Chapter 143: Bob and Elias

Bob handed Alexander the results of his research the following morning.

Unsurprisingly, the survey had produced a very straightforward answer.

The workers would happily have lunch available at the workshop if the company paid for it.

If they had to pay for it themselves, most would rather continue bringing packed lunches, snacks, and drinking water from home.

Alexander looked at the results.

"So basically, everyone likes free food."

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent research."

Bob wisely chose not to defend himself.

Unfortunately, the problem wasn’t quite that simple.

The workshop was too far from the nearest convenience store or eatery for workers to buy something during lunch. That wasn’t much of an issue when everyone came prepared, but it left very little flexibility whenever work unexpectedly ran late.

By then, whatever food or drinks they’d brought for the day might already be gone.

Bob had also contacted several possible food-service providers. None considered permanently stationing someone at the workshop particularly profitable with the current number of employees.

The potential sales simply weren’t high enough to justify the additional labor, transportation, and operating costs.

Even adding more workers wouldn’t automatically solve the problem. A larger workforce meant more potential customers, but there was no guarantee they’d all buy lunch every day. Some would inevitably continue bringing food from home because it was cheaper.

Alexander wasn’t about to subsidize an entire food operation for a workshop that hadn’t even proven it could survive beyond five months.

In the end, they settled on the simplest solution.

The company would provide drinking water.

The workshop would install a mineral water dispenser in an accessible area, and pay for refills. Employees could drink as much as they needed while at work, although Alexander made one limitation very clear.

It was drinking water for the workplace.

Not a free household water supply.

Nobody needed to start arriving with empty gallon jugs to refill before going home.

Food, meanwhile, would remain everyone’s responsibility. Workers could bring their own lunches and snacks as they already did.

It wasn’t particularly exciting, but it solved the immediate problem without creating an unnecessary expense.

With his first official assignment completed, Bob discovered another problem.

This one was entirely his.

Later that afternoon, he found Elias and approached him.

"Can I ask you something?"

Elias looked over. "Sure."

"Do you know an easier way to travel from Station One to Station Two, then to the warehouse without a car?"

Elias thought about it. "What do the workers say?"

"I haven’t gotten around to asking them yet. Most of them seem to live nearby, or they have motorbikes parked outside."

"Then ask them."

Bob waited.

Elias apparently realized that wasn’t quite enough of an answer.

"See if anyone regularly travels between the stations and would be willing to take you as a back rider. Pay them something for the trouble, of course."

That actually made perfect sense.

"And buy your own helmet," Elias added.

Bob nodded immediately. "I’m glad I asked you. Thanks."

"No problem."

It wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking solution.

In fact, with a few more minutes, Bob probably could’ve thought of it himself.

That wasn’t entirely the point.

Bob was good with people.

He’d learned early that one of the easiest ways to start a conversation wasn’t to find something impressive to say. Sometimes, it was simply to give the other person something to contribute.

A question.

A recommendation.

A small problem they could help solve.

People tended to become more comfortable with someone once they’d had a reason to talk to them.

And Elias was someone Bob wanted to know better.

Not only because the man currently spent more time around Alexander than almost anyone else at the workshop, but because Elias seemed to know how things worked without needing to announce it.

He noticed practical problems. He knew the people around him. More importantly, Alexander listened when he spoke.

That made him a useful person for a new employee to learn from.

Bob certainly wasn’t going to interrogate him about the boss on his second day.

He wasn’t stupid.

But there was nothing wrong with asking a friendly question now and then.

Especially when the answers were actually useful.

Bob glanced toward the motorbikes parked outside.

First, however, he apparently needed to buy a helmet.

Or maybe not.

Bob discovered that during the workers’ afternoon break.

He’d been carrying a cup of coffee toward the small area where several of them usually gathered when he noticed a familiar helmet sitting on the bench beside one of the mechanics.

Then he noticed another one hanging from the man’s motorbike a short distance away.

Two helmets.

Well.

That potentially saved him one purchase.

Bob changed direction.

"Mind if I sit here?"

The mechanic looked up from his food. "Go ahead."

Bob sat beside him while the other workers shifted slightly to make room.

He’d already spoken to most of them at least once since starting work, although usually only long enough to ask for information Alexander needed or introduce himself. In the process, he’d learned a few names.

The mechanic beside him was Lee, one of the workers assigned primarily to Station Two.

Bob took a sip of coffee, then nodded toward the motorbikes outside.

"Can I ask you guys something?"

That earned him several looks.

"How do you usually get between the stations?"

"Motorbike," someone answered immediately.

"I gathered that much."

A few of them laughed.

Another worker shrugged. "Depends where we’re needed. Sometimes we ride together."

That was exactly what Bob wanted to hear.

He explained his problem without making it unnecessarily complicated. Public transportation could get him reasonably close to the workshop, but moving between Station One, Station Two, and the warehouse was another matter. Hired rides every time worked, but the costs were adding up much faster than he’d expected.

Bob had only been employed for a few days, and somehow transportation was already trying to claim a disturbing percentage of his salary.

He could afford it.

He simply didn’t see why he should keep paying more than necessary for the privilege of making his commute less convenient.

"Elias suggested I ask whether anyone would be willing to take me along when you’re already heading to the same place," Bob said. "I’d pay for gas and the trouble, obviously."

Lee glanced toward his motorbike. "What time do you usually come in?"

Bob told him.

"And where do you get off?"

"Near Station One."

The mechanic considered it. "I pass close to there."

Bob’s interest immediately sharpened.

"How close?"

"About five minutes away."

Now they were getting somewhere.

"And you usually go home around the same time?"

"Unless there’s extra work."

Bob looked toward the second helmet hanging from the motorbike.

The mechanic followed his gaze.

"That one’s my brother’s."

"Does your brother need it every day?"

"No."

Bob smiled.

Apparently, the universe had decided to be cooperative for once.

"Would you be interested in earning a little extra whenever our schedules match?"

Lee laughed. "You’re hiring me as your driver?"

"Absolutely not. I can’t afford a private driver."

That got another laugh from the group.

"I’m proposing that if you’re already going somewhere I need to go, I contribute to your fuel and sit quietly behind you."

"Quietly?"

Bob considered that.

"I’ll try."

Someone across from them snorted.

Randy shook his head, but he was smiling now. "Fine. If we’re going the same way, you can ride with me."

"And the extra helmet?"

"You can use it."

Perfect.

They agreed on a reasonable amount for the days Bob rode with him, with no obligation whenever their schedules didn’t match.

It wouldn’t eliminate Bob’s transportation expenses. He’d still need public transportation for part of his commute and the occasional hired ride when nobody happened to be going his way.

But it would cost considerably less than what he’d been spending.

More importantly, it would be easier.

If Bob were already going to spend money getting himself from one place to another, a little convenience wouldn’t hurt.

"Deal." Bob held out his hand.

Randy looked at it, then shook it.

"Deal."

By the time the break ended, Bob had also learned which workers regularly traveled between the stations, who lived closest to the warehouse, and which days several of them usually stopped somewhere for dinner before heading home.

None of that had required an interview.

He’d asked one question, listened to the answers, and let the conversation wander naturally from there.

Elias’s suggestion had solved his transportation problem.

The rest was simply a bonus.

Bob carried his empty cup back inside and happened to pass Elias.

He stopped.

"Your idea worked."

Elias glanced at him. "Already?"

"I found someone with a motorbike, a compatible route, and an extra helmet."

"Good."

"I’m saving money."

"Even better."

Bob nodded solemnly. "You may have changed my life."

Elias stared at him.

Bob managed to maintain his expression for approximately two seconds.

Then Elias shook his head and continued walking.

"Get back to work, Bob."

"Yes, sir."

"I’m not your boss."

"I know."

Elias looked back at him.

Bob smiled.

There.

Another conversation.