by Len du Randt
‘Hey Jared, what can I do for you?’
‘I want you to pull up the Schuster file,’ Jared said, ‘and look up their latest order for me.’
‘Okay, hang on a minute,’ Dean said. The sound of Dean hacking away at the keyboard clicked over the speaker phone and a moment later, he was back on the line. ‘Got it,’ he said. ‘What would you like me to do with it?’
‘Our suppliers messed up,’ Jared said and swivelled his chair. ‘We need that exact same stock ordered and delivered by Wednesday.’
The sound of clicking. ‘Who should we get it from?’
Jared pressed his palms together and rested his chin on his fingertips. ‘See if our friends in Mexico, Costa Rica, or Panama have the stock we need. Negotiate with them if you have to, but make sure that you get it.’
‘Give me five minutes,’ Dean said. ‘I’ll call you back.’
When the line cut, Jared stood up from his seat and made his way over to the liquor cabinet. ‘Scotch?’ he asked and held up a glass.
Shaun raised his hand and shook his head. ‘What’s the plan?’ he asked as he followed Jared back to the window. ‘Even if we do get the stock, there’s no way that we can have it delivered on time.’
Jared swirled the ice around in the glass, ignoring the question. ‘How are things between you and Samantha?’ he asked.
Shaun opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He exhaled slowly in an effort to calm his nerves and merely shook his head as he answered Jared’s question. ‘Things are fine,’ he said. ‘Couldn’t be better.’
‘Are you two still planning on having a baby?’
‘We’d like to,’ Shaun said. He wanted to end the topic and swing it back to the work-related issue at hand, but he also needed someone to talk to that he could trust. Since the results came back from the doctors that Samantha might not ever be able to have children of her own, Shaun kept his feelings bottled up inside. ‘I guess all we have to go on now is faith.’
Jared wanted to ask Shaun about the blood test results when the phone chirped. ‘We’ll talk about this later,’ he said and picked up the handset. ‘All good?’ he asked.
‘Mexico is good to go,’ Dean said. ‘Ordered and waiting.’
‘You’re the man, Dean,’ Jared said. ‘Would you also cancel the current order with TCP?’
‘As good as done.’
Jared thanked Dean and hung up. He then picked up his diary and flipped it open to the contacts section where he looked up the number of an old friend and dialled it.
‘Lightspeed Carriers, good day,’ a female voice greeted from the other end of the line.
‘Good morning,’ Jared said. ‘I was wondering if you could patch me through to Darryl Blaine, please.’
‘Sure,’ the receptionist said. ‘Who may I ask is calling?’
‘Jared Greene from Whyte & Greene International.’
‘One moment,’ she said and the line clicked over to Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers.
‘It’s not who you are,’ Jared said and winked. ‘It’s who you know.’
‘Who are you calling—?’
‘Darryl you old coot,’ Jared said and held up his index finger. ‘How are you?’
‘Jared my old friend,’ Darryl said. He coughed and wheezed before he spoke again. ‘I’m fine, fine. How are you?’
‘More or less the same,’ Jared said and then dispensed with the small talk. ‘But I must admit that my call is not for social reasons. I have an old favour that I need to cash in.’
‘Anything you need,’ Darryl said. ‘You name it, and I’ll make it so.’
Jared smiled. The old man had been like a father to him ever since he moved to Kelwick nine years ago. Darryl took the then twenty-year-old under his wing and taught him all about building and managing a business empire. ‘We’re having some hold ups with one of our suppliers,’ Jared said. ‘Problem is that we need the supplies delivered yesterday already.’
‘Where are the supplies?’ Darryl asked.
‘Tampico, Mexico.’
‘And where do you want it dropped off?’
‘New York,’ Jared said and relayed the address.
There was a moment of silence where Jared feared the old man might have fallen asleep on him. ‘Darryl...?’
‘Still here,’ Darryl said. ‘Just trying to see who I can bump from the roster to squeeze you in.’
Jared chuckled. ‘Are you sure you’d be able to manage it?’ Jared said with just a hint of challenge in his voice. ‘I heard the younger guys are the faster ones these days.’
‘They’re wet behind the ears,’ Darryl said. ‘The whole lot of them ain’t got nuthin’ on this ol’ geezer!’
Jared laughed. ‘Show me what you’re made of, old man.’
For a moment there was only silence again. Then a cough and a wheeze. ‘Jared my old boy,’ Darryl said. ‘You have no idea how well connected I am.’ The man flipped through some pages, tore one up, and coughed again. ‘I can have it at your doorstep by tomorrow noon. How’s that for you?’
‘You’re the best, Darryl,’ Jared said and smiled. ‘I’ll choose you above those youngsters any day.’
‘You better believe it.’
‘We should get together some time,’ Jared said. ‘You know, catch up n’ stuff.’
‘I hear ya. Sort of like a have-my-people-call-your-people-so-we-can-do-lunch kind of thing, right?’
‘Spot on, old chap,’ Jared chuckled. ‘Thanks for helping me out again.’
‘Anything for you, my boy.’
The two greeted each other politely and after they hung up, Jared sat back in his seat and locked his hands behind his head. He said nothing, but instead, smiled broadly at Shaun.
‘Okay,’ Shaun said and frowned. ‘Would you care to tell me what just happened?’
‘Your crisis,’ Jared said and picked up his glass, ‘is sorted.’
‘Armand will get his stock?’
Jared nodded. ‘He will have it by noon tomorrow.’
Shaun fell back into the chair and exhaled deeply and slowly. He rubbed the base of his neck hard in an effort to ease some tense muscles. ‘That’s why they pay you the big bucks.’
‘There’s that,’ Jared said. ‘And the fact that I own the company.’
Shaun managed a stiff smile. He was still way too nervous to be as calm and relaxed about the whole incident as Jared was. ‘Want to go out and celebrate?’
‘No can do,’ Jared said. ‘Amy’s waiting at home. We’re having a guest over for dinner tonight. Maybe tomorrow.’
‘Deal,’ Shaun said and stood up. He thanked Jared, and with hands still shaking and his knees still weak, left the office.
* - - - *
The drive home was as uneventful as the rest of the afternoon at the office. Jared made a quick stop at Kelwick Florist to pick up a mixed bouquet of Amy’s favourite flowers.
When are you two tying the knot? Shaun’s words replayed in Jared’s mind. She’s a keeper, you know?
Jared grinned. If Shaun only knew that he had everything planned to the finest detail. The only part he still struggled with was when he was going to ask her, and how he would do it. He would worry about that later. Something else was occupying his thoughts at the moment: The Patterson and Lewis contract. It was their biggest yet and could make or break Whyte & Greene International. If everything went smoothly and according to schedule, the company could triple last year’s first quarter earnings. If they fumbled and breeched the service level agreement, they could take a much larger knock than the company could handle. If Whyte & Greene messed up, Patterson could—and most probably would—impose a huge financial penalty on the company. Depending on the situation, a single penalty could mean that everyone would probably have to abandon ship.
Nothing will go wrong, Jared thought and rubbed his temples. Keep your head clear and your vision focused, and everything will be just fine.
He hummed to the song on the radio as the doubl
e garage door opened at its own leisure. He pulled the 2004 Bentley Continental GT into its respective spot and, remembering the flowers, entered the house. Still humming the tune from the song, he slapped his briefcase on the living room table along with his car keys and the newspaper he bought on the way to work.
Something smelled delicious. It was the aroma of onions frying in garlic butter. The garlic butter was a home-made concoction that consisted of margarine, a handful of chopped green peppers, and about a quarter of a teaspoon’s worth of garlic. These would be mixed together in a bowl, given a few turns in the microwave and the result gently stirred into a frying pan. Amy would then add the onions, followed by some chopped bacon, and top it off with a fair share of peppers and spices. The tomatoes would come last, and after everything was stirred together, it was added to a big pot of cooked macaroni. The concoction would be mixed into the macaroni, where it would simmer for a few minutes and the grated cheese was added last.
Jared made his way through the long hallway, passing four bedrooms and two bathrooms before skipping up a few wooden steps into the slightly elevated open-plan kitchen.
Amy stood with her back facing Jared. She hummed her own tune as she stirred the bacon and onion mixture in the frying pan. Jared gently placed the flowers on one of the kitchen counters and quietly snuck up behind Amy. She shrieked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her away from the stove. She turned and instantly found herself wrapped in Jared’s arms, his lips pressing against hers. After the kiss he hugged her tightly and then took a step back, picked up the flowers from the counter and held them out in front of him.
‘Oh, Jared,’ Amy said and took the flowers. She held the bouquet to her nose and inhaled deeply. ‘They’re beautiful. Thank you.’
‘Pleasure,’ Jared said as he examined the contents of the frying pan. ‘How was your day?’
‘Not too bad,’ she said as she unwrapped the plastic around the flowers. She took a vase from a cupboard and filled it with water. She then placed the flowers into the vase and carefully positioned the container on the counter. ‘I’ll find a nice spot for it later,’ she said. Amy then turned to Jared and wrapped her arms around his neck. ‘And you? How was your day?’
‘Same old, same old,’ he said and snuck in a quick kiss. ‘And then I rushed home to be with you.’
‘Well, you’re just in time, Mister Greene,’ she said and grinned.
‘Oh yeah? In time for what?’
‘Grating the cheese.’ She shoved a cheese grater into his hands.
Jared slumped his shoulders and chuckled. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Not entirely what I was planning on hearing, but I get the message.’
Amy took the cheese from the fridge, handed it to Jared, and gave him a peck on the cheek. ‘Who knows?’ she asked and winked. ‘Maybe there might be a little thank you reward a bit later tonight.’
He smiled while he grated the Gouda. ‘I pay people to do this kind of stuff for me, you know?’ he asked rhetorically. Amy merely returned his smile and stirred the frying onions. ‘Anything interesting happen at work today?’ Jared asked.
‘Where to begin?’ Amy rolled her eyes. ‘One of our suppliers sent us a shipment of Bibles a few days ago. When we wanted to follow up on the status of the delivery, they couldn’t find our order. So they asked us to fax the order through to them again so that they could follow up. I did just that.’
Jared nodded as he continued grating the cheese. ‘Do people still send faxes nowadays?’
Amy nodded. ‘Well,’ she said and stopped stirring to look at Jared. ‘Some brainiac on that side figured that the fax was a brand new order; so guess who received another shipment of exactly the same Bibles today?’
Although the question was rhetorical, Jared answered it to keep the conversation flowing. ‘You?’
‘Right,’ she said. ‘So I called the guy and told him about the mix up. He checked their system, but all he could see was that the second order was logged as a new, separate order.’
‘Then what?’ Jared asked and wrapped the remaining cheese before returning it to the fridge.
‘He said that he would take back the double order, but at our expense.’
Jared shook his head. ‘So now you have to pay for a mess that they made?’
‘And the delivery cost isn’t cheap, let me tell you that.’
‘Are you actually going to let him get away with this?’ Jared asked.
She shrugged. ‘There’s not much that I can do at this moment in time. I’ll have to speak to my manager in the morning to see if we can find a way around this.’
‘Amy, just call the guy and explain to him that it’s his screw up to begin with and he has to carry the expenses,’ Jared said, slightly irritated. How hard can it be? he wondered. If it was him in that scenario, the issue would have been resolved before afternoon tea time.
‘I’ll speak to Russell tomorrow and hear what we can do.’
But I just told you what to do! Jared merely forced a smile. ‘I’m sure that all will work out just fine,’ he said. ‘If not, give me a shout and I’ll make a few calls.’
Amy giggled. ‘That won’t be necessary, but thank you for the offer.’
The buzzer interrupted Jared’s trail of thought. ‘That must be Tanya,’ he said and checked his watch. ‘She’s early.’
‘This will still take a few more minutes,’ Amy said. ‘Let her in and I’ll join you guys in the living room shortly, okay?’
‘Sure.’ Jared playfully kissed her on the cheek and made his way down the wooden steps and through the entertainment room, into the second living room where the intercom system was mounted against the wall. He picked up the handset and pressed the video feed button. The mini-screen flickered and clicked on and Tanya’s face slowly faded in. ‘You’re early,’ he said.
‘I got off sooner than I thought I would,’ she said with a smile. ‘Sue me.’
Jared pressed a button and the gate slowly opened. ‘Come right in,’ he said. ‘I’ll meet you at the door.’ He replaced the handset in its cradle and made his way through a hallway to the front door. Jared punched in a security code, the door buzzed open and he stepped outside into the cool evening air.
‘How many times do I have to tell you that you need to install an elevator here,’ Tanya said slightly out of breath as she reached the top of the stairs.
Jared merely smiled. ‘Hey Aunt Tanya,’ he said and they greeted one another with their usual hug and peck routine before entering the house. ‘Amy’s in the kitchen,’ he said as he led Tanya through the hallway and into the living room. ‘She will join us shortly.’ He took Tanya’s coat and indicated that she should be seated. They made small talk for a few minutes until Amy entered the room.
‘What did I miss?’ she asked and greeted Tanya with a hug.
‘Not much, dear,’ Tanya said. ‘We were just discussing the weather.’
‘Good,’ Amy said and smiled. ‘Dinner is ready. Let’s eat, shall we?’
* - - - *
‘This isn’t half bad,’ Tanya said as she helped herself to a second portion of Amy’s Macaroni and Cheese. ‘I’m quite impressed.’
‘I agree,’ Jared said and also helped himself to seconds.
Amy blushed and accepted their compliments with a modest, ‘Thanks.’
‘I can recall your mother’s meals,’ Tanya said and stabbed her fork at Jared. When she saw Amy’s subtle reaction she added a quick, ‘It was nothing compared to this, of course, but it wasn’t bad either.’
‘Speaking of my mother,’ Jared said. ‘She called me the other day. She sends her love to both of you.’
Tanya smiled. ‘You should tell her the same from me. How are they, by the way?’
‘They’re fine.’ Jared shrugged. ‘At least that’s what mom says.’
‘Is Justin still writing his novel?’
‘According to her, he finally finished the thing.’
‘It only took him the better part of five ye
ars to do it,’ Tanya said and laughed.
‘And don’t I just know about it! Mom says it’s all he’s been talking about for the last five years. Now and again she can manage a decent conversation with him, but it’s almost as if, every time he opens his mouth, something about the novel pours out.’
‘Poor woman,’ Tanya said. ‘Sounds like she needs a vacation.’
‘Speaking of someone in dire need of a holiday,’ Amy cut in and nodded in Jared’s direction. ‘Mister Corporate here is way overdue himself.’
Jared laughed. ‘There’s no rest for the wicked, unfortunately. At the rate contracts are coming in, I’d be lucky to have a decent holiday in about ten years from now.’
‘See?’ Amy said and merely shook her head. ‘There’s no talking sense into this man.’
‘I still wanted to ask,’ Tanya said. ‘How are things over at Whyte & Greene?’
‘Quite well,’ Jared said and helped himself to a second portion of Amy’s macaroni and cheese. ‘We’re shooting for a new contract now that will push the company to new heights.’
‘I doubt that Whyte & Greene can go much higher,’ Amy said and winked at Jared. ‘You could sell the company right now and live in luxury for the rest of your life without having to raise a finger.’
‘His children’s children wouldn’t need to lift their fingers either.’
‘Now ladies,’ Jared said and sipped on the Rosé. ‘It’s not all fun and games. If we mess up this contract, we might all end up looking for jobs.’
‘Could it be that extreme?’ Amy asked.
Jared nodded. ‘If we breach SLA with this new contract, we not only have to pay for the shipment itself, but a huge penalty fee as well. Enough to sink us, depending on the size of the shipment, of course.’
‘Then why take that risk?’ Amy asked and finished her wine.
‘Because the profit that we make—if everything goes right—dwarfs the fear of something possibly going wrong.’ He grinned and squeezed her hand. ‘Besides, how many times have I breached service level before?’
‘Never,’ Amy said.
Jared smiled. He took a bite of the macaroni and dabbed his mouth with a cloth as he chewed. He swallowed hard, then looked at Amy with a pleased expression. ‘And how many do you think I’m planning on breaching in the near future?’