‘Nathan?’ Ingrid looks almost fearful as she opens the door to his small office.

Nathan glares as Vince Wilson barges his way past her ‘What’s all this bollocks I’m hearing?’ he barks

Nathan puts his hand over the receiver of the telephone. ‘It’s okay, Ingrid, thanks.’

Ingrid grimaces behind Wilson’s back and closes the door.

Holding one finger in the air to quieten him, Nathan swivels his chair and with his back to Wilson, unhurriedly brings his telephone conversation to an end before turning to face him again. ‘Good morning Mr.Wilson and what can I do for you?’ He leans back and adopts a relaxed posture, crossing his legs and smiling.

His face flushed with annoyance at having been ignored, Wilson takes the cigar he has been chomping in his left hand and looms over Nathan as he leans across the desk.  ‘You mind telling me what game you’re playing?’

‘Me?’ Nathan says innocently. His smile doesn’t falter.

‘You want money as well, is that it?’

‘Money?’ He resists the temptation to push his chair out of the range of Wilson’s spittle.

‘Don’t come it, sonny.’

Nathan slowly unfolds and leans forward so that his face is barely two inches away from Wilson’s, his smile replaced with an angry glare. ‘Less of the sonny, okay?’

‘I don’t pay people to take my contracts! Tin pot little place like this? You want to count yourself lucky I was even going to consider you for the bloody job.’ His breath is hot on Nathan’s face.

‘I don’t think it was a matter of any consideration, do you? You wanted something from me, or have you forgotten?’ he replies coolly.

‘I’ve forgotten nothing but I’m telling you this, I set the terms, not you and if you think by playing this sodding game you’re squeezing any more out of me, you can bloody well think again!’ Vince Wilson straightens, angrily jabbing the two fingers that hold his cigar towards Nathan.

Nathan settles back in his chair. ‘I don’t want your contract, Mr. Wilson, not on any terms. I’m not after money; I’m not after anything at all. I don’t want your contract, end of!’

‘Why? You just tell me that! There are blokes round here that would give their right arm just to get in the running with me and you’re turning it down? You’re off your bloody rocker, mate’ he scoffs, casually dropping his cigar butt in the dregs of Nathan’s coffee and turning away.

‘I don’t think so. I’ve never seen things clearer than I’m seeing them now.’ Nathan’s tone is even and dismissive.

Wilson swings round. ‘What the fuck d’you mean by that?’

Nathan’s lip curls contemptuously. ‘I’m not stupid. I’ve been asking around. I know why I got that first job and it’d got nothing to do with how good my reputation was or how my estimate compared with anyone else had it?’ He nonchalantly folds his arms behind his head, swivelling from side to side on his chair, a triumphant smile hovering on his lips. ‘Because there wasn’t anyone else was there?’  You saw me as ripe for the picking. A naïve little outfit that you could manipulate to your own ends. All that crap about your precious daughter’s education was a load of bullshit. Did you set it up or did you just make the most of what happened? I wouldn’t put it past you.’ His expression changes as he rocks forward. ‘Education my arse! You told her to come on to me. Whatever happened you thought you’d have me over a barrel…. or she would!’ he sneers. ‘You’d either get me for underage sex or you’d switch to plan b and make me feel sorry for her. If ever I needed confirmation that what I’m saying’s right, you’ve just damn well given it to me. You don’t like it when people won’t play your games, do you?’

‘I offered you a bloody contract! You think I’d need to blackmail you to take it? There are people out there that pay me to give them a job!’

‘Really? Now that is interesting.’ Nathan says sarcastically.

‘I’ll deny it.’ Wilson blusters.

‘Deny it? I should think half Oatfield heard you.’

‘I offered you that contract in good faith’

‘No. You offered me the chance of that contract to keep quiet. I kept my end of the bargain, Mister Wilson, but your word is worth jack shit. The deal’s off.’’

‘My word is sound! Nobody but nobody questions that and gets away with it.’

‘I think I just have.’ Nathan pushes himself up from the chair and starts to cross to the door. ‘I’ll tell you something else. If one more word about me gets round from that daughter of yours, I’ll make sure everybody knows exactly what went on and I’ll put you in the frame for having set it up.’

‘What d’you mean?’

‘You know precisely what I mean.’ He grasps the door handle.

‘Make it a bit clearer, sonny, I must have missed something.’

Nathan lets the door close and takes a deep breath through his nose. ‘You call me sonny one more time and I’ll see to it you’ll never be a father again. Got it?’ he threatens

Vince Wilson bites the end from another cigar, pushing back the navy wool of his heavy coat to dig his hand into his suit trouser pocket for his matches. ‘What’s going on, Nathan?’ His voice is conciliatory. ‘I get home and the missus is up in arms. Storming in there and upsetting her, what did you think you were playing at? Business is business, you should have come to me.’

‘Eh?’ Nathan is  too taken aback by the change in attitude to question what he is saying.

‘She wants the best for my Lindsay, same as I do.’ Vince continues ‘she’s worried you’re going to spoil what few chances she’s got left.’ He smiles amiably. ‘Yeah, I know she’s a little cow sometimes but basically she’s a good kid. She took it hard when her mum died and even harder when I took up with Danielle but Danielle’s really pulling her round, don’t mess it up, Nath.’ He draws the flame of the match into the cigar with several short noisy pulls.

‘Mess it up?’ Nathan stands open mouthed, wondering for a brief second if he should put him right about Danielle and deciding against it.

‘You honestly think I’d use my daughter the way you think I did? A contract with me is a good deal. I don’t hand them out as favours..’ Vince shakes out the match and puts it back in the box; lifting his eyes and squinting through the blue haze of smoke he has created to offer Nathan a patronising smile.

‘No, just to the sap that offers you the biggest bribe.’ Nathan says scornfully, helping himself to another mug of coffee from the filter jug on top of a filing cabinet and taking it back to the desk to sit down.

‘Nobody gets a contract for any part of the operation unless they’re the best for the job, no matter what.’ Vince declares evenly. ‘I got a reputation to maintain and that’s for high quality work brought in on time. I don’t bugger about. I don’t make money by carrying people that aren’t up to it.’

‘So we dug your pool so fantastically well you thought you wouldn’t bother getting tenders in for the Woodbury job?’

‘You think I’m that stupid?’

Nathan laughs derisively.

‘The Armitage Centre…..Grovebury Marshall……The River Authority….. Ashton Heights…… The Croft….Want me to go on?’ Vince growls a response.

‘You looked into my background before you gave me that job?’

‘Of course I sodding well did! ’ He stops counting off on his fingers and looks at Nathan directly. ‘I’ll level with you, Nathan. I played you. I’m faced with an awkward situation; I’ve got to keep you sweet. You could have blown it for my Lindsay. She was naughty, I know…’

‘Naughty?’ Nathan shakes his head in disbelief. ‘ The girl’s off her head and giving it away and you call that naughty? Sweet Jesus!’

‘I’m trying my best’ Vince looks affronted. ‘And Danielle’s really made a difference to that kid. She’s coming round thanks to her. We’ve had….some problems… but she’s really been making progress. That was just a hiccup. I didn’t want it getting out what went on. I’d got you lined up for that contract anyway but I had to see for myself how your firm worked, all I did was to use what I’d got in hand to..’

‘Bribe me to keep my mouth shut…and I fell for it.’

‘Bribery’s a bit strong son...Nathan. Manoeuvring is what I’d call it. Moving the pieces ‘til they line up. I’d got something you wanted and you’d got something I wanted. We’re both happy.’

‘Happy is the last thing I am! I kept my end of the bargain while she’s been telling anyone that’ll listen how cold tiles are when you’re being shagged by the workman!’

‘Yeah, I was sorry about that’ he grimaces almost sheepishly.

‘You’re sorry? I got people I’ve known years treating me like some sort of leper!’

‘But not now though, eh?’

Nathan looks thoughtful for a moment. ‘Things have died down a bit…true….. but the damage is done!’

‘Danielle sorted it.’ Vince smiles fondly as he thinks of her. ‘Did what she could to put things right. Unfortunately it was a while before she realised what Lindsay had been saying… but people will forget soon enough.’

‘Danielle?’ Nathan slowly scratches his head, running his hand over the crown towards his neck and rubbing at the knot of tension he can feel at its base.

Vince misses the obvious cynicism in Nathan’s voice. ‘I told you. She’s got Lindsay’s best interests at heart, same as I have, and I don’t want any child of mine giving herself that sort of reputation any more than I wanted yours to go down the pan. I want you for that job, Nathan.’

‘Tough! Sorry, Vince, it’s still no, once burned et cetera. If and when that job comes about…’

‘Oh it will, have no doubt about that….’

‘If and when that job comes about’ Nathan repeats over his words ‘you really think I’d want it said that I only got the contract to make up for the rumours that went on? Some people are too good at making five. I don’t want it. I don’t want it at all. This company is all I’ve got left of my Dad. His name was all that it took to get work and no way am I risking that reputation on one shonky contract.’

‘Shonky?’ Vince barks a laugh. ‘This is an honest deal. No strings, no blackmail, as you see it, no favours, just a straightforward negotiation. I’ve got work and I want you to do it. I wanted you for it before any of this happened.’ He perches on the corner of the desk as Nathan shakes his head, grimly adamant. ‘I got a lot of projects in the pipeline, Nathan’ he coaxes ‘I could keep you fully employed for years.’

The shrug Nathan gives is slow.

‘Just tell me you’ll give it some more thought, eh? Get back to me when you have.’

‘I won’t be changing my mind, Vince.’

‘Just a bit more thought.’ A second butt joins the first in Nathan’s coffee mug as Wilson gets up and starts to button his coat. ‘Ring me’

Samms Plant Hire, Oatfield

Chapter Two