The Ascendant

Chapter Fifty-Three

My plan was intended to produce a knee jerk reaction from Hustings and Winters, and that was exactly what happened. Both contacted Hobbs for a discussion about the security of their continued position with Vanguard London: seeking reassurances which Hobbs was happy to give, but mercifully neither Hustings or Winters were happy with Hobbs’s tone.

Hobbs may have been confused by their unusual insecurity and told them of the high regard in which they were held by myself and all our clients although he grasped the opportunity to reiterate his concerns: they both had to raise their standards or risk the future business relationship.

Both leading players rang me in an alarmed state and I told them to remain calm; if they followed my implicit instructions they would avert danger. Of course, both men also despised each other as a result of their long standing local rivalry and would not be discussing their suddenly precarious positions. They remained skeptical but at least now saw me as an unavoidable ally; somebody who had to be trusted in spite of their serious misgivings, after cloudy dealings with Hobbs: they had nowhere left to turn.

They reluctantly held their invoices back, reducing the figures by significant margins (angry and upset, they would not reveal the actual adjustments) and resolved to nullify their complaints per claim ratio, by means of offering cash compensation to the disgruntled customers. Should either decide to blow the whistle on me over the next few weeks, or at any point in the future, however, my employment would be terminated immediately and any reference I might have hoped for would be rendered worthless.

Further telephone calls were made to each of the remaining contractors, including Cornishman Corcoron. His call had been the most straightforward of all; always eager to please and desperate not to upset what I guessed may now be his only client; the time and resources at his disposal had miraculously doubled or trebled over the past couple of months. I told him that all members of the chasing pack had resolved to tighten their belts and improve the quality of service on offer. He was setting the standards but there could be no room for complacency: as the others upped the ante, so he would find his position under threat. Corcoron thanked me for the tip-off and assured me he too would seek improved efficiency. ‘I have no other option Mr Lagman,’ he sighed.

The remaining calls were somewhat less comfortable. I started with Cuff Links Brevett, and was met with the usual excruciating dirge, Brevett blathering on about the odds being stacked against the smaller firm. ‘Corcoron Building Limited run off a similar sized operation to yourself Martin,’ I responded, ‘but you are being left some distance behind.’ As Joost and Mike had instructed me many weeks ago, I was determined not to give any of them even the slimmest room with which to manoeuvre.

Doug Shires and George Kelps, both contentedly placed in the hallowed top three, needed no more than a motivational talk about the danger of the bigger firms getting their acts together and closing the gap, while Blood Vessels Kavenagh assured me he had resolved the problems he had encountered of late, having recruited the people he thought would put him back in contention. ‘We’re moving away from relegation trouble and gunning for the Champions League,’ he joked.

Convinced that all seven contractors were on-message (Joost’s stupid buzz words were beginning to rub off on me), I made a telephone call to Nigel Swift.

‘Good afternoon Nigel, Ben Lagman.’

‘Good afternoon Ben.’

‘I am sorry to impinge on your time Nigel, I am fully aware what a busy man you are.’

‘There is really no need to apologise Ben, I always consider it to be a pleasure to hear from you, you know that.’

‘You flatter me Nigel, but I shall be brief all the same. Gary Hobbs has alerted me to your concerns regarding the faltering performances of our panel of contractors, and I just wanted to assure you that I have taken every possible step to ensure that all necessary improvements take place forthwith. I feel totally confident that those improvements will be visible across the board, and with immediate effect.’

‘Well that is very gladdening news indeed Ben. I can only hope that your confidence is well founded and borne out with the results which I expect.’

‘I consider it my personal duty to ensure you get exactly what you expect Nigel. It will happen,’ I said, stopping just short of offering my tongue for any personal hygiene issues he might need tending to.

‘Wonderful. Anyway, enough of this business talk, how have you been keeping? I haven’t heard from you since that splendid night at the opera which you so kindly treated me to. A marvellous performance, didn’t you think?’

Swift continued to smarm and snipe his way through the conversation, and whenever he reclined to have his belly rubbed and tickled I made sure I was there with both hands. There was mutual disrespect in abundance at both ends of the line but neither of us was willing to yield to honesty and when we replaced the receivers, I could sense that Swift, like myself, had considered the conversation to be a personal triumph.

I sat at my desk, quietly contemplating the actions I would need to take to have any chance of extending my stint in such disingenuous company. My tactics had become as inequitable as they were unavoidable but from this point on I knew that whichever way I turned, things could only get worse.