Elliot stands up as I approach the table for our working dinner.
‘This is rather nice,’ I comment as he leans in to kiss my cheek. ‘How’s the cold?’
‘Better, thanks. It’s left me with an annoying cough though, but I’m sneeze-free now, thank goodness.’
A waiter appears at my side to seat me at the cosy little table for two, before Elliot even has time to step forward to pull out my chair.
Turning my head to give the incredibly handsome young Frenchman a warm smile, I settle myself down. ‘Merci.’
Elliot can see I’m a little puzzled at the choice of such a smart restaurant, and I’m glad I made a bit of an effort, choosing a simple, but pretty, dress to wear. He’s wearing a pale blue shirt, and navy trousers, looking very man about town. But then he is very handsome, very talented and very engaged to the vivacious Mia.
‘We deserve this,’ he informs me. ‘I wanted to kick off our time here with a bit of a celebration. This project was a great idea of yours, Lexie. I think our new business venture is going to snowball once we succeed in selling this first series. Ah, and here comes the waiter with a rather nice bottle of red wine I’ve ordered, ready for the toast.’
‘Lovely,’ I reply, trying hard to contain the growing smile on my face. If Elliot has a good feeling about this, then I’m not kidding myself in thinking we really have a shot.
Elliot nods to the waiter for me to have the honour of tasting the wine and he pours a little of the ruby-red liquid into my glass. I rather self-consciously pick it up and gently swirl it around before drawing it up to my nose. Savouring the richness of warm blackberries and a curious hint of – honestly – chocolate; that first sip is comforting, welcoming and rich.
‘Perfect, thank you.’
The waiter gives me a little smile of approval before pouring an inch of wine into each glass. Then he turns on his heel and sashays away as if he’s walking on air. I could sit and watch him all night; walking like that is an art form.
‘Ahem,’ Elliot clears his throat, drawing my gaze back in his direction.
‘That’s an expensive bottle of wine. You must let me pay for this meal, Elliot. It was your contact who managed to get our foot in the door and without that connection this would probably have been a project that never went anywhere,’ I admit.
‘Next time – the start of our second project, eh? It’s all about timing, Lexie. Your idea came at precisely the right moment. The popularity of the lavish drama Versailles by Canal Plus just showed there is a fascination with all things related to the palace that never wanes. The Palace of Versailles and its history is iconic, but people are also curious about what goes on there today. Honestly, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. So, here’s to us and to a very fruitful journey ahead.’
We touch our raised glasses and he smiles at me over the top of them.
‘And Mia will forgive me for whisking you away for the entire spring?’ I ask tentatively.
He nods, taking a moment to turn his head and cough. ‘She knew I had to spend some serious time in Paris anyway, so it’s not a problem. She said she was glad to see the back of me and my germs.’ We both laugh.
‘How easy will it be to coordinate everyone’s calendars and work around the availability of the interviewees?’
Elliot pulls out a small file from his leather satchel, placing it on the table.
‘Let’s order first, as the waiter is hovering, and we can discuss the draft schedule in between courses. Le Paradis is famous for its classic côte de boeuf, which they serve on a thick wooden slab. It’s hearty, but goodness me it’s good – trust me.’
Elliot is so well travelled in his line of work and at times I feel rather parochial in his company. Being a TV presenter, all I usually see is the inside of a studio and while to some it may appear to be a glamorous lifestyle, it really isn’t. Sure, I get to attend the odd award ceremony but even those are few and far between. By comparison, he’s used to restaurants as smart as this and seeing sights around the world I can only dream about. Maybe if our joint project is a success, then who knows what the future might bring? As Grandma Viv said, the only limit on how far a person can take their dream is the limit they set themselves.
After another long and busy day, I now have the task of pulling together the draft schedule, based on my conversation with Elliot last night. We need to have the first official version thrashed out ready to email across in advance of our meeting at the palace tomorrow. The sound of tinkling chimes sends me scurrying for my phone where I see it’s Shellie calling, and a welcome face comes into view.
‘Hi, Maisie. How are you, my darling girl?’
‘Good, thank you, Auntie Lexie. Missing you. I wanted to see where you are staying. Mummy said I could.’
‘Let me walk you around the cottage. Hang on, I’ll take you over to the window to show you the little courtyard at the front.’
I stride across and turn my phone to slowly pan from left to right.
‘Oh, Auntie Lexie, it’s so pretty! I wish I was there with you.’ Her voice drops in pitch, rather glumly.
When I turn the screen back around, she’s looking decidedly grumpy.
‘I’ll send you photos, I promise, so you won’t miss a thing. Here, let me show you the living room behind me. I’ve turned the table into my desk though, so it’s a bit messy – lots of paperwork. How was school today?’
‘Good. We had strawberry shortcake for pudding,’ she enthuses, her eyes shining again, and I start laughing.
‘Well, lucky you!’
Shellie appears in the background, leaning in to see what’s on the screen.
‘Tea is ready, Maisie. I need to have a quick word with Auntie Lexie, so say goodbye.’
Maisie pulls a face but blows me a kiss before handing over the phone.
‘Remember to send me some pictures,’ she trills musically as she walks away.
‘Hey, sis. Sorry I haven’t had time to call to let you know I arrived safely. What with settling in and then trying to finalise this schedule—’
‘Hmm… more like out of sight, out of mind. But I know you, your head will be full of the task ahead, so I didn’t expect anything different. Neither did Mum.’
Oh, dear. Mega fail.
‘I’ll text her in a bit, I promise. She knows what I’m like. Nothing has happened… yet. When I have any news, I’ll call her for a chat but we’re still sorting the admin stuff. I’m due to meet our interpreter in about an hour’s time and after a day hardly moving from my temporary desk, I need the distraction.’
She grimaces at me.
‘Sounds lonely to me. I couldn’t do that – head off to a place I’ve never visited before and set up a temporary home. Funny how, being the middle child, I’m sandwiched between two annoyingly successful over-achievers.’
I groan. ‘Well, that remains to be seen for me. And anyway, you have one gorgeous little girl and another baby on the way. If I think my situation is scary, it pales in comparison to yours. All those sleepless nights all over again, and a husband who, let’s face it, might be gorgeous and hard-working but needs a lot of organising. Behind every successful man and all that.’
‘Remember when we were kids and I’d want to play tea parties all the time? You never wanted to sit down at our little pink plastic table and drink imaginary cups of tea. No, not you. You’d want to make something, and I’d have to sit there while you gave me a running commentary and then insisted I copy you. It always ended in a big squabble because you were so bossy, and I’d lose interest.’
She raises her eyebrows at me.
‘I know. Is it any wonder my first job was presenting a kids’ arts and crafts programme?’
‘Nope. So, who is this guy you’re meeting?’
‘His name is Ronan O’Byrne.’
‘Oh. I assumed he would be French. That’s a shame.’ She pulls a face. ‘I’d conjured up a picture of some handsome, softly spoken man with deeply sensitive eyes whose smooth accent would sweep you off your feet.’
She giggles as I roll my eyes.
‘He’s an experienced interpreter and comes highly recommended. He’s well known at the palace and has been involved in several documentaries over the years, apparently.’
‘He lives in France permanently, then?’
‘I assume so. To be honest I don’t really know very much about him. Why do you care?’
I can see from the glint in her eye what she’s getting at.
‘Well, Elliot is taken, so I was just wondering—’
‘Don’t. Just don’t. And with that I’d better go. Take care of everyone and don’t go overdoing it. That morning sickness can’t be fun.’
She screws up her face. ‘I’m counting down the days, believe me. And, Lexie, don’t forget to have some fun, will you?’
‘Now who’s being bossy?’ I smile to myself as the call disconnects.
Fun? Who has time for fun?
‘Alexandra Winters?’
The guy staring back at me as I hold open the door glances at me hesitantly. Clearly my slouchy leggings and sloppy jumper aren’t what he was expecting, but he’s not exactly dressed up. Wearing a fleece and an admittedly expensive pair of designer jeans, he’s smartly casual.
I nod and he thrusts out his hand for me to shake.
‘Ronan O’Byrne,’ he adds, rather unnecessarily.
‘Hello, Ronan, nice to meet you. Please come in. It’s a little tight space-wise, so can you shut the door behind you?’
I move back, climbing onto the second step of the staircase to give him room to stand inside and then push the door closed.
‘Follow me.’ I throw the words over my shoulder as I turn and climb the narrow stairs.
‘This is an interesting holiday home. I’ve driven by and walked down this road hundreds of times, but never realised these cottages were tucked away behind the row of shops.’
As he follows me into the open-plan area, I turn to get a better look at him. He’s in his early thirties, I should imagine, with close-cropped, dark brown hair and hazel-green eyes, which are staring back at me with interest. It feels a little awkward.
‘Can I get you a drink? Hot, cold, alcoholic?’
‘I’ll have whatever you’re having,’ he replies obligingly.
‘Coffee it is, then. Please make yourself comfortable.’
I busy myself in the kitchen area, leaving him to settle down on one of the sofas.
‘It’s bigger inside than it looks from the courtyard. Quite a find.’
He watches my every move as I place two steaming mugs of coffee on the table and take a seat opposite him.
‘So, it’s all about to kick off, then.’
‘Yes. I’m afraid Elliot couldn’t make it this evening as he has a meeting about another project he’s involved in while we’re here filming, but we’ve thrashed out a draft schedule that fits in with the preliminary interview dates. I just need to run through it with you in detail, as the sessions that are asterisked are when we’re likely to need your services. There are a couple of interviews where we’ve been informed the interviewees speak enough English for us to communicate without too much trouble. So, it’s a case of dovetailing the other slots with your own availability.’
‘When will this be agreed?’ He lifts his mug off the table, cradling it in his hands although it must be extremely hot.
‘At tomorrow’s meeting, we hope. I should be able to firm up those bookings immediately afterwards.’
‘Great. I like working with people who are on the ball and well organised. What’s your background, Alexandra?’
Hmm. He hasn’t looked me up online, then. ‘Please, call me Lexie. I’m a TV presenter.’
He takes a slurp of coffee and rather quickly places the mug back down. It’s as if he’s nervous, maybe he’s anxious to make a good first impression.
‘Anything I’d know?’
‘Not unless you watch either children’s TV or mid-morning lifestyle programmes.’
‘Ah, that would be a firm no, then. I’ve never had anything much to do with kids and I’ve never been a watcher of daytime TV. The history channel, some sport and mainly films, I’m afraid.’
‘Well, you’re not exactly our target market so I won’t be offended! And what’s your background?’
‘I’m a freelance dabbler. I’m fluent in French, German, Italian and Japanese. I’ve translated a few textbooks over the last couple of years and worked as a translator for a number of different TV companies. But I’m also a writer, and I’ve published two books so far. And I have a reasonably successful YouTube channel where I upload videos of some of my favourite parts of France.’
Hmm. He’s certainly not what I was expecting, at all.
‘That doesn’t sound like dabbling to me,’ I reply. ‘Eclectic, admittedly, but interesting.’
Ronan throws his head back and laughs.
‘Well, if you listened to my mother, she would say I gave up a perfectly good career to dabble and she isn’t impressed. The term is hers, because she’s hoping to shame me into getting my act together again.’
I find myself laughing alongside him and he is charming in a sort of disarming way. A lot of what he says is accompanied by either a deadpan look, or a cheeky grin. And it’s becoming clear with every word he says that he doesn’t take himself very seriously at all, which makes him even more likable.
‘Well, my late father was an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer and film-maker, and my brother, Jake, is a successful producer living in Los Angeles. So, I know a little bit about the struggle to find your niche.’
‘Struggle? Niche? Maybe that’s where you’re going wrong. Who wants to be pigeonholed? Life’s too short for that, I’ve discovered. It’s all about the adventure. I wasted a few good years trying to please other people and making myself miserable. If I ended up having to focus on just one thing now, it would probably drive me crazy.’
Oh, dear, I can’t help worrying that perhaps this means he’s a little flaky. I look up and realise he’s staring at me.
‘Don’t worry, interpreting is something I really enjoy. No two days are ever the same. Plus, I know my way around the palace and I’m on nodding terms with a lot of the staff.’
We sit in silence for a few minutes sipping our coffees and then I stand up, beckoning him over to the table at the kitchen end of the room.
‘Right. Let’s look over this schedule, then.’
Disconcertingly, I notice he hasn’t brought a diary with him, but as soon as we sit down, he pulls his phone out of his shirt pocket and begins looking at his electronic calendar. For all the joking around he knows exactly what dates he can fit in and it doesn’t take long to run through the entire thing.
‘Well, hopefully I will be able to confirm these dates very soon.’
‘This interview here with Anton Mereux.’ He points at the schedule on the screen in front of me. ‘It won’t require an interpreter. It would be a waste of time and your money, my being there. His English is very good and he’s a very accommodating chap.’
‘Oh, great, thanks for the heads up. We’re simply going on the info we’ve been given. The asterisk alongside his name could be my error. This is probably the eighth version of this document,’ I admit, glad he spotted it. Our budget is tight enough as it is, and we certainly can’t afford to waste a penny on man hours that aren’t necessary.
I give Ronan a grateful smile, and he stands, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
‘Right. I’d better head off and leave you to it. I hope to hear from you in the next day or two, then. Looking forward to working with you, Lexie, and to meeting Elliot.’
‘You too, Ronan. I’ll see you out.’
We shake hands and I feel sure we’re all going to work well together as a team. I was expecting a serious, academic type but he’s far from serious. In fact, he’s left quite an impression on me, to the extent that my heart is thumping in my chest. Calm down, Lexie, that little voice of reason worms its way into my head. Yes, he’s good-looking and intelligent and interesting… and maybe he is going to be rather fun to have around. But you’re here to work and you need to focus, even if he does promise to be somewhat of a distraction.