Hotel Vendome

NATALIE MOVED INTO high gear in October on redecorating the suite. She found the hotel staff efficient, and with some supervision on her part, the painters mixed the paints in exactly the right shades. She kept a close eye on everything, which brought her to the hotel every day. Sometimes Hugues came up to see how things were going, or she stopped in to see him with questions or samples. She didn’t want to disturb him, but they were both using every excuse they could to get to know each other better and spend a moment together in the midst of their busy days. And more than once he invited her upstairs to his apartment for lunch and ordered sandwiches from room service for both of them. He thoroughly enjoyed her company, and she felt the same way about him.

“I should really have you do some work up here too,” he said one day, looking around at his apartment, which hadn’t been altered since they moved in. And Heloise still slept in her childhood room, which was filled with souvenirs from when she was a little girl. Her doll from Eva Adams was still sitting on a shelf. “I wouldn’t know where to start,” he admitted, “and I guess this should be last on my list.” Right now, his focus and hers was on the suite she was doing, which was one of the largest and best in the hotel. And he was extremely happy with the minor adjustments she had made to several other rooms, just by adding or subtracting a few things, or trading furniture and objects between rooms. It gave each room she touched a whole new look. And she had suggested several new lamps and light fixtures, and some more art, to bring the hotel’s appearance slightly more up to date, without changing the elegant flavor of the hotel. She had a great eye for detail.

“All you need here is a fresh coat of paint, a little more light, and maybe some new curtains. I’ll see what we have left over after we finish the suite.” He loved that idea, as he smiled at her over their sandwiches. She was a practical, down-to-earth woman, who worked like a Trojan and had great taste. It was an excellent combination, and her philosophies about life and her work ethic were very similar to his. And one of the things he liked best about her was her obvious integrity. She was an honest woman, while never being unkind or blunt, and it was what she respected most in him as well. And beyond that, there was a chemistry between them that neither of them could put their finger on, which disregarded position, rank, or age. She was attracted to him, and he to her, and she loved how comfortable they were with each other. She stretched out her long legs as they finished lunch, and smiled at him. Her long, straight blond hair was pulled back, and he loved her looks; she managed to look both distinguished and sexy at the same time, just as he did in his white shirts and dark suits and handsome ties.

They’d been meeting quietly on weekends too, away from the hotel, for pizza and a movie, or a hamburger at restaurants downtown. Neither of them was sure if it was dating, but they were spending time together and always had a good time. And he had taken to calling her at night before he went to bed. She kept the same late hours he did, and they both worked often after midnight. It was a happy end to her day when her phone rang so he could say good night. And then they would somehow manage to run into each other the next day, by accident or design. It was hard for both of them now to imagine a time when they weren’t part of each other’s daily lives.

“So what’s next after they finish painting?” Hugues asked. It had taken longer than he expected, although the painters were moving as quickly as they could under her meticulous direction, and they were just putting the additional touches on the moldings. It was looking even better than either of them had hoped, and the bathroom was already finished with a fresh paint job and a pretty new chandelier that she had found in the hotel’s storage lockers downstairs. She was using as much of what they already had as she could, to keep expenses down, which he appreciated too.

“Everything’s at the upholsterer now. I had some of the art reframed. The electricians are putting in the new fixtures next week. We can’t put the carpet in for two more weeks, and after that we’ll be ready for the installation. I promised you’d have the suite up and running again by Thanksgiving, and I think we’re almost there.” She looked pleased and so did he. And they agreed that the two new paintings were going to add some real power to the room.