Stephanie Cage - Writer

As Jason Jackson-Jones' daughter lies in the operating theatre after a car accident, possibly caused by his own firm's faulty parts, he's finally forced to admit how wrong things are going.  But has his honesty come too late to save his marriage? Jason stood watching as Terri’s hand, in apparent slow motion, came up towards his face. It seemed he would have had all the time in the world to move and block her, but starting a physical fight with his wife in the emergency room would be embarrassing, to say the least, and besides, he dimly felt at some level that the blow was deserved. Maybe if he stood there and took it, the blow might diffuse some of the anger and guilt that had been bubbling in him below the surface of his mind ever since this sorry business with the steel quality started. The slap stung more than he’d expected, and he reflexively brought his hand to his cheek and pressed it there as he watched Terri lower her hand and stare at him. She couldn’t ha...

After a week's intermission, The Crash is back.  This week, we leave Jason and Brad working on their improvements to the car part manufacturing process, and spend some time instead with Jason's teenaged daughter, Jess.   "Nice," Jess said, walking around Bethany's shiny, pink new car and taking in the alloy wheels, the body-coloured wing mirrors and bumper, the parking sensors and the complicated stereo. She was, after all, her father's daughter. Where most of her friends noticed only their colour, she knew cars. And this was one to envy. "Come on," Chloe said, tapping her fingers on her mock-Gucci handbag as she waited for her friend to finish admiring the vehicle, and get inside. "OK, OK," Jess agreed, taking a careful step inside. The car was a little too small for her to get into easily, and her new cream high heels made it awkward stepping over the sill, but once inside, she could stretch out comfortably. "Re...

This week in 'The Crash', Jason Jackson-Jones may not be showing signs of weakness, but he's certainly feeling them.  The allegations of a Sheffield journalist make him realise that a crash may be imminent... in every sense of the word! In the car driving home, Jason kept remembering the conversation with Peter.   Funny that, of all the things that had happened over the course of the day, including the triumphant reversal of Jepsons' intention to cancel their contract, and the apparent abdication of his receptionist, it was the brief and entirely predictable conversation with his old adversary that had snagged on the hook of his thoughts and refused to come unstuck.   As he sat at the traffic lights watching the queue of people waiting for the Hillsborough tram, he found Peter's words echoing in his mind.   "If you know something, you'd do better to come clean than cover it up." Well, Peter would say that.   He'd like nothing better t...

In last week's post Jason's receptionist was called away due to a family emergency, leaving Gaby, the new PA, covering her role, while Jason and his Engineering Manager Brad struggled to retain a long-standing customer who'd threatened to leave the firm due to issues with the quality of the car parts Jason had supplied him.  This week, Jason draws the attention of a journalist from the Sheffield Gazette... Through the doors of the conference room, Gaby could hear the rise and fall of Brad and Jason's voices.   As time went on, they got louder and seemingly more heated but, tantalisingly, they still sounded like a muffled drone from which she couldn't isolate distinct words.   Finally, as she tried to get on with typing up some scribbled minutes from the pile that had been lying in Lucy's tray, she saw the door swing open.   Brad emerged first, and mouthed, "Watch out, Jason's on the warpath." Gaby rolled her eyes. Jason emerg...

Last week in The Crash the receptionist, Donna, had some bad news.  This week the new Engineering Manager, Brad, gets his first major challenge: winning over Harry Jepson, a longstanding customer who's set to go elsewhere due to problems with the car parts Jason's company has been supplying him.  But winning over the customer is only half the battle... "Nice lunch.   Thanks.   Good to meet you."   Harry smiled and held out his hand to Brad.   His handshake was firm and he smiled as if the common phrase was more than just a pleasantry.   It was easy to see why he'd been such a success in business over the years.   Brad shook hands with Damian too and promised to be in touch about the proposed changes to the pressing process. Jason hadn't exactly agreed that the changes would be made, but Brad was confident that once Jason saw how the benefits of adjusting the process played out, he'd be happy to authorise what Brad was s...