Meet the Team: Gub

Gub slinks in at 0745. His hair is perfectly swished to one side and his attire, appropriate but his face is that of a man not well rested and proud of the fact. It’s probably the only reason why he’s in early on a Monday.

“Good weekend,” say I.   

Something resembling a nod is the reply accompanied by a sly grin.
“Ahh, so how is the delightful Lucy?” I inquire. His girlfriend (Lucy not being her real name of course) has quite obviously spent the night at his. 

“She’s good, yeah we had a great time,” says Gub beaming on barely the right side of sanity.

There is a warm unexpected honesty about him that projects a sense of eternal youth. It not just in his good looks which have earned him appearances in “Cosmopolitan” and “Men’s Health” magazines; it’s an attitude and a confidence of not being afraid to be vulnerable, a very rare trait these days.   

“Did she scream my name?” I say, deliberately looking for a negative reaction. Men do this to one another after becoming comfortable in a relationship, they call it “winding each other up” it’s our version of holding hands or going to the toilet in groups.

“She doesn't even know you man,” says he, mildly annoyed.
“That’s what you think,” I come back.  He realises what’s going on and chuckles with a shake of the head. There’s a pleasure in making people laugh, I think, its like giving someone a little gift when you have nothing to give.

‘Serious’ Chris of the logistics desk enters the reception pushing an empty trolley, being the youngest he suffers gladly the light hearted abuse of his seniors. As on most days, Gub and I (well I) take on the subject of his suspected virginity.

The whole exchange maybe immature and a little stupid but it ends in smiles and Chris’s emasculation, which he takes like a champ. There's a feeling of brotherhood here, underlining a deep running theme of family that is one of the ethos of Hearst Magazines. There are bad days too, but there is always someone to give you little lift.