Chapter 1

I was just leaving work at 2pm when I noticed my boss's wife in the car park looking very distressed and upset, at first I was wary of approaching her because the other workers had told me she was a bit of a dragon, but she looked almost ready to cry so I just said,

"Excuse me ma'am is there anything I can do?"

She looked as if she was about to chew me out, but she shook her head and said softly,

"No but thank you for offering, I'm supposed to be flying over to Ireland on the 15:50 flight from the airport, but there's no way I'll make it now"

"Do you have any luggage?"

"No, I was just going for a meeting and coming back tonight, why?"

"Excuse me for just a minute" I said and fished my phone out of my pocket"

"All is not lost"

My older brother answered on the first ring, "Yo kid, what's up?"

"Did you say you were taking the 15:50 over to Belfast?"

"Yeah why?"

"I have an important passenger with me, if I leave now, can you wait, I'm talking just a few minutes?"

"Shit you know all about timing slots"

"I'm leaving now, We'll be there in 25 or 30 minutes"

"OK you fucking pain, give me her name and I'll have a word, hey kid?"

"Yeah?"

"Hurry up"

She looked at me with astonishment in her big blue eyes, but dived into the front passenger seat of my car in a flurry of long legs and tousled blonde hair,

"I don't understand this, I thought you worked for my husband"

"I do"

"You're holding an aircraft up with one phone call?"

"Yes ma'am, my brother's the pilot"

"Yes but, the airport check in and all that, they'll never get me on"

"My dad's company owns the airport ma'am"

"Bollocks, your dad owns the airport and your working for us?"

"That's right"

"And you drive this thing?"

This thing was an Aston Martin DB5, A vintage James Bond car, well maintained by my dad's mechanics and capable of well over a hundred miles an hour as well as being worth an awful lot of money.

"Yes, nice isn't it?"

"There aren't any seat belts"

"No, it's a 1965 model, they were never fitted nor required"

By then we were doing over a hundred on the A50 heading out towards the airport, if we met any law, I was finished, but luck was with me and twenty minutes later, we pulled up outside the terminal.

"I don't know what to say" she said still astonished at the events of the previous few minutes,

"Just run towards that guy over there" and I pointed to another brother frantically beckoning her,

"Thank you, I'll see you in the morning"

"Hurry up" I yelled back as I admired her trim little figure running away from me!

Everything I'd told her was true, my dad did own the airport, my brother was the pilot and another brother was the airport manager, dad had offered me a position as airport facilities manager, but I'd turned him down to work for the largest transport company in the Midlands as a trainee shipping clerk, I wanted my own business and I wanted to know everything there was to know about the transport business first, all my mates told me I was mad, I probably was/am, but at nearly nineteen I'd already learnt a lot about costing and how to minimise running empty, etc, etc, etc.

I was tootling back towards home when my mobile rang showing my older brother's name,

"Hello mate" I smiled,

"The lady says thank you" was all he said and I smiled again.

The following morning, I was working on some figures when the office manager came to my desk and said,

"The gaffer wants to see you"

"OK" I thought he meant the depot manager, but as I stood up, he looked at me and frowned,

"Not the manager, the boss, the man who owns the fucking place, comb your hair, smarten yourself up a bit for fuck's sake"

"Hey" I laughed, "This is how I came to work, if I'm smart enough to work like this, I'm smart enough to see the gaffer"

He sighed deeply and beckoned for me to follow him, he knocked on a door and waited until a voice boomed out, "Come in"

We entered and I saw my boss behind his desk, he looked up and told the office manager he could leave,

"Is this him?" he said and I realised his wife was sitting against the far wall,

"Yes" she said and then "Hi" to me,

"My wife tells me you did her a big favour yesterday"

"I was pleased to help"

"She also tells me you're not what you seem to be"

"I'm a trainee shipping clerk sir, nothing else"

"As well as being a very rich trainee shipping clerk"

I said nothing,

"Why are you here?"

"You sent for me sir" and I heard his wife hiding a laugh,

"Don't be smart lad, you know what I mean, your dad owns four airports, a few dozen hotels, God knows what else and you're here in my firm earning peanuts, why?"

"I want to learn the business sir, the transport business, I want my own company one day"

"Why not ask daddy to buy you one?"

I didn't care for the emphasis he put on the word "daddy"

"And do what? Run it into the ground because I don't know anything about running a transport company?, no thanks, I came here to learn and that's what I'm doing, or at least I thought I was"

"It's a hard game son"

"Yes"

"One mistake can break you"

"Have I made one? It seems as though I might have"

"No, no not at all, first of all I need to say how very grateful I am to you for helping my wife"

"Like I said sir, I was pleased to help, the lady looked a bit distraught"

"Yes my driver crashed on the way to pick her up and the fucking idiot didn't have his mobile phone with him"

I said nothing and waited for him to continue,

"Your car"

I still waited,

"You obviously didn't buy it on the wages I pay you"

"No sir" then I felt cheeky and added, "I couldn't buy a push bike on what you pay me sir"

His wife didn't bother hiding her laughter that time, even the boss managed a grin,

"Well my driver was injured so I'd like you to act as my wife's chauffeur until he's well enough to resume his duties"

"When will that be sir?"

"About a month I should think, why?"

"I came here to learn about transport sir, I won't learn much as a chauffeur"

"You'll learn promptness and civility, you'll learn about driving through the night when necessary and you'll gain experience, but above all, you'll earn my gratitude, oh and you'll earn a good pay rise, night out money, overtime and all that"

"Will I be coming back to my job afterwards?"

"No"

"No?" I couldn't believe it!

"No, when the job ends I want you to work alongside me, that's when you'll learn all about the business and I'll also get you through your HGV 1"

"All right sir, I'll do it"

"Good man, good man"

His wife was smiling too and mouthed a thank you at me,

"Right, I'm having a new Mercedes delivered very soon, so I'd like you to go home and change, have you a dark suit?"

"Several sir" I smiled,

"Yes well, get a taxi back here, charge it to the company and when you get back we'll go over your duties"

"Very good sir"

"Oh by the way, you'll be driving to Glasgow tonight"

"Glasgow?"

"Yes Glasgow, it's a little place on the Clyde you know"

"Yes sir, I believe we have a hotel or two there"

"Right then, off you go"

I was back within two hours to find Mrs. Hawthorn waiting for me beside a gleaming new Mercedes,

"Right Thomas" she said pleasantly, "Glasgow please, the Central hotel, I believe it's one of your fathers"

"Yes ma'am"

"It's Mary, Thomas, at least when we're alone"

"Very good ma'am er Mary, any particular route?"

"I'll leave that up to you, well you and the satnav"

I swung out of the car park onto the busy A50 and aimed for the M6 north which took me just half an hour, then it was just over three hours before I hit the M74 north of Carlisle, it took me a further hour and a half to hit the outskirts of Glasgow and another hour to negotiate the traffic to the hotel,

Two rooms had been booked for us, but dad had asked me to look in on the manager just to pay my respects, I asked the male receptionist where I would find him and he looked down his nose at me,

"Why would you be wanting the manager?" he asked snootily, but I couldn't be bothered with the idiot so I took out my phone and punched in the number that dad had given me,

"Hello Frank, it's Thomas, Thomas Green"

"Thomas, where are you?"

"I'm in reception"

"Ah there you are" a voice behind me said cheerfully and we shook hands warmly,

"What's all this about you playing at being a chauffeur?"

"All part of the learning curve Frank" I smiled, "But the lady I've brought up is the wife of an important customer who's business I think we've got, so dad wants even more than your best for her"

"Of course, of course, what room number is she in?"

"Who sir?" asked the receptionist, Frank took a deep breath and excused himself to take the snooty idiot to one side, when he returned it was with a pretty young woman who glanced at the register and announced she was in room 201,

"Upgrade her please to the penthouse suite and if at any time in the future she books, please give it to her again, normal room rates will apply"

"Very good sir"

"Your dad will probably chew me out for that but if it gets us her company's business it'll be well worth it"

"Just then Mary appeared and I introduced them both, Frank told her she'd been upgraded and she smiled her thanks to us both, before asking about dinner,

"Whenever you like madam" he replied, "In your suite or the dining room?"

"Oh the suite I think, will you join me Thomas?"

"Thank you, yes I'd be pleased to"

"Dress casually then please, I can't be bothered to dress up"

The receptionist took her up to show her the suite leaving me to talk to Frank about how the hotel was doing in the recession, but he said it was doing well, "Mind you, any new business is always welcome" he said.

"Can we speak privately Frank?" I asked and he took me into his office,

"Drink?" he asked and I nodded my agreement as I'd finished driving for the day,

"Your eyes only Frank" I said and handed him a letter from dad,

He read it and looked up at me with a smile,

"Do you know what's in this?"

"Yes, he wants your answer as soon as you like"

He reached out for his phone and asked the desk to put him through to head office, then switched on the loudspeaker,

"Clive Green please"

"Green" my dad said in his usual brusque manner,

"Frank Thornton here Clive"

"Frank, how are you? Good to hear from you, did you get my message?"

"I did indeed, the messenger is sitting in front of me now" he winked at me,

"Well?"

"Well yes, of course yes, but a new hotel?"

"Yes, it will be ready to open in two years time, central Paris, a top job Frank but I only want top people running it"

"I don't know what to say"

"Say nothing, that's always best, I'll be in touch" and he hung up!

He looked over at me and smiled when he saw me laughing,

"He doesn't waste words does he?"

"Not many Frank no"

"I'm stunned Thomas"

"Well you shouldn't be, he thinks you're the right man for the job and if my opinion's anything to go by, I think he's right"

We chatted a bit longer then I left him and went up to my room where I stripped naked and got into the shower before pouring myself out another drink,

Mary called then on the house phone and asked me to join her for a drink before dinner, she wanted to go over the following days schedule with me.

The penthouse had it's own private lift with a tiny blonde woman to open the doors for me when it arrived,

"Thank you" I said and then did a double take, the tiny blonde woman was Mary!

She giggled at my mistake and at that moment I thought she looked beautiful, gone was the carefully styled hair, the smart business suit and the high heels, instead she wore an old denim mini skirt that showed off her lovely tanned legs with a little white vest top which didn't seem to hide a bra and flip flops,