Chapter 6

Perhaps punch drunk from my previous encounters with the girl, I was relatively unworried about possible repercussions from the events in the church. After all, even though I had been inside illegally, I hadn’t damaged or stolen anything. Consequently I was able to get a relatively good night’s sleep.

The next morning, while eating my breakfast, I listened to the news on local radio. The newsreader mentioned a break-in at St Peter’s church. “Police think it was probably teenagers looking for somewhere to hang out since nothing was taken or damaged. The perpetrators fled when the alarm was set off, but a neighbourhood canvass by PCSOs failed to turn up any witnesses.” I was relieved there was no mention of the rather large cum deposit I had left seeping down the front of the stage.

When I reached the unemployment benefit office for my interview, I had a longer than usual wait before I was summoned. I was directed to a different cubicle than usual and the clerk was older and presumably more senior. He had paperwork in front of him for their retraining schemes. “It’s been several months since you started receiving unemployment benefit and you’ve had no success in finding another job in your field,” he asserted, with an annoyingly smug look on his face. “The rules say you have to sign up for a retraining course or your unemployment benefit could be forfeit. Have you chosen which type of retraining you’d like?”

“Actually I’m going to a job interview tomorrow. Amalgamated Engineering contacted me after I was recommended to them by my previous employer. They’ve just taken on a big contract and they need someone with my experience to provide supervision and mentoring.”

“Oh.” The smug smile vanished. “Well, good luck tomorrow. If you get the job, don’t forget to let us know. But if it doesn’t work out, you’ll still need to sign up for retraining. Complete the application and drop it in at reception before your next appointment.” He passed over a copy of the paperwork. Then, having no choice, he had to approve my unemployment benefit for another month.

That over with, I headed to the dry-cleaner’s and brandished my receipt. I was served by the same young woman as before. She took the receipt and vanished into the rear of the premises, returning a short time later bearing my suit in a clear plastic wrapper.

“All sorted for you, Mr Pearson,” she said, giving me a look that made it clear she knew exactly what had been sorted.

I felt my face burning and yet I was relieved at the implication that the cum stains had been removed. However I didn’t have the courage to inspect the work there and then so I settled the bill and hurried outside.

I was very careful on my way home, constantly checking for any tell-tale flashes of yellow and white but, to my relief and disappointment, I encountered no sign of the girl. Were the girl’s appearances predictable? So far they had been at least a couple of weeks apart, other than the next day after the thwarted blowjob in the shopping centre.

None of my rooms at home had a fluorescent light but, when I carefully examined my suit, there was no sign of any cum stains on the trousers. I hoped the lighting where I was to be interviewed wouldn’t reveal otherwise.

The next morning I reached the main reception of Amalgamated Engineering a few minutes ahead of my appointed time. I asked for Eliogu Kwante and was directed to wait in the seating area. My suit looked fine under the fluorescent lights: the dry cleaner had done a good job despite the embarrassment factor.

It wasn’t long before Eliogu came bounding into reception sporting a sincere smile. “Thank you for coming, Mr Pearson,” he said as we shook hands. “First I’d like to introduce you to the project manager for an overview of the product we’re contracted for, then give you a tour of the shop floor. If we seem compatible, we’ll discuss details in my office.”

The project manager, Ben Hardisty, was a little off at first. I guessed it was because I was being brought in from outside without his prior approval. But when he explained what they were developing, I understood why Consolidated Industries had recommended me to Eliogu. It was right up my street and I immediately felt at home. I was able to make some salient observations and gradually Ben warmed to me; soon we were in danger of becoming bogged down discussing technical minutiae. Eliogu interceded and I was whisked away to tour the design and shop floor facilities.

Most of the machinery on the shop floor I was immediately familiar with, and I even recognised a couple of former Consolidated Industries colleagues; we greeted each other by name and exchanged pleasantries. Then there was a quick visit to the design office. It was well-equipped with computer workstations but there were also adequate facilities for more traditional methods of design drafting.

Finally Eliogu conducted me to his office and asked me to wait while he arranged refreshments.

I was kept waiting longer than I expected, but then Eliogu arrived accompanied by a waitress pushing a tea trolley.

“I’ve just discussed your suitability with Ben,” admitted Eliogu. “He was initially reluctant to have an outsider in the role, but since meeting you he’s become a firm convert. We’d like you to work for us.”

“I liked what I saw and I think I can do a good job for you,” I replied. “What sort of terms were you thinking of?”

“We’d like you to work on a contract basis, initially three days a week but with some flexibility to adapt to demand,” said Eliogu. He then named a daily rate that meant I’d probably pocket more than Consolidated Industries had paid me for a five day week, but there would be no job security or supplementary benefits like membership of the company healthcare and pension plans, staff reward card, or complimentary membership of the local leisure centre.

“That sounds fine,” I agreed. “Is there any possibility of transitioning to permanent if the work keeps coming in?”

“That’s something we’ll bear in mind, but we were lucky to pick up this contract. The whole industry’s in the doldrums at the moment.”

Eliogu escorted me to the Human Resources Department where a woman sporting a namebadge ‘Michelle’ handed me all the paperwork for me to fill in and bring with me when I started the following Monday.

“Do you have anything I could take home to study over the weekend so I can hit the ground running?” I asked Eliogu. “I appreciate you might be reluctant to hand over any technical stuff since I haven’t started work yet, but processes and procedures manuals would be useful so I can adjust for any differences from Consolidated Industries.”

“Could we share technical specs?” Eliogu asked Michelle? “As far as I’m concerned, the sooner this guy is up to speed, the better.”

“I’ll have to check, but it should be okay if Mr Pearson signs one of our standard non-disclosure agreements,” replied Michelle. “I’ll check with Legal. It should only take a few minutes.”

“We’ll wait in my office,” said Eliogu.

Back in Eliogu’s office, he selected a couple of folders and took them outside, where I overheard him tell someone to print or duplicate another copy of each.

Michelle arrived with a non-disclosure agreement. I quickly scanned it. The terms seemed pretty standard so I signed it. When Michelle went to photocopy the non-disclosure so I could have a copy, a young man with dyed blond hair came in carrying four folders.

“John Pearson, Jason Tunnicliffe,” said Eliogu. “John will be joining us from next week, Jason is our indispensable project administration assistant. Anything you need, chances are Jason can track it down for you.”

We exchanged pleasantries then Jason handed the folders to Eliogu. “We already had spare copies of these two,” he said.

Eliogu gave me the spares and Michelle then returned with my copy of the non-disclosure agreement. Eliogu then showed me out after wishing me a good weekend.

Safely back home, I looked through the two folders. The first contained a contract overview and technical specs, the second was site processes and procedures.

Amalgamated Engineering had contracted to build a couple of full-sized, fully functional prototypes for their customer. Some components were available off the shelf, but from what I could see, the majority would need to be manufactured in the shop. If the prototypes passed stringent tests, Amalgamated Engineering would then be contracted to manufacture, or subcontract a manufacturer, for mass production. I saw immediately that the contract was high risk because of the difficulty of moving from hand-machined parts to full automation. The prototypes were being developed at cost, with all significant profits for Amalgamated Engineering accruing from production.

The site processes and procedures manual was pretty boiler-plate stuff and nothing to cause any concern. By the end of the weekend, I was confident I could more than justify my presence and was raring to go. The only fly in the ointment was if the girl turned up while I was at work: if I ended up getting fired for sexual misdemeanours, that would terminate my career in the industry, if not elsewhere too.

Monday morning Ben Hardisty was expecting me. He looked at my work gear approvingly. I was expecting to work hands-on and a suit would have been inappropriate and even dangerous. I handed over my completed paperwork, for him to forward to Human Resources. I showed him the folders I had borrowed.

“Have you read them?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“New employees normally start with three days of induction, but since you’re a contractor who knows their way around the industry and you’re read the site processes and procedures, I think it’s okay to throw you in at the deep end. But if there’s anything you don’t understand or need help with, feel free to ask. And if I’m not available, Jason should be able to help.”

I nodded.

“What did you think of the technical specs?” Ben asked.

“I think building the prototypes will be doable, despite needing so many bespoke components. But transitioning to mass production will be a challenge. At the moment I’m not even sure that everything can be automated, especially assembly.”