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report to the top of the pile?'
asked Alan.
    'You have to prove to me that the company will
benefit from any further expenditure.'
    'Would saving a client two million pounds be
considered a benefit?' asked Alan innocently.
    Kerslake pulled the file back out from the bottom
of the pile, opened it and began to read. 'I'll let you know my decision within
the hour.'
    Alan returned to Harrods the next day, after
he'd had another nocturnal chat with his wife. He took the escalator to the
first floor and didn't stop walking until he reached the Roger Vivier display.
He selected a pair of shoes, took them to the counter and asked the sales
assistant how much they were. She studied the coded label.
    'They're part of a limited edition, sir,
and this is the last pair.'
    And the price?' said Alan.
    'Two hundred and twenty pounds.'
    Alan tried not to look horrified. At that
price, he realized he wouldn't be able to buy enough pairs to carry out his
experiment.
    'Do you have any seconds?' he asked hopefully.
    'Roger Vivier doesn't deal in seconds, sir,'
the assistant replied with a sweet smile.
    'Well, if that's the case, what's the
cheapest pair of shoes you have?'
    'We have some pairs of ballerinas at one hundred
and twenty pounds, and a few penny loafers at ninety.'
    'I'll take them,' said Alan.
    'What size?'
    'It doesn't matter,' said Alan.
    It was the assistant's turn to look
surprised.
    She leaned across the counter and whispered,
'We have five pairs of size thirty-eight in store, which I could let you have
at a reduced price, but I'm afraid they're last season's.'
    'I'm not interested in the season,' said
Alan, and happily paid for five pairs of Roger Vivier shoes, size thirty-eight,
before moving across the aisle to Manolo Blahnik.
    The first question he asked the sales
assistant was, 'Do you have any of last season's, size thirty-eight?'
    'I'll just check, sir,' said the girl, and
headed off in the direction of the stockroom. 'No, sir, we've sold out of all
the thirty-eights,' she said when she returned. 'The only two pairs left over
from last year are a thirty-seven and a thirty-five.'
    'How much would you charge me if I take both
pairs?'
    'Without even looking at them?'
    'All I care about is that they're Manolo Blahnik,'
said Alan, to another surprised assistant.
    Alan left Harrods carrying two bulky green carrier
bags containing seven pairs of shoes.
    Once he was back in the office, he handed the
receipts to Roy Kerslake, who looked up from behind his pile of files when he
saw how much Alan had spent.
    'I hope your wife's not a size thirty-eight,'
he said with a grin. The thought hadn't even crossed Alan's mind.
    While Anne was out shopping on Saturday morning,
Alan built a small bonfire at the bottom of the garden.
    He then disappeared into the garage and
removed the two carrier bags of shoes and the spare petrol can from the boot of
his car.
    He had completed his little experiment long before
Anne returned from her shopping trip. He decided not to tell her that Manolo Blahnik
had been eliminated from his findings, because, although he had a spare pair left
over, sadly they were not her size. He locked the boot of his car, just in case
she discovered the four remaining pairs of Roger Vivier, size thirty-eight.
    On Monday morning, Alan rang Des Lomax's secretary
to arrange an appointment with him once he'd returned from his holiday. 'I just
want to wrap things up,' he explained.
    'Of course, Mr Penfold,' said the secretary.
    'We're expecting him back in the office on Wednesday.
What time would suit you?'
    'Would eleven o'clock be convenient?'
    'I'm sure that will be just fine,' she
replied.
    'Shall we say the King's Arms?'
    'No, I'd prefer to see him on site.'
    Alan woke early on Wednesday morning and dressed
without waking his wife. She'd already supplied him with all the information he
required. He set off for Romford soon after breakfast, allowing far more time
for the journey than was necessary. He made one stop on the way,