Fit Up (3 page)

J
eremy and I met in November 1998 and by the Christmas of that year he was more or less living with me. He was a regional loss-prevention manager for a large retailer and I was a PA to a pensions and benefits director of a French chemical company. We were both very happy in our chosen fields of work.

We had both been married before and, in hindsight, much too young. Jeremy had been divorced for some years and although I had married at nineteen, I had given it a good shot for fifteen years before getting divorced in 1995.

Jeremy was one of three children, the middle child between two sisters, and I had a younger brother. His mother lived with her partner, Cliff, having been widowed three years earlier, and my parents had been married for twenty-five years. Our families were very important to us.

It was during the Christmas holidays of 1998 that we decided to plan a holiday together to the USA. I had never been there and Jeremy was keen to visit California to show me where he used to live. Jeremy’s father was American and had worked for the US Air Force based over here when he met and married Jeremy’s mother. The family had lived in Huntingdon Beach, California, in the late ’70s and Jeremy had very fond memories of this part of his life. We wanted to see all the main attractions and
made a list of everything we thought we could comfortably cram into three weeks. We decided that April 1999 would be a good time to take our holiday as the weather would be good and we also wanted to avoid the school holidays.

One day Jeremy came home from work unexpectedly early and said he wanted to talk to me. It sounded serious and I was worried. Puzzled as to what this might be about, I waited for him to speak. ‘I would like to ask you if we should make the holiday our honeymoon. Will you marry me?’ I looked at him trying to digest what he had said and found myself excitedly saying ‘yes’. From that moment I had to hurriedly arrange a wedding before the holiday.

All too soon, our break was over and it was time to return home, back to reality. However, three months later, in August, Jeremy called me to say that he was being made redundant. It was not really a shock – he had suspected it was coming due to various rumours – but it was nevertheless disappointing; our lives were relatively happy and uncomplicated up to now. His company could not offer him a position anywhere else and any possible offers would mean moving and I had a good job where I had been with my employer for many years. Jeremy set about signing up with agencies and approaching companies directly, at which he attended several interviews for the role of loss-prevention manager. Aside from this, Jeremy already worked part time on Saturdays filming weddings and other functions. He had been doing this on and off for the past fifteen years and it was an activity that he really enjoyed. He and a colleague had even made a training video on loss-prevention for a large DIY chain which was circulated to all its stores in the UK. Such was his talent that we had been talking about Jeremy setting up his own business – it was just about getting the courage to take the plunge to go from steady, well-paid work to self-employment.

There were a couple of job offers but they involved weekend work or
unsociable hours, which meant the wedding business could not really be a serious consideration. He was torn. He loved his loss-prevention work but it would be a dream come true to make a living from filming. The decision to pursue the filming business was finally made on the basis that if we did not try we would never know if we could make a go of it.

London Video Productions was thus created and we placed advertisements in wedding magazines, booked wedding exhibitions and got the company on mailing lists in order to capture business for the following year. We needed to purchase more up to date filming and editing equipment and it was during this time that Jeremy came into contact with Lloyd Gerard of Video Action, based in Golders Green, London.

We could never have envisaged what a devastating impact this man would have on our lives.

L
ondon Video Productions had got off to a fairly good start with wedding bookings coming in on a steady basis. Jeremy’s name was getting around with offers of corporate filming work coming in from various companies and schools. Utilising all the equipment bought for the business, he had set himself up a studio in the spare bedroom where he spent most of his time editing videos of weddings and dealing with other aspects of the business. The PC used for editing could also be used as a word processor and, as administrative matters increased, it became necessary for me to help out some evenings. However, it was becoming inconvenient that we were both wanting to use the PC at the same time and so we purchased a computer, manufactured by Tiny, at the end of March 2000, never thinking that such a seemingly normal purchase of hardware would become the subject of such intense scrutiny in the coming years.

In the quieter moments, Jeremy found working from home difficult. He missed the camaraderie and social aspects of working within a large company. While editing one afternoon he received a phone call from a man named Lloyd Gerard who had a proposition for Jeremy. Gerard was from a company called Video Action, a supplier of video and filming equipment and from whom Jeremy had purchased much of the
requirements for our business. He explained that his assistant, who had been with him for ten years, had resigned to take up a position with another company and he was now looking for a replacement. From their meetings and conversations in the past few months, Gerard felt there had been a fairly good rapport between them both and thought that they had some interests in common. He asked if Jeremy would consider working at Video Action part time.

Not wanting to commit to anything straight away, he agreed to meet at the Video Action premises where Gerard revealed that he wanted to work shorter hours to spend more time with his family. The offer was that he would work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Jeremy would work in the shop from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. answering the telephone, diverting sales calls, taking messages, speaking to customers and then to secure the premises when he left for the day. This seemed to be a beneficial arrangement for both parties as Jeremy would have someone to talk to most days, have time for editing in the evening and be free to continue his weekend filming, with the added bonus of a retainer. This opportunity, we thought, was too good to refuse.

For the first year or so, Jeremy and Gerard got on reasonably well together and it was during the quieter moments in the shop that they would play games of Scrabble. This was instigated by Gerard, and it became apparent that he was an exceptionally talented player who got his kicks from beating Jeremy at every game. No one really likes to lose, especially so heavily, but as many times as Jeremy was being beaten he was also learning from the better player, until in the end his persistence paid off and he was able to triumph over Gerard a few times. There was a degree of competitiveness between the two men and so Jeremy suggested a game of snooker one evening, not telling Gerard that he was a talented pool player and was able to transfer his skill to the green baize. After many frustrating frames for Gerard it was his turn to be on the
receiving end of continually losing but whereas Jeremy had got better at Scrabble, much to Gerard’s annoyance, the same could not be said of Gerard’s ability to improve at snooker. For Jeremy these games were all a bit of harmless fun but it had become apparent that Gerard hated to lose.

Around May 2001 Gerard announced that he was thinking about creating a website for Video Action and wanted to set up a desktop computer at the premises so that a website designer could work at the shop. Not being sure how his new venture would pan out, he was reluctant to buy a brand new computer and asked Jeremy if he knew of anyone who might have a second-hand one to sell. By coincidence, at the time we had been discussing the advantages of purchasing a laptop. We thought it would be a better tool for our business as it was portable between home, Video Action and meetings with customers. With this in mind, Jeremy offered our desktop computer, which was only about fourteen months old and which Gerard readily purchased from us for £450 on 24 June 2001.

Despite the fact that Jeremy had been working alongside Gerard for some time, I had never met him. We had spoken on various occasions and although he was always pleasant enough on the phone, his charm seemed insincere and I never felt entirely comfortable making conversation with him.

However, an opportunity soon arose when I was finally able to meet the legendary Lloyd Gerard. One morning Jeremy was running late and left hurriedly for work but soon realised he had forgotten his laptop. It meant he would not be able to get on with his administration or accounts work that day, and, as I worked flexible hours, I decided, as a surprise, to take the laptop to him at the shop, which would also give me a chance to see where he worked.

Entering through the double doors of the shop, I walked to the front counter, at which point both Jeremy and Gerard looked up at me. Jeremy smiled broadly as I held up his laptop. Rushing towards me, looking a
bit flustered, he ushered me towards Gerard who was sitting at his desk at the back of the shop. His hair was short and black, his face so tanned that it emphasised his sapphire blue eyes. As I offered my hand to shake his while holding his captivating gaze, I fleetingly thought that it would be polite if he stood up. However, I realised with astonishment that he actually
was
standing up and, at 5 ft 4 in. in my shoes, I was literally towering over him. I grasped his tiny hand in mine as I gave him a big smile while trying not to register my shock at his diminutive size. All I had heard from Jeremy was ‘he’s shorter than me’, which now I considered to be a vast understatement.

‘What brings you here today?’ Gerard asked in his soft, if slightly feminine voice that suited his tiny frame. I replied that I had brought along Jeremy’s laptop as I knew he would be desperate for it and although Gerard continued to smile, his eyes hardened. With a hint of a sneer, he said to Jeremy, ‘What a wonderful wife you’ve got.’

I felt a little disconcerted as there was definitely a tinge of envy in his voice. Jeremy had heard Gerard frequently arguing with his wife Jo and I guessed that all may not have been well in his personal life.

After a few short exchanges, Gerard left us in order to answer the telephone and I was able to study him more closely. He looked like a little boy in jeans and a shirt. However, this vertically challenged man harboured a volcanic temper that he had no hesitation about using on anyone, including customers.

By the beginning of 2002, the wedding business had got much busier and Jeremy found that by working at Gerard’s shop during the weekdays he could not get through the editing of videos just in the evenings alone as he was now filming most weekends. Serious consideration had to be made about working from home again as business was increasing by the month and we did not want to turn away any new bookings.

Jeremy decided to tell Gerard that the arrangement they had would
have to come to an end, but that he would continue to work at the shop until Gerard found someone else to replace him. Gerard had already realised that Jeremy’s business had made significant growth over the last few months but, not wanting to lose him (he had been enjoying leaving early each day and having cover for holiday), came up with a further proposition. He asked Jeremy if he would like to run London Video Productions from Video Action’s premises, which meant that he could advertise his company on the outside walls, set up an editing suite at the back of the shop and continue to be paid a retainer. Also, Gerard wanted Jeremy to do more than answer the phones for Video Action, he wanted him to become part of his business and be involved in selling. Of course, this arrangement was beneficial for both of them and as Jeremy’s business would be installed within Gerard’s premises, to cover himself he insisted that the new arrangement be formulated by way of a contract. Gerard readily agreed and so the working relationship continued.

Now easily getting through his work each day, Jeremy became more involved with Video Action’s business, which he enjoyed as well as rapidly picking up quite a bit of knowledge about filming equipment, such as professional camcorders, editing and sound equipment, tripods and accessories.

For some reason, Gerard’s behaviour started to become unpredictable. He would veer from calm and rational to erratic and abusive in seconds, and sometimes he would become quite paranoid. There was a time when he was having one of his frequent arguments with a customer over the phone and he caught Jeremy looking at him. Gerard stopped shouting at his customer, put them on hold and calmly asked Jeremy would he mind not looking at him while he was on the phone as it made him feel uneasy. As Jeremy turned away, Gerard returned to the angry tirade on his customer.

Word was starting to get around that there was a more professional
and polite person to speak to at Video Action, which meant that customers and suppliers were actually asking for Jeremy. Gerard even joked on one occasion that Jeremy was making more sales than he did during the day and this became more evident when he went on holiday to Dubai. However, just before finalising his business and departing for two weeks, Gerard appeared a little agitated and, in a shocking admission, said that he was unable to cope without his daily fixes of cannabis in the morning and in the evening before dinner. Now on a roll, he boasted that when he went home in the afternoon he would start with a small joint to build up for a huge joint before going to bed – and that he could not even drive his car unless he was high. Gerard explained that he was worried about how he would manage for the holiday without his fix. Jeremy was speechless but realised with clarity that Gerard’s behaviour traits had a lot to do with his drug-taking.

Putting Gerard’s revelations to one side and with his newfound interest in video equipment, Jeremy started reading the professional filming magazines to keep up with the latest technologies so that he would be able to answer customer enquiries. It was through this research that he found an online forum affiliated to a trade magazine called DVDoctor.net where video enthusiasts would discuss the latest equipment, seek out advice about where to purchase items, as well as have ordinary, general discussions about the industry. Totally out of the ordinary, however, was that some DVDoctor users had deemed it necessary to start a new discussion forum called ‘Video Action’, which served as a warning to other readers and where it became apparent that Gerard did indeed have a bad reputation in the industry. On reading further, there were comments from many dissatisfied customers, such as:

Jeremy asked Gerard if he knew about this forum but he was never fazed; he knew that by offering attractive prices people would call him and he was always extremely busy. He had no respect for his customers, saying, ‘There will always be another one tomorrow.’ His attitude more than likely stemmed from the fact that he was from a wealthy family and a property millionaire in his own right, so he did not have to care very much about anyone.

However, Gerard’s behaviour was starting to impact on Jeremy’s business. On one occasion, Jeremy was on the telephone to his customer quietly discussing their wedding video requirements. In the background, Gerard was having a blazing row with someone who had come into the shop to complain about a camcorder he had bought. Gerard’s face was red with rage, his clenched fists on the desk, trying to muster as much height as he could while shouting a litany of swearwords at the top of his voice at the customer. Jeremy had to apologise to his own customer for the commotion and offered to call them back when it was quieter. It became a different matter, however, when he had a bride’s mother visiting the shop to discuss her requirements. Jeremy was embarrassed for his client as she could hear the ranting and swearing. It was at this moment that he decided he did not want his business tarnished by Gerard any more.

At the beginning of 2003, having tolerated Gerard’s increasingly unpredictable and aggressive behaviour for long enough, Jeremy decided that it was time for him and Gerard to go their separate ways. There had been a couple of times previously where both men had actually sat down for serious discussions about becoming business partners and just as this was about to get somewhere Gerard would come up with certain conditions which, on closer inspection, never actually gave Jeremy any advantages.

As he had gained extensive knowledge about video equipment, how  to sell it and from which suppliers to buy, Jeremy asked me what I thought about us getting premises for this new venture and combining both businesses, as he had been wanting to explore this potential for some time now. I thought it was a great idea and as we had a holiday booked that January for a week in Tenerife, we could do most of our planning in a relaxed environment.