***Thursday***
Jennifer snuck out of the office around 3, and headed home to finish packing.
Hayleigh arrived at her condo at 5 and they took a taxi to the airport.
"Did our tickets come?"
"Yes, they did."
She pulled them out and handed Hayleigh's to her.
"Awesome!"
"What?"
"Have you looked at the ticket?"
"No".
"We are flying first-class".
"No way!"
"Yes way".
"Well, that was very kind of him".
"I agree".
They got to the airport and got checked in.
"Here is a voucher for a free travel pack for each of you. You can redeem it in that gift shop right there".
"Thank you".
They went to redeem their vouchers and then came back.
"Ok, can I ask you something?"
"Sure".
"Is this Hart guy your boss or something?"
"Well, I don't know. I never thought of him like that, but I guess he could be…he's the chairman of the board, and I'm on the board. But he doesn't pay me or anything".
"He's the best chairman of the board ever. Look at what's in this pack!"
She opened her pack to find noise-canceling headphones, a neck pillow, a nice-sized blanket and a bottle of fresh face spray.
"This is very nice".
Jennifer went and browsed in the bookstore till it was time to board their flight.
They were excited to see that they had pods in first-class.
Their pods were together, so they got settled and then Jennifer pulled out the envelope the tickets had come in.
There was an envelope with a note inside.
"Thanks again for doing this. Use this money for your meals, and whatever else you need. Have a safe trip-Jonathan Hart".
Jennifer counted the cash.
"Hayleigh….we hit the jackpot".
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, he gave us $5000 in cash for meals and whatever else we need all weekend".
"Well, I say we live it up. Unless, we decide to eat cheap all weekend and keep the difference".
"Stick with me, I'll take us to the best restaurants".
They both relaxed and watched a movie and eventually fell asleep.
They landed the next morning just after sunrise.
Jennifer had slept a good bit, but she was ready for a shower.
"Ok, first order of business. Bags and then hotel for a shower. Later this afternoon, we'll go scout it out".
"Perfect".
***A few hours later***
Jennifer and Hayleigh had both eaten and showered. They were in love with their hotel. Their suite at the hotel had 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, plus a shared living room and kitchen area. They had a picture window in the living room that overlooked the Eiffel tower.
Both beds in the bedrooms were king-sized beds and had the plushest bedding either of them had ever experienced.
After they had showered, they had ordered in room service.
Once they were feeling normal, they decided to get dressed and head to the company to look around.
They went to the lobby and Jennifer hailed them a cab.
"118 Boulevard Saint-Germain, s'il vous plait".
"Oui madame".
They rode along to the address, and Hayleigh was in awe. She had never been to France, ever.
The cab pulled over.
"Madame, cette adresse n'existe pas. Il n'y a pas de 118."
"What is he saying?"
"He said the address didn't exist".
She pulled a picture out of her tote bag.
It was a picture of the front of the company building with the logo.
"C'est la que nous essayons d'aller". (This is where we need to go.)
He nodded and drove them a little further down the street.
He pointed to the remains of a charred, burnt to a crisp building.
"Voulez-vous nous attendre?" (Will you wait for us?)
He nodded.
They got out and took some pictures. Jennifer managed to find a piece of the building that still had the address and took a picture of that.
About 10 minutes later, they got back in the cab and headed back to the hotel.
She dropped the film off to be developed at the front desk.
They decided to head to the louvre, and Notre Dame.
They had dinner at one of Jennifer's favorite restaurants and then headed back to the hotel.
They ordered a movie from the tv, and then after it was over, headed to bed.
***Saturday***
Jennifer and Hayleigh went and had breakfast at a quaint little café that Jennifer loved. Afterwards, they went to the Eiffel tower, the love bridge, and the Sacre-Coeur, to see the Basilica.
They spent the afternoon in the spa at their hotel.
They both got a hydration treatment, a Balinese massage, and a deluxe facial.
After they were finished, they headed up to their room.
"That was amazing. I have never had a massage feel so good".
"Yeah, same here."
"This city is amazing. I am going to have to come back here, for sure".
"I have always loved France. Such a calming place. I can feel my mother here, actually".
Hayleigh and Jennifer met when Jennifer moved to California and answered an ad at the supermarket for a roommate. She and Hayleigh had lived together for 2 years before Jennifer bought a condo.
"How old were you when you lost her?"
"12".
"That's a tough age".
"Yeah, it was."
They stayed up about another hour chatting and then they headed to bed.
***Sunday***
Jennifer and Hayleigh went to another breakfast café and then headed to the arc de triomphe before heading to the airport.
Jennifer was sad to see this trip end, but she was looking forward to being back home also.
They got the first-class pods again on the way home, and they both watched a movie and slept.
They landed just after sunrise in LA, and took a taxi to Jennifer's condo.
She had just enough time to shower and change and head to the office without being too late.
"I'll call you tonight".
"Sounds good".
An hour later, she was at the office.
She worked pretty steadily till 2, when Deanne called.
"Hello, this is Jennifer Edwards".
"Hi, this is Deanne. Mr. Hart asked me to let you know that there will be a board meeting tonight at 5, specifically to discuss the French Acquisition".
"I'll be there. Also, can you tell Mr. Hart, that I would like to speak with him before the meeting? I can get there about 4:15".
"Certainly".
"Thank you".
She clocked out at 4, and headed to Hart Industries.
She made her way to Jonathan's floor and approached Deanne.
"Mr. Hart had to take a phone call. He'll be with you as soon as he can".
"Thank you".
She sat down and waited.
He still hadn't come out of the office by the time the meeting was set to start.
She headed to the conference room and went in with everyone else. A few minutes later he came and joined them.
"Sorry everyone, I was on an important business call. This meeting is officially called to order. We have some housekeeping duties to attend to first. The fiscal year has just begun, so in your folders you will find our year end numbers. Also, our Fall Ball is only a week away. As board members, you all get in free. You will be introduced at the ball this year, so please try and make it. There is no theme, but it is formal. For your convenience, an invitation is inside each of your folders. Ok, so now we are going to listen to two gentlemen from Radios D'Usine, Incorpores. After they are finished, we will vote, and then I will sign the paperwork."
They listened to the men give their speech. One spoke in French, while the other spoke in English, that was broken only about ¼ of the time.
About halfway through the speech, Jennifer started noticing that the translation wasn't adding up. She quickly wrote a note to Jonathan.
"Let me ask them questions before the vote. Trust me".
He nodded.
She wrote down two key phrases that he said.
"Ok, thank you. Now, our new board member Jennifer Edwards has a few questions she would like to ask".
"Gentlemen, you mentioned that you recently put a new roof on the factory and new flooring, is that right?"
"Oui, Madame."
"When did that take place?"
"March."
"I see. And what about the windows, are they new as well?"
"Oui, the windows are new, too".
"Great, great. So, one last thing. Can you confirm the location of the building?"
"We don't understand".
"Address. What is the address of the building?"
"118 Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris".
"That's very interesting. Because you see, I went to France this past weekend. Got back this morning actually. And when I went to that address, it wasn't there."
"It wasn't?"
"No, it wasn't. That address doesn't exist. So, I showed my taxi driver this picture, with your company logo on it. That is, your company logo, isn't it?"
She slid the paper to them.
"Oui".
"Let me spell it out for you. Last month, when you two were here at the board meeting, I heard something. In case you haven't figured it out, I speak French, fluently. And I heard you tell him "Il n'a aucune idee de son affaire", which in English means "He has no idea he's making a bum deal". Then, I went to Paris, and went to the factory. It's not at the address you gave us. That address is in a wonderful, beautiful part of the city. Your company was located in the worst part of Paris, where it's dirty and there's virtually no police protection. And it too, doesn't exist."
Jonathan was shocked.
"It doesn't?!"
"No. It burned down some time ago".
"C'est absurde".
"You're right, it is preposterous. But it's also true. And these pictures prove it".
She slid the pictures to Jonathan, who looked at them and then passed them around to the other board members.
Jennifer turned to the two Frenchmen.
"Ma mere etait Francaise et ma famille aime beaucoup la France. Vous devriez avoir honte de vous deux. Vous avez apporte le deshonneur et le deshonneur a la France". (My mother was French and my family loves France, very much. You two should be ashamed of yourselves. You have brought disgrace and dishonor to France).
Jonathan turned to the two businessmen.
"Miss Edwards, how do you say 'no deal' in French?"
"Pas d'entente".
Jonathan looked at them sternly and said 'Pas d'entente'.
They nodded, mumbled an apology, and then stood up.
One of the Frenchmen looked at Jennifer and said "Merci beaucoup votre salope stupide. Va te faire pisser".
Jennifer's mouth dropped open and she stood up and let a few choice words of her own fly before they left the room. They shot her the bird as they left.
"Before we adjourn this meeting, I just want to thank Jennifer for going to Paris and checking it out and saving Hart Industries from a tragic mistake. I'm not the least bit aware of what he just said to her, but I hope I can confidently say I don't share the sentiment".
She blushed.
"Does anyone else in here speak French?"
They all shook their heads no.
"Ok, so I won't repeat what he said. I will just put it like this. He sarcastically thanked me and called me stupid and a name commonly used to refer to a woman who hasn't any morals or values. And then he told me to do something very specific and unattractive to myself. As for what I said to him, let's just say he should have no problem figuring out what I think of him, and while it isn't a polite thing to say here in the US, it is rather common in France. Still, I lost my cool and I apologize".
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you were very much entitled to your reaction".
They all echoed the sentiment.
"This meeting is adjourned. We will meet again in 3 weeks and I hope to see all of you at the Fall Ball this Saturday at the Collonnade."
They all stood up to leave, and Jennifer waited for Jonathan in the hall.
"Hi, I just wanted to apologize again. I don't normally react like that. I can get a little feisty when I get angry, I guess it's the hair".
"It's ok. I apologize on their behalf. And thank you again, you really saved us from a horrible mistake".
"My pleasure. Goodnight".
She headed towards the parking garage while he locked up.
He caught up with her just as she was about to get in the car.
"Jennifer-I meant what I said. I really do hope to see you at the Ball".
She looked into his eyes.
"I'll be there, I wouldn't miss it".
"Great. See you then".
She nodded and got in the car and headed to the condo.
Jonathan drove home also, thinking of Jennifer the whole way.
***Friday***
Jennifer was at the office, when the phone rang.
"Hello, this is Jennifer Edwards".
"Hi, this is Nick from Coastal Remodel. Your house is finished, but I need you to come do a final walk through. Can we meet tonight at 6?"
"Absolutely".
"I'll see you then".
"Thank you".
They hung up, and she worked till 3. She went and met her source for an interview.
They met at a little café out of the way.
"Hi, did you get the proof?"
"Yes, and I know for a fact they are going to do another dump next Thursday night. If you can get that on film, it will really beef up your article".
"What time?"
"Trucks aren't allowed to come before 9. So, anytime between 9 and 12".
"Perfect. Thank you".
She left and headed to her condo and then changed clothes.
She pulled up to the house at 5:30 and parked.
She walked inside and found Nick.
She was in awe. It was exactly what she had envisioned. The walls were all painted the perfect shades, and the step in her bedroom was exquisite.
"We covered it in carpet too, so that it would look uniform. But we left the sides exposed, like you asked."
"I love it".
She did the walk-through and they meticulously scrutinized every inch of the house.
"Ok, hit me with the total."
She pulled out her checkbook.
"Well, the final total was $34,000. However, you only owe $14,000."
"How is that possible?"
"Jonathan Hart came by and paid us $20,000. Told us to do the carpet and whatever you wanted and thanked us several times. I'm sorry, I assumed you knew".
"I had no idea".
She wrote them a check for the rest, plus a little extra, and handed it to them.
"Allow me to add my thanks. This is amazing".
"Thank you, ma'am. Pleasure doing business with you".
She immediately went home and started packing.
Hayleigh stopped by around 8.
"Hey, come on in".
"You look busy".
"I'm not really. I'm kind of packing, kind of planning".
She filled her in on the board meeting.
"And then, after I busted them, they insulted me and left. I threw a few shots back myself".
"What did they say to you? In English".
"He called me a dumb slut and told me to piss on myself. See, here in the US, having sex is considered beautiful, but the words that we use for having sex also have a negative connotation. But in France, they don't. Sex is considered the highest form of beautiful, so it's seen as a compliment. In France, wetting your pants is the absolute most humiliating thing one can do".
Hayleigh cracked a smile.
"So what did you say back?"
"Let's just say I said something unkind about his mother and his conception. It wasn't nearly as ugly as what he said to me, but it was close. Close enough that he shot me the bird as he left".
Hayleigh was laughing by now.
"What did the board say?"
"They were shocked by the whole thing. Jonathan thanked me for saving the company from a horrible deal, and then admitted that he had no idea what they had said to me or what I had said to them, but that he didn't share the sentiment. And then I apologized and sort of explained the nature of the remarks without repeating the actual remarks, and everyone sort of understood that it wasn't just them speaking it out in anger, but that there was also a difference in the culture".
"I wish I could have been there to see that".
"And then to add to an already busy weekend, Hart Industries is having a ball tomorrow and we have to go because the board is being introduced".
"Sounds fancy".
"I believe Jonathan said there was no theme but it was formal".
She started picking out dresses and tossing them on the bed.
She was in the closet when she found one she had forgotten about at the back of the closet.
"I might go with this one".
It was strapless, with a v-cut. It was black on one side, and white on the other, with a thigh high slit. On the side, it was made to look as if each color had been knotted together.
She slipped it on and Hayleigh declared that was the one.
"Strappy black heels and you are in business".
She slipped it off and went ahead and put on her pajamas.
"So, if you take a load each day, do you think you could move next weekend?"
"That's what I'm shooting for."
"I say do it".
"Are you happy with your place? You can move in here and buy this one from me if you want".
"I do like it. But I think I'll stay in my place for now. I don't feel like packing up all my things".
Hayleigh stayed till almost 10 and then headed home.
Jennifer climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep, thinking of Paris the whole time.