They arrived at Reims airport just before twelve and Nicole was waiting for them. Bunty introduced Paul to Nicole, and Val hugged her as they had already met. Nicole was a beautiful woman who had a very confident way with her. She was driving a beautiful Mercedes Estate which comfortably took all their luggage. Nicole suggested that they now go for lunch at a restaurant close to the villa and they would stay in the villa tonight as she had some wines that she wanted them to taste and drive south tomorrow morning.
Paul was impressed with Nicole and the car. Nicole was a good driver, and the car was a powerful car which drove beautifully. Nicole and Bunty were talking non stop about wines; it was apparent that Nicole's heart was in her work. Nicole had also arranged a full itinerary for the next week seeing a minimum of two potential suppliers every day, and on some days there were four visits arranged.
They arrived at the villa, which was beautifully decorated, Val and Paul took the master bedroom, and Bunty disappeared with Nicole somewhere. They then had a wonderful lunch in the nearby restaurant. The owner was the Chef, and his food was excellent and reasonably priced. His father owned several vineyards and produced his own Champagne which was excellent. Nicole had arranged to take ninety per cent of his production as the main Champagne Houses used Serge's restaurant and they wanted their Champagne served.
After lunch, they had their tasting, and they saw what Nicole had done. She was buying the wines up to forty per cent cheaper, and the wines she was now buying were up to fifty per cent better in quality. Bunty was impressed with all the wines she had tasted. After the tasting, Nicole took Bunty and Val to a new boutique which had recently opened up. Paul then replied to the six interview invitations that he had received and explained that at the moment he was in France on holiday and in two weeks his book would be published and he had commitments to his publisher and would be involved with this for at least a month as he also had responsibilities in America where he would be for one week. He promised to contact them when he was free.
He felt very comfortable in the villa; it was so quiet with no traffic noise, the garden was beautiful. He could easily spend time here. The last days he had been busy with Val and May. May had stayed every night with them. This morning he had a long session with May, he knew that she would miss him, she had suggested that she would fly over for a few days, but Val had told her that they were travelling a lot and had a very tight schedule.
Val had told Paul that initially May would introduce Paul to three very wealthy women; two were married to much older men who both had dementia. The other was a widow whose husband had died three years ago, and she came to May for relief twice a week. Val also told him that all three were very nice ladies, but all three had an enormous sex drive.
Paul was now thinking about the wine company and the difference that Nicole was and would make to it. Bunty was an excellent administrator, and the company ran like clockwork. The Hotels division was just a money making machine. The top management was excellent; it also had Bunty at the top who had overall control. Val had once told Paul that they must now be looking for a replacement for Bunty, but Bunty was still one hundred per cent hands on.
Paul's phone beeped, he had a message from Val which read, "Darling, what a wonderful boutique this is, I have bought a lot of new outfits. The quality is excellent, and the prices are reasonable. Nicole is wonderful, she has a brain and is so nice with it. I have been flirting with her, we shared a changing room and had a nice kissing and touching session. Nicole likes you and tonight will be exciting for all of us. Nicole has booked a table at Serge's restaurant for this evening. We will be home in an hour, love Val."
They arrived just over an hour later. The three of them wanted to shower and change for this evening. They all would meet up in the lounge for a glass of Champagne before walking to the restaurant. Paul was sipping a glass of Serge's Champagne when Nicole arrived; she looked stunning. Paul poured her a glass. Nicole said, "We had a wonderful afternoon, Val is so generous, she spent a fortune today. Bunty and I both felt appreciated this afternoon, and that's a wonderful feeling."
