Chapter 40 (contd) After the meeting concluded, Damien raised plenty of questions and in return got useful insights on the merits of quality over quantity, including Paul’s favourite quote from Dublin’s Moore Street traders ‘never mind the quality luv, feel the width’. Damien also heard it with his own two ears how deposits are such a fickle thing when customers start getting jumpy about their savings. After the illuminating discussion, Paul told him to give the cashiers a dig out. Later that morning, George took a trip into the safe to fetch some documents. When he reached the safe door, he was surprised to see it slightly open; he was also curious at the small number of cashiers working flat out against a queue that was steadily getting longer. Entering the safe, he noticed the door to its inner section was closed over, but it wasn’t locked. ‘Lamb of Jesus,’ he roared out moments later. The explicit exclamation reached out into the customer area and was followed by a loud shriek from Cathy, as Damien continued picking up the rear. In the ensuing kerfuffle, Damien tumbled head first into a steel press, while his willing partner remained indecently exposed as she frantically scrambled around the floor retrieving abandoned attire. George charged out of the safe just as John came rushing in. ‘You,’ he snarled, blocking him at the entrance to the safe, ‘get rid of the hussy in there and then you can explain to me why it is beyond you to keep a proper eye on my staff.’ Bursting into Paul’s office, George was ready to blow a gasket. With the endless stream of interruptions throughout the morning, Paul considered locking his door, but no lock would have stopped the raging bull. After George’s initial barrage of incoherent rants, he was resigned to hearing the latest take on Damien the evil Union official. ‘I have never in all my life,’ George snorted. ‘I promised you I would handle Damien,’ Paul calmly reassured him. ‘I tell you, that scoundrel is not just taking you and me for a ride.’ ‘I presume you mean he’s spouting on about the strike again,’ said Paul, tossing his pen on the desk. He failed to understand why George got so worked up about anything and everything to do with Damien, while George couldn’t fathom why his trusty lieutenant would not take his concerns more seriously. ‘No, it has got to do with that relief hand.’ ‘You mean Cathy?’ ‘Yes. He has been taking that…that woman for a ride.’ ‘I think he’s been taking a few of the other girls for a ride too,’ Paul casually remarked, but it didn’t occur to him that George was using the word in the slang sense as he was not a man noted for indulging in coarse vernacular. ‘You mean you know this has been going on during office hours?’ George asked disbelievingly. There was a knock on the half-open door. Cathy stood at the doorway in tears…more tears. ‘Mr.Mortimer, I’m really, really sorry,’ she apologised. ‘Get out of my branch, you wench,’ George yelled at her. Paul was dumbstruck for the second time that morning as the defiled official promptly exited. ‘I must have missed a few beats…what exactly happened out there?’ Paul asked with a confused look at the vacant doorway. ‘I caught Damien with her,’ he cryptically advised. ‘Caught him what?’ ‘You know?’ ‘No?’ ‘A bit of roly-poly in the safe.’ ‘Roly-poly, I don’t understand?’ Paul said, deliberately trying to force his upright colleague to be more explicit. Throwing his hands up in the air in complete resignation and looking like he couldn’t get in oxygen quick enough, George blurted out: ‘Hanky-panky, rock n’roll, park the pink limo, bury the mutton dagger - whatever way you young people describe it.’ ‘Ah, come on George, are you sure?’ George gave a look that stopped short of spelling it out. Paul smiled to himself - Damien had chemistry all right, but it wasn’t with George, and Tara was right in saying that the young stud did indeed bring a certain buzz to the office. ‘He may have put the final nail in his coffin this time,’ George declared after eventually simmering down, ‘just you make sure that excuse of a man keeps well out of my way.’ Paul shook his head; raising the issue of the inequitable raid money payout would have to wait.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:32:49 +0000