by Jos Henry
Eng. Domingo's drive; anyone of them would have hired him. Thomas would appreciate this man when they met.
Domingo planned to introduce Thomas to some of his inner circle of contacts. That the president of a manufacturing company accompanied him on sales calls would confirm his already solid standing in the Power Electronics domain.
Gunther greeted Tom when he arrived at the office for his last full day in Arabia.
'Good morning Tom. This is Engineer Domingo, one of the best around. He will introduce you to some important contacts he has selected.'
'Domingo, make sure before eleven-thirty, you bring back Thomas. We have a meeting.'
Thomas acknowledged the introduction but was almost simultaneously distracted by Emilio who handed Domingo technical literature.
'I will see you later.' Gunther said to Tom.
He almost fled the office for destinations and business unknown.
'Right. If you have nothing to do, it's best not to do it at the office.'
Jaded by the mitigated successes of his desert and mountain treks Thomas listened to Eng. Domingo's plan for the morning.
'Good heavens. this man has an agenda.'
It revived his interest. An experienced, focussed and well-connected Sales Engineer normally knows just how to develop contacts and secure bid opportunities.
'First I will introduce you to people at a couple of ministries here in Riyadh. I keep in touch wit dem because even if dey buy noting dey can tell de contractors wat to buy or suggess someting else dan wat dey propose.'
Thomas liked Domingo already.
'Sounds good.'
'It should only take us less dan an hour; de ministries are bery close togeder. De rest of de morning we will go to see two major electrical contractors in the desert just outside Riyadh and meet wit people who do de bidding for de projects. Dat is two or tree people at each stop. We should be back in Riyadh about eleven-tirty.'
Thomas finally met someone who planned to introduce him to people who had a say in where jobs went.
'That sounds good to me.'
During the morning they met everyone Domingo intended to see except for one at a ministry and another at a contractor. In the single fore-noon they spoke with eight people directly involved in specifying suppliers and equipment: Eight of the ten people Domingo had planned to meet; an excellent score anywhere, anytime.
Thomas was delighted. People they met were receptive and interested in discussing equipment contrary to most he met the last few days. Today he didn't supervise equipment repair while wary users anxiously looked-on ready to heap scorn on him at the least opportunity.
They came away with one request for a large quotation and a letter of intent to be faxed within the next few days for the supply of power systems for a pipeline.
Thomas wished he'd stayed in Riyadh with Eng. Domingo rather than travel to the Southern Regions. He forgot his distaste for travel. He looked forward to returning in twelve months or so. That time before leaving Montreal he would tell Areltrade more directly what he expected of them.
By about eleven o'clock Eng. Domingo and Thomas were back in Riyadh. Domingo suggested they have lunch together—tacitly, at Thomas's expense of course.
In the afterglow of the morning's success Domingo forgot Thomas had to be at the office by eleven-thirty for a meeting. They ate unhurried at a chicken fast food restaurant while back at the office Herr Gunther paced and checked his watch every few seconds. They showed-up a bit before noon.
'Where the heck have you been? I told you before you left that you had to be back before eleven-thirty. We have a meeting me and Thomas.'
Gunther didn't wait for the answer,
'Come. We have to rush; Sultan is waiting for us.'
Gunther and Tom rushed off in the Grand Marquis to meet with Sultan.
'Didn't I say that Sultan wanted to have lunch with us?'
'I don't remember hearing you say anything about Sultan or what time we had to be back. I've already had lunch less than a half hour ago, by the way.'
'Well, you can sit and smile' suggested Gunther with a grin.
It was past the call for Dhuhr when they parked across the street from the Chinese restaurant.
'Watch the door and when you see it open a bit walk quickly towards it and don't look around.'
They kept an eye on the darkened restaurant. It looked closed but soon the door was slightly ajar. They walked across and went in.
As he escorted them to Sultan's table the Indian proprietor said,
'I apologise for the undignified reception; we are closed for prayer; it is very risky to admit anyone. The Mutawa you understand.'
They saw no patrons in the restaurant except for Sultan seated at a large table in a secluded enclave.
'I'm sorry we're late; Domingo took Thomas to call on some active prospects. They were not able to get away when they wanted.'
Sultan smiled graciously,
'There is no need to apologise; please sit down.' He waved a hand towards the chairs.
A vast amount and variety of Chinese food soon began to roll in on serving carts. Thomas nearly turned green at the mere sight of the procession of carts. He watched the food train with dismay.
He nibbled at a few samples to avoid offending his host.
'Take more, more; there is plenty more in the kitchen' Sultan almost implored.
'Thank you; it's all delicious but I'm a very light eater.'
Gunther looked on with unsympathetic amusement.
'I hope you have enjoyed a pleasant and fruitful visit with us. I trust our people took good care of you.'
'Yes they did; I've had an enjoyable and productive trip. Thank you for your hospitality and courtesies.'
'How do you now feel about the business prospects here?'
Thomas immediately saw a chance to switch from eating to speaking. He could interrupt the feast for at least a minute or two.
He began to relate his thoughts on the prospective business situation. From what he observed he was sure they could develop an interesting business. They needed more of the sort of work Domingo did, etc., etc., etc.
He soon ensnared himself into a monologue without an easy close as one might when several unorganized thoughts race through the mind. He rambled into a tenuously connected tediously detailed speculative account of the meetings and how the work should be followed-up. No smooth exit line presented itself.
Sultan became noticeably droopy eyed almost from the start. He feigned deep thought and serious consideration of what Thomas expounded. He expertly converted his sleepy nods into agreement nods. Thomas let him agonize rather than stop talking and resume feasting. He continued to drone-on for as long as he could.
Eventually he stopped an instant to search for an expression that refused to come to mind. Sultan straightened with a start and opened his eyes wide.
'I am happy to learn all this. What do you think, Gunther?'
Gunther sat-up as if poked by a cattle prod,
'I think it should be considered seriously what Thomas says.'
All three were happy with what they accomplished during Thomas's visit and with the prospects before them. Much was achieved in spite of the absence of a plan at the start—except for Gunther's possible orchestration.
Gunther thanked Sultan for a superb lunch; Tom chimed-in. Sultan got up quickly and gracefully accepted the expressed gratitude of his guests before Tom could think of some important point he missed. He hoped he could enjoy the great pleasure of entertaining them again in the near future. And they parted.
Thomas checked-out of the hotel early the morning of his departure. Emilio took him to the office one last time. He sat with Gunther in his office for a general status review.
'How did it go with Rajeev and Domingo?'
'Both of them were alright. Each is good in his own way. I think Rajeev is a sharp young Engineer. It would be good if in time he developed some sales skills unless you plan to
use him for technical matters only.
'Domingo obviously has more sales experience. He's an excellent Sales Engineer and a savvy operator. Yesterday he took me on calls to exactly the types of people I wanted to speak to. People who can make the operation successful. I expect Domingo does well for himself.'
'He does. I think both of them we can count on. Domingo in Riyadh and Central Regions and Rajeev in the Southern Regions and Jeddah. Rajeev is learning.'
'Yes I saw that. He does have a ways to go.
'I'd pay close attention to Domingo. He seems very well regarded by a lot of people around here. Someone might take him from you.
'Did you know in advance Rajeev would drag me on service calls in the Southern Regions? A fellow called Sanji eyed me all day with mistrust in his eyes, I barely got a passing glimpse at a guy named Tawfik, a frosty visit with another called Kumar and I don't even know who's responsible for substations in Asir and Jizan Regions.'
'I don't understand why you ask.
'Come, we go. I will show you a bit around then a late lunch and I will drive you to the airport. In the car we can continue talking.'
Gunther took Tom to different stops of touristic interest. Not that tourists swarmed the country. Tom continued to marvel at the way Souks did business. He bought a brass antique Arabian coffee pot with a small dent.
'The dent and patina are interesting; they hint at its previous life. I'll display it on the coffee table and I bet a writer friend of ours will come up with all kinds of speculation about how it might have been dented.'
With subtle diplomacy Gunther successfully got Tom out of the antique shop and into the car.
'It was a
