“Well, as I said before, Simon, in any kind of a close contest between applicants, people will naturally look for—”
“Tiebreakers, yes, I remember,” I say. “You and I both know I’m the better professor. I’m the better scholar. I’m the one who deserves the job.”
“You’re certainly entitled to your opinion.”
“So is everyone else. On the merits. On the merits, Dean. Not rumor or gossip or innuendo.”
“Well, Simon, I don’t dictate to the faculty what it should or should not deem relevant—”
“You don’t have the balls,” I say.
The dean draws back. “Say again?”
“Sure, I’ll say it again. You, Dean, do not have the balls.”
I’ll say this for the old chap, he has a good poker face. His eyes glisten and his jaw steels, but otherwise he keeps up a good front. He even lets out a small chuckle.
“My friend, do not make the mistake of underestimating me,” he says.
I pat him on the shoulder. “Funny,” I say. “I was just about to say the same thing to you.”
55
Christian
I come into work like every morning. A quick hello to my receptionist, Emily, and then I go into my office. As I am not actually a financial guy, I don’t really need this office, but appearances are appearances. Besides, I’ll go crazy spending the entire day at home every day. A change of scenery is nice.
Sometimes I do actually work. Though “work” isn’t checking the markets and forecasting investments; it’s scouting for targets and considering other cities for the next venture. But now that I’ve found Vicky and her twenty-one million dollars, I won’t need any other targets. I’m going to be done soon.
For Emily, a nineteen-year-old I found from a temp agency who is going to college part-time, I play the same role I play for Vicky, a rich, genius money guy who only has a few hugely wealthy clients. Most of these clients have been with me for years, I’ve explained, they live all around the world, and they have my personal cell number, so this office of mine downtown doesn’t really function as much of an office.
I imagine Emily thinks I’m one of those uber-rich, uber-brainy eccentrics for whom the expense of an office and receptionist is just pocket money, who just want a place to call an office. But she doesn’t complain. Why would she? It’s a perfect fit for her. She has morning and night classes at DePaul and only works afternoons for me. She spends almost all her time doing homework at her desk. To keep up appearances, I let her pay the company’s few bills and give her research assignments now and then. But this job is a walk in the park for her.
Just after eleven, my phone rings. Not my regular cell phone. My burner, the one I use for Vicky. She doesn’t know that I have a special phone for her, but it’s necessary. Once I take her money, I need to cut off all connections between us, remove any trace of myself from her life, and hers from mine.
“I need to talk to you,” Vicky says, breathless.
“What’s up? You okay?”
“No, I am definitely not okay. Where are you?”
“At the office.”
“I don’t want to come to your office. Can we meet somewhere else?”
? ? ?
Vicky is standing in the alley by my garage when I pull my car in. She is dressed in a sweatshirt and blue jeans, no makeup, her hair a mess. I’ve never seen her like this. I don’t mind it—I actually dig the look—but the tight expression on her face is making me nervous.
She hikes a blue bag over her shoulder and says, “Upstairs,” when I get out of the car.
I follow her up the stairs to my apartment. She pulls a laptop and a green notebook out of her bag, places them on the kitchen table, and points at them like they’re kryptonite.
“He’s going . . . to leave me,” she says, her voice shaking. “He’s going to file for divorce before November . . . November third.”
“Wait, what?” I say. “Just . . . hold on a second.”
“‘Hold on a second’？ Okay, I’ll hold on a second while that tramp steals Simon and his money. My money. My fucking money.”
“Who—who’s a tramp? Will you just—”
“Lauren,” she spits out. “Lauren Lemoyne. That skank he dated when he was a teenager. Remember?”
“Um, yeah, you said somebody broke his heart—”
“Well, apparently, she won it back. She’s back in town and they’re together and they’re going to get married!”