The sound of the hydraulics from the overhead cranes and the hissing sounds from the milling station in the factory, rouse Poul up from sleep. His eyelids fluttered as they cleared the visual clarity in front of him.
He rose up to a sitting position and glanced to the far right corner of the office. Located there was a pendulum clock producing a ticking sound as the pendulum sways back and forth.
He scrunched up his eyes, trying to see the hands of the clock to tell the time. It was already six o'clock in the evening. The office has a window that lets in natural light, so he noticed that it is getting dark.
Sadly in this world, there's no light bulb yet to light up the office with a single flick. So he had to get up and light up the gas lamp. The warm orange glow of the fire inside the lamp illuminated the room bright orange. The smell of the gasoline began to fill his office, disorienting Poul a little.
Poul grabbed his overcoat hanging on his chair and slipped it over himself before walking out of his office and into the railing. He placed his hand on the railing and peered below.
His workers were working around the clock manufacturing and fabricating parts for the air brakes and friction draft gear. Though the demonstration of their product is not yet set, it's prudent that they already have a surplus so that they won't get overwhelmed by future orders. Not only that, the workers will gain experience just by working on it.
"Good evening boss!" the workers called as they raised their hats up and waved them at Poul.
They must have noticed him watching. Poul waved back at them before walking down the stairs.
"Good evening boss!"
"Good evening boss..!"
The workers greeted him warmly as he approached them and took a look at the parts they manufactured.
"Mind if I take a quick inspection?" Poul asked, even though he didn't have to. Poul believed that effective communication between the boss and the workers is crucial for the company.
"Yes sir! It's all built according to your specifications," the worker said as he stepped aside from the workshop table.
Poul scanned the air compressor, a crucial part of the air brake. He checked for warping, indentations, and dimensions.
He nodded in satisfaction. "Great, there seems to be no problem with the compressor. Keep up the good work. Once we landed a huge contract, drinks on me."
The workers cheered and high-fived each other with joyous expressions on their faces. It's also for him to motivate the workers so that their working products won't be a defect.
"Poul!"
A familiar voice called. Poul glanced over his shoulder and saw Jonathan jogging towards him.
"Jonathan, what's up," Poul said.
"Good thing you are awake. So how did it go? Did Mister Morgan agree?" Jonathan asked.
"Well, he said he'll call us back," Poul replied simply and walked with him side by side around the factory.
The factory is designed and built under the guidance of Jonathan himself. He is the mastermind of how things move around in the factory, improving the efficiency and productivity of the company. Unlike other companies who haphazardly built sections of their factory plants, Jonathan was meticulous. The foundry, assembly lines, and storage depot, were built in a way of linearity. Raw materials enter, and the finished product comes out.
"Is that so? I just hope that he'll call sometime soon, preferably tomorrow," Jonathan said. "If not, we won't be able to sustain this company. I told you earlier, right? That we are losing money from raw materials, workers' salaries, and kerosene for the lighting. Based on my calculation, we'll be out of business next month."
"Put the negative out of your mind for once, Jonathan," Poul sighed. "Didn't I tell you that it is part of the process? If Mister Morgan didn't call within three days, then we will be the ones to personally approach railroad companies and pitch our product."
"I envy your optimism, Poul. You sound like everything is going to be fine even though you know it won't be," Jonathan said.
"Well, sometimes you just have to be. Otherwise, we will return back to our old life where we will have to scoop up poop, work twelve to sixteen hours digging ditches, and crawl in the deepest part of the coal mines," Poul said as the memories of them doing that flitted across his mind.
Jonathan chuckled and smiled, amused.
Their conversation ended shortly after and they walked together towards a large wooden door leading outside. Poul breathed in the night air, savoring the pleasant coolness against his skin.
Jonathan stared at the sky, noticing that the stars blanketing the night sky weren't similar to the constellation they have in their original world.
"We could really use a drink," Poul suggested.
"We do, but not during work hours. What if Mister Morgan called while we were out drinking? Are you sure you want to take that risk?" Jonathan said.
Poul's expression drooped and his lips turned downwards to an unpleasant frown. "Alright," he sighed. Then Poul perked up.
"Then how are we going to spend the remaining two hours? Watch our workers perform their work? That would be boring."
"You can use the remaining time to draw up the schematics you want to introduce in this world. For example, an automobile?"
"I can probably do just that," Poul agreed to his suggestion. "But I want to focus on our first venture. Designing gadgets for railroad companies."
As they were having a brief conversation outside the factory. One of their workers walked up to them from behind and spoke in a careful tone.
"Boss, the telephone in your office is ringing…"
Poul and Jonathan jolted and whipped their heads around to the employee standing behind them.
"Poul…"
"I know Jonathan," Poul cracked his knuckles before dashing into the factory and to his office.
He reached for the telephone that was currently ringing on the wall and answered it.
"You have reached the Nielsen and Axelsen Air Brake Company. How may I help you?" Poul said, attempting to sound professional as he was trying hard to maintain a steady heartbeat.
'Please be Mister Morgan' Poul muttered a prayer softly.
"This is Morgan. I have been trying to reach you for like a minute and you won't answer. Good thing you picked the telephone, otherwise you would have lost a huge opportunity for your company."
"I'm very sorry, Mister Morgan. I was doing an inspection downstairs so I was not present in the office. So, Mister Morgan, you mentioned a huge opportunity for our company. Does that mean…" Poul grinned goofily.
"Yes, I have talked with my partners in the railroad industry. Including Wandervilt. They want to see the product next week. Can you do that?" Morgan asked.
"We're free next week, Mister Morgan. Thank you!" Poul couldn't help but keep smiling happily.
"See you next week then. Goodbye Mr. Nielsen" Morgan hung up the phone and Poul put the telephone back on the cradle.
He giddily went outside his office and looked down where he saw workers looking up at him in anticipation.
"Everyone! I have good news for all of you. We will have a product demonstration next week. This means we are going to retrofit a train with our air brakes and draft gears. If they liked it, then that means a huge contract to retrofit all of their trains. We are going to be big, very big, so I want you to keep working hard and you'll be rewarded handsomely. That's all!"
Concluding his announcement, the workers erupted into cheers of joy and Poul laughed heartily as they clapped.
Meanwhile, Jonathan was watching from below, giving Poul a thumbs up.
Poul pumped his fist as he chortled.