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Nick’s meeting with Kirsty had been rather tense. They’d had some difficult issues to address and Kirsty’s immediate reaction had been defensive, then she’d burst into tears and claimed it wasn’t her fault she’d not had adequate supervision. Billie hadn’t time and everyone else was busy, they were still waiting for a replacement for Zac, she felt under pressure, and so it went on. Nick asked her to think about what he’d said and think about the safety aspect and how important that was for everyone. Eventually, they decided they would reconvene the next day when she’d had a chance to calm down.
By 5 p.m. Nick decided he’d had enough of work and got ready to leave. The company had made it clear they didn’t mind if he worked shorter days whilst he was still recuperating. It would be a long haul and he often got headaches particularly in stressful situations. It all stemmed from the violent beating he’d had at the hands of Zac’s drug friends. As he had to drive back home he downed a couple of painkillers and decided to read something for a few minutes. However, staring at the small print was making his head worse and he couldn’t concentrate. He went back into the lab and decided to have a general tidy up and check if there was any need to top up supplies of anything. He liked tidying and organising things, it gave him a feeling of satisfaction and would take his mind off his headache.
He surveyed the boxes of gloves and cursed as the medium and large sizes were down to the last box and were almost empty. The paper towel dispenser was also nearly empty, as was the supply of tissues and blue cloths. The large acetone solvent bottle which they used to wash up their glassware was also empty. And to add to his annoyance the small vials were down to a meagre supply. He wished people would take more interest in keeping things stocked, it always seemed to fall to him to keep things in good order. As it was now after 5 p.m. the storeman Kevin would have left by now so Nick decided to take a trip downstairs to replenish the laboratory supplies. Before entering he peered through the door just to check Kevin had actually left. As the coast was clear he went in and started to complete his mental shopping list.
There was plenty of acetone solvent so he picked up a large bottle and placed it in a carrier. Vials were in plentiful supply so he put a box on the side. However, in the gloves section, there were only five boxes of medium and six boxes of large gloves. Why had Kevin let supplies run so low thought Nick, he wanted to take at least four boxes back with him, and that would leave hardly any for the whole company. He went over to Kevin’s desk and scribbled a note to order more gloves. He was similarly dismayed to see that the blue cloths were also down to the last few packets. He added those to the list. Suddenly he froze, he heard whistling. Shit he thought, that’s Kevin, no way did he want to be trapped with one of his long and rambling conversations. He was too late, Kevin rushed into the storeroom from the back door and suddenly stopped. He looked shocked to see Nick.
‘Hi, Kevin,’ said Nick, ‘you’re here a bit later than usual.’
‘Oh, yes, is that the time? Didn’t realise, just collecting my coat and bag.’
‘Whilst you’re here, just wondered if there’s a supply problem with a few things at the moment, gloves and blue cloths?’ asked Nick.
‘No, why?’ replied Kevin, suddenly he seemed lost for words. Normally a question like that would have provided ample opportunity for a long lecture on the current state of orders.
‘Well, it just seems that stocks are a bit low and you might be getting some complaints tomorrow unless there’s a delivery due in the morning.’
‘Oh, well I don’t know how that’s happened, must have been a rush for them from some of your colleagues,’ said Kevin. ‘Leave it with me, Mr Nick,’ and he smiled, more confidently this time.
The fact that he had reverted to calling Nick with his title showed that he was annoyingly back to form and it signalled to Nick that it was time to leave hastily.
‘Well thanks, Kevin, hope that order comes in tomorrow,’ and Nick scurried back to his lab carrying the items he’d managed to collect.
Kevin sat down for a few moments. His heart was racing. He would have to make sure he put in an urgent order for those items tomorrow but they wouldn’t arrive until Wednesday at the earliest. He’d been a bit lax in keeping supplies up but recently he’d been able to find a few more customers and had some deliveries to make tonight. Demand had been higher than he’d initially anticipated and as they were new to his little business he wanted to make sure he made a good impression. He was looking at about a fifty pounds bonus tonight which would come in very useful as his MOT on his car was due next month. He would have to watch that Nick though. Word on the grapevine was that Nick was a very nosy individual who made it his business to keep abreast what was happening even if it was outside his actual field of work. Perhaps that unfortunate incident a few months ago when he’d been arrested might have warned him not to poke his nose in too much. He sat and considered the situation, maybe he was reading too much into Nick’s questions this afternoon and it was a guilty conscience provoking these thoughts. Whatever the situation, it would mean he would have to be vigilant. One thing was for certain though, he was not going to curtail his sideline, after all, it was the company driving him to these activities. All he wanted was a decent wage for a decent day’s work. Stay strong he told himself, don’t assume anyone suspects anything, it will all blow over.
