Another man got out next, and Janet wondered if he’d accidentally found himself in the wrong car. He appeared to be a middle-aged businessman, in a dark suit and polished black shoes. He said something to the blonde woman that made her laugh, so maybe they all did belong together.
The chauffeur shut the door and then said something to the first man who’d exited the car. He nodded and then all of the passengers moved towards the entrance to building fourteen. The driver opened the boot of the car and began to unload suitcases onto the pavement next to him. A moment later, a second car stopped behind him.
Janet found herself watching curiously as the first driver rushed back to open the rear door on the second car. The first man out of the car was in full cowboy attire. He looked young and full of energy as he jumped out of the car and then turned back to help the next person get out.
Another blonde woman emerged. She was wearing a long blue denim skirt with her cowboy boots. Her shirt was plain white, with enormous buttons that seemed to sparkle in the sunshine. Her hair was plaited down her back and her head was covered by a bright blue cowboy hat.
The pair walked over to join the others as the driver went back to unloading luggage. Janet wondered who they were and why they were in Paris. She was thinking about crossing the road, hoping to overhear some of their conversation, when a third car pulled in behind the second. Janet did a double take as she recognised the driver.
What is Mr. Jones doing here, she wondered.
Before she could do much more than step into the shadow of the nearest building, the passenger door of the third car opened. Janet wasn’t surprised to see Mr. Jones’s young companion climb out of the car. He looked up and down the street and then said something to Mr. Jones, who had also left the vehicle.
Mr. Jones nodded. The younger man stepped over and opened the door to the rear of the car. Janet didn’t even feel surprised as she watched Edward get out of the back of the car. He was wearing a dark suit that she was certain she’d never seen before. After saying something to Mr. Jones, he nodded at the younger man and then walked over to join the group of men and women in cowboy hats.
Chapter 4
Janet stood and watched as the group made their way into the building numbered fourteen. Mr. Jones and his associate got back into their car and drove away. After all of the luggage from both limousines had been loaded onto a luggage cart and taken inside, the two limousines drove away as well. Feeling terrified, but unable to stop herself, Janet crossed the road and walked closer to the building.
As she approached, two men walked out, talking loudly. They both appeared to be in their thirties and their accents were American.
“…cowboy hats in France,” one of them was saying.
“I’m terribly sorry to bother you,” Janet said. “I was just wondering if you knew any of the people who just arrived. I thought one of them was a country singer, but I’m not certain which one.”
One of the men shook his head. “That was Bobby Armstrong and his entourage,” he told her. “He’s a Texas millionaire, maybe the only Texas millionaire who doesn’t own a single oil well.”
“Oh? How did he make his millions?” Janet asked.
The two men exchanged glances.
“No idea,” the other man said. “But he talks all the time about not having any oil wells. He’s pretty well known in the US.”
The first man laughed. “What my friend means is that Bobby gets himself in celebrity magazines all the time. Things like ‘Here’s Bobby Armstrong with his latest girlfriend, nineteen-year-old supermodel Blondie Blondegirl,’” he explained.
“More like: ‘Here’s Bobby Armstrong’s daughter, Lucy, leaning on the arm of yet another man after her money,’” the other man laughed.
Janet frowned. “And this is a hotel?” she asked, nodding towards the building behind the men.
One of them glanced backwards and then nodded. He named another American millionaire, one that Janet thought might be worth billions, actually.
“It’s his hotel,” the man explained. “You have to know him in order to be allowed to get a room here.”
“My goodness, how exclusive,” Janet exclaimed. To her eyes, neither man looked as if he moved in the same social circles as a millionaire, but she didn’t question his words.
He laughed. “And now you’re wondering how we’re able to stay here,” he suggested.
Janet shrugged. “I simply assumed you have important friends.”
He laughed even harder. “I wish we did,” he said eventually. “Jake here, he works with someone who once worked with the man who used to be business partners with the man who owns the hotel. There aren’t a lot of rooms in the building, but there are a few small rooms in the basement that fairly ordinary people are allowed to stay in, provided they know who to contact and how.”
“Randy and I work together back in Chicago,” Jake told her. “We’re here for a project, and the company wanted to put us up in a big chain hotel on the outskirts of the city. We would have had to take the subway into the city every day. My friend was able to put in a good word for us with whoever handles the reservations here to get us each a room.”
“How nice for you,” Janet said.
“The room isn’t very nice, but the location is wonderful,” Jake replied.
