Chapter 7

Up to this time commission had been paid according to the value on paper of the order. Bob had instituted this, years ago, and had never envisaged a situation where the average gross profit margin of forty-five percent could be eroded. However Aubrey with his manoeuvrings often reduced the margin, sometimes to dangerous levels. I had put the facts in front of Bob on a number of occasions, but he wouldn't act on it. Now I put it to Andy that commission should be paid only after the true costs were established. He was sceptical at first until I showed him real examples. I had removed the agent's names not wanting to be seen as partial in my criticism. He may have been a Veterinary but he understood the concepts of profit and loss.

"Bloody Hell, John. After we have paid commission on some of these jobs we are down to about thirty percent. This can't go on. Who is doing this?" I said nothing. Then the light dawned on him. "Aubrey!" He exclaimed. "It has to be Aubrey." I remained quiet, allowing him to make a decision. "Institute your scheme immediately. Draft a letter to the agents and I will sign it."

I suppose some would call this payback. To a certain extent it was, but it was the company I worked for that was being short-changed. My partnership in Sunrooms demanded that I take action. I prepared for the shit to hit the fan.

Aubrey stormed into my office, if anything more florid of face than usual. I would imagine that his blood pressure was hitting something like one hundred and ninety. He was waving the letter from Andy.

"You sneaky little Turd. This is all your doing I know. Faking up figures to fuck me over. Well that is it. You are going this time and no mistake. I am going to tell Andy that if he doesn't sack you, I am going to resign. Then where will your precious business be?" I sat there calmly. How I did it I don't really know but I managed.

"Aubrey." I explained in as calm a voice as I could. "I was asked for a breakdown of the work we had carried out over the last year. I provided it, as it was a request from my employer. The records had no name, nor addresses on them so that individuals could not be identified. Andy has acted to protect his business. If you have a problem with that then you had best take it up with him. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do."

Andy phoned me at home a week later.

"I had a visit from Aubrey today, at the Surgery."

"That was nice for you." I commented dryly.

"Yes. You should be flattered to know how much he worries about you, suggesting that you were not up to the job That you were probably cracking up, making all sorts of mistakes in your paperwork, and that it would probably be best for you if I put you out of your misery, and allowed you to leave." I could hear Andy laughing now. "Oh, it was a jolly meeting."

"What did you tell him?"

"Well I said that if mistakes had been made, we would put it right. I asked him to come in one day with his order copies and we would compare them with ours. He went quiet at that point. Muttered something about it could all be an oversight, and he wouldn't pillory anyone for that. Then he left. John. Is there a possibility that he could go elsewhere?"

"It would be difficult for him, Andy. I was at a Fenestra conference about six months ago. I got the feeling that our competitors wouldn't touch him with a bargepole. They seemed to know about the tricks he plays."

"Not from you?"

"No. But someone has talked. They mentioned actual cases, so whoever it was had lots of information."

"Did you mention this to dad?"

"No."

"Why?" I remained quiet. Eventually Andy seemed to get the picture.

"I see. He wasn't as gullible as he appeared at times, was he?"

"No, Andy. He wasn't."

Bob Sellick was one of those people who never appeared to be quite with it. I had often thought that he cultivated this guise to relax people and put them off guard. Bob could well have let slip, purposefully, details of Aubrey's machinations. Others would think he was being absent-mindedly indiscreet. I would imagine it done to protect his business, deterring competitors from poaching his best salesman. The fact was that whatever the reason, he had made it nearly impossible for Aubrey to obtain an agency with another company.

I was surprised at myself for taking so easily to the subterfuge and machinations of business. My life had changed completely. I still acted the part of the humble cog, yet now made decisions that affected those around me, albeit as a covert partner. That thought brought to mind another change in my life. Despite Aubrey's insinuations, I had a healthy interest in the opposite sex, and had enjoyed a number of relatively long-term relationships. This experience was sufficient for me to know that Eve was different. I had a connection with her that seemed to spring out of nowhere. A connection that surpassed any of my previous love affairs, she seemed to see in me the same. It gave me a warm feeling to know that she was as eager as I to take our relationship further. Was my life falling into place? Or was fate preparing me for a momentous downfall?

Our work went on. None of the other agents complained about the re-structured commission scheme, and Aubrey went quiet. Despite his bluster, he was no fool, knowing that his copy orders would not stand up to scrutiny. I had one of his orders for a conservatory in front of me. Aubrey had charged only for normal glass, but building regulations specified armoured glass for windows that came down to within a metre of the floor level. Armoured glass was much more expensive than ordinary plate. Under the old system Aubrey would have got commission on the value on paper of the order and Sunrooms would have made a loss. Now he would get almost nothing, as he would be paid according to the profit in the job.

I was desperate for news from Eve. I phoned her at her flat. She had told me she didn't have a direct line to the flat only a call box on the ground floor, where any of the residents could answer. I spoke to a young lady who seemed not to know Eve by name, but guessing that she was the one who moved in a few weeks ago. She agreed to leave a message for her.