Master & Student (The Billionaire's Way 2)

“We have carefully selected several pieces that would be perfect for your Monaco trip. Let’s start with the shoes,” Alicia says as she has a member of her staff walk me to a seat. The group begins to exhibit the most drop dead gorgeous selections of Hermes heels, shoes and sneakers. I jokingly say, “I’ll take them all.”

Alicia doesn’t get the joke. She simply smiles and pulls out her iPad. The staff begins to carefully place about a dozen shoe boxes into the orange Hermes bags. Alicia stands me up. She begins to show me a selection of casual wear.

“Many of these selections are not even available on our display floor right now,” Alicia explains as she shows me an exquisite caramel and vanilla dress. The tall Hermes as**sociate grabs a cute-as-a-button-hat and places it on top of my head. I smile, grab the brim of the hat and strike a pose.

As the staff continues to show me more and more dresses, my head begins to spin. I remember visiting a website and seeing a Hermes sweater going for $600. I can’t even begin to calculate how much this is going to cost Mr. Peak.

The staff starts to wrap up my selections as Alicia grabs my hand. “As you know, Hermes is famous for our handbags, we would like to show you our most special selections,” the young woman says as she walks me to a glass counter. On the counter are six Limited Edition Hermes bags. Alicia proudly acquaints me with each bag. “These Limited Edition bags are all hand made. For Monaco, I would like to recommend this highly coveted and ultra-rare Constance Elan model.”

I feast my eyes on this little black bag. It seems to have a glow around it. Bags are the one thing I really indulge in, when I have the money. So I can’t help but ask Alicia, “How much does this cost?”

“Twenty thousand dollars,” Alicia announces without hesitation. My heart jumps. I simply shake my head up and down. The Hermes girl smiles and hands the bag off to one of her staff members for proper packing.

Now, I have always had fantasies of walking out of Hermes with five or six bags in my hand. In this case, I carry nothing out of the store. The staff walks out of the boutique with a dozen bags. They march to Mr. Peak’s Bentley, stuffing the trunk of the massive vehicle with those precious orange bags.

I just stare at that truck full of shoes, dresses, hats, heels and handbags. Mr. Peak walks up behind me and says, “Good thing I brought the big Bentley.”

I turn around and look up at my boss. “I hope I didn’t take too much, Sir.”

“This is the cost of doing business, Sarah.”

The Hermes manager walks out, all smiles, and shakes Mr. Peak’s hand. “It is a pleasure to do business with you. I hope you have a wonderful time in Monaco,” the manager announces.

“We will have an excellent time. Thank you,” Mr.Peak says as he gives the manager a firm handshake.

The manager hands my boss the receipt, printed on an eight by eleven piece of paper. My boss doesn’t even look at the paper. He simply folds it and tucks it into his suit pocket. God. I want to know how much he spent. I want to know so badly but I dare not ask how much my boss just dropped at Hermes.

We get into the car. My boss drives down Rodeo. I look at him for a moment. Then I realize, f**k, I should thank him. “Thank you, Mr. Peak. I can’t believe you purchased all those wonderful things for me.”

“Well, we have one more stop to make,” my boss announces.

“One more stop?” I ask.

“In order to make you stand out in the Monte Carlo Casino, you will have to outshine the other women,” Mr. Peak explains as he pulls up in front of the Cartier store.

Wow. I think I really am going to pass out.

When I get out of the Bentley, my knees literally become weak. I honestly would do my boss right now, in the middle of Rodeo Drive, if he ordered me.

As we approach the Cartier store, a woman opens the door for us and flashes a wide smile. Now, if you have never been to Rodeo Drive before, this kind of behavior never happens to regular human beings. Most of these stores will give you a dirty look if you don’t look like you can afford to shop there. The Cartier manager could not open the door fast enough for Mr. Peak.

“How do you do today?” the Cartier woman asks.

“We are doing fine. My as**sociate, Sarah, will be in Monaco. I want you to make her envied by all the women in the Municipality.”

The Cartier woman doesn’t need to hear another word. She smiles and snaps her fingers. Every as**sociate on the floor comes rushing towards her. Her snapping of the fingers must be some kind of code for, we got a f**king billionaire in our store.