I found myself envying him. He was bound to work to a strict procedure, there were more things he was forbidden to do than he was allowed to do; but the same applied to his employer, the Warley Urban District Council. His salary would only amount to half of mine, his expense account would be microscopic, he had even to buy his own car; but he was a free man and I wasn’t.

Brown took a little glass tube from his pocket and swallowed two white tablets. The colour came back to his cheeks almost immediately. He picked up the agenda and turned over the pages unhurriedly; he was the Chairman of the Warley Urban District Council and the king-pin of A. Z. Brown and Co. again.

I was the bright and energetic young man for whom a place would always be waiting at Tiffield Products. There was no need for me to endure the boredom of another Council meeting, there was no need for me to endure the frustration of wait­ing for Brown’s decision on the computer report. Tiffield had actually been serious about his offer of a job, and had even in his letter mentioned a figure which was four hundred above what Brown was paying me. It was a week since I’d received the letter; I’d answered it by return, thanking him profusely for his confidence in me, assuring him that to join an organization like Tiffield Products was my dearest wish, and asking him for time to think it over. In short, I hadn’t said yes or no; and I hadn’t heard from him again.