The motor-home sales staff meeting was convened in the farmhouse kitchen with Mandy sitting on one side of the table and Ruarc, Ralph and Rita, who was Ruarc’s sister, sitting on the other.
Mandy had met Rita who spent most of her time in the farm shop tending to the steady but small stream of customers that dropped in, mostly collecting eggs laid by the chickens that clucked their contented way around the farmyard outside.
Rita’s face was almost as mean-looking as Ruarc’s. Ferret like, her dark features had something of a gypsy in them. When Mandy had collected eggs to eat from the farm shop, she hadn’t wasted her words. Her reply to Mandy’s enquiry asking the cost of the goods was simply, “Later.” Now Rita just sat there, silently, and, Mandy thought, rather venomously.
Ruarc started the meeting off.
“This meeting has been convened to consider the effing economic situation and the effing poor sales results of this motorhomes sales business recently … Since Mandy has been with us, mainly. So what have you got to say for yourself, gal?”
Mandy looked across at the three, their faces set and wondered whether it was a lynch party. She thought they were reckoning she would walk away from this table without a job and part of her wondered whether that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. As employers, they left almost everything to be desired. Perhaps it was better to be rid of them. Her problem was that at least it was a job, her accommodation came with the job and she didn’t think there was any chance of her finding another job elsewhere.
She decided the best form of defence was attack.
“Firstly, “she said, “I have sold five motor homes in the last three and a half weeks . I would have thought that the profits from those sales would be much greater than my meagre wages however high my bonuses.”
She saw Ruarc, mouth the word ‘bonus’ with contempt. Perhaps he was trying the word out for size. Mandy doubted whether it was a word normally in his vocabulary.
“However, I have two suggestions,” Mandy continued. Then she outlined her idea of improving the motorhome web site so it reflected more accurately new motorhome stock.
Ruarc’s main response was to moan that the motor home Web site didn’t need updating if she never sold anything.
Mandy’s suggestion to rent out motorhomes with a new motor home hire service drew more interest, though, especially from Rita who pointed out there may be cash income opportunities.
The mention of the word ‘cash’ brought knowing nods from Ruarc’s family. It was obvious they liked the word ‘cash’.
Mandy wondered whether there was a hidden safe somewhere at the farm where they stashed their wealth well away from the tax man.
It turned out that Rita was the Webmaster of the family and she agreed to update the Web site if Mandy would take the photographs of the new stock, if and when there was any. Rita also agreed to include motorhome rental details on the web site.
Ruarc, promised that he would include that the motor homes were now available for rent or hire in his newspaper advertising and the meeting was suddenly at an end.
As Mandy walked across the grass back to the motorhome sales office, she watched the rooks cackling and squabbling in the high trees above the farm, not a lot different to human beings, she reflected. The sun seemed to be shining more brightly and, amazingly, she still had a job and somewhere to live.
Perhaps, there was even still the possibility of romance.
She wondered when Tom Hutchinson would ring again.
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