Chapter 16

“Of a sort. We are devoting our efforts to moving the entire Group here first. Hangers One and Two are for Copies to hold their stock, though they prefer to call them Warehouse One and Two. Warehouse Three in that terminology will be the first building for the Yeats Engineering Group, and we have only now completed our new production lines there. You and I will stick to One and Two.” I drove into the opening of Warehouse One, and stopped at the first side cabin, which now acted as the warehouse foreman’s office. Out stepped Jim Orkney, tablet PC in hand, on hearing the auto’s engine.

“Hi, Jimmy. Brought us a visitor?”

“Mr Ferrari, this is Jim Orkney, our foreman at the warehouses. He can guide us to whatever you want to view. Jim, Mr Ferrari wants a personal look at boat engines and parts, and whatever else strikes his fancy. He wants to check the quality of what we offer. His company rebuilds small boats of all kinds.”

“Welcome to Copies, Mr Ferrari. We cater for almost every need, so I hope we can make you into a satisfied customer today.”

“I hope so too, Mr Orkney.”

“Jim, please. Mr Hargreaves insists on being known as Jimmy, so I am Jim.”

“And I am Marco, Jim. Glad to meet you. Jimmy says you know everything there is to know about this place.”

“I try, sir, sorry ... Marco. I try.” We were taken to the bays for marine engines and parts, and Marco was suitable impressed by the range on offer and the condition of the goods.

“How do you go about identifying items that clients ask for without full information, Jim?”

“It is all on the database sir, so I look at my laptop, get more data that the client failed to note, and it also tells me in which bay and shelf any specific item is held. My version of the database is more detailed than the limited facts on the website, as we have a need for such details as location, and condition of a particular part, though most are in unused condition.” Ferrari asked about a particular Cummins diesel engine and was shown the only one we had in stock. I apologised, “Our stock inventory varies accoding to the demand we get. Such engines are fairly specialized, so we have not sought multiples, but if we have a known market for particular devices, we would try to source more of that model. Our stock buyer works with a host of companies: those that have excess equipment supplies, often due to a misjudgement of their market. We take them off their hands at cost or less, and make them available to our own customers at a small markup.” Ferrari told us, “We normally prefer the smaller engines to be gasoline powered, to give more flexibility for the customer to fill up anywhere. However, I like this model for the less flashy customers, as it fits easily in most small boats, especially with a direct drive train, so if your price is acceptable to me, you can start chasing your buyer to find more.” Jim smiled broadly and said, “We have a fair selection of replacement parts for this engine and its connections, in case that interests you. The spares are parked close by the engines, and I am happy to say that we have capacity to store up to eight of these engines in this bay. Do I contact Fred to find more of these engines, Jimmy?” I glanced at Ferrari, who was looking in Jim’s laptop at the price we had the engine listed for, and he grinned, “Go ahead, Jimmy. I will take all you can locate, at this price, if they are in the same condition.” I at once said, “Great. Jim, chase Fred about this model, and parts for it too. Price to pay for them is what he paid for this one, please, or less if he can manage it.” Jim made arrangements with Marco to despatch the engine and a bunch of associated spares that he wanted. I left them to it. I let our experts get on with the work they are expert in. I don’t interfere where I don’t know what’s what. Jim is one of our experts, and that is that. Once that was done, I offered Marco either a tour of the second warehouse, or a ride back to the Group offices. He chose the tour, so I got Jim to warn the staff at the other warehouse that we would visit them shortly. We first trotted round the remaining bays of Warehouse One, letting Marco see how we had things organised and labelled.

“So you can lay your hands on almost anything very quickly?” he asked, and I confirmed this.

“Well done,” he congratulated me. “Your barcoding is doing its job then?”

“It is. The barcode provides the linkage between the product, the location on our shelves, and a slot on our website listing. The website lists parts according to the selected category on the shelving. We are assuming that a boat owner or boat company will head to the boat section of our database, making for easy browsing of our inventory in that area of interest.”

“Not alphabetical?” Marco queried. I laughed. “No. Alphabetical listing has hazards such as, do you list by brand name, manufacturer, model name and number? You would have to amend the database to provide links between all of these, directing you to the item wanted; a major alteration. Category listing makes it simpler for us and for them.”

“Do you think barcoding has a place in other businesses, Jimmy?”

“If you have a largish stock of parts and spares, barcoding could be useful in keeping track of what you have and what you need to replace. A database using barcodes will alert you when you are running low on a gasket or an engine bolt, so you are not delayed by waiting for a part to be ordered and bought. You have the database flag up, usually showing it in red, when your stock of that item reaches a critical point, which could be one or twenty, depending on how well it sells. You determine what is the critical point for each item.”

“Useful. Delays caused by shortages are a damn nuisance in my business. We give clients a target date for delivery, so we subsequently find a delay of two weeks through a missing part being sought? That is bad for repeat business, and for our reputation. I’ll explore the idea of a database for our stores, now I know what can be done.” He ended by saying, “I’ll have my stores people check your website as soon as they see a shortage looming in the meantime. Now what about this other warehouse?” We moved in my car to Warehouse Two, and began our walk round the shelving stacks, seeing agricultural equipment, layers of industrial lighting units, even firefighting hoses and nozzles. Coils of nylon and hessian ropes, but no sails, were found amid a bay of fixings of all kinds, from angle brackets to hooks of all sizes, which got Marco’s attention for a minute or two.

“I didn’t expect to find ropes here, Jimmy,” he remarked.

“It is not one of the areas we intended to cover, but when you find a business closing and eager to dispose of stock at fire sale prices – sometimes it is actually a sale after a fire - it is hard to say no. If the price is low enough, we take the lot, and end up with things like coils of rope. Hawsers are not part of our collection, as they are too heavy and bulky, the same as with bulky sails, but multipurpose ropes can be fine for boats or for mountain climbers. I am expecting us to slowly build a wider and wider selection of stock, as material comes to us and clients ask for specifics that we lack. The company we bought much our shelving from was in liquidation, so we bought the shelving along with whatever goods were on the shelving. That made our purchase easier, gave us extra stock for almost nothing, and helped out the liquidators who wanted to sell the vacant buildings. It meant that we didn’t know what the stock on the shelves really was until it got here. That is what I mean about expanding our range by serendipity more than design.”

“So anything we are interested in, you are willing to source even if you have nothing in stock?”

“Marco, we are willing to do anything where we have a potential profitable sale in the offing. This is business, my friend.”

“I will pass the word around to businessfolk I know at home. Spending a lot of time searching for parts is a waste of staff time, if your buyer can do the job for us and give us a good deal afterward. Do you cover catering supplies?”

“Nothing in the food or drink comestibles due to expiry dates, but equipment, yes. The trick is finding catering equipment that is not soiled through heavy use. That is a bugger to get back to saleable condition, so cuts our profit margin to almost zero. I would aim for us to buy ex-display units, or from a catering supply firm that has gone broke, or units in a new-build where the contractor has gone bust before completion, so the units are still unused. Quality with the best price, is what we aim to provide to our customers, Marco. You can quote me on that.” He was happy with that.

“Can you take me back to your head office, Jimmy? I’ll have my staff check your online database for anything we need, and see what your prices are like for anything more general that we might need. You may see more business shortly, if things are as I suspect. I like the idea of buying what we use in the boats in unused condition at less than new prices.” We retired to my auto, and drove back to the Group offices. There, I accompanied him to Mr Emerson’s office, so they could say their goodbyes and make plans for anything else that might come up. I suspected that Emerson was going to offer Ferrari a bonus for referring clients to us. I left them to it. I needed to check on all the other work tasks I had not been keeping an eye on today. An hour later I got a call from our stock buyer, Fred Corelli.

“Mr Hargreaves, I have been asked by our warehouse man to buy more Cummins diesel engines, matching the small one we have in stock. Apparently you instigated that order. Anything unusual I should be looking for?”

“Hi, Fred. The potential client has already bought the one in stock, and is in the market for more of the same. He rebuilds small boats, thus the small size of the Cummins engine. Don’t go looking for bigger ones, as I don’t think we have the market for them. What you might do, if you find a company in trouble, is take on small boat parts, propellers even, as I think this client will expand his purchasing from us. As usual the main requirement is as-new condition and rock bottom price. Don’t pay more for these engines than you did for that one.”

“Got it, boss. I’m on it now. Bye.” The rest of the afternoon went smoothly, and when I called at Reception for Marjory, she told me, “Message from Ursula, and I quote: ‘Thanks, and you make a good husband for Marjory, lucky her.’ end quote.” I told her, “That bright girl has got something going for her. Keep an eye on her progress, Marjory, and if we can give her a boost, let me know and we will do what we can for her.”

“But not marry her, Jimmy.”

“But not marry her, agreed. I don’t need any more females directing my life! Anyway, she will have no trouble finding a good man for herself.” Marjory mentioned, “I have heard nothing from our other girls, darling, not a peep. I hope they are okay.”

“They will be. They are probably having a great time and don’t want to spoil it by phone calls to us. We’ll see them soon enough.” As it would be just the two of us for dinner, Marjory suggested a simple fry up, breakfast style, and I accepted her offer. As she was at the frying pans on the cooker, her back to me, she remarked, “This is the first time it has just been you and I, Jimmy. It feels almost like a honeymoon breakfast.” I smiled at her back, and put my arms round her, resting my chin on her shoulder.

“With you, Marjory, it is always like a honeymoon between you and I. You are much livelier in bed when no-one else is with us, I have noticed.”

“Hmm ... yes, I find when it is just us, it feels so much more intense for me. It must be because it is all so new to me, living with a man.”

“I do my best to make lovemaking that way for all of my ladies, Marjory. I feel it is my responsibility to show love to all of them. I want them all to feel the way you do.”

“You succeed at that, my darling. And now you have Elizabeth and Isabella.” “Yes. That was a bit of a surprise.”

“It must be emotionally difficult for you, dear, with both of them wanting your physical attention,” Marjory noted.

“Elizabeth has made it easier for me. She and Isabella talked it over and sorted out what they each wanted, and made an agreement. That alleviates possible clashes as time goes on.” It was nearly an hour later before we heard the small coach draw up outside. We both rushed to the door to welcome them. Sharl was near the front of the mob, ushering Elizabeth and Isabella to take the lead in arriving.

“Kiss him!” Sharl told them, so they had no option but to do so. I was happy to accept their lips. Elizabeth was first, and brief, but Isabella wrapped her body tight to mine as she kissed me hard. I forced myself to refrain from grabbing her back in return, and she slowly released me, looking concerned.

“No response, Jimmy?”

“No time to do so, my dear; there is a queue waiting, sorry.” She brightened up. “Oh, I see. That’s all right, then.” She turned to speak to Sharl, “Next one, Sharl.” Sharl clarified, “We all have to share, Isabella. You have to learn that, if you want to join us permanently.”

“I know; I’ll get there...” Sharl took her place in my arms and I gave Sharl my best shot with my lips, and granting her a quickle cuddle from me. She accepted this and stepped back to declare, “Cherry?”

Cherry stepped in and thrust her belly against me as she kissed me. “Our child, Jimmy.”

“Gratefully received when it comes, Cherry.” She hugged me tight, then moved off, leaving Charlotte, Flora and Lily to embrace me in their turn. The driver meanwhile had been offloading many bags and parcels onto the tarmac. As I looked to him in query he said, “That’s the lot sir. They seemed to enjoy their day out, especially the shopping!” He got into his driving seat and moved off. I hefted the bags and parcels, which I reckoned were mostly purchases. I carried them indoors and asked, “What belongs to whom?” Lily scampered over and grabbed one small parcel. “This is my new undies. No looking!” Two more of the parcels were similarly accounted for. One was lifted by Sharl with the announcement: “Bathing suits for all of us, Jimmy; including you.” I spoke up. “I thought you were on a countryside tour, not a shopping expedition.” Charlotte told me, “We found a large store near a crossroads, claiming to have everything ‘country’ for the discerning shopper. We tried it out, and it came up to expectation; everything from walking sticks to jars of honey, more wide-ranging stock than most city centre stores which focus on the mass market shopper. This one looked to the discerning shopper, and that’s us. I hope your credit card is not overburdened, darling.” I sighed and admitted, “I can cope, provided you did not spend too much, girls. Now I know why you didn’t call me or Marjory: you were too busy shopping.” Elizabeth came in on their side.

“The ladies did show us a fair amount of attractive countryside that we hadn’t seen before, Jimmy, so they fulfilled their promises. The shopping was a bonus for them, and for us: they paid for our purchases too, Sharl said. I apologise for not holding these youngsters in check, Jimmy. I didn’t see how I could do that, as an outsider.”

“No, it is all right, Elizabeth. If anyone was to hold them back, it was Sharl, but she knows how much to stretch my bank balance and get away with it.” I finished this with a knowing grin, and Sharl complained, “You know we would never go over what was reasonable, Jimmy. We love you too much to do that to you.”

“I know, love, I know. What’s mine is ours and vice versa, except that what’s Marjory’s is Marjory’s, and so it should be.” Marjory was within hearing, and she interjected, “Not quite true, my love. My assets may be untouchable, but my income from profits will always be mine to spend on this family as I see it. Today’s shopping trip I will be happy to pay for, in a credit transfer to you.” Elizabeth and Isabella listened in confusion, not having the references. Marjory saw this, and told them, “The others will not have mentioned this fact, ladies, for they are careful in what they say, but I am of independent means and have more income each year than all the others put together. Jimmy knew nothing of it when he took me on, thank God, and tries his best to ignore my relative worth, so we all work as equals, which is the best option. I have come to love all the other wives of Jimmy, almost as much as I love him.” Isabella absorbed this little speech, and said after thinking about it, “So you are rich, Marjory?” She did not wait for an answer but said, “Then why do you go out to work?” Marjory almost replied, “I refer you to my previous answer”, but instead explained, “I wanted to live within the community, Isabella, not stick myself in an isolated castle away from real life; so I ignored my nominal wealth and sought out a job that would take me into routine contact with real people. That’s why I am a receptionist at the company.” Lily added, unthinkingly, “And Marjory is a graduate of one of the top universities in the States!” Jimmy shot a glare at her, saying, “Too much information, Lily.” She jerked at this reprimand, and retracted her position. “Sorry, forget what I just said. Marjory is one of us girls, and wants to stay that way, Isabella. Please treat her as that.” Isabella swung round, looking at each of them. Finally, she said determinedly, “I will fit in with what everyone else is doing. Marjory, if you treat me as a friend, I will treat you as a friend, nothing more.” Marjory smiled at her. “Deal, Isabella.” Jimmy asked generally, “Have you eaten, ladies?” Sharl took over. “We stopped off at a fast food joint for a takeaway, and ate it in the coach before we moved again. It made a nice change from decent meals, but too greasy all the same; not for regular eating. We also had drinks to go with the food, so some may need the restroom around now.” She looked around and saw that Charlotte had vanished and Cherry was edging towards the nearest doorway. “Ah, I see the rush has started. Thank God we have plenty of places to go in the house. I’ll need to go too, in a minute or two. These babies put pressure on your bladder, forcing you to pee more often.” Marjory informed her, “Jimmy and I had a fry-up not long ago, so it looks like everyone is full for now.”