Free 1977 - I Hold the Four Aces by James Hadley Chase Page B

won’t be back until this afternoon.”
    “I am acting on behalf of Mr. Joe Patterson who has an option on a site at Vallauris,” Grenville said. “Can you tell me where the site is situated?”
    “Mr. Leger is on the site now,” the girl told him. “Madame Rolfe is with him.”
    Grenville felt a chilly sensation run up his spine.
    “It’s all right, don’t bother,” he said and hung up.
    He remembered Archer’s warning. Don’t ever imagine you can outsmart Helga.
    Well, all right, he thought, then I play along with her. The crunch will come after I have slept with her. That is what Archer has kept telling me. At least, I am covered. I have always told her this promotion is ridiculous.
    He put a call through to Archer.
    “It’s all right,” Archer said, after listening to Grenville’s tale. “By now, she has found out Patterson’s promotion is a lemon, but she is still interested in you. Play the innocent. I’m coming down, and I’ll be at the Clarice Hotel tonight. I am almost ready with my idea. Take it easy, Chris. We are going to get two million dollars out of her. She’s smart, but I am smarter.”
    Grenville hoped to God he was.
    He was in the lobby at 21.00, after spending a day wandering around the shops at Cannes, then taking a swim, but not enjoying a moment of it.
    Helga, in a turquoise-coloured silk chiffon dress and a white fox stole, swept out of the elevator and joined him.
    “Chris! I’m starving! We are going to the Boule d’or. Did you have a lovely day?”
    Without waiting for his reply, she swept through the lobby, and to where the Mercedes was waiting.
    They were driven swiftly to a restaurant overlooking the harbour where Helga received a royal welcome while Grenville, feeling more and more inadequate, stood around, until the welcome was over.
    “My husband and I always ate here,” Helga explained as they settled at a table on the terrace. “Louis can be relied on.” She smiled at the maître d’hôtel as he hurried to her side. “Louis! So good to see you again! We want a lovely dinner. Suggest something.”
    “Madame, why not your favourite: crepes with shrimps and tuna fish, and a boned duck with prunes?”
    Helga looked at Grenville.
    “It is wonderful. Why not?”
    Grenville hesitated. He longed to assert himself, but his confidence had gone.
    “All right.”
    “Now you choose the wines, Chris. You are so expert.”
    That, at least, gave him back some initiative. He began to examine the wine list as the wine waiter hovered. Then just as he was about to order, Helga said, “Jacques, have you that divine Margaux ‘29 which my husband so enjoyed?”
    The wine waiter bowed.
    “Just two bottles left, madame.”
    “Oh, Chris, you must try that, and they have a wonderful Domaine de Chevalier.”
    Defeated and deflated, Grenville closed the wine list.
    “Anything you say, Helga.”
    He now realized she was completely dominating him. A Margaux ‘29 would cost at least five hundred francs, but he remembered Archer’s advice: play along with her!
    She looked at him, her eyes sparkling.
    “This is fun, Chris. Tell me about your day.”
    “My day? Oh, I wandered around, had a swim, and missed you.”
    That pleased her and she patted his hand.
    “I missed you too, but tomorrow will be different. We can enjoy ourselves. I’m dying for a swim.”
    “And what did you do?” he asked, knowing already what she had done.
    “Let’s talk about that later.” The direct stare made him uneasy.
    So they ate the meal which was excellent, and talked about this and that. Grenville found he wasn’t able to launch into one of his monologues, although he wanted to tell her about Monte Carlo and the Rainiers. Somehow, Helga dominated the conversation, telling him of her experiences when Herman Rolfe and she had spent many weeks in Cannes.
    The meal finished, she said, “Let’s return to the hotel.”
    To his relief, she signed the check and gave a lavish tip.
    He said rather