“While you think about that, we’ve only ten more minutes before we have to get back to Bobby,” Edward said. “Let’s try to make the most of those ten minutes.”
He pulled her into a kiss that made her mind go blank.
Chapter 10
“You’re late,” Bobby snapped as they walked back into his suite at five minutes past five.
Edward shrugged. “We had a lot to discuss,” he replied.
Mr. Harrison had opened the door for them. As they’d entered, Janet had heard his whispered remark to Edward. “He’s in a terrible mood,” Mr. Harrison had said.
“How are you feeling?” Janet asked, her voice full of concern. “Does your head still ache? Has the swelling gone down? Did you manage to get any sleep?”
Bobby blinked several times and then shrugged. “I feel like shi, er, awful,” he snapped. “And, apparently, I can’t have any more painkillers.”
“Oh, dear,” Janet said. She turned to the nurse and switched to French. “He’s grumpy, anyway,” she said.
The nurse nodded. “He wasn’t very happy when I woke him every hour. Now he’s demanding more tablets, but he needs to wait another two hours before he can have more.”
Janet nodded sympathetically. “Do you have something else you could give him? Sugar pills or vitamins? Something you could tell him was a strong painkiller?”
The nurse raised an eyebrow. “I’m not certain that’s a good idea,” she said hesitantly.
“It’s better than listening to him complain all afternoon,” Janet suggested.
“I hope you’re convincing her to give me something for my head,” Bobby said loudly. “I can’t communicate with her.”
Janet translated his words for the woman. She sighed and then crossed the room to where she’d left her bag. Janet joined her as the nurse opened a case.
“Children’s gummy vitamins,” she told Janet. “He’ll have to know that they aren’t proper painkillers.”
“Not if they’re sold to him properly,” Janet replied with a wink.
The nurse tipped two bright purple gummies into a small paper cup. Janet grinned.
“They look yummy,” she said.
“They’re very sweet and they taste of blackcurrant,” the nurse told her.
“Bobby, you aren’t really meant to have any more tablets for another three hours,” Janet said in English as she walked towards Bobby. She added an hour to what the nurse had told her in the hopes that he’d be pleasantly surprised if he was given his next tablets a bit earlier than he’d expected. “I’ve managed to persuade the nurse to give you these, though. They’re not like anything you’ve ever had in the US. She’s only allowing you to have them because you’re going to be under her supervision while you’re taking them.”
She held out the cup. Bobby looked into it and frowned. “They don’t look like painkillers,” he said.
“You need to chew them up before you swallow them, and then drink a large glass of water,” Janet improvised. “Because they’re chewy, they work a good deal faster than hard tablets.”
Bobby didn’t look convinced, but he took one of the vitamins and put it in his mouth. “It doesn’t taste too bad,” he said.
While he was chewing the second one, Janet went over to the large bar and got him a glass of water. He swallowed the gummy and then drank the water.
“As I said, they’re very fast. You should feel better in ten minutes, maybe even less,” Janet told him as she took the empty glass away from him.
He frowned and then walked over and sat down on one of the couches. “We were supposed to be having dinner at the Eye-fell Tower tonight,” he said. “I don’t think I’m up to it.”
“Do you want me to ring Theodore and have him cancel dinner?” Janet asked.
Bobby shook his head. “I don’t want to stop everyone else from enjoying Paris. They should all go. You should go, too. Edward speaks enough French to keep me company for tonight. Tomorrow I have business meetings, though. I’ll need you for those.”
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Bobby groaned. “They don’t have to bang that loudly,” he complained.
“The taxis will be here in half an hour,” Theodore said when Mr. Harrison had let him into the room. “Everyone is looking forward to dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower.”
“I’m not going,” Bobby said. “My head hurts too much. Besides, someone in that group tried to kill me and I don’t feel like socializing with you all right now.”
Theodore looked shocked. “We’re all terribly upset about your accident…” he began.
Bobby held up a hand. “I was pushed, and this wasn’t the first time someone has tried to kill me in the past two months. I’m going to stay here with my bodyguards and my nurse. I’ll see you at nine tomorrow. Actually, make it eight, here in my suite. I may have some things to discuss with you before the meeting at nine.”
Theodore nodded. “I’ll tell the others that they’ll have to make their own plans for dinner.”
“Nonsense,” Bobby snapped. “You go, all of you. Take Janet, as well. She deserves a nice dinner. She talked my nurse into giving me more powerful painkillers.”
“Are you sure you won’t need her?” Theodore asked.
“It’s only dinner, and I need to keep her happy.” Bobby turned to Janet. “I’ll need you to come back here after dinner, though, just in case I need something before bed.”
Janet nodded. “Are you quite certain that you don’t simply want me to stay?”
“I’m quite certain,” he said. “I’m going to sit and stare at the television until my head feels better and then I’ll order room service. You go and have fun with my nearest and dearest.”
Janet looked at Edward. He shrugged. “Enjoy,” he said.
“What time do we leave?” she asked Theodore.
“We’re meeting in twenty minutes in the lobby,” he told her. “Don’t be late.”
The implied threat was enough to send her rushing out of the room. She waved to Edward and Bobby and then nearly ran to the lifts. Back in her room, she changed into the first nice dress she found. Dumping the contents of her everyday bag into a much smaller evening bag, she found herself struggling to get the bag to shut. A glance at the clock had her deciding that she didn’t care. She made certain her room key and the little heart Edward had given her were in the bag and headed for the door.
When she reached the lobby, Theodore was standing near the building’s entrance, staring at his watch and frowning.
“I hope I’m not late,” Janet said.
“You’re first,” he snarled. “Next time I’ll tell the rest of them to be here half an hour before our taxi is due.”
Janet blew out a breath. “I was afraid I was going to be late,” she told him.
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have left you behind. Bobby would have been furious if I had.”
Gee, thanks, Janet thought.
“Where’s Bobby?” Neil asked as he walked into the lobby.
“He’s not coming,” Theodore told him. “He wants us to go anyway.”
Neil sighed. “I wanted to go over a few things with him before tomorrow.”
“You can go over them with me and I’ll discuss them with Bobby in the morning,” Theodore told him.
“I suppose that will have to do,” Neil said grudgingly.
“We’re here,” Lucy announced loudly, walking into the lobby, pulling Tony by the hand.
“Only five minutes late. That’s almost a record for you,” Theodore replied.
“How is my father?” Lucy asked, looking from Theodore to Janet and back again. “Have either of you seen him?”
“I saw him a little while ago,” Janet said, after Theodore remained silent for a minute. “His head hurts, but he has a nurse with him and she’s been giving him pain medication whenever possible.”
“Did he say anything about the accident?” she asked. “Did he feel dizzy or anything before he fell over? I d
idn’t want to ask him anything over lunch, but I’m quite worried about him.”
“He claims he was pushed,” Theodore said.
Lucy gasped. “Why would someone push a random stranger into the road?” she asked.
“According to your father, one of us pushed him,” Theodore told her. “And, apparently, there have been several other attempts on his life in the last two months.”
Lucy shook her head. “That’s just crazy.”
“Someone tried to stab him on the flight to London,” Dixie said as she joined them. “You can’t deny that.”
“Surely that was just a weird accident,” Lucy replied. “Daddy probably had the knife in his pocket and then rolled over on it or something. You aren’t suggesting that someone actually tried to stab him, are you?”
Dixie nodded. “I saw the knife in his chest. It very much looked as if someone had tried to stab him. I’m not sure why he or she didn’t succeed, actually.”
“Why did you think your father has security guards here?” Janet asked.
“Daddy hires and fires security people every other day,” Lucy told her. “A few years ago, he was convinced that someone was planning to kidnap me. I had to have a bodyguard with me everywhere I went for like six months. Then Daddy decided it was all okay again and he fired the entire team.”
“How many of them were you sleeping with?” Tony asked.
Lucy shrugged. “Most of them were young and single and very sexy. Why shouldn’t I have slept with them?”
“There’s the taxi,” Theodore interrupted. “Let’s go.”
“Daddy isn’t coming, then?” Lucy asked Janet.
She shook her head. “He’s going to order something from room service later.”
Lucy sighed. “I was looking forward to standing at the top of the Eye-fell Tower with him.”
“We’re in France for twelve more days,” Theodore said. “You should get another chance.”
They walked out of the building and climbed into the waiting taxi. Theodore had ordered a minivan, so there was room for everyone. It didn’t take the driver long to get them to the Eiffel Tower.
“We’ll call you when we’re finished,” Theodore told the driver as they exited the vehicle.
The driver said something in French. Janet stopped and then walked around to the driver’s door to speak to him.
“He wants to ring you when we’re finished,” she explained to the driver.
“He can ring the office, but there may not be a large vehicle available without notice. We may have to send two cars,” the driver explained.
“Perhaps we should simply get two cars from the taxi rank,” Janet suggested.
The man shrugged. “I’ve plenty of other jobs for tonight. I don’t care what you do.”
Janet laughed. “If it were up to me, we would simply walk back to the hotel, but it won’t be up to me.”
He nodded. “If you do ring, ask for me.” He handed her a card with his name and the number of his taxi. “I’ll do my best to get back.”
“Thank you,” Janet replied, sliding the card into her pocket.
The others were standing nearby, frowning at her.
As they walked towards the tower, Janet told them about her conversation with the man.
“You should have arranged a time for him to return, then,” Theodore said. “I don’t want to pay for two taxis back to the hotel.”
“I’m more than happy to walk back to the hotel,” Janet replied. “If someone else wants to join me, the rest of you would fit into a single car.”
“Let’s see how much I drink,” Dixie said with a laugh. “If I can still walk, I’ll walk.”
There was a long queue of people waiting to take the lift up the tower. Janet spotted the discreet sign for the restaurant and led the others to a second, shorter queue. A few minutes later, having had their reservation confirmed, they were whisked up the tower and shown to their table.
“We’re very high,” Lucy said, holding on tightly to Tony as they walked.
“Do heights bother you?” Janet asked, concerned by how pale the woman had gone.
“They won’t once I’ve had a few drinks,” Lucy assured her.
“Wine,” Theodore told the man who’d shown them to their table.
“I’ll send someone,” he replied.
Before Janet had even had time to read through the menu, Theodore had ordered two bottles of wine, one red and one white. Lucy, who was next to Janet, looked through the menu and then sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Janet asked.
“I don’t remember enough French to know what any of this is,” Lucy replied. “And I don’t trust the English translations, either. There are three sentences of French about each dish and then it says ‘chicken in white wine sauce’ in English. What does the rest of it say?”
“I’m more than happy to translate the menu for you,” Janet told her, although “more than happy” was an exaggeration.
“Does anyone else want help with the menu?” Lucy asked loudly.
“Absolutely,” Tony said.
“Yes, please,” Theodore added.
Neil didn’t reply, but he looked at Janet as she opened her copy of the menu.
“Starters?” she asked.
“What’s a starter?” Tony demanded.
Janet frowned. “Small plates of food that you have before your meal,” she explained. “Do you call them something different in America?”
“Appetizers,” Dixie told her. “And yes, I think we’d all like to try some of the appetizers.”
Janet read down the list, skipping the lengthy explanations unless she felt they were necessary. The group decided to share three different options. The waiter returned with the wine before Janet had even started reading through the main course options.
“Order the appetizers,” Theodore suggested. “Otherwise we’ll be here all night.”
Ten minutes later, Janet was ready to drink an entire bottle of wine herself. She felt as if she’d read the entire menu a dozen times and people still hadn’t decided what to order.
“What was the second chicken one again?” Lucy asked.
Janet sighed and then slowly read the long description of the dish. It sounded delicious, although Janet had read it so many times now that she wasn’t sure she’d actually enjoy anything.
“That one,” Lucy decided. “Are there options for the side dishes?”
Janet shook her head. “Everything comes exactly as described on the menu,” she told her.
Lucy sighed. “I suppose that will have to do, then.”
Now that Lucy had chosen, the others were quick to make up their minds. When the waiter returned with their starters, Janet placed the order.
“So, Janet, you asked us all a lot of questions earlier today. It’s time for us to find out more about you,” Lucy said as the waiter walked away. “Tell us about your husband.”
Janet took a sip of wine while she tried to work out how best to reply. “I met him when he came to stay at the bed and breakfast that my sister and I own in Doveby Dale,” she told her. “Doveby Dale is a village in Derbyshire.”
“Fascinating,” Neil said. “Theodore, let’s run through the meeting schedule for tomorrow.” He pulled out his phone and looked expectantly at Theodore.
“Sure,” the other man replied, pulling out his own mobile.
“Boring,” Lucy whispered.
“You don’t work for the business?” Janet asked.
Lucy shrugged. “On paper, I’m a vice president, but my father doesn’t really want me involved.”
“You know that isn’t true,” Dixie said. “Your father would love it if you started taking an interest in the company. He’s very worried about what’s going to happen to everything when he’s ready to retire.”
“He won’t ever retire,” Lucy replied. “He’d go crazy without work to keep him busy.”
“That’s another reason why these attempts on his life will have upset him
so much,” Dixie added. “If he dies suddenly, you’d be left to take over the business, and you aren’t ready to do that.”
Lucy looked at Janet. “There’s one possible explanation,” she said. “Maybe my father is pretending to get attacked in an effort to get me take a larger role in the company. It’s not much crazier than some of the other things he’s done over the years.”
“Really?” Janet asked.
“When I finished high school, he gave me my own cattle ranch,” Lucy told her. “I didn’t know anything about owning a ranch. I moved into the main house and basically just played at everything until the situation got so bad that my father had to take over.”
“Your father thought that you’d try to learn how to manage the ranch,” Dixie said.
“He doesn’t understand me,” Lucy complained. “I want to be an artist, not a cattle rancher.”
“He paid for you to go to art school,” Dixie replied.
Lucy sighed. “Art school,” she scoffed. “Classes all day, every day. Paint this, not that. Draw this, not that. Sculpt this, not that. It’s impossible to expand your creativity when you’re given nothing but restrictions.”
Dixie sighed. “He also paid for you to go around the world to feed your creativity.”
“That was good,” Lucy admitted. “I enjoyed that trip a lot, even if I didn’t come back with much in the way of art. I had fun, though, and it definitely fed my creativity.”
“Have you done much art since you got back?” Janet asked.
Dixie laughed harshly. “She went on that trip when she was nineteen,” she told Janet. “That was over twenty years ago. Since then, she’s started a dozen paintings and finished none.”
“I finished the one I gave you,” Lucy countered. “And I did one for my mother, as well.”
Dixie sighed. “My dear girl, what if something awful happens to your father? You need to learn what you’re going to need to know to run the business.”
“Theodore can manage that,” Lucy said carelessly.
“And I’d be more than happy to help him,” Tony interjected.
Lucy looked surprised and then shrugged. “Yeah, sure, I mean, once Tony and I are married, he could help, too.”
The Armstrong Assignment (A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Book 1) Page 11
