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had any sort of physical contact with an attractive young woman. I was reading far too much into something that was nothing more than a gesture of concern and friendship. Even so, it was going to take me a little while to get back to seeing her as just a work colleague.
    The morning passed uneventfully. I heard George arrive, but he didn’t come in to say hello – it sounded as if he had someone with him and they went down the corridor and into George’s office. Just before 12 o’clock I wandered down to the kitchen to get myself a drink of water.
    When I came out of the kitchen, George was standing in reception, alongside a smaller man who was wearing what looked like a very expensive suit.
    George was smiling broadly. “Jack,” he said enthusiastically. “I’d like you to meet Ian Jacobs.”
    The other man held out his hand. “Really good to meet you, Jack. George has been telling me all about you and the rest of the team here. I’m a great admirer of the work you do.”
    As we shook hands, George continued, clearly bubbling over with enthusiasm.
    “Mr. Jacobs has agreed to publicly support the centre and make a very generous donation from his own company.” He paused, “But even better than that, he’s agreed to become a member of the Board of Trustees.”
    I’d always tried to keep out of the business side of the centre, but even I knew why this news had got George behaving as if Christmas had come early. With a prominent businessman on all our letters and paperwork as a trustee (effectively a director) of the Centre it would give George a way in to most of the main businesses of the Centre. A thought suddenly occurred to me.
    “You’ll have to excuse my ignorance, Mr. Jacobs,” I began. “I know that you’re the current Chair of the Executive Club, but what does your company actually do?”
    I was slightly worried that he would see this admission of ignorance as a great insult, but he clearly didn’t have that huge an ego as he just smiled warmly and began to explain.
    “Please call me Ian – Mr. Jacobs always makes me feel very old. I’m originally an accountant by profession. About five years ago I decided I’d rather have a greater involvement in actually running businesses, so I set up my own management consultancy firm. Basically, firms employ me to come in and have a look at their business, and give them advice as to how they could run it better and more profitably.”
    “Sounds interesting.” I commented.
    “Actually, it really is,” he replied enthusiastically. “I get to see such a variety of businesses and people. And when your advice has helped to save a business that’s struggling, or make a firm more profitable so they’re able to expand and create more jobs, it feels as if you’re doing something worthwhile.” His smile widened before he continued, “and fortunately, I can make a fairly decent living out of it at the same time.”
    George gave an amused snort and interrupted, “Ian’s being rather too modest here.” He looked at Ian, “I checked out your company’s accounts for last year before we met. Didn’t you make a profit of over three million pounds?
    Ian Jacobs looked slightly embarrassed at this disclosure “Yes, that’s true. My terms are always a fixed fee, plus a percentage of any increase in profitability over the following five years. I’ve been very lucky in that some of my advice has worked out well. That’s one of the reasons I’m so keen to do whatever I can to help you lot out. The work I do is enjoyable but it’s nothing compared to the work you are doing here. If I can use my good fortune to help you get the resources you need to go on helping people when they’re at their most desperate, then that will make me even happier. I’ve got everything I could want – a loving family, a nice home to live in, and more money than I could possibly ever need. I think it’s time I started giving something back to those who aren’t so