EPISODE SIXTY-ONE
Sitting nervously in front of the bank manager,
Maggie felt intimidated and patronised.
He thumbed through the sheaf of papers on his desk, raising his eyebrows
as if surprised that the little girl who sat before him was as capable as her
late husband. Maggie, who had
deliberately worn her short skirt and black stockings, crossed her legs. The bank manager, distracted by the rustle,
glanced furtively at a stretch of her thigh.
He cleared his throat.
‘Shame you can’t sell the Maidstone shop.’
‘I only need a bridging loan until it’s sold.’
‘But it only has a seven year lease.’
The manager shook his head with disbelief. ‘Suppose no one wants to buy it? And you have seriously underestimated the
shopfitting costs at the wine bar.’
‘Are you seriously saying you’re going to pull the plugs on the wine bar before
it’s even opened?’
‘It’s not a question of “pulling the plugs”, as you put it. You need another loan. You’re asking me to risk the bank’s money in
a venture.’
Maggie uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair. ‘Are you telling me no? After my husband’s banked with you for all
these years?’
The bank manager gave her a lascivious smile.
‘There are certain conditions.’
He paused, staring at her breasts.
‘I know of this hotel – lovely quaint little place in darkest Sussex – and my wife’s off to Scotland to stay with her mother next weekend...’
Maggie couldn’t believe she was hearing this.
But then, any bank manager who had wined and dined with Gary...
‘Naturally,’ continued the manager, ‘I should deny this conversation took
place. But you have rather painted
yourself into a corner. So how about
it?’
*
Savita and Nicky managed to persuade Philip to come to lunch with them. Although they didn’t usually have pub
lunches, they thought the occasion warranted a few glasses of wine, and they
decided on Wetherspoon’s at The Opera House.
While they waited for their meal, Savita asked Philip bluntly if he was having
trouble with Malcolm. The young man
looked frightened, and gazed around the bar, as if there could be spies
lurking, waiting to report back to his boss.
‘It’s OK,’ Savita assured him, ‘we’ve all been bullied by Malcolm. But he’s stopped picking on me and Nicky
now.’
Philip looked at each of them and raised an enquiring eyebrow.
‘Yes, I know that’s hard to believe,’ Savita continued, ‘but the reason he’s
stopped picking on us is a bit complicated.’
‘Very complicated,’ Nicky added, feeling she had to make a contribution.
‘So what’s Malcolm been doing to you?’ Savita asked.
Philip lowered his voice. ‘I’m...I’m
gay, you see. And he must have picked up
on it. I can’t think how he knew or
found out.’
Savita threw Nicky a surreptitious look which he noticed. He went bright red.
‘Is it that obvious?’
‘Well, I...’ began Savita, feeling awkward. ‘I hadn’t really thought about it.’
Philip shrugged. ‘It doesn’t
matter. What matters is, he’s making my
life unbearable. He sends me emails
asking me to go into his office for the stupidest things. This morning I went
in, and he told me the clock on his wall was two minutes slow and got me to put
it right. And while I was doing it, he
was coming out with all the most awful euphemisms for my sexual orientation. He’s the worst homophobe I’ve ever met.’
‘You don’t think...’ Nicky began.
‘What?’ prompted Savita.
‘Well, it’s just a thought: you don’t think he’s like Kevin Spacey’s neighbour
in that film American Beauty, do
you?’
‘I see where you’re coming from,’ said Philip.
‘But I think it’s a bit glib to say that just because he’s a homophobe,
he must have those tendencies himself.’
‘Does it matter?’ snapped Savita with rather more vehemence than she
intended. ‘What matters is that we must
stop him bullying you, Philip.’
‘Yes but...’ He frowned. ‘How are you going to do that?’
Savita looked at Nicky. ‘Shall I tell
him?’
‘I don’t see why not.’
Savita explained to Philip about the photographs they had of Malcolm in a
compromising situation. After she had
finished, he said:
‘That’s all very well, but if you threaten to expose him again, and he stops
bullying me, he’ll probably find someone else to pick on.’
‘Exactly,’ agreed Savita. ‘Which is why
I am going to send his wife a copy of the picture, and the MD will get it by
email. By this time tomorrow Malcolm will be looking for another job, and his
wife will be starting divorce proceedings.’
Nicky and Philip stared at Savita, both cowed by the enormity of her
intentions.
‘What?’ said Savita. ‘What’s wrong?’
Nicky pursed her lips. ‘I don’t know,’
she said, ‘if we should go that far.’
‘So what’s the point in threatening him, if he knows we have no intention of
carrying out the threat?’
‘But it could seriously backfire,’ said Philip.
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. But if you take away his
job and ruin his marriage, you’ll leave him in ruins.’
‘Tough,’ snapped Savita. ‘He should have thought of that before he started
picking on people again.’
‘Yes but if you leave a person with nothing left to lose, who knows what
they’re capable of doing.’
Savita clenched her lips tightly before speaking. ‘I don’t care. All I know is, I’m sick of the evil bastard,
and I want him out of our firm for good.
Goodbye, Malcolm. I’d like to say
it’s been nice knowing you, but it hasn’t.’
That was when their food arrived.
IN EPISODE SIXTY-TWO
It hits the fan for Malcolm, and Mary receives some bad news