At least someone seemed to be on her side…
A few moments later, she took her laptop across to Claudine’s office and knocked on the door. Inside, Claudine was sitting at a desk that looked completely clear – Bella’s was already starting to look messy, she’d have to attend to it later – her porcelain hands knitted together in front of her.
‘Bonjour,Isabella,’ she said in French. ‘You are ready?’
‘Yes,’ Bella replied. ‘I’ve put together some initial ideas for the pitch. I can start making calls after the meeting.’
Claudine nodded approvingly and leant slightly backwards on her wheeled chair, as if somehow a weight were being lifted from her. ‘Wonderful,’ she said, gesturing to the projector and encouraging Bella to start.
It was as if Bella had stepped outside of her body and was looking at herself with new eyes. Smartly dressed, a little tired around the eyes, confident. She talked about her vision, what they’d need to do – first steps, next steps, final steps. And she could see in Claudine’s face that her new boss was impressed.
‘Magnifique! This is a great start. You definitely have a gift for this industry, Isabella. I am very confident that we will be moving forward brilliantly with you steering the ship.’
Bella realised she was grinning like an idiot, so reined in her smile a little to look more self-assured than flabbergasted. ‘Thank you.’
‘We will celebrate,’ Claudine said. ‘Are you free to go for a drink after work?’
Bella thought of her aching limbs, of the fact that she had been hoping to scuttle back on the train and collapse in a few hours’ time either in her bed or Henri’s. But looking at Claudine, she realised that this was one of those pivotal moments. Her boss was making a gesture of friendship.
There was only one answer she could give. ‘Oui!’
‘Wonderful, wonderful.’ Claudine leant forward a little over her desk as if imparting a secret. ‘You know, it has been a long time since I was able to go out. My husband and I, we separated a few years ago, and it is difficult with such a big job to find someone new. Some of the other staff at the hotel, they go out but – pah! – they are babies. It will be nice torefaire le mondewith someone on my level.’
Refaire le monde– remodel the world, Bella’s brain quickly translated. She smiled, wondering what Claudine might have thought had she seen her the night before inLe Cocorico,behaving to all intents and purposes like one of the ‘babies’ she was describing.
She would have to be careful tonight – not drink too much and definitely not give too much of herself away. But if it was reinvention Claudine was interested in, she was definitely becoming an expert at that.
18
NOW
The bar Claudine had chosen, with its chequered tiles and aesthetically worn leather-clad seating, was exactly the type depicted in films about Paris – traditional, beautiful and full of well-dressed, stylish-looking clients. Seven o’clock and the scattered tables on the street outside were almost all taken, but Claudine managed to commandeer one just as its occupants left, and Bella took the seat opposite her gratefully.
She had been almost superhuman today, existing on barely a wink of sleep, and the last thing she’d wanted to do was step into a taxi and head to a bar. But now, on the street, with the buzz of conversation, surrounded by well-groomed and effortlessly elegant Parisians, she started to perk up a little.
‘Cocktail?’ Claudine asked, an eyebrow raised quizzically.
Bella nodded, feeling a little like a child being taken somewhere by a glamorous aunt.
A waiter came to take their order and she pointed to carajillo on the menu, hoping that the shot of espresso that it contained would help to keep her alert for long enough to impress her boss before she went home and collapsed.
As they waited for their drinks, a silence fell over them briefly and Bella racked her brain for something to fill it. ‘Oh, I’ve sent out that email to confirm the caterers for the presentation evening.’
Claudine looked amused. ‘I am glad to hear it. But let’s not talk shop now we are here.’
‘Oh.’ Bella made a face at her faux pas. ‘Sorry.’
‘It is just my way,’ Claudine said. ‘If we let our work come with us into other areas of our life it can become all we are. I like to try to keep it a little separate.’
Bella nodded. ‘Makes sense.’ She thought of the way the B&B – sharing her home with her business, and her house with strangers – had bled into every facet of her life with Pete. It had meant that they rarely had had time to feel completely at ease and alone. Arguments had been hushed, sex furtive and confined to bedtime hours. Always being on show had meant they’d buried resentments rather than air them. And the resentments had grown.
‘Besides, I think it is nice to get to know a person outside of their job,’ Claudine continued. ‘I already know your work background. But I don’t know who you are.’
Bella felt a little start in her chest. Was Claudine on to her? But she realised it was just a turn of phrase. ‘Oh, I’m not very interesting, I’m afraid.’
‘Pah, nonsense. You do not get to our age without becoming interesting,’ Claudine said and leant forward. ‘I want to know who Isabella is.’
So would I¸ she thought. What was it with everyone she met out here assuming she was the same age as them? Claudine looked to be in her early forties, Henri and Odette thought she was in her twenties. Either she was aging like fine wine or a long-forgotten packed lunch left in a school satchel.
