Chapter 8

The two weeks after the confrontation between Roy’s armada and the boy racers had been hectic for Roy: juggling an upscaling business in response to a surge of enquiries and orders, and fending off incessant media demands from around the world. He’d even received invitations to speak at overseas business conferences—all of which he had politely declined.

The increased workload was starting to take its toll on Anne. Her face and manner betrayed the strain. At last, Roy took the bull by the horns.

“Anne,” he said, sitting down in her office. “You’re finding this hard, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Roy. I’m wondering if I need to take a break. I love the work, but the load is getting to me.”

“I can’t afford to lose you, Anne. You’re the beating heart of this business. What can I do to ease the pressure?”

Anne pondered. “I’ve been thinking about that. I really do need a few days to regroup. There’s a holiday weekend coming up. Could I take three or four days to get away and recharge? I love the mountains and countryside. I’d like to head to Hanmer—walk the forest trails, soak in the hot pools, just relax.”

“Perfect. And if you’ve got a friend you’d like to take with you, you’re very welcome. The company will cover everything—meals, activities, whatever you like. You’ve more than earned it.”

“Thanks, Roy. That’s much appreciated. I’ll definitely take you up on it.”

“You’re welcome to take up to a week, if it helps. Mum knows the basics of how things run here. I’ll ask if she can cover the phones and emails while you’re away. If you can brief her on anything urgent that might crop up, she and I can manage.”

He paused. “But what about long-term? Do we need to restructure things to make them more sustainable?”

“I’ve been thinking about that, too. One solution could be to bring in an assistant for me—to handle routine day-to-day stuff.”

“Agreed. I’ll contact a hire agency—some specialise in our kind of work, so we could well find someone who fits.”

“There’s something more radical we could do.”

“Oh?” Roy raised an eyebrow.

“Parts of what we do are fairly distinct from each other, and it’s getting unwieldy keeping it all under one roof. For instance, all the council liaison—consents, design, drafting and so on. Could be its own division, with a dedicated manager and team not pulled off to fight fires elsewhere. Another idea worth considering is a prefab homes division. It’s taken a long time, but the government and banks are finally waking up to its potential for easing the housing shortage. I know of a small prefab company that’s started up, but they don’t have the resources to go further. If we took them under our wing, it could work for both of us.”

“I like the way you think. But to do that, we might need to go public — list on the stock exchange, form a board, and so on.”

“I know. But we don’t need to leap there all at once. Baby steps are fine—we can test the waters with each move.”

“You’ve given me a lot to ponder. But first, take your break. Don’t even think about the business while you’re away. Come back properly rested.”

“Yes, boss,” Anne said with a mock salute.

“If I’m the boss, you’re definitely the bossess,” Roy replied with a grin.

By Friday, Roy knew he desperately needed a break himself. The past fortnight had pushed him to his limit. But what to do? He needed to get away—but life, for a long time, had crowded out friendships. Then a possibility struck him.

He still had two “candidates” from the “marriage mart” who hadn’t walked away. Would one of them be open to a weekend away?

“Oh, crumbs,” he muttered. “No matter how I frame it, it’ll sound like an invitation to a dirty weekend. And I don’t want that—I just want some good company.”

After thinking it through, Brodie seemed a possible option. She was down-to-earth and might understand, especially if he was upfront. Before he could talk himself out of it, he dialled her number.