A Rainy Night in Paris Ch. 12-13

Chapter 12

At 45, Rachel Staunton was a force of nature. Stepping off the train from Nice, she looked like she had just stepped out of a salon, instead of getting off of a five and a half hour train ride from the south of France. Her hair, worn tight against her head, was perfect, not a strand out of place, showing off her round face. Her makeup was impeccable, lipstick and cheekbones by the book. You had to be intimate with her to see the depth of powder and concealer that covered the dark circles under her eyes and fine wrinkles in the corners of her eyes and mouth and Rachel Staunton would never let someone get that close to her.

Alex sat casually on the bench watching her direct a porter who was gathering up a couple of bags and putting them on a cart. The grand lady herself only seemed to carry a purse, in her hand rather than slung over her shoulder, so as not to wrinkle the cream silk blouse she was wearing. Alex was certain that her bra was of the finest quality, even if it made her breasts seem less than natural in the way they did not move under her silk as she walked.

He immediately did not like her. There was something artificial about her that just put his hackles up. Monique would have said it was his bullshit meter working overtime and she was probably right. Someone who took that much care with their appearance was hiding something, some imperfection, some character flaw that needed fine clothes and expensive makeup to cover. Her hair was blonde, but he suspected that was one of the few natural things about her. The subtle shadings could not be achieved by the hands of anyone but a true artist and even then, he doubted that she would have allowed it. No, her hair was her one true possession which made Alex wonder why she wore it so severely restricted. Samantha had just welcomed her boss back to Paris and they were talking, not as friends but business colleagues, their postures formal and Samantha was deferring as needed. It was almost funny to watch. Alex did his best not to laugh or draw attention to himself. Samantha had wanted him to come with her, but had suggested it was best not to introduce him to her boss at the station.

They had taken an hour, earlier in the day, to move most of Samantha's things back to the Marriot. It was window dressing to make things look appropriate and now, looking at the two of them, he agreed that it had been a good decision. Rachel and Monique would clash like fire and water he was sure and he was also sure that Monique would come out on top. Rachel struck him as someone who always had to be in charge and he knew Monique well enough to know that she always was in charge. He had watched Monique fence with some of the great names in fashion and in the end they always did what she wanted. He had no doubt that this would be the case again. And with Monique championing Samantha, he expected that the working relationship with Rachel would either fall apart completely or be a much stronger one. That would depend solely on Rachel's ego, something Alex had no doubt would need a porter to carry around if it had been a physical thing.

He watched the two of them exit the platform and head into the main station. It was his cue to leave as well. Dinner was at 7:30 and he still had to get back to his apartment and change in to something more appropriate. Having seen the lady, he now knew the role he had to play. She would only accept another professional and Alex was sure he could play the part of a professional. He only wondered if he had a clean shirt as he descended into the Metro for the short ride home.

Chapter 13

"Alexander, you old fraud," Monique said as he bent down to kiss her cheek once she was settled into her chair. Greg was already moving around to the driver's side as Alex steered Monique to the front of the restaurant where Samantha and Rachel had so recently entered. Alex had watched them go in from a discrete distance while watching for Monique's car. They had arranged it so that Samantha would get seated and comfortable before Monique made her entrance. The restaurant was Monique's choice, one that she frequented and knew her well. Nothing like having home field advantage.

"Good evening to you Monique. Now what did I do?" Alex asked as they waited for Greg to return from parking the car.

"You, in a suit darling. I did not even know you owned one."

"I don't. I had to borrow this one from Martin."

"Alexander, do not lie to an old lady. There is no way you could squeeze your height into a suit Martin might own, and there is no way it would not gape at the waist, even if you did. It looks good on you by the way. Remind me the next time Karl is in town and we will get him to fit you for a couple of new ones."

"Yes Monique. I buy one suit a year and there is no way I could afford to look at a Lagerfeld, much less actually have the man fit me for one, but I thank you for the introduction anyway."

"Oh pooh. You can afford several solely on the crumbs you let me pay you," she said.

Alex held his tongue, Greg's arrival providing him the opportunity to change the topic before Monique got herself wound up. As much as he would like to own a Lagerfeld, he hated wearing suits and would never get the value out of it.

"Shall we go into dinner then?" Alex asked as Greg opened the door for them.

"Madame DuMaurie, bon soir! Monsieur Gilcrest how are you sir? And Alex, my friend, you have been away? I have not seen you in forever.

"Good evening Guy," Monique said, as she accepted his kisses before the maitre d' hugged Greg as an old friend. Alex was quickly looking around the room, finding Samantha with his eyes as she faced out from the wall, Rachel had turned slightly in her chair looking at the commotion, as were most of the patrons in the restaurant.

"I have a table ready for you. Right this way. The Sommelier?" he asked as Alex maneuvered Monique's chair around the patrons in the crowded restaurant, stopping now and then as Monique saw people she knew and had to say hello. In some ways, it was like a procession and Monique was making the most of it. Alex was trying hard to keep a straight face, saying his hellos to the people that he knew at each stop they made. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Samantha, also trying hard not to smile, her water glass held in front of her, shielding her face. He thought it slightly odd that there were no wine glasses on the table.

As they approached their table, Monique, with casual ease, swung her head to look where Samantha was sitting, and exclaimed, "Samantha, darling, there you are! I thought we were having dinner this evening." Alex was already pushing her that way, people politely moving their chairs out of the way so that she could get closer to the table. Samantha, for her part had stood up and slid out between the tables to stand a little ahead of Rachel's chair as Alex brought Monique's chair to a halt.

"Bon soir, Monique. Ca va?" Samantha said.

"Bien, chérie! Tres bien. You have been practicing, oui?" Monique said with a grin.

"Oui, c'est vrai, madam. Alex has been helping in his spare time," she said with a grin, her eyes still on Monique.

"But I am interrupting..." Monique began.

"Oh, not at all Mrs. DuMaurie," Rachel interjected, coming to her feet.

"I am sorry. Monique, this is my boss, Ms. Rachel Staunton. Rachel, this is Monique DuMaurie."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Staunton," Monique said with all propriety.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you Mrs. DuMaurie, I have been a fan of your designs for years, ma'am."

"Please, call me Monique," she said, noticing that their appetizer's had not arrived. "Would you join us? I wanted to hear all about Samantha's excursions this afternoon," Monique said, taking Rachel's hand as Greg slipped behind her chair and steered her towards the table Andre had prepared for them, waiters quickly laying in more places while Alex waited for Samantha to pick up their purses.

"She is a master, isn't she," Samantha whispered to Alex as they walked slowly to their table, the noise of the place masking their conversation.

"Oui, she is," Alex said.

"And you are not so bad yourself," she said squeezing his hand.

"Now, Rachel, you sit on my left, and Samantha, you are on my right. Alexander you will sit next to Samantha of course, and Greg, you will please sit next to Rachel. This won't do at all will it. Alexander, what was Michelle doing this evening?" Monique said as if she was organizing a dinner party in her own dining room.

"You're asking me? I was skipping stones in the Seine this afternoon."

"Well?" Monique said, looking at him.

"Manipulative bitch," Alex said with a smile, catching Rachel's quick gasp. He took out his cell phone and started walking back to the front doors of the restaurant to place his call. Monique had a very strict policy about cell phones at the dinner table.

Champaign had been poured and the conversation was fully joined by the time Alex got back to the table.

"We are in luck. Michelle was just about to go out for the evening. She was going to grab a cab and will join us shortly," Alex said, sliding into his chair at the table.

"Wonderful, now as I was telling Rachel, Samantha has found some wonderful things today and I expect that Michelle has the list in her head of the people we need to talk to, but I wanted to know what you thought of the idea of some automated inventory management?"

Alex paused, glass to his lips to look at Monique. There was something going on and he had missed the initial cue. Samantha seemed tense beside him, but Rachel had an odd look on her face. He could not decide if it was one of anger at being usurped or frustration at not getting her own way.

"What sort of inventory are we automating Monique? You want RFID chips on your employees? Although, come to think of it, if we implant a GPS RFID chip in Josie's ass, we would have a much better time of it." He took a sip while Greg did his best not to laugh out loud and Samantha was vibrating with mirth.

"Alexander that is not nice," Monique said, partially sternly. "I am talking about automating my inventory."

"Monique you would put Amanda out of a job if you did that." Which was not all that bad of an idea, but Monique needed Amanda's unique talents, as much as she would argue against it. "Besides, you are already automated, just not in the normal sense of a full scale manufacturing operation. Leave those headaches to Karl and do what you do best, creating fabulous one-of-a-kind pieces."

"You are sweet, Alexander," she said, smiling. "So that is solved then."

Rachel did not look pleased, but he did not pursue it further. Monique would likely tell him what that was all about tomorrow. The talk turned to a general discussion of fall fashions in Milan and Nice and once Michelle joined them a few minutes later, the four ladies started talking earnestly about what would and would not sell in the ready-to-wear world of large chain stores versus the slick one-off or boutique styles that the designers really tried to put out on display. For their part, Alex and Greg kept glasses filled, food circulating and answered the occasional question of this or that waiter and the night wore on.

"Ladies, as thrilling as this night has been," Alex said with a slight yawn, "I have an early appointment and need to seek my bed. And I think we should let Guy have his restaurant back so he can go home to his wife before she forgets what he looks like." It was well past midnight and while there were still one or two patrons in the place, it was clearly well past time to go, even though Guy was sitting at the bar having a drink.

"Well, then shall we continue this discussion tomorrow at my office?" Monique asked. "Say 10:30? That way everyone can get some sleep and start their morning off right?" With nods all around, the table stood up and shook hands or kissed as appropriate. Michelle whispered, "Well played," into Alex's ear as she kissed him on the cheek. Greg took up position behind Monique and with Alex in front, a small procession lead the way out to the street.

"We will take Michelle to her apartment," Monique said as Greg went to get the car. Are you able to get back to your hotel?" she asked of Rachel.

"I believe so. Samantha and I took a cab here, but it is a short walk." Alex tipped his head to the side so as not to be seen laughing. While Samantha was wearing shoes that could have made the trip, Rachel had selected a pair of three inch heels with straps that must have been uncomfortable walking from the table to the street, there was no way she would make the walk from Les Halles back to the Champs Elysées.

"Oh, nonsense," Monique said. "We can take you as well. Alexander, you and Samantha will be alright, yes?" And in one motion she had solved that problem.

"Oui, Monique. Nous aurons tout raison." Alex said.

"Bon. Au revoir, mes amis. Jusqu'à demain," she said as Alex kissed her and then let Samantha do the same while Michelle was getting in the front seat and Greg held the door for Rachel. "And Alexander, stay away tomorrow, all right?" she said in English, whispering in his ear.

"D'accord," he said in agreement, shaking Greg's hand, thanking them for dinner and wishing them a good morning before he and Samantha set off in the opposite direction.

They had gone several blocks, not really caring what direction they were going in before he spoke again.

"So what did I miss?"

"Rachel started jabbing at me for not getting anything from Sylvia and a couple of her other favorites. She then tried to suggest that if Monique simply automated her inventory management process, she would be able to branch out on her own and reap the rewards. It seems that Rachel has been following her career and thinks that if Monique were just a little more aggressive in her business practices she would be much more successful, which is where you came in. I am guessing Rachel has been trying to get close to her for years and it bothers her that I am not only close to her, but someone Monique is willing to work directly with. Rachel does not like being cut out and from some of what she told me between the train and the hotel, she did not have a good time of it in Nice. Normal contacts that have been good in the past, at least from a price per unit perspective, started playing hard ball, raising prices, not being generally friendly, that sort of thing. One apparently threatened to throw her out of her salon after she told her that she was no longer interested in dealing with an isolationist American culture that seemed to think it could do whatever it wanted to."

Alex tried not to smile. Relations between the two nations were one of love and hate at the best of times, and these certainly were not the best of times. In all his years of living in Europe, he had learned to smile politely when people started talking about America and Americans. Most people could not tell the difference between Canadians and Americans, so he pretended to be British. Sometimes it was just easier. Still there were several reasons why Rachel could have been having problems; least of all was that she was representing an American company.

"I feel Monique's hand," Alex said as they came up to a taxi stand. At least he would not put it past her to have mucked around in Rachel's pool. Samantha had mentioned discussing it with Monique. Alex hailed a cab and opened the door for Samantha before getting in and giving the driver his address. He settled back into his seat for the short ride. "She is up to something, but I honestly don't know what it is. She has wanted to get out of this business for a while now and just relax. Her MS is progressing to the point that her bad days outnumber her good days and she is in pain a lot. I think that blouse Michelle was wearing is the first new things she has designed in ages and tonight is the most enervated I have seen her in a while. I suspect some of this has to do with Josephine, but I don't know what she is cooking up." He was more certain than ever that Monique was up to something.

"Well, I am sure we will find out soon enough," she said, laying her head on his shoulder. "I like the suit by the way. I will have to find more excuses for you to wear one."

"Well, I have to admit that you look very sexy yourself. But then, I think you look sexy in jeans and a t-shirt," he said before kissing her gently. She was wearing a simple black sheath of crepe wool that came down to her mid-thigh. She had forgone stockings this evening, so he found himself touching bare skin when he rested his hand on her leg. The simple touch caused her to moan slightly and for him to swell just as the taxi slowed to a stop.

"Here we are," Alex said softly as she slid out and he paid the fare. They stood on the corner, arms around each other, kissing for several minutes as the sound of the departing taxi faded into the night air, their bodies striving to get closer with each passing minute, their tongues flicking back and forth, with lips making the occasional foray to neck, jaw, and ear. The lights from Martin's restaurant were dark, and they stood bathed only in shadows from the weak streetlights.

"Take me, please, Alex, take me," she whispered, her hands sliding inside his jacket to touch his body through the thin material of his shirt. Her fingers undoing buttons under the cover of his tie as she sought to touch his naked skin.

He started to move her towards the outside door but she pushed him deeper into the shadows, her hands striving to undo the clasp of his pants while she encouraged his hand to slide up under her dress. He took her lead, his hand tracing the muscle up the inside of her leg to find her pussy bald and naked and wet and as he ran a finger over her clit, he found she was ready, the breath whooshing out of her as a small orgasm passed through her, causing her to redouble her efforts to get his pants undone and free his hard cock. Taking her cue, he turned her towards the wall, hiking the back of her dress up over her ass before rubbing his cock along the slit between her legs. She arched her back and his cock slid into her slick tunnel as her breath was expelled in a long low moan as she pushed back roughly against him. Quickly they were sliding back and forth on each other; her orgasm spurred on by her fingers rubbing her clit and spilling over just before he shoved himself deep into her and filled her with his sperm, causing more little tremors to shake her body. Samantha reluctantly pulled herself off him and spun around, crushing herself against him in a kiss.

"Oh, that was so good," she moaned, "but I need so much more. Upstairs!" It was a command he was not going to fight as he slipped the keys from his pants and opened the doors as fast as physics and greased locks would allow him.

Once in the apartment, she almost physically threw him onto the couch, capturing his loose cock in her mouth and trying to suck it to hardness in a single pull as he tried to divest himself of his tie and undo the top button on his dress shirt before he passed out from lack of oxygen and blood to his brain. Samantha started playing with his ass which had the desired effect of hardening his cock in her mouth. She continued to suck it, making sure it was hard and firm before she pulled herself along him and sank heavily down onto him.

"Oh, that is so good," she moaned as she pulled the dress over her head, tossing it on the floor beside them, content to rock back and forth on his erection deep inside of her, her nipples hard in the evening light reflected into the room, her hands alternating between squeezing her nipples and breasts and running over his chest. Alex was slowly teasing her hips and breasts when she turned her attention to his chest. Her rocking seemed to be increasing in its pace as her breathing became more ragged and another orgasm passed through her body, bowing her spine and pushing her small breasts into his hands as he pulled on the thick nipples, making her moan harder and shake more.