American library books ยป Other ยป The Armstrong Assignment (A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Book 1) by Diana Xarissa (books for 10th graders TXT) ๐Ÿ“•

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lunch.โ€

โ€œI can have food brought in,โ€ the youngest man at the table offered. He was wearing black trousers, a blue shirt, and a tie with his cowboy boots and hat.

Bobby shook his head. โ€œI want to go out and get something at a real French restaurant. The restaurant here does American food. If I wanted American food, I could have stayed in America.โ€

โ€œMost of the guests here prefer to have the option to have food thatโ€™s familiar to them,โ€ the younger man told him.

โ€œWell, I didnโ€™t come this far to eat the same food I can get at home. Weโ€™ll go out after the meeting,โ€ Bobby replied.

โ€œIf you have a specific restaurant in mind, I can have it cleared before we get there,โ€ Edward suggested.

Bobby sighed. โ€œI thought we could stroll into the middle of the city and pick a place that looked good.โ€

โ€œOf course we can,โ€ Edward told him. โ€œThatโ€™s just slightly riskier.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™ve all met Edward, of course,โ€ Bobby said to the others. โ€œHeโ€™s in charge of spoiling my fun, mostly.โ€

Edward shook his head. โ€œThatโ€™s the last thing I want to do. I simply want to keep you safe.โ€

โ€œAllow me to introduce the very lovely Janet Markham,โ€ Bobby continued. โ€œMs. Markham has graciously agreed to act as a translator for me while weโ€™re in Paris. She speaks fluent French.โ€

Janet blushed. โ€œOf course, you must all call me Janet,โ€ she said.

โ€œUm, Bobby, I did offer to hire a translator for you,โ€ the young man said. โ€œIโ€™m not certain where you found Ms. Markham, but I do have some, um, concerns about bringing in someone random.โ€

Bobby waved a hand. โ€œIt doesnโ€™t matter where I found her,โ€ he replied. โ€œAdd her to the payroll. Sheโ€™s getting five thousand dollars a day, starting today.โ€

โ€œFive thousand?โ€ The man was clearly shocked.

Janet glanced over at Edward. He looked surprised as well.

โ€œThat is considerably more than the going rate for someone to help you order your lunch and dinner,โ€ the young man argued.

โ€œSheโ€™s going to be doing a great deal more than that,โ€ Bobby countered. โ€œWe have a lot of business meetings coming up over the next two weeks.โ€

โ€œAnd each of the companies with which we are going to meet has already promised to have translators available if necessary,โ€ the other man countered.

โ€œDo you trust them?โ€ Bobby demanded. โ€œDo you trust them all to be completely honest and above board? I want someone in the room who can listen to the conversations taking place and let me know whatโ€™s really being said.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re paying her to spy for you?โ€ the man asked.

Again Janet glanced at Edward. He looked amused and, when she caught his eye, he winked at her.

โ€œI just want someone in the meetings who can understand everything being said and who I know is on my side,โ€ Bobby replied. โ€œJanet, the man arguing against you is my assistant, Theodore Bradley.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s nice to meet you, Mr. Bradley,โ€ she replied, suppressing the urge to call him Teddy.

โ€œCall me Theodore,โ€ he replied unenthusiastically. โ€œIโ€™ll need some information from you before I can put you on the payroll. Weโ€™ll have to talk later.โ€

Janet nodded. โ€œOf course.โ€

โ€œI think hiring your own translator is very clever,โ€ the man sitting next to Theodore said. He was the man whoโ€™d looked so out of place the previous day.

As he had been yesterday, he was wearing a suit. He had a cowboy hat on his head, but it very much looked as if it had been put there by mistake. Janet could only imagine that heโ€™d be removing it as soon as he possibly could.

โ€œJanet, my business partner, Neil Sullivan. He partners with me on some of my businesses, but that includes everything thatโ€™s happening here in Paris this week,โ€ Bobby said.

โ€œItโ€™s nice to meet you,โ€ Janet told the man.

He shrugged. โ€œItโ€™s nice to meet you as well. Call me Neil, and please donโ€™t take offense, but just how fluent is your French?โ€

Janet took a deep breath. It was just possible that some of the others spoke some French, so she needed to be careful. โ€œItโ€™s very nice to meet you all, and Iโ€™m looking forward to working with Bobby to help him with his business deals, but if anyone here doesnโ€™t trust me or doesnโ€™t want me involved, I can go back to enjoying myself in Paris and waiting for my husband to join me. Goodness only knows how long that will take, but I can be patient when I have to be,โ€ she said in French.

Neil raised an eyebrow. โ€œThe only word I understood was โ€˜Bobby.โ€™ Did anyone understand her?โ€

Janet looked at Edward, knowing that heโ€™d understood every word. He was staring straight ahead and didnโ€™t say a word.

โ€œI understood a bit,โ€ one of the women said. She was the younger of the two women, probably around forty, and today she was wearing a bright red dress. It was cut low at the front, revealing ample cleavage. Her cowboy hat was also red.

โ€œYou studied French for four years at college,โ€ Bobby said.

The woman laughed. โ€œI studied fraternity parties for four years at college. I dabbled in French when I wasnโ€™t too drunk, which was just about never.โ€

โ€œMy daughter,โ€ Bobby told Janet. โ€œLucy Stone. You may have heard of her.โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t believe I have,โ€ Janet replied, wondering if the woman was a model or an actor.

Several people laughed.

โ€œI guess Lucyโ€™s antics havenโ€™t made it into British gossip magazines,โ€ Theodore said. โ€œThat has to be a good thing.โ€

Lucy rolled her eyes. โ€œIโ€™ve something of a reputation back home,โ€ she told Janet. โ€œI drink and party too much and I make terrible choices when it comes to men. All of that has changed now, though.โ€ She looked over at the man sitting next to

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