quondam
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Mike nearly threw his phone against the wall. He was able to restrain himself though. He still needed it and could not afford another. And it looked like he would not for quite some time. Another rejection. Another failure in a long line of them.
He went through everything that had led up to this. His resume was well made, and his cover letter was damn near flawless. He had gone to the interview impeccably dressed and had done his best to charm the pants of the interviewers. And yet, every single time he had been turned down. What was going on?
Was it his experience? He had only had two jobs now, so maybe he was just not experienced enough. But it was not like he was going for high level positions. All his interviews were for entry level jobs, things that would get him in the door and not much else. Trained monkeys could do most of what he had applied for.
Maybe it was his references? His college professors would have nothing but good things to say about him. And his boss from his first job had almost begged him to stay. That left his previous job. While his boss there had not been the best of people, they had at least parted on good terms, so he could at least expect a neutral reference from him. But then again, that was only if the call got to his boss.
A cold pit formed in his stomach. Could it be? Would she really be that vindictive? What was he saying, of course she would. He immediately dialed her number.
“Hello?” Came the voice of Sally, his ex-girlfriend. And the secretary at his former job.
“What did you do?” He asked.
“Why, whatever do you mean, Mikey?” She asked in the sickly-sweet innocent voice she used when she was reveling in a kept secret.
“Don’t give me that. You know damn well what I’m talking about. Now what have you done?”
“Aw, is poor little Mikey having trouble finding a new job? I wonder why that is? Could it have something to do with how I told all of them you like to come in late everyday? Or maybe that you have sticky fingers? Oh, how about that sexual assault charge I told them about.”
“You bitch!” Mike roared.
Of course she would sabotage him. Why he had ever dated her was a mystery to him. No, that was not true. It was because she looked amazing in a bathing suit. He cursed his overly hormonal younger self for falling for the succubus.
Sally was just laughing her evil little head off. “Sorry, Mike, but you know how it is. You do me wrong, I do you worse.”
“You would ruin my life because I broke up with you?”
“Yup. You broke my tender little heart. It’s only fair that I break everything about you.”
“Really? After all that you put me through? You were a horrible girlfriend. You were selfish, manipulative, spiteful, controlling, petty, and just an all around horrible person. I was completely justified in breaking up with you.”
“Not how I see it. The way I see it, I was the perfect angelic girlfriend, doting on my big, clumsy boyfriend. And he broke my little heart when he broke up with me, completely out of the blue. It’s well within my rights to get a little revenge, wouldn’t you agree?”
Mike needed to new tactic. She would never change. Nor would she relent. That is, unless he gave her a reason to. But he could not do anything to her face. She was horrible, but she was also smart. She would be able to form a counter if she knew he had something in the works. Did he had something in the works? A slow smile crossed his face. Yes. Yes he did.
“You know Sally, if I were, you, I’d start either handing my reference calls to someone else, or start being honest.”
She gave a self-satisfied chuckle. “And why should I do that? I’ve got you on the ropes. You’re helpless, powerless. You live or die on my whim. And I say you go to the poor house.”
“I see. In that case, just remember, what goes around comes around. Good bye, Sally. I hope we never see each other again.”
With that he hung up and got to work. Sally was a clever little bitch, but she could also have tunnel vision. She rarely paid attention to anything other than herself. So she never noticed when he had recorded a few videos of her at parties. Parties that featured events that could really damage a person’s career.
If Sally wanted to play by ruining his reputation, he could do the same. And he would not pull his punches, just because of a past relationship. He was not going down without a fight.
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And so the war begins.
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