The Directors of the
Chester-Perry Company
The directors hear some unpalatable
news
An unbelievably spineless lot of yes-men and time servers, the sole function of the Directors is to agree with everything Sir Reginald proposes. They meet from time to time in the wood-panelled boardroom on the top floor, consume heavy lunches with plenty of alcohol, argue who's next for the Gentlemen's Relish and then doze off in their offices until it is time to go home. Few seem to have any deep understanding of business.
Despite their apparent irrelevance, the Directors fascinate the rest of the staff. Everything that goes on in the boardroom should be confidential of course but not when the subject is the remuneration of the Directors themselves
If the home life of Mr Smethwick is anything to go by then the rewards of being a director are scant compensation for the pressure of their demanding wives. (Of course, all the directors are male). But there are real dangers. Backstabbing and treachery lurk everywhere. Erroll, Sir Reginald's second son, is suspected of dirty work in the sacking of two directors. Bristow learns one day that Mr McMurtry, chief contender for Sales Director said something out of line and was shot down. "Funny sort of day, eh Mac" he comments to a man selling matches on the street corner that evening.