Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 117920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
He sits back down and starts going through the rest of the papers on his desk, setting my resume aside. “Then go and pack everything up. You’ve been jumping around France for seven years, I’m pretty sure everything you possess can fit in a suitcase.”
He’s right but screw him for being so presumptuous.
“And since you’re in-between jobs,” he continues, “I’m betting you’ve been staying at a short-term rental or Air B&B, and whatever it is, I assure you any money you lose will be properly compensated by us.” He glances up at me, forehead wrinkled. “Maja will handle all the logistics, don’t worry.”
I know I’m currently in an Air B&B that I’ve already paid the rest of the month for, and I don’t have anyone to say goodbye to except for Amelie, but this weekend will be my last weekend of freedom before everything in my life changes. I need to hold on to that.
I swear I see him roll his eyes. “Fine,” he says, as if he can hear my thoughts. “Be here Sunday night then. That will give us enough time to sign everything and then you can start Monday by taking Clara to school.”
“Deal,” I manage to say. Then I stand there for a moment, wondering if there’s something else I should say or that we need to discuss.
He slowly glances up at me, and after a furtive look, says dismissively, “You may go.”
I nod. “See you Sunday night.”
“You may want to brush up on your royal protocol while you’re at it,” he calls after me as I head to the door. “Picking up some basic Danish phrases won’t hurt either.”
“Yes sir,” I say to him before opening the heavy door and stepping out into the hall.
Maja is standing there patiently, hands folded in front of her, a slight wince to her expression. “And how did it go?” she asks carefully.
I attempt to play it cool with a shrug before I break out into a grin. “I got the job!”
Her smile is small but it’s good enough. “That’s wonderful. He wasn’t too hard on you?”
“Oh, he was hard on me,” I tell her. “I believe he called me uneducated and silly at one point. But I’ll manage. I always do.”
She presses her palms together. “I’m so glad. The girls will be delighted.”
“And it’s a lot of weight off your shoulders too. You don’t have to search anymore.”
She nods primly. “Yes, well, hopefully you’ll last the full year.”
Damn, that took the wind out of my sails. I brush it off.
“I have no doubt I will,” I tell her.
Of course, on the other hand, I have no idea what I’m getting into.
And as I follow Maja down the hallway as she gives a quick tour past gilded paintings and marble statues and large, velvet-accented rooms with Baroque floors, rattling off a million different things before she takes me back to the airport, I realize how in over my head I really am.
Even though I haven’t signed anything yet, I feel like when I shook the King’s hand I was agreeing to something beyond my wildest dreams or nightmares.
I hope I didn’t just make a deal with the devil.
A handsome devil, of course.
They usually are.
Chapter 4
Aurora
“Salud,” Amelie says, raising her glass of champagne to me. “Or what do they say in Denmark again?”
I grin and tap my glass against hers before taking a sip, the bubbles tickling my nose. “I believe they say skål.”
“Skål. Why not?” she says with a dainty shrug. She takes a large gulp of her drink but manages to make it look elegant. Even when she’s plastered she appears completely refined. Must be the French way, je ne sais quoi.
“So,” she says, brushing imaginary lint from her shoulders. “I know we do this every time you start another job but this time it feels different. You won’t be in France anymore. I’ll feel so far away from you.” She sticks her precisely-lined red bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.
“I know.” Even though I got to know Amelie through work and we have a mostly professional relationship, she’s probably the closest friend I have. I’m sure that’s considered pathetic to a lot of people but I don’t mind being a loner. Sometimes I think I prefer it that way. Ever since I left Australia, my relationships with people have been shallow and fleeting. They’ve been safe.
But I do like Amelie a lot and I’ve known her for so long at this point, which is why I wanted to have one last drink with her tonight before I leave for Copenhagen tomorrow. And something tells me I’m going to need someone to vent to in the future.
“Hey,” I say to her, looking around the bar to make sure no one is listening. “If I call or email you, you know, just to talk and vent about the job, that won’t be, like, recorded will it?”