Read Online Cut to the Chase by Ray Scott - Free Book Online Page B

was booked.
    He opened his wallet to check the phone number of the airport, the sooner he did this the better. He made for the lobby phone that was just outside the dining room. The waiter paused, looking perplexed as Wallace walked out. He waved him to the table and went through the motions of talking into a telephone. The waiter got the message and delivered Wallace’s eggs and bacon.
    Wallace watched him idly as he dialled the number; the waiter covered the plate and hovered around.
    â€˜Hello, I want to change my flight time please.’
    â€˜Yes sir – when did you want to fly out?’
    â€˜Six o’clock tonight or earlier if possible.’
    He gave them the flight details and waited, he could hear the clicking of computer keyboard keys in the background and then the voice returned.
    â€˜Sorry sir, all flights to Australia are fully booked.’
    â€˜What?’ he was thunderstruck.
    â€˜Afraid so,’ the nasal twang of the Qantas man sounded equally surprised. ‘There’s been a flood of bookings within the last few hours. It looks as if you are still stuck with your flight tomorrow.’
    â€˜Damn!’ Wallace said feelingly. ‘Look, if there are any cancellations can you telephone me?’
    â€˜Sure thing, what’s your number? Oh I’ve got it here…OK.’
    He read the hotel telephone number back and Wallace confirmed it. He went back to his table, shattered, with butterflies in his stomach. The room had filled up considerably since he had gone to the telephone, the breakfast “bulge” had commenced. He reached where he had been sitting and where his breakfast was waiting.
    â€˜Oh God!’ Wallace said to himself.
    There was a man sitting at his table.

Chapter 5
    T he man put down his newspaper and looked up.
    â€˜Good morning.’
    â€˜Good morning,’ Wallace answered coldly, company was the last thing he wanted at present as he was not in the mood for conversation. He had his doubts about eating as well, but still had pangs in his stomach and so he started to attack the scrambled egg.
    â€˜You are here for a short visit?’
    â€˜Eh! Oh yes!’ Wallace replied, and nearly choked as a piece of toast went the wrong way. ‘Yes, I leave tomorrow.’
    â€˜Oh! You are here on business?’
    Wallace looked up and regarded him searchingly, and experienced some surprise that he liked what he saw. He was a man of about 40 to 45, olive skinned with grey hair that was a little thin on top but quite thick around the edges. He wore rimless spectacles and had a pleasant smile. He was dressed in a smart grey suit, with a grey silk tie and had a red handkerchief peeping out of his breast pocket. He had a thin face with a long pointed jaw which looked quite appealing when he smiled. His eyes were brown and piercing and looked smaller than they should probably due to his spectacle lenses, which denoted an element of short sightedness.
    â€˜I…yes…business,’ Wallace said a little more graciously. ‘And you are here on business as well?’
    â€˜Yes, I have to attend a conference tomorrow. I work for Texaco, I am a hydraulic engineer and I am delivering a paper on safety in oil rigs; we have a refinery here. We usually have a conference each year.’
    â€˜In Jakarta?’
    â€˜No,’ the other man smiled and shook his head. ‘Texaco being what it is we hold them all over the country, but this was Jakarta’s year. We held the last one in Surabaja but the sewerage in some nearby areas was not conducive to having a successful conference.’
    â€˜Is it worse than here?’ Wallace asked and he chuckled.
    â€˜Indeed, worse than here,’ he turned and snapped his fingers at a passing waiter, ‘More coffee, please.’
    He gave more instructions to the waiter and turned back to Wallace.
    â€˜You work here?’
    â€˜No, passing through.’
    â€˜Who do you work