Fun? Who has time for fun?
‘Alexandra Winters?’
The guy staring back at me as I hold open the door glances at me hesitantly. Clearly my slouchy leggings and sloppy jumper aren’t what he was expecting, but he’s not exactly dressed up. Wearing a fleece and an admittedly expensive pair of designer jeans, he’s smartly casual.
I nod and he thrusts out his hand for me to shake.
‘Ronan O’Byrne,’ he adds, rather unnecessarily.
‘Hello, Ronan, nice to meet you. Please come in. It’s a little tight space-wise, so can you shut the door behind you?’
I move back, climbing onto the second step of the staircase to give him room to stand inside and then push the door closed.
‘Follow me.’ I throw the words over my shoulder as I turn and climb the narrow stairs.
‘This is an interesting holiday home. I’ve driven by and walked down this road hundreds of times, but never realised these cottages were tucked away behind the row of shops.’
As he follows me into the open-plan area, I turn to get a better look at him. He’s in his early thirties, I should imagine, with close-cropped, dark brown hair and hazel-green eyes, which are staring back at me with interest. It feels a little awkward.
‘Can I get you a drink? Hot, cold, alcoholic?’
‘I’ll have whatever you’re having,’ he replies obligingly.
‘Coffee it is, then. Please make yourself comfortable.’
I busy myself in the kitchen area, leaving him to settle down on one of the sofas.
‘It’s bigger inside than it looks from the courtyard. Quite a find.’
He watches my every move as I place two steaming mugs of coffee on the table and take a seat opposite him.
‘So, it’s all about to kick off, then.’
‘Yes. I’m afraid Elliot couldn’t make it this evening as he has a meeting about another project he’s involved in while we’re here filming, but we’ve thrashed out a draft schedule that fits in with the preliminary interview dates. I just need to run through it with you in detail, as the sessions that are asterisked are when we’re likely to need your services. There are a couple of interviews where we’ve been informed the interviewees speak enough English for us to communicate without too much trouble. So, it’s a case of dovetailing the other slots with your own availability.’
‘When will this be agreed?’ He lifts his mug off the table, cradling it in his hands although it must be extremely hot.
‘At tomorrow’s meeting, we hope. I should be able to firm up those bookings immediately afterwards.’
‘Great. I like working with people who are on the ball and well organised. What’s your background, Alexandra?’
Hmm. He hasn’t looked me up online, then. ‘Please, call me Lexie. I’m a TV presenter.’
He takes a slurp of coffee and rather quickly places the mug back down. It’s as if he’s nervous, maybe he’s anxious to make a good first impression.
‘Anything I’d know?’
‘Not unless you watch either children’s TV or mid-morning lifestyle programmes.’
‘Ah, that would be a firm no, then. I’ve never had anything much to do with kids and I’ve never been a watcher of daytime TV. The history channel, some sport and mainly films, I’m afraid.’
‘Well, you’re not exactly our target market so I won’t be offended! And what’s your background?’
‘I’m a freelance dabbler. I’m fluent in French, German, Italian and Japanese. I’ve translated a few textbooks over the last couple of years and worked as a translator for a number of different TV companies. But I’m also a writer, and I’ve published two books so far. And I have a reasonably successful YouTube channel where I upload videos of some of my favourite parts of France.’
Hmm. He’s certainly not what I was expecting, at all.
‘That doesn’t sound like dabbling to me,’ I reply. ‘Eclectic, admittedly, but interesting.’
Ronan throws his head back and laughs.
‘Well, if you listened to my mother, she would say I gave up a perfectly good career to dabble and she isn’t impressed. The term is hers, because she’s hoping to shame me into getting my act together again.’
I find myself laughing alongside him and he is charming in a sort of disarming way. A lot of what he says is accompanied by either a deadpan look, or a cheeky grin. And it’s becoming clear with every word he says that he doesn’t take himself very seriously at all, which makes him even more likable.
‘Well, my late father was an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer and film-maker, and my brother, Jake, is a successful producer living in Los Angeles. So, I know a little bit about the struggle to find your niche.’
‘Struggle? Niche? Maybe that’s where you’re going wrong. Who wants to be pigeonholed? Life’s too short for that, I’ve discovered. It’s all about the adventure. I wasted a few good years trying to please other people and making myself miserable. If I ended up having to focus on just one thing now, it would probably drive me crazy.’
Oh, dear, I can’t help worrying that perhaps this means he’s a little flaky. I look up and realise he’s staring at me.
‘Don’t worry, interpreting is something I really enjoy. No two days are ever the same. Plus, I know my way around the palace and I’m on nodding terms with a lot of the staff.’
We sit in silence for a few minutes sipping our coffees and then I stand up, beckoning him over to the table at the kitchen end of the room.
‘Right. Let’s look over this schedule, then.’
Disconcertingly, I notice he hasn’t brought a diary with him, but as soon as we sit down, he pulls his phone out of his shirt pocket and begins looking at his electronic calendar. For all the joking around he knows exactly what dates he can fit in and it doesn’t take long to run through the entire thing.
‘Well, hopefully I will be able to confirm these dates very soon.’
‘This interview here with Anton Mereux.’ He points at the schedule on the screen in front of me. ‘It won’t require an interpreter. It would be a waste of time and your money, my being there. His English is very good and he’s a very accommodating chap.’
‘Oh, great, thanks for the heads up. We’re simply going on the info we’ve been given. The asterisk alongside his name could be my error. This is probably the eighth version of this document,’ I admit, glad he spotted it. Our budget is tight enough as it is, and we certainly can’t afford to waste a penny on man hours that aren’t necessary.
I give Ronan a grateful smile, and he stands, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
‘Right. I’d better head off and leave you to it. I hope to hear from you in the next day or two, then. Looking forward to working with you, Lexie, and to meeting Elliot.’
‘You too, Ronan. I’ll see you out.’
We shake hands and I feel sure we’re all going to work well together as a team. I was expecting a serious, academic type but he’s far from serious. In fact, he’s left quite an impression on me, to the extent that my heart is thumping in my chest. Calm down, Lexie, that little voice of reason worms its way into my head. Yes, he’s good-looking and intelligent and interesting… and maybe he is going to be rather fun to have around. But you’re here to work and you need to focus, even if he does promise to be somewhat of a distraction.