by Tamie Dearen
“If I’m telling the story, I’m telling it my way. Besides, it sounds so much better like that. So, have you told Henri yet?”
“Ohmygosh! No, I forgot. I’ve got to hang up with you so I can call him.”
“Bye, Mom. Skype me from Switzerland, okay?”
“Absolutely. Love you.”
Anne contacted Henri on Skype. She felt guilty when she spied the dark circles under his eyes. “You are calling really late tonight. But I am glad because I missed your call earlier. I was at the doctor’s office, with my sister and my niece.”
“What did they say? Do they have test results yet?”
“The numbers do not look good, but we do not know for certain. They are doing the scans tomorrow and Thursday. We will know something on Friday.”
“Henri, I’m so sorry. I’ll keep contacting you every day, but it may be at a different time. I’m going to be in Switzerland tomorrow through the weekend.”
“And why will you be in Switzerland?”
“It’s for work. We’re doing a big presentation in Bern.”
“Yes, I know. You have told me about your work, but you were not going before. Or you did not tell me.”
“It’s an emergency. It’s a long story that starts with Jeff Murphy…”
“That man is scum. What does he have to do with this?”
“I didn’t even realize you knew him. But Gherring fired him. He was… he was making suggestions to me about… you know…”
Henri’s brows furrowed. “Gherring should have never hired that man. I am glad he is gone.”
“But Jeff was doing part of the presentation, and the date got moved up, and I have to go so I can help them finish tomorrow because the presentation’s on Thursday. Please don’t be upset, Henri.”
“You are going with Steven Gherring?”
“Yes, with him and Jared. It’s not like we’ll ever be alone. It’s my job, Henri, and it’s important to me.”
Henri’s face relaxed. “I am sorry, angel. I do not want to cause you stress. I will not say any more about it. But if he does anything to hurt you, he will answer to me.”
“Thanks, Henri. Maybe I’ll get to practice my French in Bern. I’ll be ready for Paris.”
Henri waggled his eyebrows. “I am hoping you will practice your French with me, mon ange.”
“If Anna-Laure is really sick, will you still want me to come next week?”
His smile fell away. “If she is sick, I will need you to come. Even more.”
“I’m praying for her, Henri.”
“Merci! Please be safe. I don’t want to lose you. I think I could not handle any more pain.”
“Okay, Henri. I’ll talk to you soon.” Anne hung up, with more than a little concern. Henri seemed to be more and more dependent on her. She needed to be there for Henri because he didn’t seem to have anyone else.
Anne finished packing her bag and checked for the fourth time to be sure she had her passport. Then she picked up a pillow and held it to her face. She screamed into the pillow at the top of her lungs, “I’m flying to Switzerland tonight! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ahhhhhhh!”
She threw the pillow back onto her bed with a grin. “There—now I’m ready to go.”
Chapter Eleven - High Flying
Anne was too excited to sleep. Her first time to fly in a private jet. Her first time to go to another country. Her first time to get to use her passport. Her first time to visit Switzerland. Her first time to be a part of a huge business presentation involving millions of dollars’ worth of assets. As if that wasn’t enough, she was travelling with Steven Gherring, whose soft cashmere sweater only enhanced the appearance of his broad shoulders and hard muscles. She was grateful Jared Hanson was on the trip with her. He was almost as excited as she was, tempered only by having to leave his wife and new baby daughter behind. Despite the fact this was his first big presentation, he seemed more eager than nervous.
“This is great, isn’t it?” Jared explored the spacious main cabin. “These chairs are so comfortable. And they recline. And look, this part pulls out and it will lie flat, like a bed.”
“You should sleep now,” said Gherring.
“But it’s only eight o’clock,” said Anne. “I thought we’d work for a while.”
“We’ll sleep on the plane, and work when we get there tomorrow. We’ve got an eight-hour flight and we’re losing six hours. So it’ll be ten o’clock when we get to Bern. Sleeping now will cut down on jet-lag.”
“There’s no way I can go to sleep now. I’m way too excited.” Indeed Anne felt adrenaline pumping through her veins. She needed to go for a run to expel some excess energy.
“Not me,” said Jared. “I’m perpetually tired. I love Emery, but she still doesn’t sleep at night. I can fall asleep any time I want, and sometimes when I don’t want to.” He stretched his seat into a bed, grabbed a blanket, lay down, and promptly began to snore.
Meanwhile, Anne started reclining her chair, but Gherring stopped her. “Let me give you a sleeping pill. You really need to sleep, because I need you sharp tomorrow.”
“I don’t know. I’m kind of sensitive to drugs. I might over-react.”
“Oh yeah, I remember the Benadryl incident. How about half a pill? That should just make you relax.”
“Okay, I’ll try it. But don’t leave me behind on the plane if you can’t wake me in the morning.”
“I promise. But I’m taking a whole one. I need it.”
“What if we oversleep?” She swallowed the proffered half-pill with a swig from a bottled water.
Gherring laughed. “The pilots would wake us up, but I’ve already set my watch alarm to go off forty-five minutes before we get there. Come with me, and I’ll give you a quick tour first.”
Anne followed him from the main cabin through a small area with a compact kitchen on one side and a table and seating area on the other.
“There’s a bathroom here. Even has a small shower in the back. And the master bedroom is back here.”
“Wow—this is amazing. I can’t believe there’s room for this on the plane. And you have a flat screen TV in here. Why am I not surprised?”
“We’ve got a great selection of movies and shows to watch. Not very good television reception on overseas flights.”
“And do you have black lights in here and mood music? The world’s richest playboy’s private love plane?”
“The music starts automatically when I say the words, ‘You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.’” He reached his hand over and felt for a button on the wall. The room was immediately filled with the sound of bagpipes. Anne giggled hysterically.
“Oops, I must have said the wrong words.” He fumbled with the buttons while he spoke. “I think the correct phrase is, ‘Oh baby, you’re the best.’”
The music changed to soft jazz.
“Much better,” she said. “You’d better remember what to say. What if someone said, ‘Stop it! Stop it!’?”
He flipped the channel back to the bagpipe music.
She started giggling again. “Oh baby, you’re the best.”
She was rewarded with the soft jazz again, and she lay back on the bed. “What? No mirror on the ceiling? What’s a love nest with no mirror on the ceiling?”
He lay down next to her and locked his fingers behind his neck. “The mirror is actually hidden under that padded panel.” He pointed at the ceiling. “I’ve forgotten the magic words, though.”
“Hmmm, let’s see… Gosh, you’re really kind of fat.”
He grinned. “Nope, that’s not it. Oh, you don’t believe in shaving?”
She chortled noisily. “Ooo! Have you seen a doctor for that?”
He laughed and quickly countered. “So you actually paid good money for those?”
This time she laughed so hard she snorted, and he cheered, “I scored—I made you snort.”
They both laughed until there were tears in their eyes.
“Oh,” said Anne as the music ch
anged. “That’s Norah Jones. I love her voice. So smooth. I used to listen to her all the time. Who’s your favorite singer?” She relaxed, absorbing the music, letting her tension melt.
“Uhmm, I like listening to the Beatles, James Taylor, and old classics like Frank Sinatra. Really, I like jazz and rock and classical too. Just depends on the mood.”
They studied the ceiling in silence. “You know, I hope everything comes out good with this meeting. I’m so afraid they’ll hate it, and it’ll be all my fault for not making a good PowerPoint.”
“I’m not worried at all. If they don’t go for it, I’ll just buy them out and do what I want anyway. It’s simply more profitable for me this way. Anyway, your presentations are great. And I’m really impressed with your grasp of the concepts. I think you’ve been hiding something from me. Maybe you secretly have an MBA you didn’t mention. I bet you’re some kind of corporate spy.”
“That’s it. You found me out—I’m a pie. I mean I’m a spy.” She giggled. “And you, too—you’re Double-O Steven!”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Hmmm? What’d you say?”
“Are you drunk?”
“No, I’m not…” She turned on her side. “It’s kind of cold…”
Anne felt someone shaking her arm. “Anne… Anne you need to wake up now.”
She stretched and pried her eyes open. She felt warm and cozy under her blanket. “Mmmm, I think I’ll just sleep here tonight. It’s a really big bed.” She chuckled, reluctant to move in her relaxed state.
“Anne, you did sleep here. You’ve been asleep here for seven hours.”
“What!” She jerked up, frantically looking around. She’d slept in a bed with Steven Gherring. And he didn’t have a shirt on. What else had she done? She tried desperately to remember.
“I thought you might want to go pretend to be asleep out there before I wake Jared up. Not that it matters to me—being the world’s richest playboy and all—but I know you worry about these things.”
“Ohmygosh, Ohmygosh! We didn’t… uhmm? We didn’t…”
“Of course we didn’t. You’re still dressed aren’t you? So am I.” Her eyes fell on his bare chest. “Well, I’m mostly dressed. I still have my pants on.”
“Why didn’t you make me move?”
“Really? Are you kidding? When you go to sleep, nothing will move you.” He shook his head. “At least when you take a sleeping pill of any sort. Even half a pill. Anyway, do you want to go protect your reputation?”
“Oh yeah, I do.” She hurried toward the main cabin where Jared was still snoring softly in the same position. Anne lay down on her reclined chair.
He walked up behind her with a pillow and blanket and whispered, “You’ve got about ten minutes, if you want to snooze a little more.”
“I don’t think I can sleep now. My heart’s beating kind of fast.”
“Mine, too.” His breath on her ear sent a chill down her spine.
Anne unpacked in her room at the Bellevue Palace, pausing long enough to admire the accommodations. She hadn’t done a lot of traveling, but this was by far the nicest hotel she’d ever seen. Her room was small, but nicely decorated and furnished with pieces that looked custom rather than mass-produced. A relaxing blue color coated the walls, and the queen bed was covered with a lovely duvet. There was marble in the bathroom, and a guest bathrobe hung in the closet. Anne thought she’d be quite comfortable here, noting her view was similar to that of her New York apartment. She quickly freshened up and changed clothes, preparing for a long day working with Jared and Gherring in his suite on the top floor.
When Anne knocked on Gherring’s door, Jared opened it with a broad smile.
“Wait ‘til you see this room—it’s awesome. It’s even got bullet-proof glass. There’re two bathrooms. And there’s a view of the Bernese Alps over the Aare River. Come see.”
Anne followed Jared through the suite, allowing him to give her the grand tour. His enthusiasm was contagious and Anne had the same sensation she’d gotten when visiting Gram at her estate. It was rather dream-like and surreal. She observed Gherring’s amused expression as Jared exclaimed about all the great features of the Presidential Suite.
“The view is gorgeous,” she agreed. “But I really love the chandelier and all the furniture. Are you sure it’s okay to sit on this stuff?”
Gherring gave her a bemused smile. “We could order up a metal folding chair for you if you’d be more comfortable.”
Anne had already stretched out on the couch with her laptop in her lap. “Nope, I’m fine right here.” Then a terrible thought occurred. “Oh no—did Katie change the reservation for the meeting room to tomorrow?”
“Ms. Carson has taken care of all those changes with the hotels and the companies. You need to concentrate on the presentation. We can’t go to sleep tonight until we’re done.”
“So I guess we’re working though lunch and dinner?” Jared asked.
“No worries. The room service here is amazing. We’ll have to hold back so we don’t eat ourselves into a stupor.”
The three started working in earnest, stopping for a quick lunch around two thirty. Anne had finished Jeff’s PowerPoint and was entering the last of Jared and Gherring’s information on slides. They were planning the logistics of the actual presentation at the meeting.
“So I guess I’m free to wander the city tomorrow.” Anne was excited about the chance to explore Bern, even by herself.
“Well, actually I think I want you to be in the meeting tomorrow,” Gherring said. “I’ve found through experience a team presentation is more easily accepted. Somehow, if it seems the ideas are just coming from me, people feel defensive. So it’s very important you don’t come across as a secretary. Or even as an executive assistant. You’re a team member in the Contract, Merger, and Acquisition department, just like Jared.”
“But you and Jared will do all the talking, right?” Anne felt a little light-headed.
“I think you should have at least a small part,” Gherring said. “Nothing to be nervous about. You can just give the introductory information, and then I’ll take over before we get to the parts where there can be questions.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have this fear of public speaking. I could blow this whole thing for you.”
“There are several female executives who’ll be present tomorrow. They won’t like it if you don’t say anything at all. They’ll see me as being anti-feminist and repressive. I would’ve brought Shanna Matheson if she weren’t out on maternity leave. So this could actually be a lucky thing for us.” His blue eyes bored into hers. “Of course, I won’t force you to speak if you don’t want to.”
“I’m not refusing. I want to help, but—”
“Great—then it’s settled,” said Gherring with a satisfied smile. Anne felt her heart beating franticly, but made no further protest.
Jared, who’d been silently observing the exchange, winked at Anne. “Thanks for the lesson in negotiation, Mr. Gherring.”
When Gherring turned his back, Anne stuck out her tongue at Jared, who laughed and reciprocated in the same fashion.
By five o’clock the group, feeling stiff from inactivity, decided by consensus to take a short break. Anne slipped her coat on and walked onto the balcony to call Henri.
“I’m standing on a balcony, overlooking the river and the Alps.”
“I wish I could be there,” he said. “It kills me to know you are so close. Are you at the Bellevue Palace? That’s where he usually stays in Bern.”
“Yes—it’s amazing. We’re in the Presidential Suite.”
“We? You are staying with Gherring in his room?”
“No, don’t be silly. Jared and I are working in the suite with Mr. Gherring. I have my own room.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Come on, Henri. Jealousy doesn’t become you. There’s nothing to be jealous of, anyway. Unless you think I’m the kind of girl
who’d be in a threesome.”
“Hmmm,” Henri pretended to think. “No. The girls I’ve had threesome’s with were nothing like you.”
“Henri! You’ve actually—”
“I am teasing you. You are so easy to tease. I cannot resist. You believe anything.”
Anne chuckled for a moment before sobering at the thought of Henri’s niece. “Do you know any more about Anna-Laure?” Did she have more tests done?”
“She had a bone scan today. And now they’ve scheduled an MRI tomorrow.”
“So when will you know something?”
“Probably not until Friday.”
“Well, we’ll be here until Saturday, I think.” She realized she hadn’t asked Gherring if they would return earlier since the presentation was a day early. Gherring might have scheduled a Friday return. Certainly Jared would be anxious to get home to his wife and baby Emery. “Anyway, you can call me as soon as you know something.”
Back inside, Anne discovered Jared hadn’t yet returned, so she got on Skype and managed to connect with Charlie.
“Just look at this room.” She circled the room while aiming the camera outward. “Isn’t it amazing? And that’s the Alps over there. You can see them past the river.”
“Wow, Mom. It’s beautiful. Have you gotten to tour or shop or see anything?”
“No, but hopefully I’ll get to see something on Friday before we leave. We have the big meeting tomorrow, so I’m guessing that’s an all-day thing.”
Gherring walked up behind her. “We don’t need to leave early. I love Switzerland, even in November. We can wait until Saturday to leave.”
“Awesome,” said Anne. “I guess I’ll see Bern on Friday.”
“Did you finally get a stamp in your passport?” asked Charlie.
“I did, but we had to ask them to do it. I didn’t know they don’t automatically stamp your passport when you fly on a private plane.”
“So, now that’s off your bucket list. What’s next?”
“I don’t know. I also got to fly on a private jet, and that wasn’t even on the list. Hmmm, maybe seeing my girls married and having grandkids.”