Hugues stood in the suite with Natalie on the Monday before Thanksgiving and examined every detail with awe and admiration. She had created something warm and elegant that felt more like a home than a hotel room, which was exactly the effect they had both wanted to achieve. And the new paintings were spectacular in the room. She had worked on the installation all weekend and invited him up to see it when she hung the last painting on Monday afternoon. She had done a lot of the hanging and placing herself, as she always did, and she had been a taskmaster about the window treatments, which were beautifully made by a French woman she had used for years. The suite was exquisite. And she had had several pots of orchids placed in the rooms in key locations. Hugues looked at it with obvious delight, and then took Natalie into his arms and kissed her. The relationship they had been developing since she started working for him had been an unexpected bonus for them both, and not at all what he had intended when he hired her to do the job.
“You like it?” she asked happily, looking like a kid and wanting to clap her hands with glee when she saw his thrilled expression.
“I love it!” he confirmed. The final effect was even better than he had expected and she had hoped. He walked all through the suite, examining every detail, and then he turned to her as he held her hand. “And more importantly, I love you … whether or not I like what you did here. But as it so happens, I do. You have an enormous talent.” And she had brought it in way under budget by using so many of the things the hotel already owned. “The last two months have been the happiest in my life,” he said as he pulled her down on the couch next to him. “I loved seeing you every day.”
“Me too,” she said, in awe of what he had just told her. She had fallen in love with him too. He kissed her again, and then called room service and ordered a bottle of champagne.
He opened the bottle of Cristal himself when it was delivered, and the waiter disappeared quickly, after commenting on how great the room looked. Hugues had a plan by then, and he spoke to her gently after they tasted the champagne.
“The general manager I worked for at the Ritz once told me that you never know how comfortable a room is unless you sleep in it yourself. I was thinking that maybe … if you agree … maybe we should try the suite tonight ourselves. I’d like us to be the first people who sleep here, while everything is brand new… How does that sound to you?” he asked her, and kissed her, and she smiled at him and put her arms around him. She had never been as happy with any man in her life. He was thoughtful and kind and considerate and such a loving person.
“I love that idea,” she said as they kissed, and then she looked at him with a worried expression. “What about talk in the hotel?” That always concerned her.
“There’s no reason why we can’t have dinner here, quite respectably. What happens after that is our business. I own the place and have every right to sleep here if I choose. And I can spirit you out a back way in the morning, for the sake of your reputation. My daughter did that once very effectively with a homeless person. If she can do it, so can we.” Natalie smiled at the story.
“That must have been quite something.”
“It was. She has a very charitable side to her and was determined to prove that charity begins at home. He spent the night out of the cold and had two solid meals before she sneaked him out. It turned up on the security screens the next day, but our head of security will be very discreet in this case. I trust Bruce completely. So what do you think?” He looked hopeful and boyish as he asked her. They had been seeing each other and dating for two months, and they were both ready to move forward together.
“I think I love you, Hugues,” she said softly. In fact, she knew it and so did he.
They ordered dinner in the suite that night and had a feast. Hugues put music on, and they both relaxed and talked until nearly midnight. The room service waiter who had delivered their dinner and cleared the trays saw nothing unusual about their having dinner in the newly redecorated suite to celebrate its completion, and didn’t even comment on it in the kitchen. And after that, with a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, the maids left them alone, and as the room was allegedly unoccupied, they had no reason to come in. He left his cell phone on, in case there was an emergency in the hotel, which was how the staff normally reached him since it was hard to know exactly where he was at any time. And if the owner wanted to try out the new suite, there was nothing surprising about that either. He had covered all the bases and finally turned the lights down low, kissed her, and led her into the bedroom when they were both ready.
