It8217;s all in the name

It was a winter morning. I opened my eyes to see the scene outside the window. The sun had just come out and the fresh snow was glistenin...

It was a winter morning. I opened my eyes to see the scene outside the window. The sun had just come out and the fresh snow was glistening.

Suddenly I heard a banging sound on the door. It was Mildred, my housekeeper. Eyeing the untidy room, she said, 8220;What hit this place? A tornado?8221; 8220;Well, I was late from work last night.8221;

8220;Now hurry along, you are getting late for work.8221; She went in the kitchen to make me breakfast. The sight of roast beef, scrambled eggs and French toast made my stomach rumble. Hearing it, she laughed and gave that you-need-a-holiday look.

It had been four months since I had taken a break. Just the thought of no phone calls, no faxes, no emails, no harassing clients made a wave of pleasure go down my body. To Mildred8217;s surprise, I decided to take a break and go skiing with the hope of not bumping into any business associate there.

At lunch, I noticed a young man staring at me. I ignored him and went up. There I saw a note and a bunch of roses. The note read, 8220;Dear Miss Laura Martius, I would love to have your company for dinner tonight, Mr Umberto.8221;

I was sure that he was some business client. To avoid him, I told the hotel manager not to give any information about my whereabouts to any Mr Umberto. On second thoughts, I felt bad for standing him up. Perhaps he had a well priced contract for me. But anyway I didn8217;t want to spend my evening talking business with an oldie.

Suddenly I saw a young handsome man walking towards me. He was the person staring at me last night. He had a dazzling smile that blinded me for a second. Then he said, 8220;You are on a vacation. Alone, I guess. Can I join you, Miss Laura?8221; I asked him how he knew my name and he replied, 8220;We are staying at the same hotel. My name is Robert, but you can call me Robbie.8221;

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In a few moments we became friends. I asked him if he knew a Mr Umberto. 8220;Oh pick up any business magazine or even a gossip one would do to get his scandalous life history. He is a filthy rich man, very popular with girls especially.8221; 8220;Isn8217;t he a bit too old for that?8221; Robbie was very startled, 8220;How do you know he is an old man. You said you don8217;t know him.8221; 8220;Well,8221; I said, 8220;His name sounds like one of those.8221; Robbie said smilingly, 8220;The name makes all the difference to you, huh?8221; 8220;Of course,8221; I said.

On reaching the room I found a lovely dress and a note that said, 8220;Dear Miss Laura, sorry to miss our dinner date, I was in a meeting. But would love to have your company for lunch tomorrow.8221; God, give me a break, I didn8217;t want to have lunch with this scandalous old hag. At that very moment, I called up Robbie to tell him this. We decided to go out for lunch away from the hotel.

Before going out for lunch with him, I requested the manager to return the dress and a note of apology to Mr Umberto. He told me that Mr Umberto had called up thrice. The manager was surprised when I gave him a disgusted look. 8220;Come on Laura the car is waiting,8221; said Robbie. As I went towards the car, the manager followed me. I told him angrily, 8220;Can8217;t you understand, this has to be returned to Mr Umberto?8221; He said smilingly, 8220;Okay ma8217;am as you wish.8221; He went to Robbie and said, 8220;Sir, this is for you from Miss Laura.8221; I was dumfounded. Robbie burst out laughing, 8220;Sorry. But you were so sure that he was an old hag that I planned to show you the real Mr Umberto this way. Fooled you hah!8221;

8220;You are a rascal. I8217;ve never been embarrassed so much. The entire hotel must be wondering why I never returned his calls, while all along I was going out with him, Robbie or should I call you Mr Umberto8221; ?