"Nigel, I just want to
apologize about my behavior earlier in my hotel room. I was wrong, you
have made a wonderful investment in this club of yours.
Good show!" Maxwell Sheffield says as his brother joins
Fran and him for a cocktail at their table.
Nigel is pleased and surprised.
"Thanks, old boy. That means a lot coming from you." He says
patting Max's shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. Let's have a few
drinks and get reacquainted. It's been four years since we've seen each
other!" He says sitting down next to Fran. He orders a bottle of
Crystal Champagne from the waiter.
As the evening wares on, Max,
Fran and Nigel are having a marvelous time. The champagne is flowing
and the music is wonderful. Nigel has been admiring Fran all evening.
He is so drawn to her sense of humor, beautiful face and body. Nigel
looks at Fran appreciatively. "Are you sure there's nothing going
on between the two of you?" He says unbelieving.
"Believe me, Nigel...nothing!"
Fran says emphatically. Max gives her a look that borders on hurt."Well,
then, how about a dance?" Nigel says taking Fran's hand and leading
her to the dance floor. Nigel takes her into his arms and pulls her
closely into to him. He smiles as he gazes down into her eyes. Fran
looks up at him and smiles back.
Max sits open-mouthed at the
sight of his brother and nanny so close. His heart starts to race as
he witnesses the look of lust in his brother's eyes. He is surprised
as he realizes how bloody jealous he is right now.
I don't like this one bit. He thinks angrily. He glumly watches
them until they return to the table.
Oh, Nigel, you are a wonderful
dancer!" Fran says noting Max's sour _expression. "You really
know how to sweep a girl off her feet!" She gushes, really laying
it on for the benefit of her boss. She lately loves when Mr. Sheffield
is jealous. She has noticed lately that he often was when she dated
other guys.
"Luv, I would be honored
to sweep you off your feet anytime!" Nigel says kissing her hand
and looking deeply into her eyes. His look causes Max to glower at him.
Nigel is completely oblivious of his brother's feelings. "Oh, excuse
me, Fran, I have to greet a very important customer." He says rushing
over to the VIP entrance of the club.
"Miss Fine, I haven't
asked you to dance all evening! How clumsy of me!" Max says offering
her his hand. He is now realizing how desirable she is to other men
and is feeling quite territorial towards her. He is thrilled that his
brother has left them alone. Fran takes it gladly and they walk to the
dance floor. Max takes her in his arms puts his cheek close to her.
He is surprised as his heart starts pounding faster. He pulls her closer
to him.
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield. It
feels so good being in your arms." Fran says. She is quite tipsy
now, as is Max. I can't believe I just said that!
She thinks but relaxes as he presses his body even closer to her. She
is surprised how good it does feel.
"Oh, Miss Fine! I must
say the same about you." He whispers pulling her even closer to
him. "I really didn't like you dancing so close to Nigel, either."
He admits. The alcohol has now pretty much taken control of their bodies
and minds and they are confessing things that they normally wouldn't
when sober. "Miss Fine, my brother has made me realize that I've
lost my passion. Well, I bloody well am going to get it back!"
He says looking at her. "For God's sake, I'm in Paris with a beautiful
woman! Come on, let's blow this nightclub and see where life takes us!"
He says leading her out the door into the Paris evening.
*****************
"Ohhhh..."
Max groans. His head is splitting.
Oh, god, why did I drink so much last night?
He thinks dejectedly. "I'm going to feel like bloody hell today.
Suddenly he realizes that he is in the bed of his suite. He remembers
that he had yesterday agreed to give Miss Fine the bed and he would
sleep on the huge sofa. He had tried to get another room, but there
were simply none available yesterday. Oh, god! What am I doing here?
He lifts up his covers and sees that he's only wearing his boxer shorts.
His heart starts to pound. Where are my pajamas?
He peeks over to the other side of the bed and sees a tuft of brown
hair peeking out from under the covers.
Maxwell swallows, holds his
breath and hesitantly peeks under the covers.
Oh, god! Just what I was afraid of! He thinks quickly covering
her back up. She naked! Oh, no...did we? He thinks starting to
panic. He looks down at her sleeping face and is suddenly charmed at
how sweet she looks. Max tries to remember what had happened between
them last night, but his mind was a complete blank. He notices a piece
of paper on the nightstand next to her side of the bed and reaches over
to retrieve it. Max squints as he reads it. His heart starts pounding
madly and his mouth drops open. He knows enough French to know exactly
what it is. A marriage certificate!
"OH GOD!" He cries.
Fran wakes up with a start.
"What! Oh, Mr. Sheffield, what are you doing in my bed?" She
says staring up at him. Suddenly she remembers last night. She hadn't
been quite as drunk as he had been.
Oh, I almost thought it was a dream! She peeks under the covers
and sees her nude body. Max can say nothing. He is in a state of shock.
"Um, Mr. Sheffield!
What happened last night? I think I had too much to drink." Max
just looks at her and holds up the marriage certificate. Fran's mouth
drops open at the sight of it. She remembers. She had really thought
it was all a dream, but now realizes that it was real.
Max and Fran had left Nigel's
club and walked along the Seine River. All the young lovers in Paris
seemed to be there, one of the romantic places in the world. Suddenly
he had taken her in his arms and kissed her passionately. "Oh,
Miss Fine! I just want you so badly!" He had said, rubbing his
body against her.
"Mr. Sheffield, I'm
not that kind of girl." She had said, although at the time, she
wasn't sure why. She had wanted to make love to him for months now.
Ever since that incredible kiss they shared in that New Jersey department
store a few months ago. Fran had been forced to pretend not to remember
it because he had been so obviously uncomfortable about it.
"Well then, we'll just
have to find someone to marry us." Max had said...and they did.
Max is beside himself. "Oh,
god! What am I going to do?" He throws on a bathrobe and jumps
out of bed. "We have to get this annulled!" He cries pacing
the floor. Oh, what if she gives me a hard time about an annulment?
I'm a good catch for her and she's always wanted to be married!
He looks at her in a panic.
Fran is secretly thrilled about
being married to Maxwell Sheffield, but witnessing his reaction, she
knows only one thing...she can't let him know that. If she is to have
any chance at all of staying married, she has to act
now. She had been surreptitiously putting her pajamas back on
under the covers. Suddenly she jumps out of bed and begins pacing too.
How on earth did she get her pajamas on? He thinks surprised.
"Oh, NO! How
could you Mr. Sheffield! How could you marry me when I was drunk
and didn't know what I was doing!?" She cries angrily poking her
finger accusingly into his chest. "Oh, this is just
horrible! NOW what am I going to do? We have to get this annulled
immediately!" She yells.
Max stares at her in wide-eyed,
open-mouthed disbelief. His own panic has fled as he witnesses what
appears to be her utter repulsion at their marriage.
Why is she so horrified? I'm the one with everything to lose!
He thinks, now thoroughly confused.
Fran grabs the marriage certificate
out of his hand and studies it closely. "Maybe there's a loop hole...maybe
we didn't sign it or something." She says hopefully. After pretending
to frantically study it closely, she throws it to the floor in disgust.
"No, it's perfectly legal! DAMN IT!" She sits dejectedly down
on the bed.
Max is now really beginning
to feel insulted. How could she be so unhappy about us being married?
He thinks a little sadly. I thought she has tender feelings for me.
I know I do for her. Am I so horrible? He thinks now completely
perplexed. All the horror he felt upon discovering the certificate and
in being in bed together has now completely left his mind. He is simply
incredulous at her reaction to their incredible situation.
Suddenly Fran looks at Max.
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield, what are the grounds for an annulment?"
She says remembering an old Rock Hudson/Doris Day movie,
Lover Come Back. At the end of the movie Rock and Doris got drunk
and eloped and ended up waking up together. They got their marriage
annulled the next day.
"Well, he says. I know
that if the marriage isn't consummated..." He stops suddenly and
looks at her slightly panicked.
"Oh my god! Oh,
Mr. Sheffield don't you remember?" She sobs. "Oh, my
life is ruined!" Max quickly takes her in his arms. "Please
tell me why you're crying, Miss Fine." He says his heart pounding
madly, terrified by what she's about to tell him.
"Mr. Sheffield, we can't
get an annulment, we don't qualify! Don't you
remember?" She cries looking up at him. All his fears were
starting to return.
"You mean...?" She
nods. Suddenly Fran breaks out of his grasp and puts her head into the
pillow. "Oh, Mr. Sheffield. This means we have to get a
divorce! Oh, you've ruined my life! I'm going to be a
divorced person and never even got to enjoy any time as a married one!"
She starts crying even harder. It was truly an Academy Award winning
performance.
Max is at a loss. "I must
say, I don't understand your reaction to all this, Miss Fine."
He says putting his hands on her shoulders. "You are acting like
you are revolted at the idea of being married to me."
I thought I would be the one panicking. He thinks.
Fran turns over and looks him
in the eyes. "Mr. Sheffield, when I get married I want it to be
to someone I love...and who loves me!" She says. Suddenly she brightens.
"Wait! I know what we can do! Since you don't remember anything,
and I only vaguely remember, we can just pretend it didn't happen! We
can tell the annulment officer that our marriage was never consummated!"
She says excitedly. Fran smiles for the first time. "Oh, what a
relief!" She says hugging him. "I'm sorry I was so
angry before. Let's get dressed. I want to get this annulled as soon
as possible." She cries getting out of bed and trotting to the
bathroom.
Max just sits on the bed, shell-shocked.
I should be absolutely thrilled that she wants out of this mess so
badly! Why am I suddenly so incredibly depressed? I just can't believe
that she finds the idea of being married to me so repulsive. He
thinks dejectedly. I have really misread her. I should be happy,
why do I feel so bloody awful?
Max sees the marriage certificate
and picks it up off the floor where Fran had dropped it. He looks at
it and is unaware that he smiles at the sight of their two names side
by side. He carefully puts it in a folder in his overnight bag.
Fran emerges from the bathroom
in the plush robe the hotel provides. Max had bought her clothes and
a suitcase yesterday on their shopping trip. He went into the bathroom
and changed into his dove gray suit. Fran had put on her Chanel mini
skirt suit. The sight of her in the short skirt takes his breath away
and his mind suddenly goes to the sight of her under the covers this
morning. Don't go there, Max. He thinks as he starts to feel
slightly aroused at the fact that he had made love to her, even though
he doesn't remember it.
"Miss Fine, you are going
to make my heart stop in that outfit!" He says putting his hands
to his chest. Subconsciously he wants to win her heart. He is terribly
hurt and shocked at her reaction to their elopement. He is starting
to realize that he is having feelings for her that go far beyond friendship.
His butler Niles, on the other hand knew his boss has been in love with
Miss Fine since Brock Storm took her out on that odious date only nine
weeks after she started working for him.
"Thanks, Mr. Sheffield."
Fran says casually, pretending not to notice his loving gesture. "Lets
get going. I want to get this over with as soon as possible!" She
says grabbing his hand and leading him out the door.
Max just can't believe how
badly she wants to be free of him. He is now incredibly hurt.
Well, fine! If that's how she feels, she can have her annulment!
He thinks dejectedly.
They arrive at the Paris City
Hall, The Hotel Deville. "Oh no!" Fran cries. "It's
Sunday! City Hall is closed!" She looks at Max. He is secretly
thrilled. I can't believe I'm happy about this. He marvels at
his feelings. I have her for one more day in Paris! Ok, Max, instead
of pushing her away like you always do when we've shared intimate moments,
start dazzling her. He suddenly realizes that all that pushing away
he's done over the last year is the reason she wants to be free of him
so desperately. I know she loved me once and I am just now realizing
that I am crazy about her. I can make her love me again...I know it.
"Oh no, Mr. Sheffield!
Well, you know what this means, don't you? We're going to have to spend
another night in Paris, damn it!"
She exclaims stamping her foot on the pavement. "Well, we can get
here the first thing tomorrow morning and catch the noon plane back
to New York." She says shaking her head at the closed sign on the
front door of City Hall.
Max is beside himself with
relief. "Come on Miss Fine." Max says taking her hand. "Let
me show you more of Paris. I'll buy you lunch!" He says enticingly.
She brightens at the mention
of food. "Oh, yes. I'm famished!" She says.
Wow, this is going great! I knew it was Sunday. I just had to see
his face when he saw City Hall was closed. He was delighted! She
thinks happily. Keep it up, Fran. He really seems to respond well
to this hard to get bit. I really should have thought of it months ago.
She thinks happily.
Max takes Fran to a very romantic
outdoor cafe near the Louver. They are having a wonderful French bread
and cheese lunch. They opt not to have the wine. The mere sight of people
drinking alcohol makes them slightly nauseous.
Max looks into Fran's eyes.
He decides to confide his confusion at her reaction this morning. "Miss
Fine, you seemed to be so repulsed by the idea of us being married this
morning. I am curious. Would it be so horrible being married to me?"
He looks at her shyly and was surprised that he was quite nervous at
what her answer will be.
He really is worried.
She thinks stunned. This is so great!
Well, I don't want to completely turn him off. I'll throw him a bone.
She thinks happily. She takes his hand and looks tenderly at him. "Oh,
Mr. Sheffield, it's not that I would hate being married to you. You
know how fond I am of you! It's just...I've always dreamed of my wedding
day. I want a big, beautiful wedding, maybe at the Metropolitan Museum,
with hundreds of flowers." She continues. "Most important,
I want a husband who adores me." She says smiling sweetly
at him.
The sparkle in her eyes he
witnesses as she envisions her wedding makes his heart skip a beat.
She's just so lovely. He thinks affectionately. "Miss Fine,
you deserve all that, and more." He is in a slight trance as their
eyes lock. His heart starts to beat faster. Suddenly he breaks the spell.
"Well, let me take you to the Louver, the greatest museum on the
planet!" He says excitedly. "I haven't been there in years."
Max and Fran move from exhibit
to exhibit. "They've moved the Mona Lisa to it's own room."
He explains trying to get through the crowd so she can see it up close.
She is quite surprised how small the famous painting is. They tour the
museum for a couple hours. Fran is especially delighted with
Winged Victory. Max is thrilled at her appreciation of the art
and sculpture. She asks him many questions and absorbs his answers like
a sponge. She really is quite intelligent. He realizes.
Too bad she didn't have a chance for a higher education.
He is now admiring something other than her looks, sweetness and sense
of humor. It suddenly comes to him that people with a keen sense of
humor are usually innately intelligent. They leave the museum and Max
is now seeing her in a whole new light.
Max surprises Fran with a private
yacht dinner cruise. He had called his brother to make the arrangements
when he had slipped away from her briefly at the Louver. "Welcome
aboard monsieur." The captain said helping a very impressed Miss
Fine aboard. The ship was quite luxurious. "Can I offer you a glass
of champagne?" The captain says leading them to the deck where
a beautiful dinner was waiting them.
"No!" They say in
unison. "Thank you, captain, but we had a little too much last
night." Maxwell explains. The captain bows and leaves them alone
to their dinner. The yacht sets sail for a leisurely cruise down the
Seine River. Paris truly is the City of Lights and Fran gasps as they
pass by one beautiful old building after another all lit to show off
the splendid architecture.
"Oh, Mr. Sheffield. One
building is more beautiful than the next!" She exclaims. "Also,
this food is fabulous. I am just famished." She says taking a big
bite out of her steak.
Max chuckles. "Miss Fine,
you are so adorable." He realizes that he never has a bad time
when he is with her. She makes him feel so good. He rubs the back of
his hand to her cheek. He is happy that she is now smiling tenderly
at him. "Are you having a good time?" He asks, pretty much
knowing the answer. She had been breathless all day. Paris does that
to people.
"Wonderful!" They
finish their dinner and move to the railing. Max looks down into her
eyes and brushes a lock of hair away from her face. He wants so badly
to kiss her, but after her reaction to their elopement this morning,
he just can't bring himself to do it. He is terrified that she will
push him away. She shivers a little. "Would you like my jacket
Miss Fine?" He says daring to put his arm around her.
"No thanks, I'm not really
cold." She says smiling up at him.
I'm shivering because I know now how much I am in love with him.
I hope this plan works...I don't think I could stand it if we got an
annulment. She thinks slightly worried for the first time. The day
has been perfect so far. She's now getting a little anxious about how
it's going to end.
*******************
They return to the hotel and
walk into the lobby. Fran turns to Max. "Mr. Sheffield, maybe a
room has become available so you don't have to sleep on the couch tonight."
She says sweetly looking guilelessly up at him. She's thrilled as his
face falls.
"Um, yes. You wait
here, I'll go check with the desk clerk!" He says. He's quite disappointed
that she even thought of it. "Bon soir." Maxwell says to the
desk clerk. "Do you have a room for one evening?"
"Certainement monsieur!"
The night receptionist says nodding his head and offering him a pen
to register.
"Merci." Max says
and quickly walks away, leaving a very puzzled desk clerk.
He returns to Fran. "I'm
sorry Miss Fine, no rooms, they are completely filled up." He says
disappointedly. "Guess it's the couch for me tonight!" He
says as she takes his arm and leads her to the elevators.
Fran looks at him suspiciously.
She is beyond thrilled at his lie. She had seen the desk clerk nod and
offer him the pen.
Max leads Fran down the hall
to the suite. They enter the room and are both quite nervous at what
is going to happen now. "Well, Mr. Sheffield. I'm going to change
in the bathroom and take a quick shower. Why don't you change out here
and make up the couch for yourself." She says retreating in the
bathroom with her pajamas.
While Fran is in the bathroom,
Max prepares the room more seductively. He dims the light and puts a
romantic disk in the CD player. He turns on the fireplace in front of
the sofa and gathers a pillow and blanket from the bed. The hotel had
left a complimentary bottle of French champagne chilling and he decides
that he was ready for a drink. He had started to feel almost normal
several hours ago. He dons his black silk pajamas and sits on the couch
sipping his wine.
Fran steps out of the bathroom
and notices the seduction scene he has prepared. She smiles to herself.
Ok, here goes...the moment of truth. She thinks nervously. She
swallows and walks to the bed. "Well, goodnight Mr. Sheffield."
She says walking past him. Before she can get by, he gently grabs her
wrist and pulls her down on the couch.
"Miss Fine, can I offer
you a glass of champagne?" He says handing her a glass.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm
just starting to feel like a human again. Well, maybe just one."
She says smiling into his eyes, which are now at half-mast. The sexy
look he is giving her is causing her heart to flutter. Fran feels the
sexuality he is exuding.
Maxwell takes her hand and
looks into her eyes. "Miss Fine, I've been thinking." He starts
a little shyly. "It's really unfair that we made love last night
and you remember it but I don't. Something about that just doesn't seem
quite right. How can we rectify that?" He says looking tenderly
in her eyes.
"Well, don't worry Mr.
Sheffield. I have a confession to make. I was lying to you this morning.
You were pretty drunk when we got back last night and passed out before
anything major happened." He looks at her stunned.
"So, we really aren't
married...officially." Suddenly she stops. "Oh, Mr. Sheffield!
I can't do this anymore. It's just not right. I don't want to have to
trick you into marriage! I have a confession to make. When you first
found out we were married you went ballistic. I was secretly thrilled,
but I knew I had to act mad to confuse you. And, I think it worked.
You certainly calmed down after you witnessed my reaction. I kind of
turned the tables on you because...I'm in love with you." She says
looking down at her hands.
Max stares at her in open-mouthed
disbelief again. His heart is beating madly at her confession "You
mean you didn't want an annulment all this time?" He shakes his
head. I was right! She's brilliant! He is now absolutely aware
that if she would not have acted precisely as she had this morning,
he would have wanted the marriage annulled as quickly as possible.
Suddenly he admires her tremendously.
"Are you mad at me, Mr.
Sheffield?" She says as he is pondering something. "I'm sorry
I tricked..."
Fran couldn't get the rest
of the sentence out because Max was now kissing her passionately. He
lays her back on the couch and gets on top of her. He starts kissing
down her neck letting his hand tentatively find her breast for the first
time. She let's out an involuntary moan as he caresses it gently. Her
sound of pleasure causes his arousal to harden even more. "Oh,
Miss Fine, I just realized something. You're my wife!"
"Mr. Sheffield."
Fran says her heart racing. She is now very turned on. "What does
that mean?" She says shivering slightly knowing full well what
that means.
He lifts her up and carries
her to the bed. Max deposits her gently under the covers and rips off
his pajamas off, climbing in next to her. Fran looks into his eyes as
gently gets on top of her. He is rhythmically pressing himself into
her, which is causing pleasant jolts in her groin. Feeling his erection
against her body is causing her heart to pound madly. She looks up at
him licks her lips and takes a deep breath. Her look is taking his breath
away and he presses himself against her more desperately. Fran starts
to tremble slightly and shuts her eyes. "Mr. Sheffield, if we do
this we can't get an annulment." She whispers opening her eyes.
She is delighted that his is smiling down at her.
Max's hand starts to travel
down her body. It reached between her legs and cups her tenderly. She
gasps and looks up at him. "You are my wife, and we are going to
consummate our marriage." He says forcefully. Remembering her requirements
for a husband that she had confessed at lunch, he looks at her tenderly.
"Besides...I adore you!" Max has never been so happy.
He kisses her lovingly. "And, who said anything about an
annulment?"
The End