Page 75 of False Start

I shake my head, deeply disappointed. Suddenly, the truth is too glaring to ignore: I'm never going to get anywhere here. It'll always beone more thingto prove I'm "the right fit", while the Bergmans of the world get the role without even having to interview.

"With all due respect, sir, no."

Robert looks up at me from his papers, an eyebrow raised.

"No?"

"That's right," I answer, firm in my resolve. "I ran more scenarios than anyone else who applied. Double- and triple-checked each simulation to ensure I'd covered every angle possible. Went toall the dinners, andall the drinks, andall the networking events. I even broke up with Bethany when you asked me to."

I'm shouting now, but I don't care. Several traders are very obviously watching me through the glass walls of Robert's office. He holds up his hands.

"Whoa there, pal. No one told you to break up with Bethany." I roll my eyes.

"Oh yeah," I say, letting sarcasm flood my voice. "You juststrongly impliedthat if we kept dating, I wouldn't be in the running for the promotion. That it would make the clients uncomfortable. I won't bother repeating the rest of the filth you said."

Robert stands up so I'm not shouting down at him.

"I don't like what you're insinuating," he harrumphs. God, I can't believe I've already wasted so much time here!

"Not insinuating," I spit at him, savoring the outrage that blooms on his face. "I'm outrighttellingyou that you are a heartless,racist, entitled piece of shit. I'm done jumping through hoops when you know full well you're never going to treat me with the respect I deserve. Still proving myself while everyone else just waits for theirunclesordadsto get them a coveted spot on a billion-dollar deal.

"You'll have to find anothertoken minorityto be your whipping boy, because I quit. Banks Ripley is a toxic place full of terrible people, and it's not worth it.Noneof this was worth it."

Without waiting for his response, I storm out of his office and to my desk. Luckily, I don't keep many personal items here, so I'm already in the elevators with my belongings before security can escort me out. I bet they'd allloveto see that.

I burst out of the elevator and almost run headfirst into Bethany, who was waiting on the landing.What are the odds?

"Cory!" she says breathlessly, steadying the cups she's carrying in a flimsy coffee caddy. "You almost ran me over."

"Sorry," I offer, glancing at the security desk a few feet away.

"Listen," I start, edging around her and further into the lobby, "Now isn't really a great time, but I just wanted to say, how I treated you before wasn't cool. It was a shitty thing to do, and you didn't deserve it."

"No, I didn't," she murmurs back after a moment of stunned silence. I glance nervously at the security desk again.

"And you're doing well? I haven't seen you around."

She lifts her chin.

"I assumed that's what you wanted when you stopped answering my calls and avoided me when I came to see you."

"That may have been what it looked like, but no, that wasn't what I wanted."

I notice the guards closing in from my peripheral and edge closer to the building exit. Bethany glances at the guards, confused.

"What's going on, Cory?"

I reach out to squeeze her hand, then think better of it when the guards move closer.

"I can't really get into it now. What I can say is that you were great. It was never you."

She says nothing. Just looks at me with a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

When I dash for the doors, security doesn't follow. Once I'm off the premises, I'm not their problem. I'd bet good money I'm already locked out of my work account, too.

The late winter sun shines through an almost cloudless sky, warming me a little too much in my wool coat. Although I'm jobless, and may very well be homeless if I don't come up with a plan, a weight has been lifted. My days of pushing and shoving my way into a box I was never going to fit into aredone. I'm sure the panic of quitting a six-figure job will hit soon, but for now, the pure relief I feel to be free from that cesspool washes over me, and I imagine what great things could be ahead for the first time in years.

"Hey, Cor! Thanks so much for coming in on a weekend," Tiffany says as soon as I check in at the front desk.

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