Be Careful What You Wish For Read Online Free PDF Page A

help came when my younger brother Dominic offered me a job as a labourer on a building site he was overseeing.
    My skill set was now becoming very impressive, from computing to businessman to waiting tables and now labouring. Most people work their way up in their careers; with all due respect to those two professions, I was going in the opposite direction.
    Dominic was a senior site agent for the building firm DJ Higgins and was responsible for a site undergoing restoration work at the London Hospital Museum. Seeing Dom at work took me by surprise . I had always viewed him as my little brother, but on site he was a powerful, confident and forthright person, working with people who didn’t like being told what to do and who often resolved their differences with their fists.
    As I was Dominic’s brother I was given a bit of latitude, which I totally abused. Labouring was damn hard work and not something I excelled in. What I was good at was being first in the tearoom for breaks and the last to leave, great at looking busy at knocking-off time and always at the front of the queue for my weekly pay. Most of the time I found myself telling the lads on the site stories of my past business exploits. After initial and understandable scepticism some of the lads started to seek my advice on financial matters like mortgages, pensions and benefits they could claim.
    So there I was, on a building site knee deep in muck, and leaning on my broom like Andy Dufresne out of
The Shawshank Redemption
, dispensing financial advice to a bunch of hardnosed labourers and tradesmen. I even filled out their SC60 tax assessment forms for them. My brother would just shake his head and mutter ‘unfucking-believable’ whenever he found me holding court.
    My career as a labourer-cum-tax-accountant was to be short-lived. Within weeks I was to make a call that would change the course of my life.
    The Carphone Warehouse were advertising for a salesman for their rapidly expanding company. I spoke to their Sales Director, Ricky Elliot. I was well aware of the company from owning my own mobile phone business, the one good thing to come of my relationship with James Wright.
    I was stunned to discover how the industry had expanded in two years. CPW had twenty-odd branches and ambitious growth plans. Despite having been out of the business for over eighteen months , it was immediately apparent that I knew more about the mobile phone business than Ricky did. I played it down though to secure an interview.
    The day of my interview arrived. I was greeted by Andrew Briggs, a very large guy who, as it turned out, was one of their first ever members of staff. He would be interviewing me with Ricky Elliot. There was nothing to give me the idea that Andrew and I were going to be so pivotal to one another’s lives in the very near future.
    Interviews were something I enjoyed as they gave me a free-range opportunity to talk about my favourite subject: me. I got on well with Ricky, but not so well with Andrew. I was confident and perhaps a little cocky. At the end of the interview, Ricky said they would be in touch.
    As I made to leave, Andrew just stuck his hand out in a disinterested and dismissive way. I sensed that his opinion of me was vital in whether or not I got this job; I figured I had better try and create a better impression with Mr Briggs. I needed this job. It was time to sell myself!
    I asked if they minded if I stayed in the showroom for a short while, promising not to get in the way. Looking back it was a smart move. I read brochures, looked at phones and feigned interest in customer sales. Eventually I got a chance to speak to Andrew. I went into full-on contrite mode. I apologised if I had come over as cocky, and explained that I had been nervous and I hoped that he hadn’t taken a dislike to me. I thanked him for his time and wished him success in the new Fleet Street branch that he had interviewed me for. Barely hours later I was called and informed