Chapter 4
Lee and Janet woke up early the next morning and were getting ready to leave for breakfast when there was a knock on Janet's door. Lee quickly went into the other room leaving the connecting door slightly open.
"Who's there?" she asked cautiously as she wasn't expecting anyone.
"It's Devin. I was hoping to have breakfast with you," he said eagerly. "Please open the door."
Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door and he came in.
"Damn, I was hoping I would catch you still getting ready. I thought maybe we could go to bed and..." he said quickly but she cut him off in mid sentence.
"How did you get my room number?" she said angrily.
"You gave it to me last night, don't you remember," he replied surprised that she was mad.
"I did not give you my room number. Who gave it to you?"
"Please don't be mad, the desk clerk. She really didn't have a choice, I badgered her into giving it to me," he said truthfully. "I'm sorry I lied."
"I'm not very happy that she gave out my room number. I value my privacy and if I wanted you to know my room number I would have given it to you. Who do you think you are assuming that I would go to bed with you? I just met you," she sharply.
"I'm terribly sorry if I offended you. I really thought we hit it off. I was just hoping we could take it a little farther. I've never been turned down before," he replied embarrassed.
Lee and Jason were listening in the other room at what Janet and Shelby were talking about. Jason was smiling at Lee who was surprised at the way his wife was talking to Shelby. He hoped she didn't make him too mad so he would leave and not come back.
Lee nodded to Jason to open the door and make their presence known.
"You have connecting rooms?" Shelby asked surprised.
"Yes, we find it helps us with our work. This way we don't have to leave our rooms, we just go back and forth," Janet explained. "After all I'm with my brother and cousin."
"Please accept my apology. I will never do that again," he apologetically.
"If you want to see me, please have the front desk call me and I will see if I'm available," she told him. "Now why did you come here?"
"I was wondering if we could go to breakfast and then maybe talk about renting some warehouse space from you," he asked politely.
"I would love breakfast. David and Jason would you like to join us? We always try and discuss business as a team."
"Sure, no problem if they come with."
They left Janet's room and went to a small cafe not too far from the hotel. When Shelby wasn't looking, Lee winked at Janet.
((()))
They entered the cafe and were seated immediately. Once they sat down they ordered coffee which the waitress brought right away.
"How much space do you have now," Lee asked as he took out a notebook and was taking notes.
"Actually it's not very big and pretty cramped in there. I'm going to need more space as my business is picking up," Shelby responded.
"Why don't we look at the space you have now so we can see how big it is. It will be easier for us to recommend some spaces once we know how much more space you will need," Jason told him.
"Well, I don't know," Shelby hesitated.
"Devin, how can we do our job effectively if you won't let us see what you have? We need to see it so we can check our inventory and see what is available," Janet explained.
"Alright," Shelby replied. "As soon as we are done with breakfast, I will have my driver take us over there."
The waitress brought more coffee and they ordered breakfast. They talked about how nice Monte Carlo was and that it was a little cool for this time of year while they ate breakfast.
After they finished their breakfast; Shelby called for his limo to be brought to the cafe. Shelby helped Janet into the car and sat next to her. Lee and Jason sat on the other side. He was holding Janet's hand as they drove away.
With the darkened windows on the limo, Lee was having a hard time seeing where they were going. He managed to catch a few landmarks. They had only driven about twenty minutes from the cafe. Hopefully he would find an address on the building so he could give it to Craig.
((()))
The limo pulled up to a small brick building in Cap-d'Ail. They exited the limo and were brought in the front door. Lee and Jason were checking to see if there were any surveillance cameras or an alarm system. There was a small office which had only one desk and nothing else. There were no telephones either.
Shelby led them to the warehouse. It wasn't very big but did have quite a few wooden containers stacked two high. As they walked around the warehouse pretending to measure how big it was, Lee and Jason notice most of the containers were marked automotive parts or truck parts. They had seen only one guard so far and he was in the warehouse walking around.
"Do you specialize in shipping only parts for cars and trucks," Jason asked.
"What difference does it make what I ship?' Shelby said curtly.
"Devin, sometimes there are restrictions on what can be stored in warehouses depending on the zoning," Janet said calmly. "We only need to know so we can make sure you have no problems storing your items there."
"Sorry, I didn't realize it mattered," he replied. "Yes, mostly parts for cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles."
They looked around the building a little longer and said they had seen enough. As they left the warehouse, Lee spotted an address on the wall outside.
"Let us look at what we have available and get back to you. I think we have some warehouse space that is much larger and maybe cheaper in our inventory. Does it matter to you if it's not in France?" Jason asked as they drove away.
"No, place doesn't matter as long as it is near the ocean. I ship most of my containers via boat."
"That's good to know," Lee replied as he wrote it in his notebook.
They arrived back at their hotel. The driver opened the door and Lee and Jason got out. They heard Shelby ask Janet about dinner.
"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" he asked as he helped her out of the limo.
"Yes but as I told you before I have plans with David and Jason so I hope you won't mind if they come along."
"No that is fine," Shelby sighed. He wasn't used to being told what to do. She was a very head strong woman.
"Well, you can count me out. I have friends here and they found out I was in Monte Carlo so I'm going to have dinner with them," Jason remarked.
"Then it will be the three of us. I will pick you up in the lobby at 7:30." Shelby told Janet and Lee.
He kissed Janet's hand, got into the limo and drove away.
They went to their room and discussed what they saw in the warehouse.
"No alarm system or surveillance cameras," Jason told them. "Also, I only saw one guard in the warehouse."
"Jason, I'm going to come with you tonight to check out what is in the containers. I'll contact Craig and have him get us a car. He might want to come with us and check out how big a truck we will need. I hope those containers are not too heavy."
"I noticed a dolly or something like that in the back of the warehouse maybe you can use that to load the containers," Janet replied.
"I didn't see that," Jason muttered.
"Neither did I," Lee also muttered. "Nice job, sweetie." He said as he gave Janet a kiss.
Lee went down to the front desk and saw Craig was there. He told him he needed a car for tonight and could he arrange to have it here by 8:00. Craig understood what Lee was talking about and said it would be there with no problem. Lee went back upstairs to his room and Janet was waiting there for him.
"Lee, how are you going to get out of going to dinner with us?" Janet asked unhappily as she didn't want to be alone with Shelby.
"Sweetie, I'm going to get 'sick'," Lee explained. "You can tell Shelby I'm not feeling well."
"But Lee what if he wants me to go back to his hotel?"
"Tell him you need to check on me."
"When are we going to move the containers," Jason inquired.
"I was thinking about that myself. Sweetie you're going to have to keep him busy all day tomorrow."
"How the hell am I going to do that?"
"He's smitten with you. Tell him you want to go shopping or look around the city. He will do anything you want."
"I will think of something." Looking at her watch she sighed, "I better get ready for dinner."
Janet put on her short black dress fixed her hair and make-up and was putting on her heels when Lee came to check on her. He took her in his arms and kissed her.
"Sweetheart I'm sorry I can't go with you. But we have to find out what is in those containers. Please don't be mad."
"Lee, I'm not mad. I'm afraid of what Shelby will want to do after dinner," Janet said worriedly.
She wasn't the only one who was worried. Lee wasn't too thrilled about his wife going to dinner alone with Shelby either.
((()))
The telephone in Janet's room rang promptly at 7:30. The desk clerk told her that Mr. Shelby was in the lobby waiting for her. She told them to tell him she would be right down.
"Lee, please be careful, you too, Jason."
Lee gave her a hug and a kiss and told her to be careful.
She grabbed her wrap and went downstairs to the lobby where Shelby was waiting for her. He looked her over from head to toe. He made her skin crawl.
"Where's David? I thought he was coming with us," Shelby asked with a gleam in his eye. He would have her all to himself.
"He's not feeling well. I feel guilty leaving him, but I promised I would go to dinner with you and I always keep my promise."
"I'm sure he will be fine. Do you mind walking to the restaurant? It is a beautiful night."
"No I would like to walk."
He linked her arm into his as they walked to the Le Bar Americain restaurant at the Hotel de Paris.
Just great. He would pick a restaurant at his hotel, Janet thought.
They got to the hotel and it took her breath away. This hotel was one of the older hotels in Monaco but it was gorgeous. The restaurant wasn't as formal as the one last night but was still beautifully decorated.
They were seated immediately. Shelby ordered wine and dinner for them. He hoped she would like his choices. The dinner was excellent and the service impeccable. They chatted about her life as a realtor and that she was divorced. He told her he too was divorced and was sad he never had any children. He told her about his yacht The Restless Pirate. It was his pride and joy. She was moored at the harbor here in Monte Carlo.
"Would you, your brother and cousin like to go out on the yacht tomorrow? The weather is going to be perfect for boating," Shelby asked Janet.
"David and Kevin are seeing some potential clients tomorrow so they won't be able to come but I would like to go," Janet answered knowing they would be tied up all day so Lee and Jason could take the containers and LRAD out of the warehouse.
"It's a date. I will pick you up at 7:30. We'll have breakfast on the yacht and sail around the Mediterranean Sea. Don't plan on being back before 8:00 if at all. Maybe we will spend the night at sea." Shelby said hopefully.
"Let's not plan that far ahead," Janet stated.