The Ascendant

Chapter Forty-Four

The pay slip floated across my desk like a winged cradle of fortune and finally came to rest on my keyboard. I stared at it for a moment. This was the moment I had dreamt of; not all the ponsing about in sharp suits, faking prior knowledge of the finance industry or driving a car very badly, but money: for it is money that changes lives. A windfall had just dropped from the skies (or a payroll clerk’s fingertips), my reward for the last four weeks of hard work, anxiety and concealed fear.

I took the payslip in my hand, studying it closely before removing the perforated edges one at a time and flipping back the flap to reveal the numbers.

I skimmed over the tax code, National Insurance number and general payroll mumbo jumbo before getting to the business side of the slip.

Gross Taxable pay: £4,166.67

Income Tax: £1,060.87

NI Contributions: £ 211.47

Car Allowance: £ 175.00

Net Pay: £2,719.33

I stared at the figures and tried to absorb them for a moment. Net pay of £2,719.33. I read over it again and again, briefly looking up to see if anyone else was doing the same; they weren’t really, or not with the same degree of scrutiny which I was devoting to the process.

I made my calculations; my only predisposed expenses were my bank loan and rent, neither of which suddenly seemed like a lot of money: £550 for the rent, nearly £200 for the loan.

Allowing a generous £200 for food and general utilities, plus my gym membership (£200) and further continued monthly subscriptions (£70), I was left with about £1500 to spend on … myself. This exceeded my usual personal spending allowance by roughly £1400.

Things were looking up!

I asked Hobbs for a local restaurant he might recommend (‘something a bit tasty’), and he suggested one in Belsize Park. I made the relevant booking and sent a quick text message to Dawn: Romantic meal 4 2 @ 7.30. B ready.

'Yes!' - I'd really got there!

Although work was hard and getting harder. The hours had got longer (starting at seven, finishing between five and eight), the clients were arrogant and smarmy, the contractors a constant source of pitiful excuses but after what had seemed an interminable slog, I was being thrown my first titbit. The tightness I had been feeling across my chest during the hard and fast afternoons might not have been justified, but there was hope of alleviation, for today at least. Whatever may happen in the future, I had my cash reward and souvenir slip to treasure.

My In tray was not yet resembling the Himalayan range spread across Rob’s desk, but by comparison to Angela, Mike and David's smooth Lincolnshire plains it was a relative Snowdonia. The ski trippers, not to mention Hobbs, would soon be taking note if I didn’t establish some control in the coming weeks.

For now, however, I had to concentrate on my weekly number crunching exercise for Hobbs, hope that everything was to his satisfaction, and start to practice what Mike and the others had graciously preached.

I escaped the office shortly before six, mentally drained as usual but exhilarated by the prospect of having such a mighty disposable income. None of my previous bosses, for all their toil and political shenanigans could have dreamt of such an income. Eight months of insidious planning and palpitating risks had not been wasted. Sat in my car I took another lingering look at the numbers. Some time later, I carefully placed the slip on the passenger seat, turned on the radio and drove out of the car park. For the first time since my spurious transformation, I felt like one of them.