smiled as they finished the dreary job of taking inventory.
CHAPTER 5
Frank Blanding was nervous. The task for Perry Antiques was simple enough. It was no different than any other of the thousands of assignments Blanding Fine Art Movers had satisfactorily completed. They’d been in business over 75 years and prided themselves on fulfilling their client’s needs. Their illustrious history included being the exclusive mover for Arthur Perry’s company almost since its inception. Now that business relationship was in jeopardy. Perry Antiques had switched leadership. It was due to a tragic accident, but it had happened nonetheless. To Frank, it signaled potential trouble. He’d learned that any change in upper management signaled a chance for his company to lose a valued customer. It normally didn’t happen, but Frank dealt in the realm of what could happen rather than what usually did . It was imperative to take this approach in his line of work. Blanding’s packed and shipped priceless objets d’art on the basis of anticipating problems It was this philosophy that allowed them the vision to properly protect the delicate cargo so that it arrived at its destination in one piece. Although it was Arthur Perry’s daughter that had taken the helm, there was still the outside chance she would want to do things differently. Even if the thought hadn’t yet crossed her mind, it might if something went wrong.
Before the team left for Weatherly Manor, Frank had taken Sy Feldman aside and expressed his concerns. He hand selected Sy to head the team based on his long, impeccable track record. He was a tough taskmaster, but it was what was needed for this job. There was no margin for error and there could be no screw-ups. There was too much at stake. Sy got the message loud and clear.
No one understood the need for attention to detail better than Sy. He’d worked for Blanding’s for over 40 years and was close to retirement. From Sy’s perspective, Blanding’s had been more than fair with him. He respected not only Frank, but the entire Blanding family. They were, as Sy put it, good people . Because of his background and strong attachment to Blanding’s, Sy took Frank’s worries to heart. While he had worked with most of the men on the team Frank had assembled, there was one person on it that he had his doubts about. His name was Herbert Pinckus. He was a newcomer to the company and had been hired over Sy’s objections. Although Sy had limited dealings with the hiring process, he had known Herbert through a previous employee, Mosh Brecker. Brecker was Sy’s friend and owned the pub where Herbert used to be employed. Brecker had fired Herbert, and because of Sy’s close relationship with Brecker, he knew the details of why. It was because on more than one occasion Herbert Pinckus had been caught asleep on the job – literally asleep – on the floor of a tight broom closet. Brecker had warned him – several times. The next time he found Herbert, this time curled up in the corner of a stockroom, his employment was terminated on the spot.
Sy felt no compunction about expressing his reservations to the Blandings, but they went ahead and hired Herbert anyway. That had been about 3 months ago. It meant Herbert was almost through the perfunctory probation period. All Blanding’s employees went through one. In another week, his employment would come up for review. If he was found to have carried out all conditions of his employment satisfactorily, he would become a full-time Blanding mover, privy to all the benefits. If he fell short, he would be back on the streets looking for another job.
Sy felt duty bound to keep tabs on him. He knew that Herbie – as his mates called him – had been an exemplary employee. Thus far, he’d been punctual, respectful, and careful with client’s property. From what Sy had found out, Herb’s co-workers agreed that he always put in a full day’s work.
CHAPTER 5
Frank Blanding was nervous. The task for Perry Antiques was simple enough. It was no different than any other of the thousands of assignments Blanding Fine Art Movers had satisfactorily completed. They’d been in business over 75 years and prided themselves on fulfilling their client’s needs. Their illustrious history included being the exclusive mover for Arthur Perry’s company almost since its inception. Now that business relationship was in jeopardy. Perry Antiques had switched leadership. It was due to a tragic accident, but it had happened nonetheless. To Frank, it signaled potential trouble. He’d learned that any change in upper management signaled a chance for his company to lose a valued customer. It normally didn’t happen, but Frank dealt in the realm of what could happen rather than what usually did . It was imperative to take this approach in his line of work. Blanding’s packed and shipped priceless objets d’art on the basis of anticipating problems It was this philosophy that allowed them the vision to properly protect the delicate cargo so that it arrived at its destination in one piece. Although it was Arthur Perry’s daughter that had taken the helm, there was still the outside chance she would want to do things differently. Even if the thought hadn’t yet crossed her mind, it might if something went wrong.
Before the team left for Weatherly Manor, Frank had taken Sy Feldman aside and expressed his concerns. He hand selected Sy to head the team based on his long, impeccable track record. He was a tough taskmaster, but it was what was needed for this job. There was no margin for error and there could be no screw-ups. There was too much at stake. Sy got the message loud and clear.
No one understood the need for attention to detail better than Sy. He’d worked for Blanding’s for over 40 years and was close to retirement. From Sy’s perspective, Blanding’s had been more than fair with him. He respected not only Frank, but the entire Blanding family. They were, as Sy put it, good people . Because of his background and strong attachment to Blanding’s, Sy took Frank’s worries to heart. While he had worked with most of the men on the team Frank had assembled, there was one person on it that he had his doubts about. His name was Herbert Pinckus. He was a newcomer to the company and had been hired over Sy’s objections. Although Sy had limited dealings with the hiring process, he had known Herbert through a previous employee, Mosh Brecker. Brecker was Sy’s friend and owned the pub where Herbert used to be employed. Brecker had fired Herbert, and because of Sy’s close relationship with Brecker, he knew the details of why. It was because on more than one occasion Herbert Pinckus had been caught asleep on the job – literally asleep – on the floor of a tight broom closet. Brecker had warned him – several times. The next time he found Herbert, this time curled up in the corner of a stockroom, his employment was terminated on the spot.
Sy felt no compunction about expressing his reservations to the Blandings, but they went ahead and hired Herbert anyway. That had been about 3 months ago. It meant Herbert was almost through the perfunctory probation period. All Blanding’s employees went through one. In another week, his employment would come up for review. If he was found to have carried out all conditions of his employment satisfactorily, he would become a full-time Blanding mover, privy to all the benefits. If he fell short, he would be back on the streets looking for another job.
Sy felt duty bound to keep tabs on him. He knew that Herbie – as his mates called him – had been an exemplary employee. Thus far, he’d been punctual, respectful, and careful with client’s property. From what Sy had found out, Herb’s co-workers agreed that he always put in a full day’s work.
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