A Servant of the Company Read Online Free

year, which is before tax.’ This organisation had information on him, and he was not going to risk inflating his pay with the hope of getting more and lose this unbelievable chance he had been offered.
    ‘I think we could go to thirty thousand Arif, but I must get confirmation of that from the Board of Directors. They will back me on this I’m sure, but I too am a servant of the Company and have to play by the rules. Your accommodation will of course be rent free.’ Time to wind up the conversation now, there was work to be done. ‘Just one more thing, we class all our people as self- employed, so you would have to pay your National Insurance contribution and organise income tax. We will of course give you advice on this and perhaps an allowance for the time you take to set it up. I will be in touch when my colleague has secured the right site for our office and of course your accommodation. Do you have any questions?’
    ‘No sir, I understand you will contact me when everything is in place. I will soon learn what I have to do and I won’t let you down.’
    ‘I’m sure you won’t Arif. Goodbye for now.’
    He must calm down before he spoke to Sumi. He replaced the handset and sat down still slightly bewildered by the phone call.
    Sumi came into the room and stood next to him. ‘Well, aren’t you going to tell me what that was all about?’ She moved closer putting her arm around his shoulder and eagerly awaited a response.
    He told her everything that had gone on, how posh his new boss had sounded, although he wasn’t the top man. They would now have to be patient until the next phone call.
    ‘It would have been better if you had everything in writing, wouldn’t it?’ She would have felt more secure if it was in black and white.
    ‘This is a big organisation with many competitors and they don’t want business information leaking to them.’ Although he sounded positive telling her this, he suddenly felt a little less confident inside. It was strange that such a firm would only deal with him over the phone. They had offered him a job without seeing him or asking for references. There was no firm start date, no place to work and no job description. There were questions in his mind, but try as he might, he could not come up with possible answers.
    ‘Don’t look so puzzled, you have done well convincing them that you are the right man for the job. I’m proud of you, and so are our children. Do you think you should tell your parents, or should we wait until you start.’ She did this as a warning not to say anything until he had actually started the job. It would be so disappointing if it fell through.
    ‘We won’t say anything to anybody. When everything is settled, then we can let them know I have a new job and we have a new home. Once I do get a start date, we will be able to go and see the flat. With the extra money we will have, you will be able to do all the things you have been admiring on those television programmes.
    Sumi spent at least an hour a day watching home improvement shows and in her mind knew just what she wanted. If Arif’s income had been more, she knew any improvement she made at number thirteen would be lost as soon as she looked out of the window. At the front, the striking feature was a burned out car, at the back to left and right, were old mattresses, and rubbish of every description. She would be saying her prayers tonight.
    He got up, turned, and held Sumi close. ‘With any luck this could change our lives, but we must be prepared in case things go wrong and the job doesn’t turn up.’ He didn’t want to disappoint her, but at the same time it would be too much of a blow if the company let him down. At this stage he could not convince himself that all would be well, his advice to Sumi would help soften the blow if it was necessary. Certain phrases had registered in his brain, ‘dire consequences’ and ‘penalties for staff that let the Company down’ were the strongest.