Since I didn’t have any curtains yet, I awoke with sunlight streaming into my bedroom. I would have loved to sleep in for a few more hours, but I couldn’t go back to sleep with all that sunlight. I got out of bed, got dressed and went downstairs, where I was met by Gabriel.

  “Good morning, sir, how was your rest?”

  “Quite good, thank you. That bed was an excellent choice.”

  “I tool the liberty of having breakfast delivered, so if you would come to the dining room, I will get it.” I followed Gabriel. There was as sidebar set up as a buffet. I selected eggs, meat (not sure which kind), a few strange looking vegetables, and some bread rolls.

  “What type of meat is this?”, I asked.

  “Wild boar.”

  I immediately pictured slime boar, but continued to fill my plate. “Why don’t you fix yourself a plate and join me.” I asked as I looked at all the food. “I don’t want the food to go to waste.”

  “Yes sir.”, Gabriel replied and pick up a plate and filled it. I moved to the dining table and sat at the head of the table. Gabriel put his plate down next to me, and then fetched a pitcher of water. He filled two glasses, one for me and one for him. He sat down quietly said a prayer of thanks and waited. I assumed he was waiting for me to take the first bite before he would start, so I did. The wild boar meat was well flavored and very tender. I half-expected it to be very tough. Gabriel began to eat.

  In between bites, he asked “What is on your agenda today?”.

  “Today will be all about getting the staff quarters set up, and setting up my office. I will also be looking for staff for my business. A secretary to manage my schedule, order supplies and manage the other staff. I am not sure about who else will be needed, but at least a receptionist. I will leave the staff quarters to you.”

  “I will see to setting up the house staff quarters, as that falls under my remit. I will also bring over some of the other staff members that we have already hired. The Cook wants to see about setting up the kitchen and getting the right equipment. What is the budget you are willing to release?”

  Not that was a question I had no idea how to answer, since I had no idea what things costs. Yes, I was wealthy, but I didn’t want anyone to know just how much money I had. Based on the wages I was paying out, I thought it shouldn’t take too much to outfit the servant’s quarters, but the kitchen. That was a complete mystery. “I want good quality items in my house, no trash. What do you think would be a good budget for the staff quarters?”

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  “If we go with used furniture and bedding, I should be able to get everything for under 3 gold. There are a dozen rooms. New furniture and bedding will be about 5 gold. Uniforms, new, will be about one and a half gold. Kitchen will be an additional 3 gold. Miscellaneous supplies about 50 silvers.”

  “Okay, you have a budget for 15 gold to set up the servant’s quarters and the kitchen. Also, buy supplies for mornings, including teeth cleaning brushes, cleaning paper. Are there showers?”

  “What is a shower, I am unfamiliar with that word.” Gabriel looked perplexed.

  Hmmm, no showers, that’s a bummer. Maybe I should “invent” one. I wondered if there was indoor plumbing in this house. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not that important.” I pulled out 15 gold pieces and handed them to Gabriel. “That is your budget to get my house running. If you need more, you will need to tell my why and give an accounting for all funds spent. I also want you to create a monthly budget and provide that to me. Please make sure you identify all expected expenditures. We will be doing a reconciliation at the beginning of each month.” Now, that was the project manager of my former life coming to the forefront. I knew way too much about how to manage teams, schedules and budgets.

  “Yes sir. I will be off to get the staff ready.”

  “Before you go, can you tell me where I should look for a secretary and receptionist?” I asked.

  “I will ask my mentor and get you a list of candidates. What qualities are you looking for in them?”

  “Secretary must be able to read and write. Manage a team work schedule, my work schedule, interface with other secretaries to arrange appointments, manage my inventory, manage my correspondence, and be known to be kind. Male, female doesn’t matter. The receptionist needs to be able to manage customers. Punctuality is mandatory. I can’t stand someone being late. I prefer a woman for the receptionist position. She should be nice but be able to be firm when needed. She needs to be able to read and write. If she has some medical knowledge, that would be preferred.”

  Gabriel was taking notes as I spoke. He nodded as I finished. “I do believe I can find you candidates. Will you be available later today to interview?”

  “Yes, preferable later in the afternoon, as I am going to look at office furniture. I want to get things up and running as soon as possible. I expect to get a rush of well-off customers in the next few days. I assume word of my curing the Earl will spread quickly.”

  Knocking on the front door interrupted our conversation. Gabriel went to answer it. It turned out to be a delivery of clothes. As they brought the clothes in, I took the robe I ordered and looked it over. It was well made, and the embroidery was excellent. Even better than I had hoped. I put the robe on over my clothes. As expected, it was loose fitting, giving me freedom of movement. I decided I would wear it as I went out to explore more of the city.

  Gabriel left and I followed shortly.