The early bird catches the worm. All is fair in Love, War and Business. These were the mantras, the rules and codes by which Gerald lived. And these rules had made him very, very successful. Okay, so he had only been at the job for six months, but he was well on his way to reaching his first half-yearly sales target. In another year's time he would be a Sales Manager. This, felt Gerald, was the perfect barometer for his success. After all, he had known nothing about farming when he came into the job, yet he had picked the jargon and knowledge up so easily. A born salesman. His life's vocation, his passport to riches.
As he roared his old, worn Ford through the countryside to his first appointment of the day, Gerald ruminated on his meteoric, rising success. It had been a stroke of luck that his predecessor had suddenly walked out on the job after only a couple of weeks. This was destiny, without any doubt. His friends at the local pub were not enthusiastic about his work selling farm animal feed, but it had its perks. Like today. A day driving around the countryside, enjoying the fresh air and (occasional!) sunshine, as opposed to sitting in a sweltering office right through summer, breathing in everyone else's stale body odours and recycled air.... No, it wasn't the best job in the world, but there were plenty worse.
Plus, there was that thrill of beating the competition, namely Taylor's, the old, 'family' run business who felt that, just because they had worked with the local farming community for generations, no-one else should move in on their patch. Bollocks to that.
Gerald and his company hadn't so much moved in as trampled, Gestapo-like, over their rival's business links. Like the rules stated, all is fair....
As he turned a sharp corner, Gerald came across a rakish sports car pulled up on the side of the narrow country lane. Its bonnet was up, the driver, an attractive female in a smart suit, was leaning against the front wing, patently waiting for help. She signalled unnecessarily to Gerald, who had already decided to pull over and offer assistance.
As he climbed from his dusty car, he quickly registered her shapely legs and fabulous figure. A perfect damsel in distress. "Hi there, anything wrong?" asked Gerald, walking over to the female and her stranded car.
The woman smiled sarcastically, as if to say 'What do you think?' "What's the problem?" he enquired, glancing into the engine bay. "I just turned the corner," explained the girl, "and there was an awful sound from the engine. It sounded like something had come loose, like a spanner had dropped into the bloody engine. Do you know anything about cars?" she asked, pleading. Gerald eyed her curvy form, then held her gaze suggestively. "Well, I can have a look. Going anywhere special that you need to be in a hurry? I could give you a lift." "I'm going into the town, if it's on your way, but I really need to get the car sorted," she replied. 'Town' was the opposite way to Gerald's farm appointment. He checked his watch. There was no time to be offering help as a taxi service. "I'll have a look for you," he said smiling at her. "Got any tools?" "Yes, in the back of the car," she answered, stepping around to the rear of the car.
Gerald lent into the engine bay, searching for anything obvious before he had a go at starting the car. Years of keeping old, tired cars on the road on a minimal budget had taught him a thing or two about engines. He heard the sound of the girl approaching, her high heels clipping on the hot tarmac. There seemed to be nothing wrong visually with the engine. Everything seemed in order, and all the nuts and bolts appeared to be tight. "I'd better have a go at starting it," he began explaining as the girl stepped up alongside him.
As he began to turn to face the girl, he felt her hand grabbing his shirt collar. He briefly saw her free hand flashing down, something black, heavy and metallic in her fist, then an explosion of showering stars, descending into black eternity....