Early breakfast

Dan comes in much earlier than usual. He’s down on his flexi-time, and has been working until 6.00pm to try and make up time. He asks virtually straight away if I’m hungry, as if we should go down for breakfast early. I look around to see if everyone who usually comes down with us is in. Everyone is about except for Steve E. He is in the building though, so I tell him we’ll go down when Steve E gets back to his desk.
“Do we have to?” says Dan.

Eb’s sideline
Alan , Dan and me are discussing who we would employ if we had our own company. All we know is that we wouldn’t employ Clive. He should have something on his CV by law saying that no one should be daft enough to employ him ever again. Although if we did that, we would be stuck with him for life. Can you imagine a 60 year old Clive, even fatter with either grey hair or no hair, wondering round the office trying to look busy. By the time he’s that old though he would be claiming invalidity benefit. He’s hardly mobile as it is. The way he slouches low down in his chair will certainly wreck his back in a few years time.

We got onto the subject of Eb. He’s always nipping out to use his mobile in the corridor and talking about meeting people in various places that Alan thinks are sinister “Drop-offs” for something. He’s always happy and always smiling. Alan thought that he’s most likely to be some drugs baron. Eb looks up and smiles at the three of us looking over at him. Alan calls him over and asks if he has a business on the side.
Eb: “I wouldn’t call it a business”.
Alan: “Is it legal?”
Eb: “I wouldn’t like to say.” (ending with a laugh, which left us wondering if he was serious or winding us up).
Alan: “Is it drugs?”
Eb: “No, no nothing like that. I’m just very busy with things”
Dan: “Are you a pimp?”
(Again he just laughs)
Alan: “It must be mobile phones.”
There are a few more shouts from the rest of the section .
Steve E: “Are you a hitman?” (He shouts)
The rest of the office laugh their heads off imagining Eb as a hitman.