“What about your homework?” Ernesta asked her then, as Heloise avoided her gaze and played with the shampoos. They had recently changed brands to a more luxurious one, and Heloise loved the way it smelled. “Did you do it?”

“Yes, of course,” Heloise said, grinning mischievously, as they pushed the cart to the next room, and Heloise handed her two more shampoos. She followed them on their rounds until an internal alarm went off for her, and she knew it was time to go. She kissed them both good night then and scampered up the back stairs, just in time to get back to their apartment and sit at the desk again. She had just finished her last math problem, when her father walked in to have dinner with her. He had ordered it from room service, as he always did, although later than usual tonight. Her schedule had to be flexible to adjust to his, but having dinner together was a ritual that was important to them both.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he walked in. “It’s a little crazy downstairs tonight, but at least everyone has water again.” He was just praying they didn’t spring another leak, but things were holding for now, as long as they did the necessary repairs soon.

“What’s for dinner?” Heloise asked as she closed her math book.

“Chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and ice cream for dessert. Sound okay to you?” her father asked her with a loving look.

“Perfect,” she smiled at him as she put her arms around his neck. She was the woman in his life, and had been the only important one for the past three years since her mother left. And as he hugged her, their dinner arrived. The chef had added escargots for Heloise, because he knew she loved them, and profiteroles for dessert. It was hardly an ordinary dinner for a child, but it was one of the perks of living in the hotel, for both of them. Hugues had built-in babysitters for her, and they both had all the services that the hotel provided, including gourmet food.

They sat down properly in the dining room of the apartment, and they talked about the hotel, as they always did. She asked him what important guests had checked in, and if any movie stars were coming soon, and he told her a simplified but accurate version of what he had done that day, as she looked at him adoringly. He liked teaching her about the hotel. And with Heloise to love, and the hotel to keep him busy, Hugues needed nothing more in his life; nor did Heloise. They lived in a sheltered world that suited them both to perfection. She had lost a mother, and he a wife, but they had each other, and that seemed like more than enough for now. And in his fantasies about the future, Hugues liked to think that when she grew up, they would run the hotel together. Until then they lived in the hotel that had been his dream.

Chapter 2

HUGUES HAD STRUCTURED the hotel in the traditional way he had learned at the École Hôtelière and at all the important hotels where he had worked. And he made good use of his staff. He had a back office, which handled all the business aspects of running the hotel, reservations, sales, marketing, and accounting, all functions that were vital to the operation of the hotel. The human resources staff were part of the back office too, and they dealt not only with the employees but with the labor unions, which was crucial. A strike could cripple the hotel. Hugues had picked his staff with infinite care and knew full well how important they were. If reservations weren’t diligently handled with minute precision, and carefully kept track of, or if accounting was inaccurate, it could put them out of business. And he kept a careful eye on all the administrative aspects of the hotel. He had a profound respect for how important the back office was, despite the fact that their guests never saw any of those people, but the smooth running of the hotel depended on the competence of the administrative staff, and he had chosen them well.

The front desk and concierges worked hand in hand and were key faces that the hotel guests saw on a constant basis. Without a smoothly run reception desk, and supremely competent concierges, his guests would have swiftly shifted their allegiance to other better-run hotels. Among the many functions they performed, they had to meet the sometimes-exotic needs of their VIP and celebrity hotel guests. They were used to movie stars, who insisted on changing suites three and four times until they found the one that pleased them, had their assistants send long lists of special dietary needs in advance, and required everything from satin sheets to orthopedic mattresses, special items for their children, air filters, hypoallergenic pillows, and masseurs to be standing by day and night. The staff were used to unusual requests and took pride in adapting to their most demanding guests. They were also accustomed to some of the more unpleasant behaviors of their VIPs, who frequently accused the maids of stealing valuable items that they had misplaced or lost themselves. In the past three years, they had not had a single case of real theft by employees, had been able to calm hysterical guests who falsely accused staff, and had proved otherwise in each instance. The hotel staff had learned how to handle difficult guests and take accusations of that nature in stride. Hugues demanded criminal background checks and bonded all his employees to protect the hotel and the guests.

The housekeeping department was impeccably run by another graduate of the École Hôtelière, with a fleet of maids and valets, and a dry-cleaning operation and laundry in the basement. They were responsible for keeping the rooms and suites and hallways immaculate and their guests satisfied, again frequently with challenging demands. All of the personnel who had direct face-to-face contact with the guests had to be efficient and diplomatic, and the rooms had to pass housekeeping inspections that were conducted with military precision. Members of the housekeeping staff were let go if they did not meet the Vendôme’s stringent standards.

The department that provided uniformed services was equally closely supervised and included bellmen, doormen, elevator men, valet parkers, and chauffeurs when they needed them, which they did frequently, from a limousine service that they used for many of their guests. They were responsible for getting people in and out of the hotel quickly and efficiently, with the right luggage, keeping track of arriving packages, and getting them to where they wanted to go around the city, to airports, or out of town.

Food, beverages, and catering was one of their largest departments and was responsible not only for room service, and their now-famous restaurant frequented by people from all over the city, but they dealt with all catered events that were held at the hotel: weddings, private dinners and lunches, conferences, and meetings. Food and beverage handled it all, and thus far, extremely well.

The security division was somewhat behind the scenes, but it was another vital service that Hugues relied on heavily to keep personnel in line and guests safe. Jewel robberies had become a common occurrence in many first-rate hotels, and Hugues was extremely pleased that the hotel had experienced none so far. Their staff was extremely vigilant on all aspects of security.

They had a business center, with secretaries and IT personnel available at all times. The spa and health center was one of the best in the city. Engineering and maintenance kept the hotel in working order, whether it was a crisis like the burst pipe in the basement, or something as simple as a blocked toilet or a television that wasn’t working. All of it required the attention of engineers. And the other essential department was the staff that manned the telephones to keep communications in and out of and within the hotel working smoothly, taking messages properly, and handling all calls with speed, precision, and discretion.

In all, it was an enormous staff to make the hotel what it was, with Hugues overseeing everything himself. He was proud that he knew each of his employees by name, and his constant presence at the hotel kept everyone on their toes. Running the hotel was a tremendous job, and each piece of the machine, however seemingly unimportant, was actually a vital piece that allowed the hotel to function smoothly and well as a whole. And just as Hugues knew every one of his employees, so did Heloise as she roamed freely through the hotel.

The Hotel Vendôme was not only Hugues’s dream but his passion, and other than his daughter, it was his love. There was so much to do there that it was hard for him to focus on much else. In the absence of Miriam, once she left him, the hotel became his wife. He often said he was married to the hotel. He ate, slept, breathed, and loved everything about it. He couldn’t even imagine being married again now; he didn’t have time. And any woman he got involved with realized very quickly that she was only secondary in his life, if that. He had too much else on his plate-all of which related to the smooth running of his hotel and averting crises before they happened, or solving them quickly when they did-to have time for anything other than breakfast and dinner with Heloise and a few quick hugs in between. The rest of what he did all day required his full concentration and most of his time. Heloise got what was left.

When he arrived at dinner parties, he inevitably arrived late. When he went to the theater, the opera, or the ballet, when taking out a woman, his phone vibrated on his belt all night, and too often he had to leave halfway through the performance to deal with a security issue surrounding a head of state or the Secret Service. They had to clear the floors above and below the floor occupied by a head of state. It was a hugely complicated undertaking, and he needed to make sure that the other guests were not unduly inconvenienced while they were there. It left the passing women in Hugues’s life frustrated and annoyed that they could never spend an evening with him without interruptions. It was rare that he could enjoy a quiet evening with a friend, and more often than not, he didn’t even try. Women staying in the hotel frequently pursued him, once they realized that he was single and saw how handsome he was. But he was always candid with them right from the beginning that he was too busy at this point in his life to get seriously involved with anyone, and they were liable to be disappointed by the little time he had to share. It was also a clever way to mask how badly he had been hurt by the failure of his marriage, and by Miriam’s betrayal when she left with Greg. He had no desire to go through that again, although he enjoyed female companionship once he healed from Miriam, and frequently he couldn’t resist a pretty woman, but it never lasted long. There were too many other demands on his time, and Heloise fulfilled his emotional needs better than any romance. She wasn’t going to cheat on him and leave him, and she filled his heart in all the ways that mattered most to him.