The 2084 Precept Read Online Free PDF Page A

done four months
already and things have gone fast, the company is already
profitable and, we can rest assured, it is profitable on a
permanent basis and there is more to come on top of that. Not that
I am a genius. I am not. I just happen to be good. And no apologies
for saying so. And if one were to insist, I would have to say yes,
there are also plenty of things I am not good at, I am happy
to keep the record straight.
    In any case, things can only go this fast
when you have a very badly managed company, one with major problems
that are easy to identify and when those problems, or at least some
of them, can be easily and rapidly dealt with. Quick fixes,
low-lying fruit, there is plenty of jargon for this. And such was
the situation here. It is always a pleasant surprise to find a
company like this, not that I tell it to the people who have hired
me of course. And as for bad management, I never talk about that
either unless pointedly asked to—and sometimes not even
then—because, after all, you never know who is friends with whom in
this world.
    The office was small and fairly ordinary,
but it had everything I needed and in any case I am not a person
who requires status symbols. I saw the note on the desk as soon as
I walked in and I picked it up. TODAY'S MEETING POSTPONED UNTIL
A WEEK ON MONDAY AT 9 A.M. APOLOGIES. ROGER CALLED AWAY AT SHORT
NOTICE. COULDN'T CATCH YOU ON YOUR MOBILE. SEE YOU THEN. HAVE A
GOOD WEEKEND, GEOFF.
    Roger was the Group CEO, Geoff the Group
V.P. Finance. Friday, nice weather, Roger probably called away at
short notice to his golf course down in Surrey. Actually, not fair.
No proof. Maybe he's got his nose hard to the grindstone somewhere
else, what do I know?
    You'll note the first names. Thank God, if
you'll forgive the expression, that I am not back on my previous
assignment, a bottling machine manufacturer in Stuttgart. Six
months of Herr this and Frau that and please use the formal Sie version of you, Du would be far too familiar, and
please don't forget to address Herr Karrenbauer as Herr Doktor Karrenbauer, thank you. They revel in their doctor
titles over there, a bit like the old English army majors still
insisting on being called Major long after they've been shoveled
back into civilian life or retirement. And some of the German docs
have studied for so long that they have two Doktor titles
and are quickly fitting in a modicum of work before having to
retire. Then you are supposed to say "Guten Morgen, Herr Doktor
Doktor von Leyendecker". And before I am corrected on the
"Morgen", it so happens that all of their nouns start with a
capital letter. There must be a reason for that but I've no idea
what it is. And some people have been sitting at adjoining office
desks for over twenty years and still address each other as Herr
this and Frau that. Amazing. Different culture. No problem. Respect
it, don't have to enjoy it.
    So…no meeting. Never mind, I'll be paid my
full day's rate for doing nothing—not that my work schedule will
show that of course, it will show hours of analytical work back at
the hotel—and nothing to do except turn up at the factory again on
Monday morning. Another of life’s pleasant surprises, like landing
in bed with a girl who’s told you she’s not like that . Even
so, I would have liked to learn for how long they wanted me to
continue. On the one hand it's easy money for me now, just
implementing what is still pending, and on the other hand there is
the possibility of another project for me down in Spain and if that
materializes, I'll need to be able to tell the Spaniards when I can
start.
    I sat down, fished in my pocket for the
cigarettes, still an indoors habit after all these years, but wait
till I get downstairs, yes they'll be banning it in the streets
before we know it but not just yet, and I came across the visiting
card. I pulled it out. A superior quality material at least,
fine-woven and fairly stiff to the touch. A nice card, it helps to
pull in