“Did you talk with Mr. Crawley already?” Martha asked her husband when they sat down at the dinner table.
“I have sent him an email, but Cora only arrived two days ago, I do not want to interfere too much already.”
“You are still keeping up the façade, right?”
Isidor sighed, he still was not convinced they did the right thing. Of course, it would be nice to have a London-based office. That way it was easier to spread all over Europe. Although he was aware of the results of Brexit. But it was all set up for Martha’s masterplan. Getting Cora to marry an English Lord. “Yes dear. We will go ahead with opening an office in London and we will use ‘Crawley Advertisements’ knowledge.”
“I was wondering.” Martha continued. “Cora did not call them Lord or Lady Crawley.”
“Maybe they do not use those terms anymore.” Isidor said.
“I will have to look into that family again, what if I made a mistake and they are not the Grantham’s? If that is the case, I have to get Cora to connect with other people. Than this whole wanting to work together with ‘Crawley Advertisements’ is a waste of time.” Martha put another bite in her mouth.
Isidor looked at her. Why was his wife so obsessed with this Lord and Lady business. Why was an American man not good enough for their daughter. He did not like that Cora was this far away. And if she would find a suitable match, she would be for ever far away.
“Are you listening?” Martha snapped.
Isidor was so used to Martha snapping like that, that he did not even flinch. “No, dear, I was not listening. But I will look into the titles of the Crawley’s.”
“So, you were listening!” Martha said with an irritated voice.
With a deep sigh Isidor answered. “No, I was not, but you are asking me the same question since this morning. Can we please just enjoy our dinner now.” He turned towards Harold. “Did you see that new request that came in today. What do you think? Should we take that job?”
Martha gave Isidor an annoyed look. Why did he not care about Cora’s title. They were still seen as new money in this city. She did not like that. She needed Cora to make name and get a title, so she herself would rise up the social ladder.
+++
*2 weeks had passed*
Cora was starting to find her routine, each morning she went for a short walk along the riverside. Before heading to the office, she loved how walkable this area was. She had not missed her car yet. It would probably come as soon as she had time to explore more of the country. But she could always rent a car.
When she entered the office building, the receptionist greeted her. It was a nice young woman called Baxter. Baxter was more than just the receptionist, she made sure that all the desks were stocked, with paper, pens, paperclips and so on. She made sure Robert got his lunch every afternoon, at exactly the same time. Cora had chuckled about that. It did not take her long to realise how much Robert was leaning on his routine. She preferred to go out for lunch, and she had found a new place each day, due to the recommendations of Baxter. She had also asked her everything she needed to know about the computer system, they were using. Cora had been surprised by how much Baxter knew.
She took the stairs to her office, when she walked in, she was surprised, to find John sitting at her desk. Although was it her desk? It was a bigger one, even the screen that was standing on it was bigger. “Good morning.” She said surprised.
“Good morning.” John answered friendly.
“Ah, you are already here.” Robert said. He was standing behind Cora.
This comment annoyed Cora already, what game was he playing now? “As every day.” She answered.
Robert hummed. “Well, as you see, I have moved your desk.”
“You moved my desk?” Cora echoed.
“Indeed, it is at the office next door. I need John, who is my assistant, in the same room. It makes work easier.”
Cora did not know how to respond properly. But she was not going to be humiliated by Robert. She straightened her back and looked Robert in the eye. “Thank you, for moving it.” She looked at John. “Congratulations on your new job.” She turned back around and walked passed Robert. “Good to know we can collaborate with assistants now.” She did not turn around again, when she heard Robert’s “What” She was not going to lose this power battle. Because that was what Robert was doing. Battling her to see who was the strongest and who would last the longest. Cora opened the door, to her new office and it was not even that bad. It was big enough for a second desk. She put down her bag and opened her laptop.
The first email she was going to send was towards Mr. Crawley senior. She needed his approval for her idea. Robert did not need to know what she was going to do.
After she hit send, she doubted. Was it smart to already send out this email, what if it did not work out the way she had hoped. What if she would say no to her request? Cora sighed, it did not matter, when she would not help her, Cora would find another assistant. She had plans, big plans and this was the time to make sure they would happen. Back at home, Harold had always stopped her from forming her own ideas, but with Robert it was different. He was so indifferent to what she was doing, that she had more space to develop things. She had already found a company that wanted to collaborate with her on a pilot idea.
Her next email was towards Rosamund. ‘Good morning, Rosamund.
I know, I am quite late with my request. I understand when you are busy, if so, please let me know and we can schedule it for another day. I saw that tonight at the local cinema they would show that new Liam Neeson movie and was thinking, that we could go together. Kind regards, Cora.”
Right away there was an answer. “Good morning, Cora.
That is a lovely idea, maybe we can grab something to eat before we see that film? See you at lunch time for the lunch meeting with ‘Sky Garden’. Warm regards, Rosamund.”
Cora opened her agenda, there was no meeting scheduled. Then she opened Robert’s agenda and there she saw the meeting. It was a good thing their accounts were linked she thought. Robert was trying to make her look like a fool for not showing up. She reminded herself that she should check his agenda more often.
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