Celia

"So you're the man that my daughter has told me so much about. James, James Forrester." He held out his hand, he had a firm grip. "Celia has told me something of the problem that you're having. I'm of the opinion that the company is in breach of contract. I'll know more when I've had a close look at said contract." I passed over my copy. It didn't take him long to read it. "It seems to be a standard form, suitably vague where it wants to be, and specific in its details when setting out sub-contractor responsibilities. From what I've read, you are not responsible for the lead-up work carried out by other contractors. If they stuff up and it impinges on your portion of the contract, then you are not responsible for the rectification."

"That's good to hear. I'm expecting him to be on-site tomorrow when I have to install the roof trusses. They won't fit and I've told him that but he's not interested in what I say. I think that he wants to be there to see me struggle to get it to fit. It isn't all that bad, at least not at this point, but it becomes a problem when I have to install the eaves lining. The original plans, from which the orders are placed has the lining width at forty-five centimetres, but with the changes to the frame size these are now sixty centimetres wide, too wide for two panels to be cut from one sheet of lining board, so I will have to use twice as many sheets, and that makes it that much more expensive just for materials."

"Tomorrow you will explain to him that you will need twice as many sheets and that he is responsible for providing that. If he refuses, tell him that you have had legal advice and that no further work will be carried out until the additional sheets are provided."

"But he'll just threaten me that I will not get any more work from the company."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, you see I will be speaking with the company owner and explaining to him that his company has a legal responsibility to ensure that each project is carried out in accordance with the specifications lodged with the council, and any variation from these specifications is the responsibility of the primary contractor. If a complaint is lodged through proper channels with the council, they will look much more closely at all work carried out by the company, and council building inspectors can be less than punctual."

Here was a man used to playing hard-ball. I was now scared, not about the work situation, but what if I do the wrong thing by Celia?

"Now young man." I wasn't all that young. "You are invited to dine with us this evening, Celia's mother and I need to get to know more about you."

"That sounds ominous." I was attempting to sound at ease.

"I'm the easy one, Celia's been getting her way with me for years, but her mother is something else entirely."

"Don't take any notice of Father, he's just trying to scare you."

"Oh no I'm not."

"Oh yes you are." I wondered how often this went on.

Dinner was fine, the food was unexceptional but good, the wines were excellent and the conversation was so relaxed the time flew by.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I have to get up early in the morning. I've enjoyed this evening better than I expected, better than I was told I would," I looked at Celia who just smiled, "but I have to go home." I stood.

"I'll come with you," Celia said. I thought that she meant that she would see me to the door, but no. She raced to her room and emerged with a backpack. "Good-night Mum, I'll see you at work tomorrow Dad." She kissed them both and, grabbing my hand, dragged me to the front door.

"Why is there so much waste here?" Dickhead had arrived on site late morning.

"Because of your fuck up I can only get one eaves panel out of each sheet, I will run out of material in an hour or two. If you want this work to progress further you had better come up with more sheets."

"No, it doesn't work that way, I have explained to you that you are responsible for any rectification work."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. I have gone over our contract and anything other than standard is the responsibility of the person who made the changes, in this case it was your responsibility for ensuring that the job was set out correctly and that the dimensions were correct before work commenced. It is your responsibility to rectify this."

"If you do not complete this project it will be the last that you will do for us, and you will not get your final payment."

"If I cannot complete this project because of your fuck up you are in breach of contract, and if, as a result, I do not receive further work you will be sued, not only for breach of contract, but restraint of trade. The choice is yours."

"We'll see about that." With that, he stormed off.

I rang Celia. "I'll be finishing early this afternoon, can you get off early?"

"Is this because of what we spoke about last night?"

"Yes. The man was just here and we had a minor contretemps, he went off in a huff threatening that I will not get paid if I don't complete this job and it will also be my last."

"I'll let Dad know and tell him that I need to see you and help calm you down before you go off and do something stupid, not that I think you will, but he's not to know that."

I was feeling pretty calm when there was a knock on the door. Hurriedly scrambling into shorts and a tee-shirt, no jocks, I went and opened the door to my future father-in-law. "I suppose my daughter is madly getting dressed."

"Hi Daddy." Celia emerged wearing one of my tee shirts that was only just decent. At least she had wiped the cum from her legs.

"I've called in to discuss what is happening with your contract, and to offer my services as your Lawyer. It seems as if your Supervisor has distorted the situation in his favour. He's claiming that you are the one responsible for the problems with this build."

"So where does that leave me?"

"Without work for the time being."

"It's not just me that I have to think about, my offsider is involved as well. I don't think that he can afford to be without work for any length of time and I don't want to lose him. I'll have to look for other contracts, but that won't be helped by my current situation."

"You will be well compensated, you'll get much more than you would have earned."

"I'm okay for the time being, but Pete isn't so well off."

"If he gets into trouble financially, we can see him right, and tack this onto the judgement amount. I have already filed for breach of contract and restraint of trade. The company and the Supervisor will be served this afternoon. I hope the company will take on board the speed of our reaction and look more closely at its position. In the meantime, I've got people getting information about your Supervisor. Apparently he only recently moved here from interstate, we are looking into his previous employment."

"So it looks like I'm on holidays for the time being."

"Can I have time off too Daddy?"

"You've only just come back to work. I hope that this doesn't become a habit. Okay, but don't stay away too long. Oh, and by the way, I think you should invest in longer shirts, that one is positively indecent." He left chuckling to himself.

"I like your father." I said just before our lips collided.

As it happened, my being out of work lasted all of two days, and it was Celia's fault. She came up with the bright idea that we, that's the two of us, could be put to good use helping her father with the case. So it was that I had a temporary job as an investigator, checking on the dickhead's previous employment. If and when this matter got to court it would prove very interesting.

The preliminary hearing took place the following week and the matter was scheduled to be heard in two months.

"We have established a credit card account for Pete," James, that's Celia's father, and he insists that I call him that, told me. "Just make sure that he only uses it for day to day expenses. We will submit the credit card statements as proof of expenses incurred."

Pete was happy to see me and the card. He promised that he wouldn't spend too much while on holidays with his wife and kids.

It only took us a week to fill in the blanks in our investigations of one Simon Georgeson, my Supervisor, and it made interesting reading. We had some time on our hands, and it was put to good use.

A lot has happened in the two months leading up to the court case. Celia has moved in with me and she's sporting a ring on her finger. We are engaged! James was impressed with my work gathering information and has offered me work with the firm of Forrester and Associates. I almost accepted the offer but had Pete to consider. If I took the job he'd be without a job, and I couldn't have that. When this is over we'll be back to working our guts off for not a lot of money.

I am pleasantly surprised at the ease with which Celia and I have fitted in with each other. Memories of my previous marital experience are ancient history. We do everything together, household chores we breeze through, food shopping is a pleasant experience because we both like the same things, and the times spent in bed, on the living room floor and even on the back lawn, are amazing. The lawn experience was in the dark, we drew the line at giving the neighbours an eyeful.

The big day arrived. James and Celia sat at the counsel's table while Pete and I sat behind them. The Magistrate took his seat at the bench and called for opening remarks from each counsel.

"Your Honour," James addressed him, "The plaintiff alleges that the defendant Simon Georgeson and his employer, Regency Homes, are in breach of contract, and as a result of this breach, the Plaintiff and his employee have been unable to work, and to find alternative employment."

Robert Barrett, counsel for the defendants rose. "Your Honour, my clients deny the charges, and allege that the Plaintiff was himself, in breach of contract."

"Mister Forrester, would you state your case please."

"Certainly your Honour. I have here a copy of the contract signed by both parties. In this document, it sets out the responsibilities of both parties to this contract. In particular, I draw your attention to Clause 4a. This clause states that it is the responsibility of the Company and/or its assignee to ensure that not only is the site set out in accordance with the application approved by the relevant authority, in this case the local council, but that the dimensions of the building are also set out in accordance with that approved by the council. I also have a surveyor's plotting of the building and location as set out by Mister Georgeson, working as a representative of the building company. As you will see, not only is the building not positioned in accordance with that approved by council, but the dimensions are wrong, they are smaller than the approved plans.

This is the basis of our case. The location is wrong and the size is wrong. The Plaintiff was told, when he raised these matters with Mister Georgeson, that he was responsible for any rectification work, and that he would not receive any extra payment for such work." James handed up the documents for perusal.

"That appears to be straight forward enough. It is a standard form contract used by most builders and sub-contractors, and the clause sets out clearly the responsibilities of the builder. What say you to this Mister Barrett?"

"Mister Georgeson has advised that the location and size of the building was in fact set out by the concreting contractor, therefore the responsibility rests with him. The company is absolved of responsibility in this matter. The matter should be between the Plaintiff and the concreting contractor. There is no case for my client to answer."

"Your Honour, we have anticipated that the defendants will put forward this argument. That is why we will call on the concreting contractor who will give evidence that it was, in fact Mister Georgeson who set out the job. We will also be calling on the owner of this house who also has established that the location and size of the building is wrong, it is not as discussed by himself and the builder prior to the contract being signed. They will also give evidence that the Plaintiff had brought these matters to the attention of Mister Georgeson before he commenced his part of the contract. There is no ambiguity in the wording of this contract, no loopholes, nothing that the defendant can use to get out of it. Nowhere in this contract does it state that the Plaintiff is responsible for the work carried out by the preceding contractors. I am of the opinion that the defendant in this matter is the company and Mister Georgeson who acted on their behalf. If they so desire, they can take the matter up with the concreting contractors. That is if they can prove that it was the contractor and not Mister Georgeson who set this site out. As far as this contract is concerned, my client is not responsible for the rectification of someone else's mistake."

"Myself and my clients interpret this contract differently."

"Your Honour, we could go round in circles until the cows come home. I would request a conference, in-camera, just the learned counsel and myself, so that we can discuss this and other matters."

"Mister Barrett?"

"I am intrigued by what counsel has in mind, I so agree."

"We will take a recess so that counsel can discuss this matter in private."

I would dearly love to have been fly on the wall because I know exactly what is going to be revealed.

James took a thick folder from his briefcase. "Mister Barrett, if you look closely at these papers you will see that Mister Georgeson is not who he says he is. He is a con-man wanted in two states for fraud, for obtaining financial reward by deception and a whole raft of other charges. His litany of fraudulent activities has netted him a considerable financial reward, most of which the victims will never see again. The employment history given in support of his application for his current position is a collection of bald-faced lies. He has not, in any of the aliases that he has used, been employed by any listed employer. His references are similarly nothing short of lies. Part of his success is the confidence that he projects. He is an example of 'if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.' We will be doing the world a favour by Your Honour issuing a warrant for his arrest, and executing that warrant before he takes it on the toe."

The way that I had it figured, he would, having seen the direction that the case has taken, make a dash for freedom before any action could be taken, so I stationed myself adjacent to the entrance to the courtroom. "Thinking of leaving were you?"

"I need to go to the toilet. Let me by."

"I don't care if you piss your pants or crap yourself, you are going nowhere." He attempted to brush past me, but it didn't work, a handful of goolies and a savage squeeze saw to that.

"I'll have you for assault!" He yelled at the top of his voice. This attracted the attention of court officials who rushed to assist the aggrieved party. I was grabbed and wrestled to the ground and Georgeson chose that moment to make good his escape.

"Stop that man!" James had emerged from the courtroom just as Georgeson took it on the toe. He didn't get far. Police had been called from another courtroom and emerged to see a fleeing man followed by an authoritative voice calling for him to be stopped. He was stopped. "A warrant has been sworn to have this man taken into custody."

"What are the charges?" The policeman holding him asked.

"He is wanted in two states on a whole raft of fraud charges. He is now wanted in this state on similar charges. The Magistrate is waiting on him in the courtroom so that the matters can be heard. He will be remanded in custody awaiting applications for extradition to arrive. They will have to wait their turn because we got him first."

Georgeson stood in front of the magistrate. "Mister Georgeson, does the name Joe Sandino mean anything to you?"

"No, should it?"

"What about James Madison, does that name ring any bells?"

"No, I can't recall having met anyone of that name."

"Let us try Geoffrey Mason, do you know someone of that name?"

"No."

"So you deny ever using these names?"

"Yes."

"I have here an affidavit forwarded to me by a legal office in Sydney that alleges than you, using the name Joe Sandino, and claiming to be a registered builder, did defraud many people, mostly elderly widows, of large sums of money. Money given to you to undertake various home renovation projects, projects that were left uncompleted, or never started."

"It's people like that that give us honest tradesmen a bad name." He was working on the three 'B's principle, bluff, bluster and bullshit.

"I couldn't agree with you more. So you've never traded under that name?"

"No."

"As a result of enquiries carried out by counsel for the plaintiff, a New South Wales policeman is waiting outside with a warrant for your arrest and application for extradition." That knocked a little wind from his sails. "I also have an affidavit from a legal office in Melbourne that alleges that you, using the business name 'Madison Home Improvements', similarly defrauded, again mostly elderly widows, of large sums of money in a similar fraudulent enterprise. A Victorian policeman is also waiting outside with a warrant and application for extradition." A bit more wind gone.

"Sounds like another bad example." He was still trying to maintain an air of confidence.

"Again I agree with you. Now we come to the name Geoffrey Mason. It appears that you went back to Sydney, but in a different part of that city, a more affluent part of Sydney, and, using the name of Geoffrey Mason, and trading under the name of 'Mason's Master Restorations', you scammed many more people out of their hard-earned money with yet another fraudulent scheme. Do you deny these allegations?"

"Yes, I am completely innocent of these charges."

"Now, getting to the matter I have before me. When applying for your current position you submitted a CV listing three previous employers as referees, is this correct?"

"Yes."

"I have before me a statement from the counsel for the plaintiff that states that when contacted by counsel for the plaintiff, none of these employers had ever heard of you. How do you explain that?"

"They're lying!" His confidence was fast disappearing.

It was around then that his lawyer, who was privy to this information, decided that he had better things to do with his time. He packed his papers into his case and stood. "You're on your own mate."

"What! You can't leave, you won't get paid if you leave now."

"I have the impression that I am unlikely to get paid even if I stayed, and don't think that Regency Homes will help you in any way. The evidence is so overwhelmingly against you, and to think that I believed everything that you told me. You'll get a bill for what I've already done."

"You haven't heard the last of this! I'll sue you."

"Bring it on, I think that I'll enjoy it very much. James, if you need me to give evidence, just call me, I'll be only too happy to see him behind bars."

Pete, Celia and I adjourned to the nearest bar for a celebration, poor James had appointments that he couldn't get out of. On thinking about it, he must have been super-confident that the hearing wouldn't last long to have made these appointments.

The love of my life and I had just sat down for dinner when my phone rang. I was almost going to cancel the call when I saw the number. "This is Brody, speak to me."

"Brody, it's Stephen Jameson from Regency Homes, we would appreciate it if you could return to work and complete the project that you were working on. Can you be onsite tomorrow?"