Chapter 4

The next day at work, Marcus called me into his office.

He had me sit on the couch, poured me a glass of water himself, and only then asked, his tone puzzled.

"About this contract with Otis. What happened?"

"If I'm remembering right, you were the one pushing hard for this company before."

I lifted the glass, took a sip, and set it down gently.

"Supervisor, I recommended the company because I trusted its founder."

"But the truth is, the company's own credentials and track record fall far short of what we require."

"So I felt a more thorough background check was necessary."

Marcus watched me for a moment, expressionless, then suddenly smiled.

"With me, you pass."

He picked up the pitcher and topped off my glass.

"I don't need to know what's going on between you and Otis, but the fact that you can handle this objectively and fairly is proof enough that you belong in the compliance department."

"Once Mr. Henson is out of the hospital, I'll recommend to him that…"

At that I shook my head.

"At the very least, there's still a lot I can learn from you."

Marcus nodded and let the subject drop.

"You've probably caught wind of it from Otis. I'm about to be promoted to manager, but not in compliance. In the creative department."

I looked up, puzzled, not understanding why he was telling me this.

Marcus cleared his throat, his expression turning serious.

"There are things I couldn't bring up before, but I can say them now."

"When Otis first got you this internship, he was hoping to slip me some perks in advance, to help him land a big contract."

"And more than that, he once told me that as long as the deal went through, I didn't need to worry too much about how you felt."

I understood what he meant.

Before my father was hospitalized, if I'd heard something like this, I doubt I would have believed a single word of it.

"Thank you, Supervisor."

"No need, no need. Go on, get back to work."

As I pushed the door open to leave, Marcus's voice came from behind me, a little uneasy.

"Mr. Henson's surgery went smoothly, I hope?"

I turned my head and smiled at him.

"With a specialist from Westhaven, everything went smoothly."

At lunch I got a call from my father.

"So which matters more, work or me? You're just going to dump your old man in the hospital and forget about him?"

I couldn't even find words. I took the phone and stepped outside the restaurant.

"Dad, unless I'm mistaken, plenty of executives went to see you today, didn't they?"

"And I left two nurses there with you."

On the other end my father gave a huff and went quiet.

He'd been like this ever since my mother passed.

Deadly serious in front of outsiders, like a little kid in front of me.

"I'll swing by Liberty Plaza later to pick up a contract, then go home and make you some chicken soup, all right?"

"Then I'll be waiting for it."

My father laughed out loud, and just as I was about to hang up, he added one more thing.

"Fine, you don't have the time. But that company of Otis's has people running it, doesn't it? How is it he's nowhere to be seen all day either?"

"See if he's got time to come by and keep me company for a while first…"

Before he could finish, I cut in.

"Don't waste your breath on him. He's somebody else's son-in-law now, not ours."