BooksBarbecue
Back A French Affair
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. Epilogue
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. More from Jennifer Bohnet
  53. About the Author
  54. About Boldwood Books

‘Could you scroll around a bit and show me more? I saw the café when I walked around yesterday. I’m interested to see how it looked then.’

Alain let out a sigh and moved the cursor, quickly giving her a brief glimpse of the building before moving it back to the area he’d been studying.

Belinda drummed her fingers on the desk. ‘Right. Earlier you suggested your version of a truce,’ she said. ‘Well, here’s my version. Basically, it involves you stopping being such a male chauvinist, with an attitude that dates back to the 1950s. You give me the guided tour. We discuss what you think needs doing. I tell you what I think. And then we discuss it.’ She stopped to draw breath. ‘I’ll be taking over the organisation of things, so I need the password for the computer. I also need keys to the office and any other buildings that are locked. You give me access to everything I need and we will work together to achieve what Nigel wants. And you need to realise I’m not going away. I’m here to do a job for Nigel – the new owner of this site – and I will.’

Ignoring her words, Alain reached out and picked up his mug of coffee and took a long drink. Belinda watched his face change as he swallowed and realised how awful the coffee was. She half expected him to spit the drink everywhere and silently awarded him full marks when he didn’t.

‘Sorry, did I make it too strong for you? Don’t expect you’ll tell me to make the coffee again, will you?’ and she smiled sweetly at him. ‘Have a croissant to take the taste away.’

This time, he took one out of the bag she held out.

‘For the record – I’m not bossy or uptight, but I will not be spoken to rudely or treated like an idiot. I admit I’m a bit of a perfectionist, though, when it comes to getting things done properly. Something which Nigel appreciates.’

Alain glanced at her as he swallowed a piece of croissant but didn’t acknowledge that she knew about him phoning Nigel.

‘I make my own coffee in future,’ Alain said and walked over to the small sink to throw the remains of his coffee away. ‘As for the rest of it, I don’t ’ave a choice, so truce it is.’ He looked at Belinda and sighed. ‘Peut-être I owe you an apology. I’m not normally rude and chauvinistic, not intentionally anyway, so I apologise for my behaviour. No excuse, but I ’ave a lot on my mind at the moment.’ He held his hand out. ‘Mais, I can’t promise to agree with everything you say or do.’