The Job Offer
918 Words
9:00 AM.
The Ashford Foundation.
Glass building. Cold floors.
My first day.
Lucien dropped me off.
Didn’t come in.
He kissed me on my forehead,“Call me if it’s bad,” he said.
“It won’t be,” I said.
Eleanor was waiting in the lobby.
Blue dress. No pearls today.
“Dr. Carter,” she said.
“Just Maya,” I said.
“Just Maya,” she echoed. “Good. Come.”
---
My Office. 9:15 AM.
It wasn’t Lucien’s old office.
Smaller. Window. Bookshelves.
No leather couch.
No ghosts.
On the desk: a file.
Thick. Red stamp. PRIORITY.
Eleanor set it down.
“This is your first project,” she said.
“What is it?”
“The grants,” she said. “The ones he approved.The ones he rushed.The ones with no oversight.”
She opened it.
Dozens of names. Universities. Researchers.
All funded in the last 2 years.
All fast-tracked.
All his signature.
“I want you to audit them,” Eleanor said. “Every one.Call them. Visit them. Find out who got money they shouldn’t have. And who didn’t get money they should have.”
She looked at me.
“Can you do that?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Can you be ruthless about it?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” she said. “Because I can’t.”
She left me alone with the file.
---
12:30 PM.
Lucien texted.
L: How is it?
Me: It’s a mess.
L: I know.
L: Cpan I come by at lunch?
Me: Yes.
He was there at 12:45.
Takeout.
Sat on the floor of my office.
Because there was no couch.
“Can I see?” he asked, nodding to the file.
“Yes.”
He flipped through it.
His face got tight.
“I did this,” he said. “I wanted results fast. So I skipped steps.”
“I know,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I know,” I said. “Now help me fix it.”
He looked up.
“Can I?”
“Yes,” I said. “But you don’t sign anything.
You just answer questions.”
He nodded.
“Deal.”
We ate on the floor.
Like we did in my apartment.
---
3:00 PM. First Call.
Dr. Armitage. Small college in Ohio.
Got $2M for a history archive.
Never used it.
Spent it on new football bleachers.
I put it on speaker.
Lucien sat next to me.
Hands in his lap.
“Dr. Armitage, this is Dr. Carter from the Ashford Foundation. We’re doing a review of your grant.”
Long pause.
“Is Lucien there?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Can I speak to him?”
“No,” I said. “You can speak to me.”
I explained the terms.
The repayment.
The audit.
He yelled.
Hung up.
Lucien was pale.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Don’t be,” I said. “Be useful.Who else did this?”
He gave me 3 more names.
---
6:00 PM.
Eleanor came by.
“Progress?”
“4 calls. 2 frauds. 1 real. 1 hung up.”
“Good,” she said. “Keep going.”
She looked at Lucien.
“Thank you for helping,” she said.
“I should have done it myself,” he said.
“Yes,” she said. “But you didn’t. She is.”
She left.
Lucien stood.
“Let's go home"
---
In the car.
He was quiet.
“Talk to me,” I said.
“I hate this,” he said. “Seeing it. All the shortcuts. All the damage.”
“I know,” I said.
“Do you hate me for it?”
“No,” I said. “I hate that it happened. I don’t hate you.”
He exhaled and laced my fingers with his.
He did. All the way home.
---
Back at my apartment. 8:00 PM.
File on the table.
Coffee.
Him.
“Can I work with you?” he asked.
“On the floor?”
“Yes.”
“Yes,” I said.
So we did.
He read. I called.
He took notes. I flagged.
At 10:30 PM he stopped.
“I’m proud of you,” he said. “For doing this.
For not running from it.”
“I’m proud of you too,” I said. “For letting me.”
He reached over.
Took my hand and kissed me.Slow.Tired.Real.
---
11:30 PM. Bed.
File closed.
For tonight.
He pulled me into him.
“Can I stay?”
“You already are.”
“Can I stay forever?”
I thought about it.
About the file.
About the ring.
About him.
“Yes,” I said.
He smiled into my hair.
“Good,” he said. “Me too.”
---
Day 197. 7:00 AM.
Text from Eleanor.
Good work yesterday.
Lunch with the board Friday.
They want to meet you.
Me: Okay.
Lucien saw it.
“The board,” he said. “The ones I used to run.”
“I know.”
“Can I come?”
“No,” I said. “This is mine.”
“Okay,” he said. “I'll wait for you after?”
“Okay.”
He made coffee.
Handed it to me.
“Morning, Dr. Carter,” he said.
“Morning,” I said.
He kissed me.
“Go fix it,” he said.
“I will,” I said.
- Writer
