Chapter 19
Bob called Ann's room and woke her up. He chided her to get ready as she had a full day ahead of her. Ann got up and rushed into the shower. She was just putting on her makeup when Bob knocked on the door.
"I wouldn't put too much makeup on," Bob smiled, "You're going to be pampered like you've never been pampered before."
Ann looked at him with a worried look on her face, "Isn't this going to cost a fortune? You don't have to do this."
Bob got a mischievous smile on his face, "I'm doing this to get out of paying you a bonus. Seriously Ann, I talked to John a little while ago. The Swedes are going to break up the security package up into several phases. They can sell it to the legislators and the shareholders better. The government is picking up part of the tab and the oil companies are picking up a larger share. John figures that on the first phase, and that's only about one third of what we're proposing, we'll net the company about two point four million. If you think, a little while ago we had little or no chance to land that contract until some brilliant woman read them the riot act. Now, do you think that you deserve a little special treatment or not?"
Ann walked to him and put her arm in his, "Let's go spend some money."
They stopped at the restaurant and got breakfast and then walked to the avenue where all of the high end shops were. Ann protested that she was not the type to wear Dior or Gucci but Bob insisted that she go into the shops and see what they had. She tried on several dresses in a couple of the shops but couldn't find one that she really liked. At a little shop, whose name she didn't recognize, she found a cocktail dress that she fell in love with.
She looked at the tag, "The prices are in Euros. How much is this in dollars?"
Bob looked at the tag, "This one is cheap. Are you sure that you wouldn't be ashamed to be seen in something this cheap?"
Ann saw that she wasn't going to get a straight answer from him so she asked the saleswoman in her rusty French.
"That dress is thirty-eight hundred dollars," the woman replied.
Ann gasped. Bob nodded to the woman and told her that they'd take it. He asked the woman to show Ann the lingerie and stockings to go with it. The woman hustled to show Ann what the shop had to offer and Ann finally decided on her selection.
As they left the shop Ann started to give him grief for spending so much, "I've never had a dress that costs one eighth that much."
Bob ignored her and called his driver to bring the limo to them. The limo pulled in front of them within five minutes and they started for the Villa Thalgo spa. Bob let her out in front of the Spa, telling her that they didn't allow men in there. He told her to take her new dress and lingerie because after the spa was done with her they would go to dinner and then to one of the better nightclubs in Paris.
Once had got inside the Villa Thalgo, she was taken to a dressing room where she was instructed to disrobe and to put on the gown that was provided. She was then taken to a sauna and she sat in the sauna until she was sweating until she was sure that there was no more water in her body. After the sauna she was put on a table and covered head to toe with a therapeutic mud pack. After the mud pack was on for a long time her attendant removed as much of the mud pack as she could and then Ann was taken to a shower to remove the rest of the mud pack. This was followed by a long period in the steam room. Then Ann had a massage with fragrant oils. The massage relaxed her until she almost fell asleep on the massage table.
The attendant took Ann into the beauty salon. Another person started to shampoo and set her hair. After Ann was under the dryer a manicurist came and gave her a manicure and a pedicure. After her hair was completed Ann was instructed to dress for her evening engagement. She was fussed over until the she was dressed perfectly and then her makeup was done professionally.
When Ann walked out of the Spa the limo was waiting for her at the curb. It was almost seven p.m.
Bob opened the door and got out and smiled, "My word you look beautiful."
Ann grinned, "I feel about twenty pounds lighter. That spa treatment made me feel like I could party for days. I feel so light on my feet."
Bob ordered the driver to start driving, "Would you like to go someplace fancy for dinner or would you like to eat at the nightclub that we're going to?"
"I don't think that I want a huge meal tonight. Can we have something light?"
"Ben," Bob spoke to the driver, "Drive us to the La Cab. There's a parking lot not too far from the club. I'd like you to be in the club while we're in there."
The driver nodded and started for the Le Cab and Bob turned to Ann, "This is a fairly nice restaurant but what we're going there for is the nightclub. This is THE place to go in Paris. All of the young people that have tons of inherited money go there to see and to be seen."
"Is your driver one of Paladin's employees?" Ann asked.
"Yes. He's the man that I use whenever we come to Europe. He's ex-Secret Service. He used to guard the President. He's armed and he knows what to do if trouble breaks out."
Bob saw that Ann was shocked, "As I told you once before Ann, it's a different world than it was ten years ago."
As the car pulled in front of the nightclub Bob said, "We have reservations. Follow me. There's usually a crowd waiting to get in. The doormen are very selective about who they let in. We'll have dinner and then go downstairs to the nightclub. They don't start dancing until about eleven o'clock. I think that they only have a DJ on Thursdays."
The driver opened the door for them and Bob took Ann's arm and led her toward the doorman, "Evening, Mr. Long."
Ann saw Bob slip the doorman a bill but she couldn't see what denomination that it was. The doorman opened the velvet rope to let them in. Bob led the way to the restaurant. After a short wait they were seated at one of the tables. A waiter brought a bottle of wine to the table, showed it to Bob and then poured him a glass, Bob sipped the wine and nodded and the waiter filled his glass and poured Ann a glass.
"Don't they ask if you want wine before they serve it?"
"I have to entertain when I come to Paris; so they know me here. The Saudi princes like to have an excuse to party and they often call a night out a business meeting; it placates their conscience. They know me at this club. We won't have to wait for our bill either. They have my credit cards on file and the night will be charged to my account. Since they know me and my bank account, I never have to wait in line to get into the club."
The waiter brought the menus and Ann started to look at the selection. Ann finally looked at Bob and asked what he would suggest.
"Have you ever had monk fish?"
Ann shook her head, "It's a bottom fish that's quite ugly. They call it the poor man's lobster. It tastes like a cross between a lobster and shrimp. I think you'll like it."
They both ordered the monk fish. The waiter poured them another glass of Champaign before he left to place the order with the kitchen.
"You said that you have to entertain often. Do you get to Europe very often?"
"I have to be here about four times a year. The leaders of the third world seem to prefer Paris for their meetings. They know that the average citizen of their country couldn't afford one day in Paris so they feel that it's pretty safe to come here and do business."
Bob suddenly looked at the doorway and Ann saw that he tensed. She looked to see what he was looking at and saw a man heading toward the lounge in the lower level. The man had a tall beautiful blonde on each arm and was followed by three other men that were obviously bodyguards. The bodyguards kept looking quickly around the club for anything that would endanger the prince.
"Do you know that man?" Ann asked.
Bob looked disgusted, "I've done business with him in the past. He's one of the Saudi princes. He's filthy rich and he spends as much of his money as he can. He's a man that you have to watch every minute when you do business with him. He also has a very low opinion of women."
Ann chuckled, "Every time that I hear someone talking about a Saudi I hear that he's a prince. How many princes do they have?'
"I've heard that there are about four thousand princes. I don't know if that is true or not but there are a lot of them. Not all of them share in the oil wealth equally though. You have to be extremely careful when you deal with the Saudis. If you ever have to deal with them, make sure that they have the money they say they have. There's no way you're going to sue them in their own country and win."
Bob and Ann ate dinner leisurely. After they had eaten they sat drinking Bailey's and coffee and talking.
"Bob, that monk fish was great. I've never heard of monk fish before."
Bob stood up' "Let's go down to the club. It's a little early but they might have the DJ playing already."
When they entered the club they saw that there were about twenty couples roaming about. Ann saw that she and Bob were the oldest couple in the club. The music was playing and it was loud and fast. Bob steered Ann to a table and they sat next to each other.
"Bob Long, how are you my friend?" Bob heard a loud voice yell.
Bob smiled at the Middle Eastern man walking toward them. The way the man pronounced Bob's name it came out like Boob Loweng. The prince sat down next to Ann.
"Who is this lovely woman you are with?"
"Prince Bah seer, this is Ann Simmons. She's our Vice President of Marketing. We're here to wrap up a fairly nice security package for one of our clients."
"Ah, for the German's, I suppose. They are always so afraid that someone is going to attack them."
Bob just smiled at the prince, "What are you doing in Paris Prince Bah seer?"
"Ah, business... always just business."
The prince grabbed Ann's hand and pulled her toward the dance floor, "I must dance with Ann. We will be right back."
Before Ann could protest, the prince had her on the dance floor. The waiter came to the table and Bob ordered a bottle of Champaign for them and tried to find Ann and the prince in the crowd. The club was beginning to fill up quickly. It was almost as if the word went out to Paris that the dancing was in full swing.
After the song was finished the prince walked Ann back to the table with his arm around her waist, holding her body against him.
When Ann got to the table she pulled away and sat down next to Bob. She took Bob's hand and held it tightly.
The prince looked at Ann for a minute, "Ann Simmons you must come to Saudi Arabia. We will talk about cars. I need more cars. You tell me when you are coming."
The prince turned and walked back to his party. The two blond women that had come with the prince glared at Ann.
"Is it alright to punch a Saudi prince in the nose?" Ann asked.
Bob looked at her and Ann continued, "He gets real touchy-feely on the dance floor."
Bob and Ann danced a couple of dances and sat talking. Finally Ann asked if they could leave. The music was too loud and she was starting to get tired.
As they drove back to the hotel Ann strained to look at the Eiffel Tower one more time. The limo pulled in front of the hotel and Bob got out and helped Ann out of the car.
In the elevator, Ann put her hand on his arm, "I really enjoyed myself tonight. I guess my jet lag is just now catching up with me."
The walked to Ann's room ad Bob took her in his arms and kissed her. Ann hadn't expected him to kiss her but she was glad he did. Bob stepped back and said good night and waited while she opened the door and walked into her room.
Bob lay in bed and started chastising himself for kissing her. He didn't want to push her. He was afraid that she would feel that he was too aggressive and that he was pushing himself on her too fast.
Ann sat on the side of the bed in her room. She hadn't expected the kiss but she wondered why Bob pulled away from her after the kiss. Had she done anything wrong?
On Friday Bob and Ann spent most of the day at the Louvre and then
walked by the Eiffel Tower again. They ate dinner at the hotel and then
went to their rooms early. Ann was worried because Bob acted as if the
kiss never happened.