fortune for the short term lease, but the premises lent the proceedings an air of authority and trustworthiness; a commodity that was beyond price.
Pascoe, having travelled with the security guards from the hotel, arrived outside the office, just after ten past nine. He rang the bell.
"Can I help you?" burbled a voice from the box on the wall.
"Guyton here, with the security guards." Pascoe replied, speaking into the grille. There was a brief pause before the short buzz of an electric solenoid signified the bolt being withdrawn. The door opened slightly, its handle yielding to his touch. He entered the ante-room with the guards close behind him. As he shut the outer door, the inner one opened. Sam stood up behind the desk as he entered. The guards waited in the ante-room.
"Good morning Mr. Guyton, I trust you are well."
"Yes, thank you Miss Fairbrother. We caught some of the rush hour traffic which delayed us a little." He spoke to the guards from the doorway.
"If you would like to bring those cases in here, I'll put everything in the safe and then you'll be able to take a break."
The guards put the cases on top of the walnut desk. It was then that Pascoe noticed the transformation which had taken place in the office. Sam had even taken the trouble to place a vase of fresh cut flowers on the desk. The whole atmosphere of the place had changed from the staid, heavy style of the rented office to what was now not only an efficient place of work but a pleasant one too. He approved. She had done well. She had also altered her own appearance, managing to look both efficient, yet feminine at the same time.
"We shall need the presence of one of you in the outer office during office hours and would like you to patrol the building once every hour or so." Pascoe addressed himself to the taller guard. "That should suffice for now. Occasionally, we will need escorting to one of the banks in the City at various times and will let you know those details as and when necessary. As to the hours involved, I expect your office has explained that we will require your presence between 9.30 and 5.30 p.m. daily. I expect you would prefer to spell one another every few hours and I shall leave that to you to arrange. We shall of course need both of you on our trips to the bank. Any questions?" asked Pascoe.
"Yes, Sir. What do we do about our tea and lunch-breaks?" True to the form of the British working man, the guard knew exactly where his priorities lay.
"I think you will be able to work those into your off-watch times ... but we shall be pleased to offer you coffee when we take ours at 11 a.m., and 3.30 p.m. In fact I expect you could both do with one now?" Both guards voiced their agreement. Once Sam had done the honors, Pascoe escorted them into the outer office and left them to plan their change-over schedule.
"Right Fiona, all set. I expect our clients to start arriving any time after 10 a.m. Is there anything else we need?"
"I can't think of anything at the moment, although there is sure to be something we've forgotten," said Sam.
"Pessimist! but I expect you're right." Pascoe unpacked the cheques and forms from the brief-cases and transferred them to the safe. "I think we should only keep about ten packs of cheques out at any one time. The rest can stay in the safe." They spent the next few minutes sorting wallets and cheques into one drawer and the application forms into another. Next, Pascoe took the file cards from the briefcase and arranged them in a separate drawer. "I think I had better deal with the first two or three clients, Fiona. Watch me handle the first few clients and when you've got the hang of things, you can take over. Alright?"
"Fine .., it's the waiting I don't like."
"That's what they say about war - it's the waiting that is the worst part." Pascoe crossed the room to the window and parted the slats of the Venetian blinds to look down into the alley. It was deserted.
The door buzzer sounded action
Pascoe, having travelled with the security guards from the hotel, arrived outside the office, just after ten past nine. He rang the bell.
"Can I help you?" burbled a voice from the box on the wall.
"Guyton here, with the security guards." Pascoe replied, speaking into the grille. There was a brief pause before the short buzz of an electric solenoid signified the bolt being withdrawn. The door opened slightly, its handle yielding to his touch. He entered the ante-room with the guards close behind him. As he shut the outer door, the inner one opened. Sam stood up behind the desk as he entered. The guards waited in the ante-room.
"Good morning Mr. Guyton, I trust you are well."
"Yes, thank you Miss Fairbrother. We caught some of the rush hour traffic which delayed us a little." He spoke to the guards from the doorway.
"If you would like to bring those cases in here, I'll put everything in the safe and then you'll be able to take a break."
The guards put the cases on top of the walnut desk. It was then that Pascoe noticed the transformation which had taken place in the office. Sam had even taken the trouble to place a vase of fresh cut flowers on the desk. The whole atmosphere of the place had changed from the staid, heavy style of the rented office to what was now not only an efficient place of work but a pleasant one too. He approved. She had done well. She had also altered her own appearance, managing to look both efficient, yet feminine at the same time.
"We shall need the presence of one of you in the outer office during office hours and would like you to patrol the building once every hour or so." Pascoe addressed himself to the taller guard. "That should suffice for now. Occasionally, we will need escorting to one of the banks in the City at various times and will let you know those details as and when necessary. As to the hours involved, I expect your office has explained that we will require your presence between 9.30 and 5.30 p.m. daily. I expect you would prefer to spell one another every few hours and I shall leave that to you to arrange. We shall of course need both of you on our trips to the bank. Any questions?" asked Pascoe.
"Yes, Sir. What do we do about our tea and lunch-breaks?" True to the form of the British working man, the guard knew exactly where his priorities lay.
"I think you will be able to work those into your off-watch times ... but we shall be pleased to offer you coffee when we take ours at 11 a.m., and 3.30 p.m. In fact I expect you could both do with one now?" Both guards voiced their agreement. Once Sam had done the honors, Pascoe escorted them into the outer office and left them to plan their change-over schedule.
"Right Fiona, all set. I expect our clients to start arriving any time after 10 a.m. Is there anything else we need?"
"I can't think of anything at the moment, although there is sure to be something we've forgotten," said Sam.
"Pessimist! but I expect you're right." Pascoe unpacked the cheques and forms from the brief-cases and transferred them to the safe. "I think we should only keep about ten packs of cheques out at any one time. The rest can stay in the safe." They spent the next few minutes sorting wallets and cheques into one drawer and the application forms into another. Next, Pascoe took the file cards from the briefcase and arranged them in a separate drawer. "I think I had better deal with the first two or three clients, Fiona. Watch me handle the first few clients and when you've got the hang of things, you can take over. Alright?"
"Fine .., it's the waiting I don't like."
"That's what they say about war - it's the waiting that is the worst part." Pascoe crossed the room to the window and parted the slats of the Venetian blinds to look down into the alley. It was deserted.
The door buzzer sounded action
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