I sat at the kitchen table on my old worn out stool. The Window Cleaner sat opposite me on the other, much newer looking stool. He had arrived here earlier in the afternoon and he now lived with me. His name was Philip Gentu. He was a 38-year-old non-smoking widowed man with two grown up kids. He’d previously rented a room in Swindon between June 2006, to the present time. He drove a tired looking blue Ford Transit van and he cleaned windows for a living. That was all I really knew about him, and most of that I’d just read on the tenant’s contract that he had just filled in.

I decided to dig a bit deeper. I thought I’d start with the standard type of questions that everyone asks.
‘So, how long have you been a Window Cleaner?’
‘I've been doing it three years now. I used to do computer programming but I got bored, so decided to have a go at working for myself. I’m so glad I did too. I love the freedom and I love to be outdoors.’
‘So, you don’t mind heights then?’
‘Nah, you get used to it,’ he said with a confident smile.
‘So where is your work based then, because surely you built your round up where you lived in Swindon?’
‘Yes, all my work was in the Swindon area but due to personal reasons I decided to move down this way. I sold my old round and managed to buy one down here, which was lucky, as good rounds are hard to come by. It’s not as big as my old round, so I will have to work hard for a few weeks to build my client base up a bit. I quite like canvassing and I understand that there is a fair bit of work up for grabs down this way, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Won’t be too long and I’ll be all sorted.’
‘You sound like you have got it all worked out. I wish I could say the same for me.’
‘Why do you say that? Having trouble at work or something?’
He seemed genuinely interested so I decided to tell him about my situation. ‘Well, I won’t bore you with the details, but yes, you could say I am having some trouble at work.’
‘What is it, your boss giving you a hard time is he?’
I gave a sort of sarcastic half laugh. He was good. ‘You’re not too far off there. How did you guess?’
‘Well it’s one of the biggest causes for complaint in the world of employment, and also, I can relate to you as I’ve had that sort of trouble in the past.’
‘Well, that is part of it. He has been giving me a tough time lately, but it's really more to do with the bleak financial situation of the company. Although, I suppose it is easy to look for someone to blame. You need to direct your anger at something, and as he’s the big-shot fat-cat at the top of the tree, he is the easiest target to aim at.’
‘It must be hard. I feel for you my friend.’
‘Yes, everything seems to be going along nicely and everything seems right with the world. Then one day you get a slap around the face that never stops stinging.’
‘It sounds like it’s affecting you pretty bad. What is it exactly that you do anyway?’
‘Well, I work for Intecnotec. We work closely with the government. We are an architectural planning and solutions company that specialises in high profile secure buildings.’
‘Intecnotec? That sounds impressive. Why is it called Intecnotec? Does it stand for something?’
‘Um, to be honest I'm not entirely sure why it’s called that. I suppose it’s just to do with the technical drawing side of things and innovative nature of the company.’
‘Anyway Leighton, sorry, I cut you off when you were talking. So, what do you do there?’
‘I am one of the Senior Architects. We deal with designs for new builds, re-fit and restoration projects. It’s for prisons, museums, banks, stately homes and even royal residences. It’s all very government sensitive stuff, so you don’t want files and blue-prints to those kinds of places to be seen by any old tom and dick. The whole operation is very restricted and closely monitored, so our entire building is heavily covered by CCTV and we all have to have security passes, as many areas require clearance. I've been there for so many years that I'm...