“Okay, I’ll bring you a coffee up.”
He thanked her and then quickly headed upstairs to use the phone in the bedroom where it would be quieter. The last thing he needed was to be on the conference call and have his son and wife’s voices giving it away that he was at home instead of at the store where he was supposed to be.
He opened the door to the bedroom and lay himself down on the freshly made Queen-size bed, dumping down his keys and wallet on the glass side-table next to the phone. The duvet cover was the blue Egyptian cotton one that he liked so much. The soft thread immediately relaxed him.
The conference call would commence at five-thirty sharp, but the managers of the other stores would usually get on early to check the lay of the land. How did your store do today? What was footfall like? Did you meet your insurance quota? Is the area manager in a good or bad mood today?
He picked up the phone and dialled in the number he knew by heart. Then he tapped in the login pin number. There was a brief silence while the automated service connected him.
When he heard the static of the open line, Nick introduced himself. “Nick Adams, Solihull, Touchwood.”
There were no replies. He must have been the first one there. Great, he thought to himself. Everyone else has had such busy days that they’re struggling to even get away and jump on the call.
I’m so dead.
Nick took a deep breath and released it slowly, letting it echo in the receiver. He rubbed at his forehead with his free hand and closed his eyes while he waited for someone else to arrive. He really hated conference calls. Why there had to be one every single evening he did not know; just like he did not know why he had to be in store for 8AM when it only took twenty minutes to get ready for a 9AM opening. It seemed that Head Office was unaware that Branch Managers had lives outside of work.
There was nothing he could do, though. He wouldn’t get paid as much anywhere else in retail. Most people in the country – the world, in fact – hated their jobs just as much as he did, but for less pay, so in some ways he was lucky. At least his family was secure; even if it did mean he was miserable fifty hours a week.
Nick checked his watch and saw that it was now 5:32. “Hello,” he said into the receiver. “Hello, is anyone else here?”
A second later, the line crackled and another voice appeared on the line.
“Hey,” said Nick. “Who’s that?”
“It’s Paul.”
“Paul, what are you doing on the call?”
“I figured you’d need backup after the day we had.”
Nick smiled. It was good of Paul to go down in flames with him. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. It’s just me and you so far, though.”
“Yeah, I think there’re a couple managers who are reluctant to get on here. I phoned around on the way home and found out that a few other stores were deserted as well. Evesham only did two contracts and Tewkesbury did none, so don’t worry too much.”
Nick sighed relief. “That’s good to know. Least I won’t be the only one getting torn a new one.”
Paul started coughing and hacking into the phone.
“You okay, buddy?”
“Just a cold coming on, I think. Probably from that doodi that bit me earlier.”
“You best not be calling in sick on me tomorrow, dude!”
“Course not. Can’t leave all the sales to Chelsea, can I? There’s only room for one top salesman in our store, and it’s me.”
A crackle on the line and another voice appeared. It was the distinctive Australian twang of the area manager. It grated at Nick’s nerves every time he heard it. It wasn’t the accent he hated, it was the man.
“Who is on the call?” the area manager asked in his usual pissy tone.
“Just me and Paul,” answered Nick.
“Who might me and Paul be?”
“Nick Adams and Paul Patel from Solihull. No one else is on the call yet.”