The Butler(26)

    “That sounds about right,” Olivia agreed.

“When would you want someone to start?”

“I have this apartment for four more weeks, and I can move things into the new one in two weeks. So I could use someone’s help right away to help me buy what I need, since I’d be doing it in French, and I’m not sure where to go.”

“Do you have a car?”

“No, I don’t. I can rent one.”

“A van would probably be more useful. Ikea delivers, but we can pick things up with the van, and I could drive you. You don’t need a chauffeur to take you to Ikea, and the BHV, which is rather like Ikea, here in the city. It’s a nightmare, massively crowded. You stand on line forever to pay, but they have everything practical you’ll need.”

“I was wondering about the flea market too.”

“Good idea, though a little overpriced if you don’t speak the language, and there’s an excellent auction house you can check out.” He was full of good ideas, and their minds were racing. “My mother used to love the flea market. She used to go every weekend and drag home all sorts of treasures, Chinese dragons from some restaurant, supposedly Marie Antoinette’s slipper chair, or one just like it. She came home with the damnedest things, but somehow, they all worked. And she loved auctions too. I’ll ask her where you should go.”

“Has she given them up?” Olivia asked.

“There’s not an empty inch in the apartment.” He laughed. “If you hire me, she’s going to be extremely jealous and want to consult.”

    “Does it sound like a job you’d want to do?” she asked him. He was easy to talk to, direct and straightforward, and she could tell that he was very capable, he sounded organized and willing to lend a hand at a multitude of tasks. She had expected him to be pompous and very formal, instead she found him very human, and not full of himself at all, although his previous position had been a very big deal. This sounded like fun to him, and she wasn’t what he had expected either. He had thought she would be bossy and some kind of tough businesswoman, and much older. Instead she seemed very nice and reasonable, a little shy, and younger than he’d thought. She was close to his age. He was respectful and spoke to her as an equal.

“It sounds interesting and like quite a lot of fun, and a challenge to get you all set up. Will you be working while you’re here?” He was curious about what she did.

“I don’t think so. I don’t know. I’ve been nursing along a magazine that I started for the last ten years. It was my baby. It folded a few weeks ago. I haven’t figured out the next step, so I told myself I’d take a year off. I’m not sure I’ll stick to that. But I have no plans right now.”

“That’s more or less the same situation I’m in. Brave new world,” he said. “I didn’t want to go right back into a formal job. And my previous employers were so wonderful, it will be hard to match that situation, so I’m taking a break, and it seemed like a good time to visit my mother before I get buried in work again. Do you have children who’ll be coming over to visit?” It had been one of his concerns about her. Wild teenagers, or badly behaved small children.

“I don’t have children. With my mother gone, no relatives. I’m on my own.” He nodded and was surprised by that. He wondered if there was a man on the scene, and maybe it was why she had come to Paris, but it didn’t sound like that either, from what she’d said, which would also explain why she needed help.

    “I’m normally not an impulsive person, and not very spontaneous. I work all the time. This is very unusual for me, to take a year off, come to Paris, and rent an apartment. I’m a little surprised at myself. It’s scary as hell, but a nice change.” She smiled at him.

“I just came back from Argentina, where I grew up. I hadn’t been back in twenty-five years. I guess taking a break once in a while isn’t such a bad thing. I’ve never done it before either.”

“I’ll probably start working again in a few months. I just don’t know at what. But not another magazine.” She asked him about his salary then and was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable he was.

“It doesn’t seem fair to ask you for my usual wage. I won’t be doing most of what I normally do as a butler. This is really more of a jack-of-all-trades position, lending you a hand where I can. It sounds like fun, and it will be refreshing. I can go back to formal service when I go back to England if the right job turns up. And that might take a while. I don’t want to rush into anything, and get stuck in the wrong position.” Neither did she. She felt exactly the same way about her next endeavor.

“Would you like the job, Joachim?” she asked him directly, and he smiled.

“I’d like that very much.”

“When do you want to start?” She was pleased by his answer, and he looked happy too. It seemed like one of those fortuitous moments when two people and an opportunity collide at the right time.

“How does Monday sound? That will give us both time to gather our wits, make some lists, and figure out where to start. I’d suggest Ikea on Monday morning to order the kitchen and whatever else we find that catches your eye. I can rent a van if you like.”

    “That would be terrific. Monday at nine o’clock?” she said and stood up. And he did the same. They shook hands on it, and she walked him to the door, and then he turned to her with a final question. He was just friendly and personable enough, and just formal enough to be respectful. He had clear boundaries and didn’t try to pretend that they were friends. He knew where the line was and stayed well behind it.