What would she do now? She sat holding the steering wheel. Children away to school for the day. Monica had an appointment in the house at 10. It was well paid, too. Aidrian was spoiling her life. It was hard to be harsh on him. He worked hard and something was bugging him. If he said it was nothing she believed him though – so be it. She would have to cancel. Shit.
She picked up the phone.
‘Hello’
‘Hi it’s Monica’
‘Hi there, I’m just on my way’
‘I’m sorry, but we can’t ok’
‘Oh. Ok. Just this week or …’
‘Oh, just this week… it’s difficult
‘OK, no problem’
‘Unless…’
‘….’
‘…there’s somewhere…’
‘It’s difficult. People know me at the hotel’.
‘No problem, I understand’.
‘I’ll see you next week all being well’.
He was good money, but the councillor was a friend of her Dad, and she had been loathe at first to offer her ‘extra services’, but really needed the money. Now she depended on him and he wasn’t so bad. Never an affair, but there was tenderness and mutual respect. Not like the others. And then, of course, there were those she still needed to pay off…
Monica pushed the phone into the pocket of her handbag. Mirror, signal, manoevre and left the car park.
Bob smiled to himself. The squeals from the cupboard were stifled by something. He glanced across the floor at the other blokes, while starting to turn another bolt into a piece of sheet metal, positioning the washer into place at the back. One guy laid his head on the work surface, tears streaming down his face and couldn’t hold back any more. The laughter boomed through the factory floor. Bob felt a little awkward. This prank could get him into real trouble with the superiors. He could see them peering from the top offices down to the floor. He walked off towards the cupboard.
Through flashes from molten steel, screams continued. A terrified dark haired man tried to pull himself away from violent sparks as molten liquid flashed up the side of the container. The heat was stiff. Bob smirked at the victim.
He pulled a Stanley knife from his pocket and began to remove the tape from the man’s ankles and wrists. The man grabbed at the tape over his mouth.
‘You shits – fuckin hell, I thought I was going to die’
Bob slapped his victims back.
‘Just a laugh eh?’.
Bob stood laughing as the door opened.
Murray Johnson, the shift manager walked in with a white shirt on. No overalls for him today. He also wore a tie. Credibility cloth meant something was up. Suddenly Bob began to think whether today was the wrong day to exact some workplace revenge. This looked serious.
‘You two. With me. NOW’. He opened the fire exit door out to the yard.
Bob knew this was not good. A couple of hours later while sitting on his bike down by the scrap yard in Inverkeithing, he thought about ending it Evil Kneivel style, throwing himself over the salvaged ship and into the mudflats which would see the end of him. No. It was bad enough losing the job. He would need another job fast and, in the meantime, it was the bike that would have to go.
‘Marie’. She stopped in the gym corridor, and swigged from her isotonic drink.
It was Matt Henson the Gym owner.
‘I’ve been getting good feedback about your classes’
‘That’s great’
‘More than that’, Matt opened the office door and indicated for Marie to go through before closing the door behind her. The office was typical leather desktop and chairs. Professional, clean and impressive.
‘I’ve been talking to my Dad about expanding the business’, Marie was ushered into the seat across from Matt’s desk.
‘I don’t want to be too forward, but you have talent. You are an asset here, and you probably know more about the running of this place than I do.’ It pleased Marie, to at last get some praise for her efforts.
‘It’s good of you to say that Matt. I appreciate it’.
Matt blurted out ‘How would you feel about managing a new gym for me?’ He sat up on the outside of his desk and looked directly at Marie. ‘Or better still, buy in to the business’
What could she say? This was an unbelievable opportunity for a lass from Fife who had only ever ‘got by’ in anything she had done.
Bob and Marie had some savings and he would support her with this surely.
‘I don’t know what to say Matt. That’s unbelievable’
‘I think you’d be a great asset for the Gym and the business going forward. I really want you to say yes’.
‘That would be great, of course, yes’
The morning passed with a couple
