Margaret Scott and I are planning out the new floor of Thompson & French, “My vision will create different floors dedicated to the sequential stages of contract delivery.”
Margaret paces, absorbing every corner and facet; as if drawing the floor into her brain. “We now own this building?”
“Yes.”
“And I can do anything I want with this?”
“Yes. We need a floor dedicated to map creation and development. The due date for the Dean of Guild contract is 30th November 1872.”
“So, what is downstairs?”
I smile at the inquisition, “Robert is now in the finishing stage of the Tramline project.”
“Which is closest to the door?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“So what are the other plans for the building?’, asks Margaret.
Margaret is a precocious young talent genuinely interested in my thinking process, “That will become clear. Meantime, we need to finish mapping every inch of Glasgow Southside and prove our capability to the most powerful planning organisation in the city.”
“And you trust me with this?”
“Business is a trust game. Firstly, you must turn this floor into the most efficient map creation machine.”
I leave Margaret pondering this objective, returning downstairs, finding Robert patrolling every desk, checking progress and leading everyone through Mary’s recovery plan.
Glasgow is the centre of my business empire. Thompson & French is back on track.
Chapter 168 – Focussing The Mind
The Hampden Collection 