Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
“Three years ago my uncle died. Actually, it was the weekend I was with you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. He….” I pause as I try to collect my thoughts. “He married a French woman and they settled here. Unfortunately, a few years after they were married she died, and he never remarried. Antiques and Nice were his life.”
He listens intently and sips his drink; he sloshes it around in his mouth as if savoring the taste before swallowing it.
“Anyway, when he died he left an entire warehouse of antiques to me in his will and when I came here to try and sort them out, I ended up staying and opening an antique store.”
“I see.” He smiles as he watches me. “From what I see you have an eye for detail and are doing well. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” I feel proud of myself, from the corner of my eye I see something move in the window, I look out to see that we are pulling out of the marina. “Where are we going?” I ask.
“Just out to sea for a little bit.”
“Why?”
“Why not?” His eyes hold mine. “It’s nice not to be disturbed.”
“Right.”
This is a bad, bad idea….
“What are your plans moving forward?” he asks, totally undeterred by us going out to sea.
“I would like to build my antique store and perhaps open a second location.”
“Whereabouts?”
“Paris.”
“Okay.” He smiles as he listens. “And what about personally?”
“What?”
“Your personal plans moving forward?”
“I hardly think we need to discuss my personal life.”
“If I’m going to mentor you, it’s a full-package deal.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t mentor you if your personal goals don’t align with your business goals. I need a full picture of everything to become clear on where we are going.”
“Oh.”
“It makes no difference to me, but I do need to know where you see yourself in five, ten and fifteen years from now.”
“Right.” I twist my fingers on my lap, unsure if I want to be here anymore.
Mentoring me for business is one thing, opening up about where I want my future to be is going too far.
He takes out a notepad and pen from his top drawer. “Let’s break it down. This is always daunting for people when we start this process.”
“You’ve done this before?”
“I’ve mentored many people,” he says as he rules lines on his notepad. “I really enjoy it.”
This is not so special then.
“Let’s do a list, where do you want to be personally in twelve months?” he asks.
“Happy.”
His eyes rise to meet mine as if taken off guard by my answer. “Are you happy now?”
“Yes.”
“Why do I feel like….”
“Like what?” I cut him off.
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not happy?”
“I don’t know, because I am,” I snap.
He writes something down and underlines it. “Where do you want to be in five years?”
“I would like to be settled down and happily married.”
He continues taking notes. “Seven years from now?”
“Perhaps starting a family.”
He nods and keeps writing. “And in what capacity do you want to keep working if you have children?”
I think for a moment before I reply, “I would like to be active in the business but not tied down working nine-to-five full days.”
“Right.” He takes more notes. “Do you currently have an online presence for your business?”
“Yes and no. I do a daily product post on socials but my website and marketing skills could definitely be a lot sharper.”
Over the next two hours Edward leads me through a series of questions, things I’ve never considered or given any real thought to about my life before now. I’m beginning to see the value in him mentoring me, he really does have a deeper understanding of the principles of business.
The yacht is turned around and we are heading back to shore. “Surely you can have a glass of wine now?” he asks me.
“I guess I can.” I smile, I’m confident that this isn’t a sleazy pickup attempt and I now feel the confidence to let my guard down a little.
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asks.
“I’m going to New York to see my brother graduate.”
“Ahh…I’d offer you my jet but I’m going to be using it myself.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Home to London for the week. It’s my sister Charlotte’s birthday. You know, your best friend.” He winks.
“Oh, yes.” I laugh. “Give her my love.”
He goes to the bar and pours me a glass of wine and himself another glass of whatever he’s drinking and I smile as I take it from him. He holds his glass up as I touch mine to it.
I take a sip and frown as I stare at the glass. “Well, this is delicious.”
“It is.”
I look around our luxurious surroundings. “I can’t actually believe that this is your life.”
He looks around as if trying to see it through my eyes. “Me too, some days.”
“I’m…” I shrug, “…gobsmacked.”