Chapter 6

Day 11 Tuesday

Six hours later at 10:00, the phone rang. It was Tiffany. After our hellos, she said, “I came by and knocked gently a couple hours ago and we had coffee and croissants. Do you want us to go out and do something or wait for you?”

“I’ll wake her up. Give us a half hour. I’ll take one cream in my coffee. Ask Kim about Amy and meet us up here in twenty minutes. Four croissants should be enough for us. It’s almost lunch time after all.”

When she hung up I called the front desk and told them that we’d be down in 40 minutes and would need a car to take four people on a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. The woman that answered told me that it would be ready. There’s a right way to travel and a stressful way to travel. I finished my croissants in the room and my coffee in the elevator on the way down. We walked out front and There was a small limo waiting for us. We all slipped into the back and were soon on the road.

Kim asked, “How did they know to pick us up? How did they know when we were leaving? How do we know that this is for us?”

“Because, you’re traveling with me. They don’t like to keep me waiting.”

“Whatever you say. You seem to have the world by the tail.”

Amy said, “And it’s working out well for all of us.”

Kim let it drop and sat back to enjoy the ride out to the palace. We had a private tour set up by the hotel and we didn’t have to get into the line with the thousand people that were queued up. We didn’t visit all 700 rooms but did see the more popular ones and some not shown to the general public. Our guide answered all of our questions about the house and gardens. He earned his pay and his tip. The palace was beautiful and I hoped that the people staying at my hotels had the same feelings after staying in a room or suite that we provided.

As the driver took us back to Paris, I said, “By the time we get back, there will be about three hours left if you want to use your tickets to the Louvre. We can see the pieces that we didn’t have time for yesterday. Or we can do something else.”

Tiffany said, “That sounds good to me. Even if you want to head back and relax, I can meet you afterwards.”

The girls agreed and the limo dropped us off. I told the driver that we’d walk back to the hotel. I told him that we’d need a car to take us to dinner later and that the concierge had made reservations for us at 8pm. He told me that the car would be waiting out front at 7:30. Both he and the concierge would be getting good tips.

We breezed past the crowd pressing in around the Mona Lisa and explored the thousands of other pieces. I liked some of the more modern pieces and spent time looking at the impressionists without any push to move on to something else. We ended up splitting up but agreeing to meet at the south-west corner of the pyramid at closing.

I was there first and soon we were all walking back to the hotel. The girls were talking about what they saw and what they liked. It was about 6:30 when we got back. I told them, “We’ll be leaving for dinner in one hour. We leave at 7:30 with or without you. Put on something nice if you have it.”

Amy asked, “Where are we going?”

“Some touristy place. Bring your camera and your appetite.”

As we entered the hotel the girls were given new keys and told that their things had been moved to the room next to our suite and now we could just go through the connecting door.

The girls didn’t have anything that was too dressy but had something that was nice. Tiffany didn’t put on her nicest dress but took a step down to match the girls. I had on pants and a sport coat. No suit and tie. All the ladies were excited when we got in the car and it was obvious that we were heading towards the Eiffel tower so the secret was out pretty fast.

Like the trip to and from Versailles the girls spent time making guesses about the next day’s surprise and they were down to two more guesses each. They had guessed about wineries, hot air balloons, helicopters, and many other things. They were all wrong. When we were in the elevator going up to La Jules Verne they loved the view.

We were seated but no menus were given out. We had cocktails. I had to order for the girls. I ordered a Sex On The Beach for Amy and a Champagne Cocktail for Kim. Both are real cocktails but hard to taste the alcohol. Tiffany got a Sidecar and I had a French 75. Both were supposedly created at Harry’s bar in Paris.

As we toasted to a nice evening with friends, our waiter told us that we’d be having the chef’s seven course tasting menu with wine pairings. He looked at me and I nodded my approval. The girls looked at each other and then at me. I shrugged and the waiter continued, “Does anyone have any food allergies or something that they don’t like?”

“I don’t like liver,” Kim said.

“There’s no liver on the menu tonight but I might make you try it, if it was. I’ve seen people fall in love with the chicken liver pate that claimed to hate liver. There are a number of shellfish, mushrooms and other things that some don’t like or may be allergic to and we’d hate to see anyone be surprised. Enjoy your meals.”

The wine was served in smaller portions but went well with the crab, scallops, shrimp, cod, lamb, apple and chocolate courses. The food was delicious and the views were spectacular. I had to take a picture or two of the girls. The food, wine and cocktails in front of them, the city of lights behind them. They were both smiling ear to ear. The bill was more than most people made in a week but to me the experience and memories were worth it.

The limo took us back to the hotel. We were all nicely buzzed from the alcohol. The girls wanted to get out of their dresses and into something more comfortable. Amy was in my room and gave me a kiss. I was changing out of my clothes when Tiffany came in and said, “I’m back to normal. I can take care of Brad from now on.”

Amy looked dejected. I said, “You’re both my sluts. I’ll decide who does what and who sleeps where. You’ll both enjoy doing as you’re told.”

“Yes, Sir.” they both said together.

I had them both wear shorts and a t-shirt and that was all. Kim was in the living room on one of the couches. I sat on the couch across from her. Tiffany sat next to me and Amy sat next to Kim. Kim wasn’t being rude or a stick in the mud, she just wasn’t as free as the other two were to accept the premise of my experiment. She also didn’t see that Amy, even more so than Tiffany, got off on being told to or forced to do something.

I asked, “Are there any more guesses about tomorrow? Tiffany, how many more guesses do they have?”

Tiffany replied, “Amy’s out of guesses and Kim has one more.”

Kim said, “On the ride to dinner, I saw that we’re near Le Cordon Bleu, the famous cooking school. My last guess is that you’ll have us take a French cooking class.”

“That’s a good guess and a great idea for something we should do, but that’s the wrong answer. You lose.”

The smile on Amy’s face lit up. Kim looked defeated. I asked Kim if I could talk to her in the bedroom. She was hesitant but agreed. I shut the door for privacy but didn’t lock it. I led her to the couch. After we sat I told her that we were just in here to talk.

“I can see that you’re conflicted in your mind about some of the things that you see and hear. It doesn’t fit your model of right and wrong. I’m not here to change your mind about right and wrong but about how you look at things. You’ll be away at college soon and see and hear a lot of things about what others like, don’t like, and their definitions of right and wrong.”

“I’m fine with what they do, but it’s the fact that you’re forcing them that’s upsetting.”

“Kim, have I used force to make them do anything? Have I threatened anyone?”

“No, but you use your money to make them.”

“What is your favorite color? Mine is blue.”

“Green.”

“What is your favorite food? Mine is pizza”

“The scallops tonight were the best things I’ve ever eaten.”

“Different people have different likes and dislikes. Those aren’t rights and wrongs, they’re just likes and dislikes. Sometimes it’s because of other factors. You’re like 5’ 6’’ how many your size are on the volleyball team?”

“Just me.”

“How many on the gymnastics team are Amy’s size?”

“None.”

“Amy may love to tumble but it isn’t right for a girl her size if she wants to be competitive. If the volleyball team needs a setter, you might be a great fit but if they need spikers, then you may be on the bench.”

“I’m getting confused about what we’re talking about.”

“Kim, if I asked you out on a date. Just met in a class at school and I asked you out, we can pretend you thought I was cute and said yes. You wouldn’t say, ‘Two hundred dollars and we can just go back to your place and fuck.’ But when you think about the first, second and third date, dinners, movies, etcetera, it will cost about that amount before you may go back to his place.

“I’m not saying that this is the same because it isn’t. Some girls like girls, some guys like guys, some like both. Some like to be treated like a princess and some like a whore. Some are in between. I’m sure that you’ve had more than one fantasy in your life and they may have been completely opposite of each other.”

“I hear what you’re saying and conceptually understand but I don’t get your point.”

“Both Tiffany and Amy are pretty, smart and wonderful women. They can both be different from you in their favorite color, favorite food. You wouldn’t judge them or make them feel bad because you’re different than they are. But when it comes to sex, your fantasies are about being a princess and theirs at least right now are about being whores. They want to get wild and go out and get drunk while you want to have a nice quiet romantic dinner.”

“So we want different things. I kind of get it.”

“Have you heard of dominants and submissives? On a scale from one to ten we all fall somewhere on that scale. I’m about an 8 on the dominant side. Amy and Tiffany are 3’s on the submissive side. They don’t just obey anyone anywhere but you’ve known Amy for a while. Is she the one setting and pushing the agenda or just going along with the crowd, trying to make everyone else happy?”

“She’s more of a follower.”

“She likes pizza and is in a place today where she has the opportunity to try the whole pie, in a safe place. She wants to try to be submissive openly. I think that your opinion of her and what she’s doing or wants to try, is holding her back. She’s afraid of what you may think. I don’t want to see her hurt or pushed back into her shell for the rest of her life. This experience is something that could make her truly happy.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to fuck her?”

“Nevermind. Obviously you being right is more important than your friends happiness. I’ll see you in the morning.” I got up and held the door for her and told Tiffany that it was time for bed.

Kim didn’t know what to do but she knew that she’d been dismissed. Tiffany came in and asked if I wanted to talk but I told her I was tired and just held her. Tiffany fell asleep much easier than me. There was a lot on my mind and part of me wanted to just pull the plug on the trip. I didn’t promise Amy or Kim anything. We could send them out to find a hostel and walk wherever they wanted to go. I looked inward to see if I was being truthful with myself or was I just hiring whores using a different method?

Day 12 Wednesday When I was woken by Tiffany, she told me that I needed to get up and get dressed or they’d be taking my tour without me. “I think that you and Kim both need more sleep but the demons that kept you up shouldn’t ruin our plans.”

I showered and we went to the lobby. I had a croissant and cup of coffee before our guide arrived.

A pretty woman about thirty showed up with a pretty smile. Her name was Adriana. After introductions she said, “I’m so happy that you all decided to take my tour. It’s very new and some are apprehensive about going. Are you excited?”

Tiffany said, “Brad is surprising us today and we have no idea where we’re going or what we’re going to see.”

“Let’s walk while I tell you about some Paris history and what we’ll be viewing today.”

As we walked down the streets of Paris, Adriana told us about the catacombs. “You’re Americans and have had two hundred years of people living and dying. Back in the 1300’s Paris was being built and miles and miles of tunnels were being dug as the limestone was mined as building materials. By the 1700’s millions of people were buried in Paris and the church graveyards were full. There were health concerns as heavy rains would erode the side of a hill and bodies would be unearthed. In the late 1700’s there was a decision to move the bodies out of the cemeteries and into the catacombs.

“Each church was given a space to relocate their dead and the bones were moved down about five or six stories under the city. It took twelve years to move the almost seven million bodies. Each church was responsible for their space, their bodies and how they arranged them. And here we are. We’ll be descending a staircase about 20 meters to the catacombs. We’ve put in lights but I’ll give you each a flashlight just in case but more so you can see things that may not be well lit with the lighting that we’ve installed.”

“We’re going to see dead bodies. And you think this will be fun?” Tiffany asked.

“Interesting more than fun,” Adriana said. “Most people enjoy the tour and walking up and down the stairs is the biggest negative when we talk to our guests.” She handed out the flashlights and we walked down the spiral staircase. It was a longer walk than I expected but eventually we entered the catacombs.

For the next couple hours we looked at bones piled or stacked in so many different methods to form designs. Some were just efficient but others were totally creative forming a pillar instead of a wall of bones. Most bones were separated by type and the large femurs were used as the building blocks, while smaller bones and skulls were used to decorate or break up the display. It was an amazing thing to see. So many people visited and walked the streets of Paris with no idea what was below them. All of us emerged from the underworld a couple hours later. Everyone was happy to have seen the tunnels and experienced something that few others were able to see.

After missing breakfast, I was hungry and took them all to lunch including Adriana. We all enjoyed our food and talked about what we had seen. I asked about her business and she said that it was slow and people had a hard time thinking that they’d enjoy the tour. Later the girls wanted to go across the street to the drug store so they could buy makeup at prices way less than the same cosmetics in the US.