The Armstrong Assignment (A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Book 1) by Diana Xarissa (books for 10th graders TXT) 📕

He shrugged. “Teddy said I needed a translator, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Teddy?”

“My assistant. His name is Theodore Bradley, and he hates it when I call him Teddy.”

Before Janet could question the remark, the waiter arrived with their order.

“Merci,” Janet said.

“Yes, mercy,” Bobby added. “Um, mercy buckets.”

The waiter waited until he was a few steps away before he laughed.

Bobby took a sip of his coffee and sighed. “I needed that,” he said. “Back home, my cook has my coffee ready the minute I get out of bed.”

“How nice,” Janet murmured.

“I woke up this morning and I needed coffee,” he continued. “I couldn’t read the instructions on the telephone. They were all in French. The hotel probably has a restaurant and room service, but I couldn’t work it out. Anyway, I was dying to see Paris. I’ve seen it in movies and I was excited to be here. That probably sounds dumb coming from a sixty-three-year-old man.”

“Not at all. I love to travel and I’m always excited to get to my destination.”

He nodded. “I love to travel, too, but I usually go to Hawaii. I have a house there. I don’t take a lot of vacations, though. I’m a workaholic and I’m not letting my age slow me down.”

“If I had lots of money, I’d do nothing but travel.”

“I’d rather be making deals than sitting on a beach.”

Before Janet could reply, a song started playing loudly. Bobby jumped and then sighed.

“They’ve found me,” he said with a laugh. He pulled out a mobile phone and glanced at the screen. “Teddy,” he told Janet.

Who hates it when you call him that, she thought.

“Hello?”

“Having coffee at a café near the Arch of Treeumph.”

“I’m sure he is. He’ll get over it.”

“I’ll be back in half an hour.”

He ended the call and slid the phone back into his pocket. “My security guard is having fits,” he said with a chuckle.

“You have a security guard?”

“A necessary precaution at the moment,” he sighed. “I’m not supposed to go anywhere without him, but I sort of forgot about that because I was so desperate for coffee.”

“Is he going to come looking for you?” Janet asked, suddenly worried that Edward was going to walk through the door at any moment. What would he say when he saw her having coffee with Bobby?

“I hope not. I told Teddy I’d be back in half an hour.”

Janet nodded. “I can’t imagine having to have a security guard.”

“I don’t like it one bit. The worst part is, he’s British, and he doesn’t seem to trust anyone. But I don’t want to talk about it. Tell me about Derbyshire.”

“My sister and I own a small bed and breakfast,” she replied. As they sipped their drinks and ate their pastries, she told him a few funny stories about the guests they’d hosted over the years. Bobby laughed heartily at every anecdote.

Twenty-five minutes later, he looked at his watch. “And now I must go,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed talking with you, though. You didn’t say how long you’re going to be in Paris or why you’re here, but I have a proposition for you.”

“A proposition?” Janet echoed.

“It’s obvious that I need a translator. My security guy speaks French, but I’m not sure that I trust him. I’ll pay you to be my translator for the next two weeks. You’d have to come and stay at the same hotel with me and you’d have to work a lot of long hours, but I can pay you, I don’t know, five thousand dollars a day?”

Janet gasped. “I’ve no idea what the going rate is for translators, but that seems a lot,” she said.

He laughed. “I can afford it. I’m the only Texas millionaire who doesn’t own a single oil well.”

“Really?”

“Yup. I’ve no interest in oil. I made my fortune elsewhere. But I need to get back. Do you want the job or not?”

Janet frowned. “Yes,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Excellent,” he beamed. “I imagine you’ll want to pack up your things wherever you’re staying now. I’ll get you a room at my hotel. Ask for me when you arrive and we’ll get everything sorted out.” He gave her the address that she already knew.

“Okay,” Janet said, feeling as if she’d just done something incredibly stupid.

“I’ll expect you in about an hour,” he said as he stood up. He pulled out his wallet and selected several notes. “I suppose I should get some French money, shouldn’t I?” he asked. “I hope this will cover it. Let me know when you see me later if there was a problem.”

He strode out of the room before Janet could reply. She counted the money he’d dropped on the table. One hundred American dollars would surely cover what they’d had, but the café might not be willing to accept foreign currency.

A moment later, the waiter returned to clear away the empty dishes. When Janet told him that her companion had left US dollars to pay, he simply shrugged.

“It happens quite a lot. As long as he left enough money, I don’t mind,” he told her.

His face lit up when she handed him the money.

Janet knew she looked far less happy as she left the café and headed back towards her hotel. What had she just done?

Chapter 5

When Janet got back to her room, she sank down on the bed and tried to think. There was a very good chance that Edward was going to be furious with her for interfering in his assignment. She hadn’t deliberately done so, though. She’d simply been walking down the street, minding her own business, when she’d seen Bobby