cameras.

-
Matteo stretched his mouth, opening it wide and pushing the corners of his lips into a frown. He looked like a clown, Aleena laughed. "What are you doing? You look ridiculous."

He glared at her but didn't stop his face exercises. "I'm worried that my mouth will get stuck in a smile. That would be terrible. I'm trying to make sure my face muscles remember how to not look perpetually happy."

Aleena rolled her eyes at him and opened her mouth to retort with a guaranteed not-so-polite response most likely about his character or a completely false jab about the natural unattractiveness of his face. He just happened to be a rather insanely attractive man, but she certainly did not need to tell him that all the time.

Regardless, her retort died on her lips as the door to her office opened and a certain brown haired, green-eyed sports journalist burst in.

"Am I late? Did I miss the press conference?" Chase's goofy grin filled the room with even more good feelings. Bourdieu's long-time friend and a recent addition to Aleena's life thanks to a run in at the grocery store, Chase Marshall may be a lot of things, but one thing he always will be is a good time.

His exuberant intrusion evoked a smile from Aleena and a "Mon dieu, you're such a fool," from Matteo. Chase hardly blinked at his friend, opting to grab Aleena in a tight hug instead.

Chase and Aleena met on Market Day, Monday, the only day Aleena had off. Although she loved cooking, going for groceries sat comfortably at the top of her "Most Stressful Activities" list. The possibilities were literally endless and Aleena often found herself spending hours in the market debating over which kind of yogurt to buy. She often called best friend Meg on those days.

Chase had overheard one of those phone conversations during which Matteo Bourdieu was mentioned. He'd listened to the conversation mostly because Aleena was moving slowly and Chase was stuck behind her, but also because he happened to know the French chef too. They'd begun talking about Bourdieu with whom Aleena was, at that point, not in good place She ended up asking Chase if he wanted to come over for dinner and the rest of their friendship involved mostly food, getting drunk after work hours, and random visits here and there.

Aleena tried not to do things that she would end up regretting. Unfortunately, shit happens. The Saturday night she drank too much with her employees ended up being a catalyst to repairing her relationship with Matteo. It also created some sparks between herself and Chase; although she didn't necessarily acknowledge them as sparks he seemed to.

"I missed the big show, but I'm here to get some inside info on what's going to go down here on race day. What can you give me?" Sports Writer Chase Marshall came out along with his iPhone so he could take notes. Matteo actually snorted at that, "Since when did you start writing about local restaurants? I didn't think you had interest in anything but the court or field."

"Ah, you forget my interest in most things with legs and, " he gestured toward his chest, "well, let's just say I appreciate other beautiful things apart from sports."

"Classy," Aleena drolled from her perch on a corner of her desk. "Seriously though, since when has your magazine been interested in Bo's Alley?"

"Since your place became the finish line for the biggest Marathon Chicago hosts." Realization dawned on both Matteo and Aleena's faces. "Yeah, you guys didn't think about that, eh? This is a big story, probably our cover story actually. I'm lucky to have an in with you guys." Chase grinned widely, obviously pleased with his connections.

Matteo looked decidedly less pleased to be a Chase's tool to move up in the magazine he worked for. "Tired of writing shitty stories about Little League baseball?" Matteo's spoke dryly, picking invisible lint off of his dress shirt. He was referring to the story Chase was assigned to the month before. Being hit on by middle age moms while their kids practiced wasn't something in which Chase was necessarily interested.

"Fuck you." Chase grinned good-naturedly at his long time French friend, "Seriously, I want in. This is a huge opportunity for your business, why wouldn't you take advantage of it?"

Aleena, anticipating Matteo's negative response due to the storm brewing in his eyes, cut in quickly by stepping between the two "alpha" males. "Chase, let me talk to Matteo about this. We see where you are coming from; we just have to discuss whether this is an angle we are interested in pursuing."

Matteo's jaw stayed clenched while Chase's bewildered glare at Matteo's rising disapproval softened as he listened to Aleena. "Sure thing," he drawled, turning on the charm as he smiled at the beautiful woman before him, "not sure what his deal is though. He can be pretty pig-headed sometimes."

"I'm fully aware of that." Aleena teased, her tone completely contrasting the hard edge in Chase's voice. "How about you come on over for dinner tomorrow night? We can talk about the article after we get some good food and drink in us. Okay?" She subtly drew the now pissed writer to the door of her office.

"Yeah, sure…" He sounded distracted, cutting his eyes at a stoic Matteo as he passed him. He couldn't shake the hostility radiating off Matteo in waves. It made him angry, especially because the chef's disapproval must make him look bad in Aleena's eyes. "Calm the fuck down, man. What the hell has gotten into you?" Chase didn't know what Matteo was going to say to Aleena after he left, but he sure as hell hoped that dinner invitation wouldn't be revoked—especially because needed this story.

Matteo sent him a meaningful look, "We'll talk later."

With those impending words, Aleena quickly escorted Chase out of the office and through the kitchen to the bustling dining room. "Chase," she sounded embarrassed, "I'm so sorry about that. I have no idea what came over Matteo in there. I mean, do you?"

Chase's anger subsided a bit with Aleena's obvious confusion and embarrassment. He shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure myself. Listen," he drew her to a quiet spot by the coatroom located at the entrance of the restaurant, "don't worry about it, okay? It's not like you can control him or anything. He's moody sometimes. I must have done something recently to tick him off." He forced a laugh; sliding his hands down Aleena's bare arms he allowed himself to enjoy the silky feel of her skin.

She smiled slightly and leant forward to pull Chase in for a brief hug, pressing her lips to his cheek in a quick goodbye. "I'll talk to you later about details for tomorrow night. Have a good evening."

-
One of these days I'm going to turn my head when she goes to give me those dammed cheek kisses and trick those pouty lips into meeting mine. Chase thought as he meandered to his car. He sighed, since when did he have to trick girls into kissing him? Aleena was certainly something else. He didn't know how he felt about the development in Bourdieu and Aleena's relationship. They certainly weren't "grudgingly platonic" as she had told him when he first met him. Now, their friendship—or whatever it is—seemed stronger then ever.

He found himself wondering how hard it would be to break that bond. The thought was both a little frightening and increasingly attractive. Aleena would probably always be out of his reach as long as she and Matteo were going strong.

Chase shook the thoughts from his mind. Regardless of how much of an asshole the guy could be, Bourdieu had been his good friend for a while now. He couldn't betray their friendship like that, could he?