The Secrets of Ice Cream Success (8 page)

‘
Once we have
them back we then need to find as many of the old staff as we can
and fill any gaps we have with experienced new staff. There needs
to be a full audit of the factory, its equipment and vehicles and
then we need to plan a marketing campaign to announce the
re-opening. Once we have that underway we can gauge interest and
start talking to our old suppliers about re-stocking and finally
getting manufacture back underway.’

Carlo felt his stomach gurgle,
but was certain it was nothing to do with his health. ‘Jeepers.’ he
whispered.

‘
Indeed.’
Randy answered with a smile. ‘I’m going to contact Neil and Lucy
after I’ve been to the solicitors. I’ll let you know how it
goes.’

‘
Oh, I’ve just
remembered. I promised the others they can work with
me.’

‘
The others?’
Randy asked.

‘
Ben, Abi,
Newton and Norton.’

‘
Oh, them…
well, I don’t know Carlo. This isn’t a game; we’re restarting a
business here. What could they do?’

Carlo shook his head; he knew
that Randy was correct. ‘Then, what can I do?’ he asked, starting
to feel as if this was going to get much too big for him.

‘
You’re the
Junior Managing Director, Carlo. It’s your job to look and learn.
Follow myself, Neil and Lucy around, if they come back. Watch what
we do and how the factory operates, because sooner than you think,
it will be you doing it.’

‘
Ooh… that’s
it!’ Carlo shouted. ‘We’re going to have people who look after
people? Yeah? Contracts and firing and stuff?’

‘
Yes, it’s
called HR or Human Resources.’

‘
So one of
them can be Junior Director of that then, you see? To look and
learn, just like you said.’

‘
I see where
this is going.’ Randy laughed. ‘So, we let each of them shadow a
department, say Manufacturing, Sales, HR & Accounts and
Marketing. I suppose they could swap between them after a while
too. OK, you’re on, but we have to remind them this isn’t a game
and you guys go back to school in 5 weeks, so there has to be no
missed homework assignments. That’s one of the rules.’

‘
No problem.’
Carlo said. ‘No problem at all.’

Ben and Carlo were crumpled
against the wall struggling to breathe and even Newton, who
normally could explain everything, was at a loss for words.

‘
OK.’ Abi said
eventually, ‘What have you come as?’

‘
I’m taking
this seriously!’ Norton protested as the howls of laughter
continued. ‘I’m a businessman and this is my “Power
Suit”.’

‘
That’s fine.
It’s just that it seems a little, err… ill-fitting.’ Newton pointed
out.

‘
Well, yeah, I
haven’t worn it since our Gail’s wedding before Christmas. I may
have grown a few inches since then.’

‘
Yeah… but
out, not up!’ Ben wheezed through barely suppressed snorts of
laughter. ‘Ooh… my sides hurt.’ he added, trying to stand
upright.

‘
My jaw does.’
Carlo agreed while taking deep breaths to try and compose himself,
but as he stood he took a glance at the brown and beige pinstriped
jacket that was stretched worryingly tight across Norton’s ample
chest and started silently convulsing as he battled to hide his
mirth. This set Ben off again and both soon had tears pouring down
their faces.

‘
Ignore them,’
Abi said, ‘I think you look very nice.’ she added, not focussing on
Norton’s trousers being a little too short for him and that he had
used so much hair gel it looked like it had been greased back for
aerodynamic efficiency.

Order was eventually
established as the group saw Randy enter the factory with a woman
with blonde hair pulled tight into a pony tail high on her head and
wearing a black suit so severe it radiated menace. As she made to
follow Randy to the offices she glanced back and offered them a
look that made them all feel as if they had just been given
detention.

‘
Whoa… Now
that’s a power suit, Norton.’ Abi said as the woman disappeared
into the office.

‘
Who was
that?’ Newton asked.

‘
That was Lucy
Lightfoot.’ Carlo answered with a sigh. ‘She’s the new Operations
Manager. Uncle Randy couldn’t get Neil back so she’s sort of in
charge.’

‘
What? She’s
your boss?’ Norton asked.

‘
No, she’s
yours…’

The others fell into a silence
that could only have been deeper if Mr Short-Bottomly had walked
into the factory with Randy.

‘
Come on. I’ve
got to fill you in.’ Carlo said, trudging off towards the factory
floor. The others followed as he began to lay out the plan for them
to shadow a department manager as Junior Director.

‘
I don’t want
to be Junior Director of Human Resources!’ Norton complained five
minutes later as they circled around the back of the factory. ‘It
sounds boring! I want to be Junior Director of Ice Cream
Vans.’

‘
That’s part
of sales.’ Carlo pointed out, ‘which you also said you didn’t want
to do, so now Abi has it.’

‘
Well I didn’t
know sales meant the vans as well.’ Norton huffed. ‘What about
manufacturing then?’

‘
You said Ben
could have it!’ Carlo shouted in exasperation. ‘Look, Ben has
Manufacturing, Abi has Sales, Newt has Marketing and you get HR!
Then in a week’s time, you swap!’

Carlo marched off in what he
hoped was a Junior Managing Director type way, but pulled up a few
paces later, standing stock still.

‘
What?’ Ben
asked as they walked past Carlo, who was now staring at the door
down to his father’s study.

‘
Hmm? Oh,
nothing.’ He said absently, still staring.

‘
Did you get a
chance to read your father’s diary?’ Newton asked, following
Carlo’s gaze.

‘
No… no. Not
while I was ill. It’s still in the study.’

‘
I’ll go get
it for you.’ Newt said, setting off towards the stairs.

‘
What? No!’
Carlo said, pulling Newt back. ‘I’ll get it later, there’s no
rush.’

‘
I’ll only be
a second.’

‘
No…. look, I
don’t want anyone to go down there.’

‘
Why not?’ Abi
asked, curiously looking Carlo up and down. ‘What’s
wrong.’

Carlo sighed, realising that
there was no way he could keep them out of there permanently unless
he banished them claiming it as his office, which was unlikely to
work anyway.

‘
I… I think
the study is, well… haunted.’ he muttered, waiting for the expected
reaction.

‘
Don’t be
soft, Carlo. Who’d haunt an ice cream factory?’ Norton exclaimed,
waving his arms around to take in the factory floor and the idiocy
of it being paranormally occupied.

‘
You would.’
Ben pointed out.

‘
Shut
up!’

‘
You shut
up!’

‘
I’m just
saying that ghosts normally haunt old castles or things that have
been around for years an’ years ‘n stuff. Not your average
factory.’

‘
Don’t see why
they wouldn’t haunt a factory too. Those castles must get quite
boring.’ Ben countered.

‘
I think it
depends on where they were killed.’ Newton added; bastion of
scientific truth, or at least fourteen-year-old
conjecture.

‘
Nah, I’m not
buying it. There’s nothing scary about rattling chains around a
conveyor belt of choc-ices. It has to have corridors and attics.’
Norton replied.

‘
I was
scared.’ Carlo said from outside the conversation. The gang turned
to face him and he could see that Norton was on the verge of
starting up again, so he took a breath and told them about what had
happened. He ended by recounting throwing up and the beginning of
his “stomach virus”.

‘
But I think
it was something to do with what happened down there.’ he finished,
nodding towards the stairs. There was a silence as the four others
chewed over the new evidence. ‘You don’t believe me?’ he asked
almost pleading.

Ben looked at Norton and found
his own smile matched. ‘Dr. Venkman?’ he said, motioning towards
the study.

‘
With pleasure
Dr. Stanz.’ Norton replied, before both of them pelted towards the
stairs.

‘
I think they
believe you.’ Abi said, walking after them with Newton in
tow.

‘
Guys… look,
we don’t need to go down there. I’m sure it was nothing. Guys?’
Carlo shouted,
reluctantly trotting after
them. But as he reached the door he was relieved to see the others
still outside the study and Ben rattling the handle in
frustration.

‘
Locked.’ He
said, giving it one last shake.

‘
Well I
certainly didn’t stop to lock up.’ Carlo said with a shrug.
‘Must’ve been Uncle Randy’

‘
I think we
should start calling him Managing Director Fox.’ Norton said, ‘To
get past the “uncle” thing.’ Everyone ignored him.

‘
Well have you
got the keys?’ Abi asked.

’
Nup. Uncle
Randy has them.’

‘
MD
Fox!’

‘
Norton? Shut
up! Carlo, why don’t you go and ask Randy for them?’ Ben said, his
hand still absently holding the door handle.’

‘
Get lost! I’m
not going up there with Lightfoot with him.’

‘
Me neither.’
Abi added.

‘
Nor me.’
Newton agreed.

Ben looked at Norton who shook
his head. ‘OK then, I guess we wait.’ he said, giving the door a
small thump with his hand.

There was a click from the
handle and the door opened a fraction.

‘
D’uh! It was
open you muppet!’ Norton laughed, pushing Ben in the
back.

‘
I was sure…’
Ben mumbled, taking the handle and slowly opening the door.
Carefully peeking into the dark room, he took a step inside and
peered behind it the door.

‘
Careful.’
Carlo whispered.

‘
I’ll be fi…’
A hand darted from behind the door and pulled Ben to the side by
his neck, slamming it shut.

‘
Ben!’ they
all screamed jumping forward to hammer on the door, which eased
open to reveal Ben stood in the dark with his own left arm grabbing
onto his neck and wearing a huge grin.

‘
You should
have seen your faces.’ he said reaching out to turn the lights
on.

‘
You idiot!’
Abi retorted, punching him in the arm. ‘You scared the life out of
me.’

Carlo stepped past the
bickering siblings into the study and looked around. The diary was
where he had dropped it and everything else looked normal. He
wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but in some way nothing out
of the ordinary seemed more unnerving.

Newton was walking around the
room too, but the others seemed less impressed. ‘There are no
ghosts here now.’ Norton said with obvious boredom.

‘
How do you
know?’ Newton asked whilst peering under the desk.

‘
Get lost,
Newt!’ Norton said, but with less certainty, looking around a
little himself.

‘
But there’s
certainly nothing obvious here now, so in that respect, Norton’s
correct.’ Newton claimed, finishing his inspection. Norton beamed;
head of the class.

‘
You don’t
even know what you were looking for.’ Ben laughed.

‘
No, but I
have more idea of what I don’t know what I’m looking for than you.’
Newt pointed out.

‘
What?’ Norton
asked.

Carlo bent down and picked up
the diary, wiping the cover before placing it back on the desk.

‘
Carlo, are
you sure about what you fe…’ Abi started.

‘
Yes… I am.’
Carlo interrupted.

The others stood quietly as if
expecting something to happen, but nothing did. ‘I guess it is a
little cool in here?’ Abi offered, without real conviction.

Newton decided to continue his
search whilst Ben crept up behind Norton with a book from the shelf
and slammed it shut just behind his ear, causing a scream, laughter
and the makings of another argument.

Carlo, sighed not knowing
whether no ghosts was better than some ghosts and made for the
stairs, leaving them to it.

The following day, Randy
announced that Lucy Lightfoot had agreed to come back to work for
Leodoni’s as Operation’s Manager, her previous job, and that five
more of the old staff were available and willing to return, though
to Carlo this sounded like a worrying number had decided not to
join the re-launch of the company, which caused him a certain
amount of angst. Had they retired? Started new jobs? Or did they
not want to work for him?

This also left forty or so
positions within the factory that needed to be filled including
twelve drivers for the vans, two more than previously as Randy and
Luigi had always taken the opportunity to go out in their vans as
often as possible leaving the factory in the hands of Neil and
Lucy.

Carlo tried to show some
excitement at this development as Randy confirmed that the first
interviews would begin the very next day, but the reality if the
situation was beginning to dawn on him with nerve shredding
clarity. The factory was without doubt going to re-open and very
soon at that. He had half hoped that the labours involved would
take so long he would have safely returned to school by the time
they were ready to start manufacturing, when his non-participation
could be easily masked by the need for study.