I knew that the son of bitch would still be in his office at this time. The rage I felt burnt white-hot, seemingly blurring everything else around me until the only thing I could focus on was getting to where I needed to be. When I got there, I banged a fist on the door. It left no room to doubt my intent or mood.
William opened the door almost immediately, a shocked expression on his face when he saw it was me. But sure enough, surprise transformed into distaste. His lip curled.
“Oren. What brings you to my office?” he said.
“Did you sabotage June Price’s interview with Muller & Co.?” I asked bluntly. I wasn’t screaming or even particularly riled up. All of the anger I’d bottled up came to a rolling boil, deceptively patient.
He made a sound of irritation. “I hardly think it’s your place to ask such questions.”
I took a step closer to him and this time, his face slacked in fear.
“I asked a very simple question. Were you responsible for her application being rejected?” I repeated.
“Let’s discuss this inside, shall we?” he said through gritted teeth, stepping aside to let me in. “Have a seat.”
I remained standing.
William sighed, then moved back around to sit at his desk. He steepled his hands together that was supposed to project asense of authority but only succeeded in making him look like an impostor. “Oren, Muller & Co. is a prestigious firm. You know this. Their standards for employee conduct are exceptionally high, their performance standards even more so.”
“And that’s precisely the problem,” I said. I sounded eerily calm even to my own ears, perhaps especially so knowing what was brewing beneath the surface. “June is one of the most talented and intelligent students we have in this department. Her body of work is the definition of exceptional, and that was something you admitted yourself after meeting her. Why the change of heart?”
He fixed me with a look dripping in condescension. “Do you really want me to elaborate on what I’ve discovered? As though you aren’t distinctively aware of anycharacter flawsthat might plague our young, ambitious student?”
I ground my jaw. “Careful.”
“So it would seem that you do know what I’m referring to.” William clapped his hands once. “Well, I think that settles it, then. You’re a smart enough man to know a losing bet when you see one.”
I wanted nothing more in that moment than to slam his smug, gloating face right into his filthy desk. But violence wasn’t going to get June another shot at her interview, nor was it going to ensure William’s silence.
I had to play this well and make sure that I covered all my bases.
Something that sounded almost like a laugh left my throat. “Interesting choice of words you used there. A losing bet, huh? That’s something I’m sure you know all too well about.”
The victorious expression melted off his face. He cleared his throat, tugging at his tie as though that was going to help him in this situation. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really?” I asked, putting both of my hands flat on his desk. I lowered my head, leaning towards him. “That’s interesting because there’s been rumors floating around for a while now that someone in this room doesn’t know how to hedge his bets. And I’m not a gambling man.”
William’s face turned pale.
“See, I know that an industry like ours doesn’t particularly like rumors that hint at a blemished character. I think pissing away one’s life savings is a rather glaring offense,” I added, not taking my eyes off of his grimacing face.
“What do you want,” he spat the question like a statement.
“I want you to make a call to whoever you decided to gossip with at Muller & Co., and I want you to apologize for the lapse in cognitive function you experienced and have them reschedule an interview with June. This time, one where the recruitment panel is in attendance to ensure that everything stays fair this time,” I demanded.
William looked like he’d rather chew off his own arm, but we both knew that he didn’t have a choice. His eyes were shooting daggers at me though.
“Fine,” he ground out. “She’ll have her interview back on schedule by the end of the week.”
“Lovely,” I said, tapping the desk before turning around to leave.
“I don’t believe this girl is truly worth all this effort, you know.”
I turned my head back to see William glaring at me. My fist clenched and unclenched, but I didn’t thinkhewas worth that effort. I just laughed.
“You are the last man on Earth who I expect to know anything about value. Let’s make sure this is our last meeting on the topic, yeah?” I said. I slammed the door shut behind me so hard that it rattled the hinges.
*
