Kim’s thoughts exactly, especially given the information they’d just received from Stacey.
She opened the door into the furniture showroom and the eyes of three assistants huddled together fell upon her.
Two more sales staff appeared from the left-hand side of a space that was even bigger than she’d originally thought.
The area was divided into room mock-ups as far as the eye could see. Every space was tastefully staged to be aspirational. Kim could imagine customers walking in to purchase one item and leaving after placing an order worth thousands.
The middle-aged woman who had appeared from the left approached with her hands clasped together. All staff wore a uniform of black trousers and T-shirt with the company name on the left chest area.
‘May I help you?’
Kim held up her identification. ‘Mr Hewitt please.’
‘One moment.’
She retreated to the desk as more assistants congregated, made a quick call and then motioned for them to follow.
Kim travelled through mock-ups of kitchens, lounges, bedrooms and offices, all filled with exquisite furniture.
She noted that the items did not bear price tags and was reminded of the saying ‘if you have to ask, you can’t afford it’.
The woman pushed open a ‘staff only’ door that led to a set of stairs and a lift.
She pressed the call button and the lift doors opened immediately.
‘Third floor and Mr Hewitt will be waiting,’ she said as the doors began to close.
Bryant hit the number three and the lift elevated them smoothly to the third floor.
The doors opened on Daryl Hewitt waiting for them. His jacket had been discarded, his tie loosened and his wrist cuffs unbuttoned and turned over.
The reception area into which she’d stepped was furnished with pieces similar to what she’d seen downstairs.
‘Thank you for seeing us, Mr Hewitt,’ Bryant said as they stepped out of the lift.
‘Not at all. If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask,’ he said, guiding them along a well-lit corridor. He opened a door with a sliding plate bearing his name.
The office itself was bigger than the entire footprint of the downstairs of her house, with a desk as big as her kitchen and an entire wall lined with bookcases and other furniture. It appeared that the showroom wasn’t only downstairs.
‘Impressive space,’ Kim acknowledged as Bryant whistled.
Light shone in from the two windows that formed the corner of the room. Vertical blinds were pulled to the edge.
‘I’m so busy I hardly notice,’ he said, somewhat disingenuously. One couldn’t help but be impressed by such a workspace, and she suspected he was still pretty pleased with himself no matter how many times he entered it.
Almost miraculous given where he’d been ten years ago.
‘Please take a seat,’ he said, straightening up papers on the boardroom-sized meeting table positioned at the farthest point from the distraction of the windows. ‘Rota changes are always a chore,’ he said, forming a single pile.
‘Changes?’ she asked, taking a seat.
‘The introduction of a night shift and full-day working on Saturday.’
‘Popular?’ she asked.
‘Necessary,’ he answered. ‘Our products are in high demand. There was a time when customers were happy to wait three months for a bespoke piece of furniture, but retail now demands a faster turnaround. If we don’t adapt, we won’t stay in business for very long.’
‘And Mr Daynes approved these changes?’ she asked, just because she sensed it would annoy him, and from his mildly tightened jaw she could tell she’d hit her target. She wasn’t keen on his proprietary manner on a family business into which he’d married.