Chapter Twenty-Two

Red, purple, blue, green --there were beads and precious stones in every color imaginable. Jaiden looked around what she considered to be the very best boutique in Paris. It was a boutique strictly for women and had anything and everything a woman could desire.

There was perfume in fancy bottles and sexy, yet classy lingerie. There was even a display of different scented bath oils.



Jewerly in the boutique was made of gold and silver and platinum. There were gem stones and diamonds of every shape and size.
Jaiden stood looking at the pearls for quite some time and admired the many colors. She didn't know that pearls were anything but white, but right then she saw pink, ivory and dark grey pearls and also ones that weren't round. They were more oval shaped, roughly edged and untouched.
They were exquisite.

She also admired some of the jewelry that was made by local jewellers. Most of that particular jewelry was made from glass beads.



Jaiden felt there were so many to look at and admire and it seemed like she was looking at a rainbow of colors no matter which direction she turned.

One piece in particular caught her eye. It was a gorgeous beaded ankle bracelet that was meant to be wrapped around the ankle a couple of times.
It was not like the usual delicate gold ankle bracelets she's seen before in the United States. This one was different looking and she was told by the lady at the store that it was one of a kind.


"Would you like to see it closely?" the woman asked as she took the ankle bracelet out from behind a glass enclosure.


Jaiden hadn't been aware that she had been so intensely admiring the piece until the woman asked if she wanted to see it.

"Yes. Please." Jaiden smiled and held out her hands for the woman to drop it into.


"This was made by a local man. He is also a painter. He paints lovely paintings of women. He says he is inspired by a woman's beauty." the woman told Jaiden.

Taking the jewelry in her hands, Jaiden looked at it closely and then held it up to the light.


"Oh wow. These glass beads are stunning. I love how the light shines through them yet also how they reflect the light as well. I've never seen anything like this." Jaiden stood holding the piece and felt the smoothness of the glass beads between her fingers. She studied the rich blues and greens inside the glass and wondered how each bead was made.
To Jaiden, the beads almost looked like shiny, miniature Earths.


"I really think I'd like to buy this." she said to the woman.


After all, she'd been in Paris for a while and hadn't bought herself anything special.

"I know you will enjoy it, Mademoiselle." said the store clerk.


"I'm sure I will. However, I'd also like to look at some of those items..." Jaiden said and gestured toward the lingerie.


"If you would like to try anything on, please let me know." the woman said.


"Oh, I already see something I'd like." Jaiden smiled and strolled over to what she had been wanting the minute she laid eyes on it.




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"We should be back soon." Ian said to Michael.


"I hope so, because it will look sort of bad if we're late for a business dinner." Michel said as he wondered what time it was while sitting in the back of the car with Ian.



They had spent the entire afternoon driving to various places in the countryside that seemed interesting. The countryside of France was so different from the city of Paris.
The streets of Paris were always filled with people going about their day or with tourists wandering around --always active and busy. But the country was so quiet. There were so many fields of purple flowers.



Michael had never seen so many. He wished Jaiden was with him and had her camera so she could capture endless photos of the amazing things he was seeing, especially the flowers. He knew his mother would love to see the flowers, too.


His thoughts were interrupted by Ian.

"Before I forget to tell you, the Zion Company canceled their meeting for tomorrow." Ian said.


"What? Weren't they the ones pressuring for that meeting to begin with?" MIchael said, annoyed.


"Yes, that's them. They had to cancel though. Something about one of their head honchos having to be out of the country." explained Ian.


"You have got to be kidding. Alright. Can't do much about it now." Michael said.


"So that means you're free for tomorrow. Take advantage of it, Mike. It's your first entirely free day. But the next day is that signing at the record store for Mr. Lee." Ian reminded Michael.
"You agreed to two hours. I'll need you earlier than the arrival time so we can discuss details and possible future signings with Mr. Lee." Ian read from a large organizer on his lap. He made little notes in it everywhere.
To Michael, it looked terribly disorganized, but to Ian it made perfect sense.



"Future signings, huh? We should see how this one goes." Michael began.
"I absolutely love seeing my fans, but sometimes it's the big bosses I don't like dealing with." he said.


"Yeah, I get that, Michael, but Mr. Lee seemed okay. You're right though, we'll see how it goes." Ian said and then began to write down some more notes.


Michael watched him for a minute and then turned to look out the window again at the passing trees and flowers and many farms that were scattered throughout the countryside.



He had seen so much of the United States and different parts of the world, but as he got older, he began to realize how lucky he was to see so much and he always appreciated it.

Soon Michael felt his eyelids becoming heavy.
He looked over at Ian who was still busily writing in his organizer.

Michael leaned his head against the door and grabbed the blanket that was on the seat beside him.
He wrapped himself in it and decided to catch a nap since he was still tired when Ian knocked on his door earlier that day.



Soon Michael's mind was swimming with beautiful thoughts....
He could swear he smelled Jaiden's sexy, smooth skin and was sure he could feel her lips on his.
He thought of her round bottom that he loved to feel on the palms of his hands. He licked his lips as he pictured licking her perfect breasts and hard nipples.



These thoughts weren't helping to relax him so he could sleep.

He forced himself to think of the field-- how incredible it was. How the only things filling it were provided by Mother Nature. He pictured himself wandering in the field. Smelling the trees and the grass and the flowers.
Michael imagined the birds flying through the perfect blue sky and hearing the wind blowing through the tall grass.

The next thing he knew, his arm was being nudged.

"Wake up, sleepy head." Ian laughed.
"We're back at your hotel."


"Well, that didn't take long." Michael said as he stretched out his legs.


"Especially when you're asleep, huh? Listen, you have enough time to get to your room and change before our business dinner." Ian said.
"I am off to my hotel now and will meet you back here in 30 minutes."


On trips like this, Ian was not just Michael's lawyer, but also an acting manager and his friend. He kept Michael on time and had never failed him. Michael always appreciated him.


"Okay. 30 minutes." Michael said and got out of the car and headed to the back entrance of the hotel.


Once in his room, he had a quick shower and began to change into clean clothes. He laughed to himself while changing because he could smell the unmistakable odour or the farm on the old clothes which lay in a heap on the floor beside the bed.
"Hmm... now that probably wouldn't have gone over too well at a business dinner." he said out loud.

Once fully changed and smelling considerably better, he found his watch and put it on his wrist. He then grabbed a light jacket and went down to the car.


"I knew you'd sneak in a shower." Ian laughed as he and Michael got into the car.
"You're the only guy I know who has to smell good all the time."


"A person only gets to make a first impression once, Ian. And I like to leave them thinking I smell good. Especially this time since I smelled like farm animals." Michael giggled.


"That's true, Mike and speaking of farm animals, I'm in the mood for a big, juicy steak." Ian said as he patted his belly.


"Ian!! That's just mean!" Michael said, yet found himself laughing despite himself.



Ian always made Michael laugh and it was great to have him around. He wanted to talk to him about Jaiden, but he really wasn't ready to share his relationship with her with anyone.

He repeated the word in his head: 'relationship'.

Were they in one? He knew they had a friendship-- okay, maybe a bit more than a friendship.

Michael knew he cared a lot for Jaiden. He was well aware of the fact that he thought about her the majority of his day...every day...since he met her.

But if someone asked him if he had a girlfriend, how would he answer them?

Ian was talking to the driver and giving him the directions to the restaurant. Michael was really not interested in the business dinner.

He'd spent the whole day with Ian and had no time to even call Jaiden on the phone.
The first thing he was going to do when the dinner was over was go to her room. He just wanted to hold her and feel his arms wrapped around her. He wanted to smell her hair and touch her skin and ---he was doing it again.

He was thinking himself into a place which made him want to have the driver turn the car around so he could sprint up the hotel stairs, get to Jaiden's room and let his tongue explore her entire body......



"God. That sounds so good, doesn't it, Mike?" Ian said.


"It suuuure does...." Michael answered while looking out the window, still very deep in thought. He hadn't heard a word of what Ian and the driver were talking about and frankly, he didn't care.



"We're here, Sir." said the driver.


"Thank you. Feel free to leave. No need to wait for us because I don't know how long we'll be." Michael said.
"Also, sometimes I think the car draws too much attention."


"Understood, Sir." the driver said as he got out of the car to open the door for Michael and Ian.


"We'll give you a call when we're finished up." Ian said, stepping out of the car.


Michael and Ian went into the restaurant. It was dimly lit and had soft music playing.
Michael heard the tinkling of fine china and the whispers of quiet conversation from the diners.

It was a very posh place. The tables were made of dark wood and draped with ivory table cloths. Each table had a candle to add to the glow of the restaurant.
The walls were adorned with beautiful artwork which was showcased in gold colored, ornately designed frames.

Michael knew immediately that he wanted to bring Jaiden there. The atmosphere was inviting and Michael took notice of the many couples enjoying time together.
At other table he noticed men who were clearly business men discussing this and that while wearing expensive suits and smoking expensive cigars.


"Your table, gentlemen." said the waiter. He must have been in his 50s, with dark hair which had tinges of grey. He didn't have the french accent that Michael had become used to while being in France.

Ian and Michael were seated at their table which was tucked away near the back of the restaurant and had lovely plants climbing the walls beside it.


"Hello, Mr. Hamil. It's nice to meet you." said the man seated at their table. He was Simon Eloffson, head of advertising and marketing for an advertising company called Manhattan Marketing, which was oddly enough not from New York, but from Sweden.

"And hello, Mr. Jackson. What an honor it is to meet you." he said to Michael.


"Hello, Mr. Eloffson. I've heard great things about you and Manhattan Marketing." Michael said.


"Oh you have? Well, I am glad they have all been positive. I plan to keep it that way." smiled Mr. Eloffson.


"I notice the extra place setting." Ian said, nodding toward an empty seat beside Mr. Eloffson.
"Did you bring a business partner?"


"Well, yes and no." laughed the portly Swedish man.
"See, I am having a few health issues and so I am training my daughter to take over my position one day." he explained.


"I see." said Ian.
"Sorry to hear you aren't well."


"Oh, it's nothing. It's nothing. Just the old ticker. But the doctors assure me that they can fix me up." he said.


"You have a wonderfully positive way about you. I look forward to talking more with you..." began Michael, but his attention had been diverted by a very attractive blond making her way to the table.



She was quite thin and tall and had large blue eyes. Her blond hair was straight and cropped to just above her chin.


"Sorry to keep you gentlemen waiting." she said as she sat down.


"That's quite alright, darling." said Mr. Eloffson as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Mr. Hamil, Mr. Jackson, this is my daughter Lilly. She's going to be working closely with us during this project.


Ian cleared his throat and spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss..."


"Call me Lilly." she smiled and put out her hand for Ian to shake.


"This is Mr. Jackson." Ian said and gestured toward Michael.


"Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Jackson." Lilly said and extended her hand toward Michael.


"You father says he's teaching you everything he knows." Michael said as he shook her hand.


"My father is very modest. He is the best at what he does. I only hope to be half as good at it." she said as she reached for her glass of wine and took a sip.


Michael noticed her lips. They were red from lip stick --which had left an imprint on her glass.



Her eyes were done up with a light blue shadow and her lashes were accented by dark mascara.


From further away, she looked striking, but now that she was sitting across from him, Michael found her significantly less attractive.

"She's no Jaiden..." he thought to himself.

Jaiden could wear not a stitch of make up and be breathtaking.
Come to think of it, Jaiden could wear not a stitch of clothing and be breathtaking....


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For the rest of the dinner, Michael had checked his watch a dozen times. So much so that Ian had actually nudged his arm the final time.

But now, after having dropped Ian off at his hotel, Michael sat alone in the back of the car on his way back to the hotel.

He checked his watch again. He knew he was only a few minutes away from the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen....and his palms began to sweat.






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