Fireflies by David Menon Page A

to use the company for his own purposes.
    ‘I like doing business man to man, Malcolm’ said Bernie. ‘That’s why I try and keep women out of my business affairs as much as I can. Men and women doing business together is like opening up a Pandora’s box of potential sexual problems. Do you know what I mean? Well of course you do. That’s how you managed to steal Kim off my brother’. 
    ‘Bernie, Kim and I fell in love. It was nothing personal against Tommy’.
    ‘I know that’ said Bernie. ‘I mean you can’t help who you fall in love with now can you, Malcolm?’
    ‘So why do you keep throwing it at me?’
    ‘Because Tommy did away with himself because of all the hurt you and Kim caused him’.
    ‘Yes, I know and I’ve said sorry time and time again but …’
    ‘ … but nothing, Malcolm. Tommy is gone and I miss him, that’s all. I like to try and keep him alive by talking about him as if he’s still here. Do you know what I mean?’
    ‘I do that with Kim sometimes’ said Malcolm who at one stage didn’t think he’d ever be able to get over the loss of his dear wife on their wedding night.
    ‘I’m sure you do, Malcolm. I’m sure you do’.
    ‘Bernie, changing the subject if you will, but what do you expect from me on a day-to-day basis with regard to running the business? You’ve never really said’.
    ‘Well Malcolm, it’s like this’ Bernie began, loving every minute of Malcolm’s barely concealed anxiety. ‘You built up a highly successful enterprise from scratch and I admire you for that, I really do. But you went wrong somewhere and I’m not one of those people who blame the government for everything. Now it may surprise you to hear that but it’s true. Sometimes we as citizens have to take responsibility for our own actions’.
    Malcolm could’ve laughed at what he was hearing. What a load of old bollocks.
    ‘So, I’ll keep an eye on things from a distance’ Bernie went on. ‘I’ll be looking at the books from time to time and before we go on I’d just like to get some figures straight with you because this morning I’ve completed the purchase of all your debts, both what you owe and what is owed to you’.
    Malcolm was suddenly breathless. He hadn’t seen that one coming at all and his accountant had mentioned nothing. What the fuck did this mean?
    ‘Your accountant is a very helpful man’ Bernie went on. ‘He gave me and my team access to anything about the company accounts that we thought was needed. I told him not to say anything to you until I’d looked to see if there was anything I could do. I mean, I didn’t want to build your hopes up only to have to piss on them when push came to shove. But surprisingly enough, they weren’t as bad as I thought they might be so I thought, why not? Let Malcolm have a real breather from all that worrying he’s been doing. It does mean of course that, with the added investment, I now control just over ninety-one percent of Barnes Financial Services. That’s right, Malcolm. I’m the majority shareholder now and you’re an employee. Now, shall we work out a salary package for you? It’ll have to be low to start with of course until the business is truly back on its feet again’.
    Malcolm felt sick. He’d been well and truly played and now everything he’d ever worked for over the last twenty years had gone. It had been taken out of his hands by this jumped up gangster who thought he was Cheshire’s answer to fucking Al Capone. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
    ‘Don’t look so glum, Malcolm’ said Bernie. ‘Worse things could’ve happened. You might’ve had to join the ranks of the unemployed if I hadn’t have stepped in when you asked me. I’d say you’ve come out of this pretty well and of course, you can always let me buy your remaining shares at a heavily discounted price?’
    ‘You’ve stabbed me in the back’ said Malcolm as calmly as he could, even though inside his soul was