Day four: Something wicked this way comes

It was a grim tra-la-ing that rang through the corridors on my fourth day at CTT & Co.

“I am the very model of a partner managerial
Spreading dread among the personnel as if by plague bacterial;
I indulge in peculation in a manner that’s most venial
And I’ve table manners which, I think, are deeply uncongenial.”

Jeffrey Drum, the owner of the voice and the managing partner of the firm, was an avid Gilbert and Sullivan fan. It was not the least of his failings.

“Ah, a pastiche of Pirates of Penzance, if I’m not mistaken? Or do I mean a parody? A parody, I think!” said Silas.

Drum was only marginally distracted by Silas’s feigned enthusiasm for a favourite operetta. “What do you think you’re doing, losing clients when the school fees are due? I’ve two very expensive children at a very expensive school - plus the tutors we have to hire for them”.

“Tutors, Jeffrey?” enquired Silas.

“We chose the school because it’s exclusive, Horne, not because it teaches anything. So what are you going to do about Charlie Tams? You know who he is, don’t you? He’s a parent governor at my kids’ school!”

Nothing if not street-wise, Silas immediately scented a chronic case of cronyism. “I wonder if we shouldn’t discuss it with Barry. It was actually him who suggested that we shouldn’t be too patient with clients bringing their data in late”.

Within a few seconds Jeffrey and Silas had invaded Barry’s office, trampling on his hangover and his peace of mind. Within a few seconds more, Barry was floundering as Drum laid into his stupidity, incompetence, and scandalous indifference to the bank balances of the hands that feed him.

Just then two phones rang. One was Barry’s mobile. The other was the phone on Jeffrey’s desk, an urgent call according to the secretary.

Temporarily off the hook as Jeffrey returned to his office, Barry was able to take Erin’s call. Jeffrey found himself talking to Mrs Tams...

What’s brewing now? Find out next week.