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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