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?"