Chapter 22

When we got outside, Sally turned to me and said:

"That house sounds just perfect, Peter, but can you really afford to pay over a million and a quarter, even with help from the company?"

"I think so. Let's go and get a coffee, and while we do, I'll phone in and speak to Cameron, and see what Mike said to him, and how much I can have."

We returned to the coffee shop we had been in before, and I was pleased to see that it wasn't too busy, so we went in, and sat in a secluded corner. After the coffee arrived, I took out my mobile, and rang the company.

"Mr Logan please."

"Putting you through to his secretary," said the telephonist.

"Mr Logan's secretary."

"It's Peter McKenzie. Can I speak to him please?"

"I'm afraid he's in a meeting, Mr McKenzie."

"Please go and get him out of it then. Give him my apologies, but I need to speak with him now, and ask him to be where he won't be overheard."

"Yes, Mr McKenzie."

While I was waiting, I took out my diary, and pen to take down the details of whatever he told me. A minute later I heard the phone picked up.

"It's Cameron, Peter, and I've sent her off to get a cup of coffee. How can I help?"

"Sorry to disturb you, but I won't take very long, and it's urgent. Did the MD talk to you this morning?"

"Yes, and I've done some figures for you based on what he said. Do you want me to fax them to you?"

"Yes, fax them to my home number, but I'm not there at the moment. Can you just give me the rough numbers?"

"By all means. First, he said he hadn't mentioned all of this to you yesterday, so I don't know what you already know, so I'll give you all of it. You can have any or all of the following. Your relocation allowance, which is non taxable, will be one hundred K, plus, if you don't have removal expenses, another twenty five K. In addition we pick up all legal and other costs of house purchase. Then the MD said that I was to pay you your commission and bonus for this year, which would otherwise be due at the end of September. Assuming the same rate of bonus as last year, that comes to a hundred and twenty five K. You can also have an advance of your next two years' salary, which at the current rate would be, I think, a total of four hundred K. I say I think, because the Board has to decide on your salary now you are a director, but whatever it is, I feel certain that I have under-estimated, in the interests of prudence. If you take this advance, we would recover it over the next eight years at a flat rate, ie fifty K per year. This would be a taxable benefit, but would not cost you quite as much in tax as would an interest free loan. He then said, that the interest free loan for the purchase that was at the behest of the company, which would not be a taxable benefit, could be up to half a million, no questions asked, or more if you could justify it through added benefit. I take it you know what he means by that, do you?"

"Yes, I know what he is referring to."

"Good. The only other thing, is that as part of your relocation allowance, you are automatically entitled to an interest free loan of up to one year's salary, repayable over the next ten years at a flat rate. This is a taxable benefit. Is that all OK?"

"Yes, I've been taking notes as you spoke, but I'd appreciate it if you would fax all of that to me. Now, just one further thing, if I die in the course of my employment as a director, what would the lump sum and pension be? I know that directors are not in quite the same situation as other employees."

"The lump sum would be four times your annual salary plus twice your bonus or commission, the figure for each being the highest in the five years preceding your death. This is payable to your wife, partner, or dependant children. Then your pension is one thirtieth of that salary figure for each year you have worked for the company, payable to your wife or partner for their lifetime, or to dependant children until they reach the age of eighteen, or the age of twenty four if in full time education. Do you want this faxing as well."

"Thank you, but no, I just wanted a rough idea. Sorry, another final thing, and this really is the last. How soon could I have the various sums of money we talked about?"

"As soon as you like after you have signed all the paperwork, and it would take no more than half an hour to get it ready once you decide what you want to take up."

"Thanks very much, Cameron, I'm most impressed, and you've been very helpful, as I will tell the MD when I speak with him."

"Thank you very much. Pleased to be of assistance."

Sally had been drinking her coffee, and inevitably listening to what I had said, but I doubted if she would have been able to hear what was said by Cameron.

"What was all that about pensions and so on, first of all?" she asked.

"I just wanted to confirm that, in the event of my dropping dead, or," I dropped my voice to a whisper, "being fucked to death by an insatiable woman, you would be able to pay off any debts I incurred in buying a house. I don't want you to have to sell it in that event. If the lump sum was not enough, then I'd take out some life insurance over the period until it was paid off."

"Oh, I see, you lovely man, but I am not insatiable you satiate me very nicely thank you, and anyway, it's your idea as often as it is mine, but," she said with a lascivious smile, "if you are finding it too much, I can always look for a stand-in, if you'll pardon the expression."

"I'll pardon the expression, but the only person who'll be standing in you, is me."

"Good, because I've never known anyone do so to such good effect. What was the rest of the phone call all about?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. Would you like another coffee, and a cake?"

"Coffee, yes please, cake, no thank you, but you have one if you want."

I beckoned to the waitress when I managed to catch her eye, and asked for two further coffees, which she brought straight away.

"Cameron was telling me what Mike had said to him this morning. He said yesterday that he would phone first thing this morning, and he'd added in another couple of ways that money will be made available to me. All the details are being faxed to home, and we can look at them there later, Briefly, I'll get a hundred and a quarter in relocation allowances, and also the same again by having my bonus and commission for this year paid now, so that's two and a half less the tax on the bonus and commission, which is," I did a quick calculation, "Fifty grand, so I'll get two hundred with no further tax to pay. Then I can have up to two years salary etc paid in advance, which would be at least four hundred, which they'd reclaim at the rate of fifty a year for eight years. That gives me six hundred K so far. Mike told him that the interest free loan at the company's behest, ie the difference between what we would pay for what we wanted, say about eight hundred, and what the company wanted me to get could be up to half a million no questions asked, or more if there was added benefit, as he put it."

"Good God, you talk about these huge sums of money in the same way as I would the tenner I play golf for."

"Just habit I suppose. Anyway, the bottom line is that to your question, 'Can you afford it?' the answer is definitely yes. I told you, I think, that I could manage five hundred thousand without a mortgage, but in saying that, I'd left out my 'Fuck you' money, and there's a quarter of a million there."

"What, pray is 'Fuck you' money?"

"It's money put by, so that in the event that you get fed up with your employer, you can just say 'Fuck you' and walk out. Anyway, now I'm a director, I don't see me needing that, so I can raise seven fifty on my own account. Add to that the two hundred for allowances, and bonus advance, I can find from my own resources only fifty thousand short of a million. Where we get the rest from, we'll decide once we know what we're going to have to pay, and also after we've estimated how much we need to spend on furnishing, although the company will find some of that, the part that is spent for their benefit. Happy so far?"

"Peter, I'd no idea you were so well off. You told me you could buy somewhere for about half a million without a mortgage, but it didn't really sink in. Oh Golly, when we came out of Barbara's, I was half hoping she wouldn't be able to talk them into selling because it would cost so much, but now, if it's anything like as good as it sounds, I desperately hope they will sell it to us. Let's keep our fingers crossed, and go back. It's just after half past eleven now, so she'll be expecting us."

We returned to Barbara's office, and were waved straight in by her receptionist, who said:

"Please go in, Barbara's expecting you."

"Well," said Barbara, when we had sat down, "Nothing definite yet, she wants to talk to her husband, but I think that she wants to sell. Anyway, she is quite happy for us to go and look at the property now, if you want to, and she is going to try to get hold of her husband before we get there. Would you like to go and look at it now?"

"Yes please, if it's convenient for you," Sally said, having first looked at me and receive a nod.

"Right, have you signed my contract?"

"No," I said, "I had to make some phone calls. Just let me have a quick read through, and then I'll sign it."

I did so, and found that it just said what she had already told us, so I signed it.

"Which would you prefer," Barbara asked, "to take your own car and follow me, or that I take you in mine?"

"We might as well go with you, I think," I replied. "I hate driving and following someone else."

"Fine, shall we go then? I said to expect us fairly soon, as I assumed you would want to go and see the property as soon as possible. While we go, I'll tell you what I said to her so that you can back it up while we are there."

Barbara's car, a Volvo estate like mine, was just outside, and I asked Sally if she wanted to sit in the front.

"No thank you. Come and sit in the back with me."

"We'll sit in the back Barbara. Sally knows the area quite well, certainly much better than I do, and she can point out to me anything she thinks I ought to be aware of."

"That's fine."

I opened the rear door for Sally to get in, hoping that she might give me a quick glimpse of whatever panties — if any — she was wearing, but she saw where I was looking and held her skirt down, and then smiled at me. Then I went round the other side and got in next to her.

As we drove along, Barbara told us that she had laid it on very heavily that we were immediate cash buyers; there was no chain involved as we didn't have a house to sell; that we wanted possession as soon as possible; if we would have to wait for more than four weeks we weren't interested; and that we might be prepared to buy some or all of the furniture.

While she was saying all this, Sally started to run her hand up and down my leg, with the inevitable result that I started to get an erection. I wanted to slip my hand under her skirt, but I was afraid that Barbara might see in her rear view mirror, and anyway it would only increase my erection.

"How long will it take us to get there?" I asked Barbara.

"About ten minutes," she said. "It isn't far."

I thought that my erection would easily subside in ten minutes, and decided to risk being seen, so I leaned across Sally, and with my left hand pointed out of the window and said:

"What's that?" and while doing so, I slid my hand under her skirt, up to her pussy, and stroked it through the panties I now discovered she was wearing.

"What's what?" she asked.

"Oh it was an interesting looking building, but it's gone now."

My right middle finger was pressing into her pussy through the panties quite insistently, but she took my wrist and pulled my hand away, and for the rest of the journey we just held hands.