Page 33 of Lau Ahi
“He said something about TAs and your work being the highlight of the department within the last year. I think your recent publication being the reason why we came is why he thought you’d be happy to agree.” I had to give Agent Ortega-Castillo credit. He was at least trying to make this ordeal seem palatable.
“I don’t understand how anyone could’ve made that mistake.”
“Me neither, you’re prickly.”
I bristled at his words trying to keep my temper in check since I was at work. I’d already shown my displeasure when he spoke originally so I had to take a deep breath and regain some semblance of control.
“And what is the consulting fee?”
The two men glanced between one another before his partner looked at me in shock. “The what?”
“The consulting fee. Surely you don’t think I would miss out on my actual job without being compensated for it. Gentleman I’m not sure who or where you were raised but I’ve always been taught to get paid for the work I do.”
A smile shadowed Ori’s face before it disappeared just as fast. “That’s something we’d have to discuss with our superiors. You’re right, we were under the impression that you would rather have the notoriety for working with us than being paid.”
“And now you see where thinking without asking gets you.”
His partner broke into another smile while Margo seemed nearly apoplectic at my words.
That twinkle was back in his eye like he was pleased that I was as much of a challenge as he remembered. “You’re right. We’ll be in touch if that’s okay with you.”
“I’m waiting with bated breath.”
They turned and walked out and I watched the door close before I released the breath that I’d kept trapped in my lungs.
“Are you going to do it?” I hadn’t realized that Margo was still lingering in my office. I wasn’t sure what she thought she was going to gain by asking me questions. I was sure I couldn’t discuss it with anyone once they dropped the information off to me so I wasn’t going to break confidentiality for anyone. Especially not her.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re asking me, does it?”
She shook her head softly before turning back toward the door they’d exited. “No, not really. I mean you wanted more eyes on your book so I’m sure this will launch you into a lot of people’s sights for collaboration. It’s a good business move.”
I wrinkled my nose because I didn’t like the implications of her words. I understood that I was in a position that most people weren’t: I didn’t have to dwell on the capitalist side of education because my father ensured I didn’t have to. While I was grateful for that, I still wouldn’t be the type of person to base what I did on what I stood to gain. If that were the case I’d join my father at his company like he’d been begging me to. Despite the work I’d done on the mind, I’d earned a dual undergraduate degree in finance and completed my MBA. I didn’t need the myriad of letters that followed my name to fully understand that I was using earning degrees and studying as a coping mechanism. A way to heal and hide from a world that showed me far too much hate at such a young age. Hell, I’d moved bloody continents to escape it but I’d clearly chosen the wrong direction to head in.
Should’ve headed across the English Channel instead of across the pond.
“I wouldn’t use this type of collaboration as an attempt to garner fame. Someone has died, Margo. The type of pain that will linger with people until death. That’s not something that can be smiled away under the guise of financial gain. It’s really hard to think that my career advancement would only come based on the loss of someone else’s life and their loved one’s pain.”
“You have the most altruistic mind. I’m shocked that you didn’t go into a field that was better suited for it.”
She covered her bullshit statement with praise but having the mother I did I knew a backhanded compliment when I heard one.
“Like what, Margo?”
“Nursing or being a physician.”
“Having empathy for people who are suffering isn’t a character flaw. As a matter of fact, if more people put their compassion first versus their wallets this world would be a far greater place.”
I knew I sounded like I was on a soapbox and maybe I was. My father had become someone who’d had to play the game in order to win. Instead of being a person who went after the little guy, he targeted people with high net worths in order to earn his fortune. Some thought they had been played but his business was all above board. The problem was that when rich people diluted their wealth over so many generations without keeping the proper checks and balances. When they’re bored they take risks because ordinary life doesn’t thrill them any longer. My father managed to get in good, fleece a few and then turn himself into a financial golden boy when several investments in Eritrea and Somalia paid off.
She rolled her eyes and I could tell that she wasn’t going to change her stance. A rigid worldview in the face of new evidence was proof of the absence of intellect. “Well, not all of us are fortunate enough not to worry about our names meaning something. I want to leave my mark on the world.”
I didn’t speak up immediately because this was always the same self-serving attitude that Margo always had. She would swear that she was doing something to want to leave her mark on the world but frankly she was more worried about being seen as someone outside of her family. She was the type of rich that didn’t appreciate having her accomplishments tied to her family’s success. But seeing as how her family had their names on not one but two buildings on this campus, she couldn’t say she’d gotten to where she was completely off her own merit.
No one, not even Margo, knew the extent of my father’s wealth. When I came to the United States I kept literally everyone out of my financial business. Nev and Teegan hadalready schooled me on the fact that my accent would have people looking at me funny so I toned down a lot of other things that would be considered beneath my station by my mother. I was a regular student and since I kept to myself I didn’t have to worry about a lot. My father purchased my apartment before I started my Ph.D. and gave it to me as a gift. I knew it was conditional upon my finishing my MBA but I didn’t care because I had a free education and now a place to live forever. My mother was furious that it was in my name alone because she felt as though it should be a property retained by the family trust and not my individual one.
I loved it when my mother didn’t get her way.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to get exactly what it is you’re seeking, Margo.”
