The next morning I called Helen's room at 8. She picked up the phone after the third ring, "Helen, I am sorry if I woke you. We never discussed today's schedule, and I didn't want you to miss something..."
Her throaty laugh flooded the phone, "I was not asleep. I don't remember much from last night, except that you owe me something. Let's meet for breakfast in 20, and discuss it later." She hung the phone.
I wasn't sure if she didn't remember or decided to raise the subject later. In any case, she wasn't upset, and that was more important.
I knocked on her door on time. She opened it, wearing a greenish skirt and yellowish short sleeve blouse. Helen looked adorable.
"Lady, the green and yellow combination looks fantastic on you."
She grinned, "Thank you, sir. As a man, you apparently won't get it, but we, women, can tell the colors are actually avocado and lemon."
"Sorry. When we return home from the trip, the first thing I do will be learn the new colors. I recall making similar mistake with my girlfriend once - I complimented her on her beautiful whitish dress and she reprimanded me for not recognizing the variety of off-white colors like ivory and egg-shell..."
On the way to the restaurant, Helen tried to explain the different shades of red - Strawberry, ruby, crimson, scarlet... I pretended to understand and nodded.
Her eyes inspected my face, "Victor, you have no clue what I was saying. Am I right?"
I blushed, "I apologize, but the area in my brain that was supposed to comprehend colors is underdeveloped..."
Helen chuckled, "A man! What did I expect?!..."
...
At 9:30 we were back at her room. Helen told me she arranged a lunch meeting with 2 women working in other, similar firms at 1 pm to offer them a better salary if they joined our company. I stayed silent.
She stared at me, "To be clear, you'll have a break until the afternoon."
I felt relieved and she noticed, "Victor, we have some time until my lunch appointment. Remind me, what did you owe me since last night?..."
I blushed again, "Helen, what do you want me to say?"
She smiled, "Honey, you are so young and shy. I'll tell you what; I'll go take a shower. You stay here and think what you owe me. I'll give you a clue - It's not money, and it's supposed to pleasure me. Once you figure it out, open the bathroom door and tell me."
Next, she turned her back to me, and disappeared into the bathroom.
Obviously, she knew what she wanted. I was convinced Helen remembered enough details from last night, and her request had sexual connotation. But what?...
I waited 10 minutes and opened the bathroom door.
She was behind the opaque curtain, and said, "Did you find out what you owe me yet?"
"Ma'am, may I get a hint?"