Road to Casablanca (20 page)

“Mr. Redmund’s family has a sizable fortune in many companies in the
U.S.
I, for one, feel more than confident in intrusting him with my money.
 
He lives in
California
– near
Hollywood
– and has many contacts for future projects as well.
  
With our festival, gentlemen, I do not have to tell you our tiny country is finally being put on the map with many investors such as Redmund Group.
 
I find Erick’s reputation to be impeccable and I for one suggest you all invest in this upcoming project.”

Erick was a bit shocked at Jibade’s unbelievable support of his work and his reputation, after all the misunderstandings and mishaps he had witnessed between him and Cindy.
 
The man was a good person and Erick felt more than hopeful now that his dream of going back to Hollywood as one of the latest film producers was finally about to happen.

Chapter Nineteen

As she waited for the tailor, Cindy paced around her room filing her nails and looking out the windows. Promptly at eleven, there was a knock at the door.

“For this evening I suggest black,” the tailor advised.

“Why is that?”

“It is the best color for this evening, as it is a more formal event.
 
See what you think of this.”

The tailor took several swatches of black silk and began draping them around Cindy’s shoulders.
 
She had to admit; it looked good and felt even better.

“We will do a halter top like this… a swoop in the back like that…and a chain to hold it together.”

From what she could tell, it was going to be a very revealing gown. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was exactly what she needed to get Erick’s attention and drive him as wild as he was secretly driving her.

“Okay. Sounds good.
 
When will it be ready?”

“We will deliver to your door as always, Madame, by 4:30 this afternoon.”

“Very good. Thank you.”

Cindy called to confirm her spa appointment and couldn’t resist holding the jewelry Erick gave her the night before up to her bare neck. It would look great on her with her latest creation.
 

As she stared at all her new finery, she couldn’t help but think about her family in
Iowa
, particularly her two sisters. she wished they could experience some of the finer things in life.

Growing up on the farm, they never wanted for anything, but yet they never had much extra to speak of.
 
Cindy almost felt guilty about all the luxuries she was indulging in this week.
 
She was grateful for the opportunity because it certainly made her appreciate the simplicity of all she had at home.

The idea of such extravagance when it came to clothing, or to spend the kind of money she was certain Erick was investing in massage treatments and haircuts was out of the realm of possibility for most people in her hometown.
 
They would never know what to think of all this. Even now after being here for several days, Cindy still wasn’t used to it and was sure she never could be, even if she and Erick were, by some remote chance, to stay together past this weekend.

There was no doubt that Cindy’s life had changed drastically since coming to
Dallas
and joining the law firm there.
 
Now that she was here especially, so far away from all she knew, she was certain this would be the beginning of a new lifestyle for her—one she hoped would ultimately include Erick.

She walked up to the bathroom mirror and ran her hands through her sexy new hairdo and pretended she was talking to Erick, laughing and saying something witty.
 
He was such a gorgeous man, someone her shyness would have prevented her from even from speaking to before, much less dating.
 

She glanced down next at her left hand and noticed the rings on her wedding ring finger.
 
Mrs. Erick Redmund
, she said aloud in the mirror.
 
It had a nice ring to it.

One more check in the mirror and Cindy was off to the spa where she was greeted by a warm and inviting staff of people.

“Hello, do you have an appointment?”

“Yes, the name’s Cindy Brown.”

The girl looked through the book for a moment, a puzzled look on her face.
 
Cindy remembered she had a new name now and needed to use it.

“Uh, I’m sorry, it’s probably under the name Redmund, Cindy Redmund.”

“Oh yes, we have a
Mrs. Redmund
for 11:30 a.m. right here.”

Mrs. Redmund, huh?
 

Cindy couldn’t help but wonder why Erick hadn’t just used Cindy Redmund or put the thing under his name.
 
Instead he called her only Mrs. Redmund.
 

Could he have real feelings in regards to their charade?

Probably not.
 
Cindy hated to indulge in such pie-in-the-sky fantasies.
 
Erick probably was merely covering himself;
 
he seemed so skilled at that.

Cindy was quickly escorted into a changing area, where she slipped into a white cotton robe before going into another room for a full body mud treatment.
 
She’d never had anything like this before and couldn’t help but laugh to herself at what her friends back home would think of it.
 
On the farm, only pigs bathed in mud. Here, people paid big money for the privilege.

She lay on the hard flat marble table, finding it to be surprisingly warm. Cool cucumbers were gently pressed onto her eyes, and she felt warm mud being poured slowly over her body.

“Wow! That tickles!”

“Yes, Madame.”

The woman obviously didn’t speak English and for all Cindy knew, there wasn’t even a word for “ticklish” in their language. She laughed anyway until the sensitive feeling melted into one of pure relaxation and she drifted off to sleep.

Some time passed and Cindy heard the faint sound of the woman’s voice bringing her back into the room.

“Madame?
 
Madame?
 
Time for massage.”

Cindy covered herself in a towel and was taken to a piping hot shower where the mud slipped down the drain in an instant. Moments later, Cindy found herself lying face down on a massage table, while the fragrance of Egyptian Lotus oil filled her nose and hot oil warmed her skin.

The woman’s hands were hot and melted into her back as she once again fell asleep.

She dreamed of riding camels across the vast desert with Erick as side by side, they headed toward the sunset.

He wore a white robe and sunglasses and his blonde streaked hair glistened in the desert sun.
 
He turned to her and smiled before reciting the classic line from the
Casablanca
:
“Here’s looking at you kid.”

Cindy smiled back at him as his words filled her heart with an overflowing feeling of love and admiration.

“Can you play that again, Sam?”

“Yes, I said here’s looking at you, Cindy, the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“I love you, Erick Redmund…”

“I love you, Mrs. Redmund.”

The dream was over as quickly as the massage. Cindy came out of dreamland and back into the room, changing into a new bathing suit and cover-up Erick allowed her to choose as part of the package he bought.

After she finished dressing, the staff styled her hair again and redid her makeup, making her look like a beauty queen by the time she reached her room at four o’clock.

There was no message from Erick, nor did Cindy expect one, so she thought she would enjoy an hour of sun by the pool since the weather was finally warmer.
 

She wrapped herself in a chiffon scarf that looked wonderful with her bathing suit and slipped into the little sandals Erick bought her a few days earlier before heading for the pool.
  
As she walked down the hallway toward the pool, she noticed a conference room door was cracked open just enough for her to notice a business meeting going on inside. A moment later, she heard Erick’s voice.

Not wanting to be nosy, but not being able to help herself, Cindy stood outside to listen to what was being discussed and heard another man’s voice.

“What makes you think this film will actually turn a profit?”

Cindy saw a group of men gathered around a long conference room table and Erick standing up at the far end of the room.
 
She ducked so he would not see her, but couldn’t resist the temptation to listen a minute longer.

“All of my other ventures have made millions.
 
There is no reason to doubt this will be any different.”

“But what of your reputation, Mr. Redmund?
 
News of your personal life has plagued you for a few years now.
 
How will we know our money is in reputable hands?”

Cindy shook her head, not wanting to hear what they were saying about Erick, feeling certain that whatever it was they were talking about could never be true and not wanting to face it if it was.

She knew she should not be listening in and proceeded down the hallway toward the pool.
 
She trusted Erick. He said he was going to behave himself and she needed to take him at his word and stay away from spying on him.
 
She had to believe he was honorable because if she didn’t, they could not have any kind of relationship at all; not even friendship.

When Cindy reached the pool, a group of people in suits stood around outside as a bartender walked through the crowd, generously offering them drinks and hors d’oeuvres. He approached Cindy to see if she wanted anything to eat or drink.

While admitting to herself they looked quite yummy, Cindy wanted to wait until dinner. She waved away the plate of food. “No thank you.”

She continued looking around at the poolside gathering, once again recognizing several people’s faces from various films, but not recalling any of their names.

By five o’clock, Cindy could feel a cold breeze begin to pick up. She wrapped herself up again and went back inside, through the hall where the meeting had been.
 
The room was empty and she wondered whether Erick had called her or if he was back in his room resting up for the evening.
 
She thought it must have been stressful for him to get grilled by those men like that.

As she passed through the lobby to go toward the elevators, she noticed Erick in a small cocktail lounge just off the lobby having a drink with Mr. Jibade and two other stern-looking men who wore turbans with their grey business suits.
 
Erick looked like he was having a decent time. He happened to glance her way as she walked by.

“Cindy, how was your day?”

“Great.” Cindy waved to them all now, not wanting to have to talk to these men while she was hardly wearing a thing, particularly with what she knew about the culture there. She quickly walked away and got on the elevator.