Lucy smiled at the surprise her boss and the client expressed, finally telling them that I was telling them that I wasn't going in with any preconceived notions of guilt or innocence – that I would follow the facts, and nothing else. It seemed to be a novel concept to them, but they accepted what she told them. That settled, they wished us well, and ended the conversation.
The next thing for us to do was go and check on the girls – and finding them exploring their room, and delighting in the richness of the furnishings. I couldn't help but grin, though, when they asked Lucy what the bidet was for – and all but laughed outright at the expression on her face as she tried to explain. From there, Lucy herded us all into her rental car, and gave us a tour of the town, pointing out various sights. When we got back, we started for our rooms through the lobby; a thought hit me, and I detoured to the concierge's office. There, I asked him if Phil Waters still owned the Caf Triomphe; he assured me he did. I asked him to get us reservations for that evening, and he told me that the Caf was invariably booked for months in advance. I asked him to give Mr.
Waters a call, directly, and ask a specific question: whether or not Muddy could rustle up some swill for Boomer. He looked at me curiously, but assured me he'd do it. While this was going on, Lucy was standing behind me, and listened as the concierge made the call.
We listened as he repeated what I'd told him, and see the surprise on his face at the answer. He thanked the other person, and looked up at me speculatively before saying "Mr. Waters instructed me 'Tell Boomer that I can always toss a couple more grubs in the pot", and to show up whenever you wished."
I thanked him, and the four of us headed for the elevators to take us back to our rooms. As we were going up, Lucy looked at me strangely, and said "When I came here the first time, it didn't take me long to find out that Caf Triomphe is*the* best restaurant in a five hundred mile radius. I also learned that to get in, you had to make reservations months in advance – sometimes as many as six. Now you waltz in, make one call, and you're in there in nothing flat. What the hell is going on?"
"Phil 'Muddy' Waters was the guy that did most of the cooking in the unit I was in, in the military. We called him 'Muddy' for a couple of reasons – he's both black, and has the same last name as the old Blues musician."
"Okay, so why were you called 'Boomer'?"
"Oh, that was just the name I picked up along the way."
She looked at me doubtfully, but didn't say anything. The girls had paid attention to what was going on, since they'd picked up on the fact that something special had happened. Lucy went on to ask me "Okay, so are you going there alone, or what?"
"Of course I'm not going there alone. You and the two ragamuffins here are going, too."
Robyn promptly got an indignant look on her face, and said "We are *not* ragamuffins. We are dressed as YOU and MOM told us we should."
I laughed at her tone, and said "Yeah, and if I'd told you to bring something fancy, and Muddy didn't still own the place, I'd have looked like a complete idiot. Now you've got an excuse to go out and buy a fancy outfit, and get all dolled up. I sprung this on you, so the bill is on me. Besides, I don't think Muddy is going to let me pay for our meal tonight, so I might as well use the money for something, even if it is just YOU two."
At that, Sandra decided to get indignant, as well, saying "'Just' us two? Well, if you're paying for it, then I guess we need to show you that we're a little more than 'just' us two; and that we are NOT ragamuffins, either!"
Behind them, I could see Lucy smiling at their reaction, knowing that I'd been baiting them. Just then, the elevator reached our floor, and the two of them huffed their way to their room as Lucy and I retreated to her room. Once there, I told her "Once I found out that Muddy still owned that place, I couldn't help teasing them about going there. I trust that you'll take them out and make sure they get suitably gussied up?"
"Of course", she answered, before asking "Don't you think*I* need to get 'gussied up' too?"
"Nope. You look pretty good to me the way you are.", I answered before giving her a kiss.
"Well, YOU may think so, but*I* don't. While I've got them in the stores, I'm going to get a little something for me, too. And you're going to pay for it."
I laughed, and said, "Okay," before digging out my wallet, and handing her a credit card.
She looked at me strangely, and asked "That's it? 'Okay'? You're not going to tell me not to spend too much or anything?"
"Nope. I already trust your integrity and good sense. I know you're not going to take advantage of me. At least, not financially."
She grinned at me, and said "Yeah, not financially. That leaves a lot of room for other ways, though."
"Okay. Pick one, and it's yours."
She gave me a lecherous grin, and said, "Oh, I will, and it will be."
I grinned back, saying "OOOOOOO, I'm so*scared*. So scared, I'm going to do a little work on my computer while you three are out shopping. Let me know when you're ready to go out," then heading for my room.
I heard her laugh behind me as I closed the door between our rooms; a few moments later, the phone in the girls' room rang. A couple minutes later, I heard their doors open and close as they headed out to get something to wear for the evening. When I heard that, I called up the front desk, and arranged to have my suit cleaned and pressed.
A couple of hours later, I heard them return, and a few minutes after that, they were off again. An hour or so later, they were back for the second time; throughout the whole thing, I was careful not to ask where they'd been, or what they'd been doing – I figured that when they wanted me for anything, they knew where to find me.
Around six o'clock, I shaved, took a shower, and got ready to go out.
About seven o'clock, I heard the phone in Lucy's room ring; a couple minutes later, I heard the girl's door open and close, then Lucy's. A minute later, my phone went off; when I answered, I was told that they were ready when I was – provided that I was ready then.
I knocked on the door between Lucy's room, and mine, and heard a little scurrying before she told me to come in.
It wasn't enough time to prepare for what I found.
Lucy was in front, dressed in a gray silk outfit that make it clear she was female. Strapless, deep-scooped in front to reveal her cleavage, and skin-tight from bust to hips – without a panty or bra line to be seen – it flowed from her hips to mid-thigh, revealing a pair of lean, smooth legs that any woman would have been proud of.
Robyn was standing slightly behind her, on Lucy's right. Her dress was white, and only slightly less revealing than Lucy's. It sported spaghetti straps on the shoulders, with a skirt that revealed a pair of long, tanned legs. No panty or bra lines for her, either.