Chapter 18

'Mr Edison', Rodger Vaughn greeted. He walked around his large oak desk and extended his hand. He had a warm open smile. Craig noticed the small lines around his eyes which in most cases were formed by sincerity and friendliness.

'Good morning sir,' Craig said shaking Rodger's hand.

'Please call me Rodger from now on. It is good to see you, Craig,' Rodger said. 'Would you like some coffee?'

'I've just had coffee before I left home, thank you,' Craig said.

'Please sit down.' Rodger pointed to one of the chairs in his office and walked around his desk again.

Craig sat down on a brown leather chair. He was surprised by its softness. Usually, the impressive-looking chairs were simply there to make a room look expensive and classy, but this one was built for comfort as well. Craig watched as Rodger sat down behind his desk to face him directly. His neat desk had a cherry red colour. Only a few things sat on it, Rodger's laptop and some family photos of Rodger and his wife and some smaller children which Craig imagined were grandchildren because Rodger was far too old to have such young children of his own. Next, to them, a few pens of different colours were arranged in a pen holder. On the far end of the room, a larger table was positioned with six chairs around it. It was undeniable a mini boardroom table for close and personal meetings.

'So Craig how was your trip to Saldanha? When did you come down?' Rodger asked, regarding Craig closely with his hands folded in a praying manner. Craig noticed Rodger's big hands with neatly trimmed nails.

'We came down just over two weeks ago,' Craig said.

'Why so early?' Rodger frowned. His sincerity was gone for a moment.

'We bought a house down here and I wanted to get the whole move thing behind us. I also wanted to do some maintenance around the house before I started work.'

'You bought a house already?' Rodger asked surprised. 'Fantastic Craig. Where did you buy?'

'We bought in Saldanha, got the place for quite a bargain so we came down earlier. With the help of my boys, we have already done quite a bit. We are basically settled in. My wife is crazy about the house as well.'

'It seems like fate. You were destined for this job. Hell...that was pretty quick I must admit. Didn't expect you to buy so soon though. Normally one would rent a place for a while, checking out the place first before buying, but it seems to me you don't take shit,' Rodger chuckled.

'Yes. Well, I told my wife this was the last move ever so I guess if everything works out well then I'll be retiring down here.'

'Delightful. Delightful indeed. That's fantastic news.' Rodger nodded. He regarded Craig for a moment and said, 'I must admit, it is one of the things that bothered me a little. People coming from the big cities don't last too long down here. They stick around for a year, maybe two, but eventually they pack their shit and go. I guess it's the way of living down here. Things are on a far slower pace than in the cities.' He placed his hands flat on his desk. He looked at Craig with his head slightly askew.

'I guess so, well, I'm here to stay,' Craig confirmed.

'Okay Craig,' Rodger said. His face was serious now as he looked out his office window. 'There's quite a lot to do around here.' Rodger looked at Craig again. 'The previous engineer left us in the middle of a crisis. As I said, people don't last around here. You have two people reporting to you, Clint Bail and Ferris Long. They have loads of experience and one can most definitely benefit from their in-depth knowledge of the plant. I've asked them to sit down with you sometime today. I think you guys have a lot to discuss though.'

Craig nodded. He knew this was only the beginning, and the job had to start somewhere. The introduction was never supposed to take longer than five minutes although Rodger seemed like a nice and sincere guy. Craig noticed his grey hair and judged that Rodger must have been between the ages of fifty-five and sixty. Craig could see the lines of experience on Rodger's face. Although his hair was neat, Craig thought there might have been much more hair many years ago. The jewellery on his forearm and fingers bore signs of a man of values, money and power. This suited him well for he had thick arms and broad shoulders. Craig could not help to wonder if Rodger was one of those men in his youth who liked to clean dirty bars from the intoxicated scum. He noticed Rodger's blue eyes which gave Craig the comfort that Rodger might be a manager of understanding.

'Before I show you your new office, I would like you to join us in the boardroom at nine. We have our morning meeting on Mondays just to summarise what happened during the past week and also plan for the week ahead. This will also be a good place to start your introduction to the rest of the team.'

'Sure, that sounds good,' Craig nodded.

'I left a few files on your desk which I would like you to go through. It contains all the drawings of the machines and equipment we have on-site. There are also drawings of the buildings around as well as some historical data and stats.' He was a meticulous man and already Craig knew they would get along just fine. Rodger had his ducks in a row and he most certainly knew what he wanted as well as what was needed to get the job done properly. There were almost no pauses in between Rodger's sentences as if his mind was working systematically with flawless precision. 'First things first, let me show you around,' Rodger said pushing himself away from his desk and letting his chair slide backwards.

'Sure,' Craig said and got up. He noticed some framed certificates against Rodger's walls accompanied by some group photos of Rodger's younger days.

Rodger noticed Craig looking at his trophies on the wall and said, 'the wall of fame. This one here was my mechanical engineering graduation at Stellenbosch University.' Rodger tapped his finger on one of the group photos. 'This one here is my electrical engineering graduation. The rest are just other certifications I got over the years.'

'Impressive Rodger. It seems like you are a man of high calibre.'

Rodger chuckled, 'Let me show you around.' He gestured towards the door.

Again Craig entered the office with the attractive secretary sitting behind her desk.

'You've met Pamela haven't you?'

'Briefly yes,' Craig nodded.

'This is Pamela Jenson, but we call her Pam. Pam, this is Craig Edison our new structural engineer,' Rodger said resting his hand on Craig's shoulder. 'He is just the man we need for the job. He has an impressive background and extensive experience in the field.'

'It's a pleasure meeting you Craig,' Pamela said with another sensational smile. 'Hope you will enjoy your stay and time here with us.'

'Thank you,' Craig smiled. 'I'm sure I will.' He did not lie about that. He felt that he would have a great working relationship with Pam. If it ever stayed a working relationship that was.

'You sure you don't want any coffee?' Rodger asked.

'I'm fine thank you, Rodger.'

'Well then, let me show you your new office,' Rodger said and headed for the door leading to the hallway.

Pamela gave Craig one last smile before she focused her attention on her computer screen and keyboard.

As they walked down the hall Craig could not stop thinking that maybe he should have asked for a coffee. Pamela would have brought it to him and he could have had a better look at her.

'Here you go,' Rodger said unlocking a grey office door and pushing it open.

Craig was surprised by the large open space. He could already see the effects of the red iron ore dust in the grouting of the clean beige tiles. It was something he had to get used to. Craig was certain there would be much more red dust between the machines and buildings on the plant outside. On top of the shiny tiles, a large cherry desk was sitting. It was almost the same as the one he had seen in Rodger's office, but this one was a smaller version. Five thick blue files lay neatly stacked on a heap next to a telephone. Craig noticed that he was issued with a company laptop which was different from the other companies he had worked for in the past. He noticed the white walls and immediately thought about getting them covered with things, maybe family photos in frames or even a paint job if that was allowed. He could even throw in some of his certificates. It would have the same effect as Rodger's office after all.

'Here you are. You should have everything you need right here,' Rodger said.

Craig noticed a large bookshelf against the far wall. He knew he could fill it with many of his personal books which were now packed away in boxes in his garage somewhere. Rodger picked up the phone receiver to make sure it was in good working condition and placed it down as soon as he heard a ringtone.

'Here is your laptop. I'll have Pam call the IT guys to come and set you up with the rest. It should have been done by now. There are the files I told you about. It's got most of the information you would need. Of course, I'm just around the corner if there is anything else. Pens right there, drawers, a phone, a bookshelf and a mug over there. Okay, now let me show you where the boardroom is.' Rodger headed for the door. Craig felt a little embarrassed trailing behind Rodger like a dog on a leash, but at least the office building was quiet. At least for now.

They walked towards the end of the hall. There was another grey door. Inside was a spacious room with a large oval boardroom table in the middle of the floor. It had twenty neatly arranged leather chairs around it. The room smelled of percolated coffee, leather and treated wood. In the front of the room was a large white screen accompanied by a smaller TV next to it. A laptop had been situated on the far end of the table and Craig gathered that it was the laptop they used for presentations. To the right, a set of glass doors leads to a small kitchen. The boardroom was dark despite the many windows. They were covered with expensive wooden blinds shutting out the sunlight. Rodger hit two switches, and the room lit up with about sixteen downlights arranged neatly in the ceiling. Several glass-framed pictures of Saldanha were mounted on the wall. It also contained pictures of some strange-looking machinery with big bucket wheels and long boom arms.

'This is the boardroom Craig,' Rodger said. 'Like I said we meet here every Monday morning at nine.' Rodger looked at his watch and said, 'in a half hours' time. If you don't mind, I've got a phone call to make before the meeting starts. Please help yourself to some coffee or tea in the kitchen. There are cups and sugar in the cupboard and milk and soft drinks in the fridge. I will see you in a moment,' Rodger said patting Craig on the shoulder.

'Thank you, Rodger,' Craig said.

'Oh yes,' Rodger said, pausing at the door, 'welcome here at the Ore Refineries and welcome to the West Coast.'

Rodger disappeared out the door and Craig was left alone in the large boardroom. He could not help to wonder what the rest of his colleagues were like, but soon he would find out. At least he had a good start with Rodger and his secretary Pamela which Craig was sure he would get to know better over the years to come. Craig walked around the room to get a feel for his new environment. He learned from experience that one could tell a lot about the people working in a place simply by looking at the surroundings. Things like cleanliness, attention to detail, furniture, atmosphere and smell were all vital clues.

Craig wanted to get settled in as soon as possible. He headed back to his office and realised that he had a piss of an auction ox. One thing Rodger failed to mention was where the toilets were. He felt relieved when he discovered the familiar green sign with the known male and female sign close to the lift. As he entered the men's room, he was surprised by the clean smell. It contained two toilets and one basin, a urinal with white balls (where the strong smell probably came from), soap dispensers and a hand dryer.

Craig entered his office again when he was greeted by a friendly geeky-looking fellow.

'Good morning sir.' Craig noticed the young man working heavily on his laptop. He gathered that it must have been the IT technician who came to set him up on the company's network.

'Good morning,' Craig said. He walked towards the technician and extended his hand, 'I'm Craig.'

'I know. I'm Timothy. I just want to make sure everything is configured properly. I've set up your e-mails and printer, so you should be able to get started,' Timothy said having a last look at the laptop.

'Thank you very much,' Craig said. 'One question though, where is the printer?'

'Oh, I've configured you to print in Pam's office. We implemented centralised printing about a year ago for cost-saving purposes and therefore all the small desk printers have been removed.' Timothy scratched his bushy hair. 'You know where the printer is don't you?' He asked pushing up his glasses using his index finger.

Craig shook his head. 'No.'

'It's next to Pam's desk.'

'Okay,' Craig said. 'No problem. Thank you for your help, Timothy.' Of course he did not notice the printer before. His attention was focused on something far more useful than a printer.

'Anyway, if you need anything else, please give us a shout. We are about 7 technicians sitting on the 3rd floor. Our numbers are listed on the company global address list under your e-mails. I noticed you have most of the important numbers next to your phone, anyway.'

'Good man,' Craig said. 'Thank you once again, Timothy.'

Timothy merely nodded before disappearing out the door.