‘Baxter!’ I called into the hallway.
‘Sir?’ came the clipped reply, instant as always. I scowled up at my butler, always vaguely annoyed by how easily he predicted when I needed him.
‘The sun again, Baxter,’ I gestured vaguely at the window across from my desk.
‘I see, sir,’ Baxter nodded, clapping his heels together and quickly moving to the blinds controller. ‘Will that be all, sir?’ he asked, once the blinds had closed and the room was dark once more.
‘Yes, that will be… actually, wait,’ I pointed at him, like he’d even twitched a muscle. ‘I want you to look into something for me.’
‘What would that be, sir?’
‘How much does frosted window glass cost?’ I asked.
‘Frosted window glass?’ Baxter repeated back to me with mild surprise. ‘You wish to frost your office window?’
‘Sure,’ I shrugged. ‘Why not?’
‘Are you unhappy with my services, sir?’
‘Unhappy with your… what?’ I frowned up at him.
‘Am I not responding quickly enough to your summons to lower the blinds, sir?’
‘Oh, don’t be so dramatic,’ I rolled my eyes. ‘You know damn well you’re a few seconds off being psychic. I just want to solve the actual problem, instead of papering over it.’
‘As you wish, sir,’ Baxter sighed. ‘Will that be all?’
‘Yes, yes,’ I gestured for him to leave. ‘Oh, but Baxter?’
‘Yes, sir?’ he turned around in the doorway, and expectant smile on his face.
‘For tax purposes, this is going to be a commercial window tinting for a Melbourne office. Understood?’
‘Yes, sir,’ he said dryly. ‘Understood.’
‘Good,’ I nodded. ‘Because it’s technically true.’
‘Of course, sir.’
‘I quite often work from my desk.’
‘As I have witnessed.’
‘And it’s technically Melbourne.’
‘Outer suburbs, sir.’
‘Exactly,’ I nodded. ‘I used that the other week to write something on,’ I nodded. ‘That makes it a desk.’
‘I’ll leave you to get up now, sir,’ Baxter said, quickly stepping out of the room.