Chapter 9

Much later, Somewhere in the streets of Paris

Amanda walked through the streets of Paris, crying, not knowing where she was going, and not really caring either. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She was so furious she didn't even see everyone looking at her with concerned eyes. Did he really just call me stupid? She thought to herself. I guess I am stupid. Stupid for believing that he could change and be the man that she knew he….. No thought he could be. She wasn't so sure anymore. Why was it so hard for her to talk to him? She spoke to her Mother just fine. Why was it any different talking to Lee? Amanda looked up to find herself in front of the hotel. She hadn't realized that she had been walking around in circles for hours. She decided to go in, but she didn't want to go to her room. Then she remembered the lounge that was on the main floor. She entered the hotel and made her way to the lounge.

Lee paced back and forth in the hotel room, thinking to himself. "Where could she be? I can't believe I let her get away from me. I looked all over for her. She doesn't know Paris. She could be lost or hurt. Of course, she's hurt, you idiot. You hurt her. You're the one that's stupid, not her. Coming out of his thoughts, Lee declared, "I've got to go find her. I don't care if it takes me all night, but I'm going to find her!" Lee grabbed the room key and headed for the door.

Amanda walked into the lounge and decided to sit at the bar. No reason to take up a whole table for just one. The bartender walked up to her and asked, "Bonne après-midi. Mon nom est Vincent. Que puis-je vous offrir ce soir?"

"I'm sorry I don't speak French. Do you speak English?"

"Yes, I do. I said, Good afternoon, my name is Vincent. What can I get for you tonight?" The bartender responded with a slight accent.

Amanda chuckled to herself. "I don't know if you have what I need."

"Well, why don't you tell me, then I will know if I have it or not? Maybe a nice wine?" Vincent suggested.

"I don't think that will help me tonight," Amanda stated.

"Okay, how about a scotch then? It goes down smooth, but there is a little burn to it. It may be just what you need."

Amanda thought for a while, "Why not? My night couldn't get any worse. I'll have a scotch." It seems to help Lee all the time. Maybe I should see what he likes so much about it.

Vincent brought the scotch over to Amanda. "Now drink it slow-" Amanda grabbed the glass and, without thinking, downed it like a shot and immediately started coughing. "Hey, I said drink it slowly. You can't just throw that kind of a drink back."

Amanda looked apologetic towards Vincent. "I'll have another, and I promise to drink it slowly."

Vincent poured her another one. "So, do you want to talk about it? I'm a pretty good listener."

"I don't want to bore you with it. Same old story. Man and woman fight. Man and woman were both stupid, and now man and woman aren't speaking to each other."

"Ah, fight with your boyfriend? Sorry to hear it."

"He's not my boyfriend. Just a work colleague."

Vincent added, "But you want it to be more?" When Amanda looked at him with a questioning look, he continued. "I've been doing this job for a long time. A person doesn't get this upset at a work colleague."

Amanda chuckled again, "No, I suppose one doesn't." She raised her glass to toast Vincent and took a small sip.

The elevator doors opened, and Lee ran to the front desk. Seeing that Gabriel was still working, he asked him if he had seen Mrs. King.

"No, I haven't seen her since she left about 4 hours ago. Has she not returned?" Gabriel asked.

"No, she hasn't. And I'm starting to get worried. This is her first trip to Paris, and she is not familiar with the place."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stetson. If I see her, I'll tell her you were looking for her. Oh, there's Mr. Melrose. Maybe he's seen her?"

Lee whipped his head around to see Billy and Jeannie walking out of the hotel restaurant. "Thanks, Gabriel; please keep an eye out for her." Lee didn't wait for a response and turned towards Billy. "Billy!" He shouted. "Billy, have you seen Amanda? I haven't seen her for over four hours now, and I'm getting worried. She stormed out of the hotel room and….."

Billy looked at Lee with a fatherly face. "What did you do, Lee?"

"Billy, I messed up big time. We had a fight, and I'm not for sure we can come back from this one," Lee confessed. "I'm not going into the details, Billy, but I've got to find her. I've got to try to make this up to her."

Jeannie interrupted and pointed past Lee's shoulder. Billy and Lee turned to look. Lee let out a massive sigh of relief when he saw Amanda sitting at the bar in the lounge. "Thank God!" Lee exclaimed.

"Lee, whatever happened, fix it!" Billy ordered. "You have until 6:30 tomorrow evening. I just made dinner reservations for the four of us. We need to go over the agenda for the start of the convention. I want you two on speaking terms by then. Got it."

"Ya, Billy, I got it. I don't know if I can do it, but I got it." Lee turned from Jeannie and Billy to head over to Amanda. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he knew he had to keep a cool head.

Lee walked up behind Amanda and sat on the stool next to her. "This seat taken?" He asked shyly.

Amanda turned to Lee, didn't say a word, and turned back to her drink.

Lee sighed deeply. "Man, I'd hate to be the guy that made you mad. I don't see a lot of women drinking scotch." Again, Amanda ignored him. Lee tried again. "Amanda, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me back there. Will you please talk to me?" Vincent walked up to them and asked, "Is this guy bothering you?" Lee snapped. "Look, just mind your own business, will ya?"

Vincent looked at Amanda and, with a knowing tone, said, "Business colleague?" Amanda just shook her head, yes, and Vincent walked away, mumbling something in French.

Lee looked at him with a look that would kill. "Who does that guy think he is?" Lee asked.

"Vincent is the bartender, and he has been very nice to me, so leave him alone," Amanda sharply stated.

Lee took a deep breath and tried again. "Amanda, we need to talk."

"I know we do, but I'm not going back to the room, and we can't talk here," she clearly stated.

"Okay, how about we go find a small, quiet cafe, get something to eat, and we can talk. Maybe take a walk afterward. Take it slow," Lee suggested.

Amanda thought about it for a while and agreed. "Sure, that sounds like a great idea." Amanda and Lee got up from the bar, Lee dropped some money for her drinks, and he extended his arm, hoping that Amanda would take it. When she hesitated, Lee added. "Just walk with me! Please?"

Amanda smiled and took his arm.