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Abel spent the next two years concentrating on building his hotels in Europe He opened the Paris Baron in 1953 and the London Baron at the end of 1954 Barons were also in various stages of developh, Cannes and Stockholramme

Abel became so overworked that he had little time to consider William Kane’s continued prosperity He had not made any attempt to buy shares in Lester’s Bank or its subsidiary coh he held on to those he already possessed in the hope that another opportunity ainst William Kane from which he would not recover so easily The next time, Abel proly break the law

During Abel’s increasingly frequent absences abroad George ran the Baron Group and Abel was hoping that Florentyna would join the board as soon as she ’ left Radcliffe in June of 1955 He had already decided that she should take over responsibility for all the shops in the hotels and consolidate their buying, as they were fast beco an empire in themselves

Florentyna was very excited by the prospect but was insistent that she wanted soroup She did not consider her natural gifts for design, colour, and organisation were any substitute for experience Abel suggested that she train in Switzerland under Monsieur Maurice at the famed ~cole H&eli~re in Lausanne Florentyna baulked at the idea, explaining that she wanted to work for two years in a New York store before she would consider taking over the shops She was deter, ’ and not just as hly approved

’A New York store, that’s done easily enough,’ he said ’I’ll ring up Walter Hoving at Tiffany’s and you can start at the top

’No,’ said Florentyna, revealing that she’d inherited her father’s streak of stubbornness ’What’s the equivalent of a junior waiter at the Plaza Hotel?’

’A sales girl at a depart

’Then that’s exactly what I’ ’Are you serious? With a degree froained froirl? ’Being an anonymous waiter at the Plaza didn’t do you any harm when the tiroups in the world,’ replied Florentyna

Abel knehen he was beaten He had only to look into the steel grey eyes of his beautiful daughter to realise she had entle or otherwise, was going to change her views

After Florentyna had graduated from Radcliffe, she spent a ress of the latest Baron hotels

She officially opened the Brussels Baron where she ing director, whoive hie, but she never adarlic had been the reason

Florentyna returned to New York with her father and immediately applied for the vacantposition (the words used in the classified advertisedale’s When she filled in the application forave her name as Jessie Kovats, well aware that no one would leave her in peace if they ever thought she was the daughter of the Chicago Baron

Despite protests from her father, she also left her suite in the Baron Hotel and started looking for her own place to live Once again Abel gave in and presented Florentyna with a sant co - operative flat on Fifty - seventh Street near the East River as a twenty - second birthday present

Florentyna already knew her way around New York and enjoyed a full social life, but she had long ago resolved not to let her friends know that she was going to work at Bloodale’s She feared that they would want to come and visit her and, in days, her cleverly constructed cover would be blown,it impossible to be treated as a normal trainee

When her friends did inquire, sheto run the shops in her father’s hotels None of theht

Jessie Kovats; - it took her soet used to the name - started in cosmetics After six irls in Bloodales worked in pairs, which Florentyna, i to ith the laziest girl in the departirls as Florentyna’s choice was a gorgeous, unenlightened blonde called Maisie who had only two interests in life: the clock pointing to the hour of six pm and men The former happened once a day, the latter all the time