Chapter 4A: Lesley gets the Job

Lesley arrived for her job interview at Alpha Productions promptly at 10.30 a.m. the next morning. It was another bright sunny day. As she walked to the reception area, she felt almost as nervous as when she had first gone for a job interview as a teenager many years ago.

Lesley had taken great care with her appearance, not wishing to appear overdressed for the job. But she felt that her general appearance did her justice, especially with her somewhat limited wardrobe. Fortunately, she had brought a charcoal grey suit in London which she felt was appropriate for the occasion.

She had telephoned Joan the previous night to tell her where to send her luggage. She hoped that it would arrive by courier, at some time later that day. When she had set out for England she had not expected she would get involved in this sort of escapade. The problems of Alpha Productions were not enormous, but because of her Uncles concern for his employees they had to be settled quickly and fairly.

The opportunity had arisen for her to get inside the organisation and she felt that she must now take it if possible it would make it much easier to find out what was going on. It was also important for her to find out how good the management team were and whether they would have to be replaced.

She did however, feel rather guilty and somewhat sorry for the other candidates. If she got the job it could only be for a few days at most. She was doing a genuine candidate out of what was probably a desperately needed job. She promised herself, that she would attempt to compensate the other candidates in some way in the future when the situation was resolved. If her outline plans came to fulfilment she hoped that she would be creating plenty of new jobs in the future.

Pushing open the door to the reception, she walked confidently to the receptionists desk... She was pleased to see that Sheena the pleasant young lady who had been on duty the day before was on the desk. Her smile of greeting gave Lesley reassurance. Looking up and smiling pleasantly, she said.

" Good Morning Miss Jones, that was well timed. I think Mr Armstrong is almost ready for you now"

Standing up, she asked Lesley to follow her. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs she told Lesley to go to the top of the stairs and Mr Armstrongs room was the first on the right. As Lesley passed her, she whispered "Good Luck"

As Lesley entered Mr Armstrongs room, she saw another young lady coming from an inner office, Lesley assumed that this was the candidate she had not met on the previous day.

She did not give Lesley the impression that she was very confident of the outcome of the interview as she was still looking very tense and nervous. At a desk on the far side of the room was a very attractive, young blonde haired lady who Lesley assumed was George Armstrongs Secretary. Immediately Lesley noticed and was drawn to her smiling welcoming blue eyes which were gazing up at her.

She spoke in a voice with a faint Scottish accent "Hello, I'm Sandy, Mr Armstrongs Secretary - You must be Miss Jones. Mr Armstrong is just ready for you, I'll take you straight in"

As she was speaking she moved towards a doorway behind her desk, announcing to the unseen occupant. " Miss Jones for you Mr Armstrong."

As Lesley entered the room, she was greeted by a silver haired man who was standing up, with his hand outstretched to greet her. He was, she thought, about 50 years of age. Her first impression of George Armstrong was good. He was in his shirtsleeves, which immediately made Lesley feel more relaxed. As he shook hands with her he was speaking.

"Hello Miss Jones I'm George Armstrong. I'm the company secretary, but I also double as the staff personnel officer in this company. Please take a seat. "

Lesley said "Good Morning Mr Armstrong."

As she spoke, she handed over the CV she had prepared the day before."

I apologise for being, as it were, a late entrant, but your very impressive receptionist thought that you may be interested in seeing me anyway"

He smiled. " Yes, we are rather proud of Sheena. She does a very good job for us".He said. "Please sit down, just give me a minute or two to read your CV."

For a few minutes there was silence as he read, occasionally making a few notes on a pad. When he finished reading, he started by explaining that the post in question was as Personal Assistant to the managing director.

As he outlined the duties to her, Lesley realised that they were very much as she expected, and in fact very similar to what she expected from her own personal assistant. As the interview went on, she began to realise that George Armstrong was a very perceptive man, and a very thorough interviewer. His questions were very searching as he probed her on her past experience and qualifications. He almost took Lesley by surprise with some of his questions.

Eventually he seemed satisfied. He said, I think that you will do very well Miss Jones, he then finished by proposing a starting salary and outlining the conditions of employment. He finished by saying. "Providing that the managing director is happy with you then we can finalise details". Lesley had told George Armstrong that the interview that she could start straight away, but, she may possibly need two days off in each of the following weeks to finalise personal business. She also explained, that she was stopping with friends so she had to find accommodation in the area. This did not seem to create any problems for George Armstrong, so he suggested that they go to meet Frank Forster.

His office, was quite luxurious and ostentatious compared to George Armstrongs room. Frank Forster, was very nice and polite. He gave the impression of being basically a very nice person.

His desk was covered in drawings and from the White Coat hanging in the corner she got the impression he preferred to be involved in the Factory, rather than in administration.

He asked her a few questions, but he was obviously quite nervous. She let him do all the talking, nodding in agreement, or, from time to time, asking what she thought, was a relevant question.

He seemed impressed with her knowledge of management procedures. He said. I am not the best administrator in the world. I prefer to be an engineer and not a manager. I need someone like you, that I can trust, in other words I want to delegate as much of the routine work as possible to you."

Lesley agreed that would suit her fine and she agreed with Frank, that she would start work on the following Monday morning. He confirmed that he would let her have the time off she needed, provided, they could agree the days in advance. As she left the room, with George Armstrong. She felt that Frank Forster, was not what she expected. Her Uncle Harvey had been no fool. He was not as her Uncle had implied managing director material, but he did not give the impression of being a thief either.

She returned with George Armstrong to his office. He asked Sandy his Secretary to give Lesley a brief tour of the office facilities, and the factory to complete the formalities. Sandy congratulated her on getting the job, showing her round the various departments in the administration block she noticed the door marked Chairman. Sandy noting her interest told her.

Sandy said. "You have come at a bad time. We have just lost the our owner; he was a sweety and we miss him. We don't quite know what the new boss will be like, but we have been assured that our jobs are safe.""Could I have a peep inside." Lesley asked. She opened the door to her Uncles room. Immediately she noticed the similarity to Ralph Andrews study. It had the same sort of deep leather armchairs. Shelves full of books It was not just an office. It gave Lesley the impression of being very much a home from home.

Lesley stood there for a few minutes in silence forgetting that Sandy was still there with her. She could imagine her Uncle relaxing, sitting in the chairs. Perhaps dealing with business problems in a very relaxed manner. Sandy said. "I love this room. It was very much his room."

During her brief tour of the Factory Lesley was introduced to various people. In particular Mark Higgins the Works Manager, who Sandy introduced as her older brother. He was Lesley guessed, about her age. He looked every bit an engineer, very athletic, a fairly slim build and the same colour hair and eyes as Sandy. The likeness of brother and sister was obvious.

Within minutes of meeting him Lesley decided that she liked him. There was something of Charles in him, that immediately struck a chord. She sensed, by the attention he was paying her, that her interest was returned. He spoke with the same soft attractive highland accent that Sandy used.

As the three of them toured the factory Lesleys interest in Mark grew. For the first time since Charles death Lesley was feeling more than a passing interest in another man. Mark was interesting and knowledgable, she sensed that he was good at his job and had the confidence of the staff. Mark was occasionally approached and asked to answer queries from Supervisors.

His manner was that of a person who was confident and who engendered confidence in others. He knew the operators and from their demeanour it was immediately obvious that Mark was popular and good at his job. He seemed to have the trust and respect of the workforce.

Lesley was impressed with what she saw. The factory was clean and well maintained. She recognised and understood many of the processes seeing immediately that a lot of money had been invested over the years to make the company efficient and profitable.

In the Machine Shop Lesley queried the fact that there seemed to be an area where the machines had recently been removed. Mark in reply said. "That is a sore point with us, apparently we lost the order; so the machines and tools have been sold as scrap. It doesn't make sense. They were good machines and many of the tools could have been converted to other uses."

Lesley's enthusiasm for what she saw, made her forget herself. In her excitement she asked several very advanced technical questions on the processes. It was only when she saw Mark look at her rather quizzically that she realised what she was doing. Thinking quickly, She told him. " I have been brought up in the Engineering industry. My Father was an Engineer and so was my late husband." Lesley was relieved to see that Mark seemed satisfied with her reply. The more she saw, the more she was impressed. Many of the facilities for workers were far in advance of those used in the Apex Corporation factories back home.

The thought occurred to her that perhaps she ought to bring her Vice President Ben Bryant over to England. He would be very interested in what her Uncle had done here, and perhaps would want to introduce some of the ideas in their own manufacturing units.

As Lesley prepared to make her way back to Bromsgrove, it was nearing lunch time. She found that the office staff were assembling in the reception area, for what they told her was the traditional Friday pub lunch. They had waited, hoping that she would join them. Sandy introduced her to the other girls. One of whom was Sheena, another was a lady called Mary who was the Marketing Directors Secretary and two girls Jean and Pat who worked in the Accounts Department. Some of the other staff she was told had gone on, and would be at the pub waiting.

Lesley hesitated briefly, then quickly agreed. These girls would know what was going on in the company, if anyone did. In any case, she had got to work with them for the time being and the sooner she got to know them the better. She gradually relaxed and started to enjoy herself. She realised that she was laughing and giggling with them, intrigued by the midland humour and bringing back memories of her early working days. Although some of the comments were for the moment going over her head.

Sometimes, they would explain the reason for their laughter, sometimes, she found that the explanation was more hilarious than the original remark. The girls obviously enjoyed each others company and worked well together. Like most people they were curious about Lesley, at first, she kept quiet, dodging their probing questions and refusing to divulge too much information about herself.

She realised that the natural curiosity was quite normal. At first it almost became a game, dodging the questions. She could sense their increasing frustration. She realised that if she wanted to be part of the group she would have to tell them something.

Laughingly, she said "OK ladies I know you are curious, its not fair to keep you in the dark."

She then went on to give an outline of the details she had given in her CV. which were basically true. The explanation satisfied them. They commiserated with the fact that she had lost Charles. The girls obviously had no suspicion of her true identity. She found herself hoping that she would not lose their friendship, when they did find out.

As they walked back towards the company, at the end of the Lunch Hour. Lesley asked Sandy if she knew where she could get some local accommodation. Sandy told her. " I Live on my own, in walking distance of work. Would you like to share with me, until you get settled in? You can have your own room. Although I warn you, I have a noisy four year old son called Andy. I'll do my best to keep him quiet, but I can't promise total success"

Lesley thought for a minute, before replying. "That would be lovely. When can I see it, and when can I move in?" Sandy told her that he thought that George Armstrong would let her have half an hour off to show her the room straight away. She could, she told her move in now if she wanted too.

Lesley waited in the reception for Sandy, chatting to Sheena. The more she talked to these girls the more she liked them. Within a few minutes Sandy re-appeared telling her that George Armstrong had given her permission to show Lesley the room. It was only five minutes walk to her house.

As they walked, Lesley found her thoughts going back to Mark. Without realising it Lesley kept bringing the conversation round to him. Sandy was intrigued at her obvious interest. Lesley told her. "He seems to be very bright and also very good with people. I would have thought that the company will find it hard to keep him in the future" Sandy laughed. "I think you fancy him slightly." Then laughing at Lesleys obvious embarrassment.

Sandy told her. "Anyway, he's still single and that's why he's still with the company. He's had a couple of unfortunate love affairs and that was why he has never married. He only has himself to keep, so he has preferred to stay in a job where he was happy - at least until now."

"What's changed?"Lesley asked

"I suppose that it's the uncertainty and he has his fights with Frank Forster. - He's just had a bitter fight about selling those machines, he was telling you about. Mark reckons they were worth at least £40.000 and shouldn't have been sold.""Was it Frank Forster's decision? Lesley asked. "Apparently so." The other thing is that Frank Forster is away a lot. He seems to spend a lot of time with Jill Rankin the sales manager these days - we all reckon she fancies him. This means that Mark is in effect running the place.

Sandy want on to tell her that, Mark had become worried about the loss of some of the profitable orders. He had found out from a colleague, that the work had gone to a firm in West Bromwich.

When he had mentioned to Frank Forster, that he had found out where the orders had gone. He had been told, very abruptly to mind his own business, and that new orders would soon be replacing the work that they had lost. "For now." Sandy said. He's waiting to here what plans the new owner had got for the business, but, he is looking for a new job.".

Sandy's house was clean and nicely furnished. The bedroom sandy offered Lesley was small but ideal for her purpose. It had a single bed, flowered wallpaper and a large roomy wardrobe. It had recently been re-decorated. Lesley soon agreed terms with Sandy, and arranged to move in over the week-end. She told Sandy, that it would probably be Sunday Morning, but a lot depended on how quickly she could get things done over the week end. Lesley knew that she had a busy week end ahead of her. She had to buy some new clothes, a car and make a large number of arrangements with her office in Pittsburgh.

Ralph was waiting anxiously for her when she returned to Bromsgrove. Lesley told him what had happened during the day, and the arrangements she had made to stay with Sandy.

Ralph had now become convinced that something was not quite right at Alpha Productions. Now he had had time to think through the implications of what Lesley had found out the previous afternoon. He was even more convinced when Lesley was able to tell him what Mark had been able to find out.

"Frank does not have the authority to sell plant." He told her. His brief covers day to day management decisions only.

At first he suggested that Lesley should consider calling in the fraud squad. The similarity of names of the two companies, and the fact that work had been lost or transferred to this company was highly suspicious in the circumstances; especially, as it had been done without the Board of Directors approval.

Lesley told Ralph that she was considering flying her own security and investigation team over from Pittsburgh. She had also arranged the services of some investigation specialists based in London who would be meeting her over the weekend. She needed to get a lot of information on a lot of people very quickly.

Saturday was a busy shopping day for Lesley. She purchased some new clothes, and a red second hand Ford Fiesta. During the day she received a telephone call from London. Shortly afterwards, she told Frank that she would be out late that evening. Having packed most of her clothes in a suitcase Lesley put the case in the car. She borrowed a key from Ralph so that she could let herself in when she returned. It was just after 8.00 pm when Lesley driving her car pulled on to the waiting area in front of New St. Station in the centre of Birmingham...

Lesley waited as she had previously arranged holding a red umbrella in her left hand. She was soon approached by two young men about her own age. After a brief discussion, the car set off towards Alpha Productions. By the time they arrived it was just getting dusk. Stopping the car, she handed over her Uncles keys to one of the men. She told him that she would meet them at the front gate within 45 minutes. That would, she thought be ample time to allow them to complete their task.

She drove on to Sandys house, first knocking the door, before letting herself in with the key that Sandy had given her. Taking her suitcase to her room, she had soon put her clothes away.

Before long it was time for her to leave. She left a note for Sandy to tell her that she had called with her luggage. Lesley was soon back at the factory gates. The two men were waiting for her, handing her back her keys. They told her they had encountered no problems. The recording equipment and cameras were in place as she had requested.

Within 20 minutes Lesley had dropped them off to catch the last train from New St. Station back to London Euston. They told her they would be back on Monday. While they waited for the train Lesley briefly went through the details of what she wanted them to do the following week. This included a visit to Frank's home and to Jills apartment.