“He looks up to you. Can’t you have a word? He’s fucking our budget up big-time. Christine Jack is on at me for wastage.”
“Connor is the same level as me. If you want me to manage him, you’ll have to promote me.”
John narrowed his eyes. He had tried to make Danny an unofficial supervisor of the others before. At no extra salary, Danny had told him to stick it. He was more than ready to do so again.
“I’ve spoken to the HR,” John replied. “If you were to help me, get the wastage figures down, it could only go in your favour.”
And yours.
Danny sighed. “Fine. A bit more money would be nice. This place is booming. They can afford to share it around a bit.”
The owners of the business lived in Singapore. They had visited precisely once. They saw Pleasure Seekers as another brand in their vast portfolio.
“I’ll see what I can do,” John said. “Anyway, I didn’t call you in here just for that.”
Danny groaned inwardly. What else did he have up his sleeve?
“Go on.”
“You’re at the top of the volunteer list. There’s a new head of procurement starting. He’ll be with us tomorrow for the day.”
Danny rubbed his temples. “Oh, you’re fucking joking. How can it be me again? I showed that woman from the call centre round.”
John had his slimy smile on. “We’ve had three since then. You’re up.”
Whenever a new head of a department came on board, it was Pleasure Seekers’ policy they spend a day with each team for their first week. The HR department sold it as the best way for someone to learn how the company worked. It was also a major ball ache.
“What am I doing with them?”
“The usual. Show them the products. Let them spend a few hours getting orders ready. You know the drill.”
Danny stood up. He wanted to get out of there before John came up with any more shitty jobs for him to do.
“Not a problem,” Danny replied. “He’ll be an expert by the end of the day.”
He made his way to the door.
“Oh, and Danny?”
“Yeah?”
“No practical jokes. I mean it. Tell the others.”
Danny smirked. When the woman from the call centre had shadowed him, the others had swapped her mouse for a clitoral stimulator. To be fair, she had seen the funny side and quickly pocketed it.
“I’ll tell them, but you know what they’re like. If only they had a supervisor, paid enough to keep them in line. It might be the key to everything.”
John raised an eyebrow. “You’ve made that point, thank you.”
Danny went to go.
“Oh, and Danny?”
“Yes, John?”
“No more figure of eights, please. Fuck that forklift up and you’ll be packing butt plugs for the rest of your life.”
Danny let the door bang behind him as he trudged down the steps. With a deep breath, he walked off to the join the others.