Danielle Steel - Hotel Vendome

And as she looked at her father, everyone had risen to their feet and was toasting her. Heloise walked across the room and kissed him then.

“What are you doing, Papa?” she whispered.

“It’s your turn, darling. You’ve earned it. I always knew you would one day. And after you, maybe someday one of the twins.” Heloise knew that it would be Stephanie, and not Julien.

She raised her glass to her father then and toasted him. “I have to tell all of you, I’m quite stunned. My father didn’t warn me that he was going to do this tonight, or ever. I always wanted to run the hotel with him, not after him,” she said, fighting back tears. “I will never be able to live up to the legend he has been here, nor to be the general manager he has been. But I promise you, Papa, solemnly, and all of you whom I’ve known for most of my life, that I will do my best, and I will try. Happy birthday, Papa! Here’s to you!” She kissed him, and there rose a cheer in the room as she went back to her seat. There was a huge clamor everywhere as people exclaimed over what he’d done.

“You didn’t know?” she said to Natalie across the table, who looked as surprised as she did.

“I had no idea.” She was stunned. She wondered what he was going to do now. She couldn’t imagine him doing nothing.

“Neither did I,” Brad said as he joined in, but he thought it was a great idea. Heloise was twenty-seven years old; she had prepared and trained for almost ten years and grown up in the business. At Stephanie’s age the hotel had been her playground, and in the years since, it had become her life. And in subtle ways she had improved and modernized it and enhanced her father’s original vision. It was an exceptional hotel and a legend in New York.

Hugues took his wife out on the dance floor then, while he told her about the travel plans he had for them, the things they were going to do, the year in Paris he wanted to spend with her and the children, if she was willing to let Jim run her business for that long, and he hoped she might. He was full of excitement and ideas, as Natalie spun around the floor with him, dizzy with what he said, but excited by it too. His enthusiasm was contagious, and she loved the idea of spending a year in Europe with the twins. The best part of his retiring was that he was still young enough to enjoy it, and so was she. She had just turned forty-eight, and Hugues was a handsome, sexy, youthful sixty. She and the children had kept him young.

“What did Papa just say?” Stephanie asked as she came up to Heloise with a puzzled expression. Her hair was in long blond pigtails with ribbons.

“He said that I’m going to run the hotel and Papa will have more time to play with you.” Heloise smiled at her. She was crazy about them both.

Stephanie looked annoyed when her older sister explained it to her. “I want to run the hotel too.”

“Then you have to work very hard and spend a lot of time here, and one day you can work with me.” Stephanie looked satisfied with the suggestion, and Brad took Heloise out on the dance floor and smiled as he looked down at her.

“Well, that was certainly a big surprise. Do you think he’ll actually be able to relax?” He couldn’t imagine Heloise doing that either. They lived for the hotel. But Brad enjoyed his work too, and what he did for her and the hotel, among other clients.

“Natalie and the twins will keep him busy,” she said as Jennifer and Bruce danced past them and waved.

Heloise was still having trouble absorbing what her father had just done as she and Brad talked and danced. He was smiling down at her proudly.

“He did a smart thing,” Brad complimented her. “You’ll be a wonderful general manager, if you don’t let it kill you.” It was a family trait, they both worked too hard. But she loved it, just as Hugues did. And she was tireless. She worked all the time, except when Brad could get her out for an evening, or away for a few days, which was rare.

They were still talking about her father’s big announcement when they ran into Jennifer and Bruce at the buffet a little while later. Julien was hiding behind it, throwing bread balls at his twin, and Heloise discreetly signaled to him to stop. He was full of mischief and more naive than Stephanie, who seemed much more grown up. She was more like Heloise’s twin than his. He was more easygoing, and Stephanie loved knowing everything that went on in the hotel. She had loved following Ernesta around with the turn-down cart, until Ernesta had retired the year before. But she was there that night for Hugues’s birthday, and Heloise had given her a big hug. She was one of the treasures of her childhood, and Ernesta’s eyes always lit up when she saw her, and she had cried when Hugues announced her as the new general manager.

“So, Madame Manager, what do you think?” Jennifer asked her with a warm smile, as Brad and Bruce chatted and helped themselves to lobster that the chef had prepared the way Hugues liked it. Heloise had ordered it for him.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Heloise accused her with a warm smile. She had seen it on Jennifer’s face earlier. She hadn’t been nearly as surprised as everyone else in the room. She knew everything Hugues did, and thought, even more sometimes than his eldest daughter and wife.

“He didn’t tell me exactly, but I had an idea. I’m glad he’s doing it. He needs to get out and have some fun while he’s still young. I think it would be great if they go to Paris for a year. And you can go over and visit.” But she also knew that Heloise would be busier than ever, taking over the reins of the hotel, with all that entailed. But she was the right age to do it. Bruce and Brad moved closer to them then, and Heloise saw Bruce and Jennifer exchange a warm smile. She had known for years that they were quietly seeing each other. It had happened sometime along the way, and they made a nice couple. As Heloise was thinking that, Jennifer turned to her with a shy smile.

“We have an announcement too,” she said, and blushed as the big security man laughed. “We’re getting married. And I’ll probably retire next year.” She looked like a giddy young girl as she said it, and Heloise hugged her, and then wagged a finger at her.

“You can get married. But you can’t retire till I take over this hotel and know what I’m doing. You probably know more than I do about running it. You’re not going anywhere!” Jennifer laughed in answer, and suddenly Heloise realized that she’d be sitting in her father’s office, at his desk, and it was a strange feeling. She didn’t see how she could ever step into his shoes and do the job he had. She still had so much to learn. It was humbling thinking about taking his place, and it made her sad. She was having so much fun working with him that she didn’t want him to leave, but she realized that it was probably better for him, and he felt ready. She wasn’t sure she did. She needed to get used to the idea.

Jennifer and Bruce surprised them then and said they were getting married on Thanksgiving when her children could be there. And Bruce had three children too. Heloise was happy for them, although she was upset when Jennifer said she would retire in the next few months too. And Heloise managed to say hello to everyone before the party ended. It was a beautiful night for her father and she enjoyed it too. And they were talking about it when she and Brad went upstairs after the party. She was tired and still overwhelmed by her father making her general manager and passing her the baton. He was the master of surprises. He had done it to her with his marriage to Natalie, then the twins, and now this.

“What if I can’t do it, or I screw up, or I destroy the hotel in some way?” she said to Brad with a look of panic as they undressed. Her father had always been there with her. She had never run it alone, except briefly when he was sick.