6. Chapter 6 #4
“Come on, Bud, we have to go. Let’s go,” he grumbles, gesturing for Theo to come back into his office, the door still open from earlier.
Keeping his eyes on Theo and Theo alone, he steps aside so Theo would be able to squeeze through once he’d taken my controller back from me and packed up his Switch without a word.
Just a sad look on his face, and his bottom lip was sticking out a little more than it should.
He wasn’t crying, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to hug him and do anything to bring back that bright smile I saw early on.
Theo was halfway out the door when he turned back before Mr Walters could put his hand on his back to nudge him forward quicker.
“It was nice to meet you, Luna. Thank you for playing with me, and I hope we can play again soon! When we do, will you teach me the sparky magic trick?” he asks, referring to the drifting he saw me do earlier.
I look up to see Mr Walters, who’s scowling just like Professor Snape, glaring at me so hard, I’m surprised the vein in his neck didn’t pop. His jaw clenched so tightly, his teeth were going to hurt once he released his grip, not that I cared.
I can tolerate a lot: people talking behind my back, an endless number of job rejections and even a Grandma with zero to no filter and a healthier sex life than me.
The one thing I didn’t tolerate was a disrespectful asshole.
Ignoring the warning he tries to send me, I walk over and bend down to Theo’s level, most likely tanking what was left of my chances of succeeding in this interview, so I made it count.
“It was lovely to meet you, too, Theo. I had so much fun playing with you. I haven’t laughed that much or played that game in a long time.” I recite softly, giving him the biggest smile I could muster, and it was worth it as he gives me one back, just as big.
“And I’d love to teach you my trick someday, but on one condition, okay?” I start, fixing one of his hoodie sleeves slipping off his shoulder. Theo nods in agreement, anything to learn the secret.
Mr Walters up there looked as if he wanted to kick me, and his face gave the whole ‘I’m ready to birth a cow’ kind of vibe. It wasn’t quite the constipated face Macy described to us the other day, but it was close.
This one held a lot more anger, probably because I was touching his son, so I quickly retracted my gesture before he really did try to fly kick me through the window. I looked up at Theo and imprinted his kind smile into my brain for safekeeping.
“You have to listen to your- Oliver.” I was going to say dad, but for some reason it didn’t feel right. Then I glanced back at Nigel, who was paler in the face.
“And your Uncle Nigel. They are both working very hard to make sure you stay safe and happy, so if you are a good boy and do as they say, one day I promise. I’ll teach you the secret move.” I recite, watching Theo nod his head a little too fast.
“Okay, I promise!” He beams before running back into his father’s office.
I remain couched down for a little longer, feeling sick to my stomach. If there was one thing I hated, it was making an empty promise to someone, especially children.
My promise may very well go unfulfilled, but the smile Theo gave me earlier made up for the tug on my heartstrings, and I didn’t want our first and last meeting to end on a bad note.
We’d most likely never see each other again after today, but I’m choosing to believe the words I said will remain with him and be a source of happiness as he goes through life.
“Nigel,” the grumpy Grinch murmurs, bringing me back to earth.
“Yes, Sir?” he chimes, as if he admitted some unknown defeat I wasn’t aware of.
“You and I will have a chat later, but for now, fix this,” he orders, emphasising the last word, making direct eye contact with me.
I was tiny compared to him right now, still crouched on the floor, but I never broke my gaze from him, though I did resist the urge to flip him off as he entered his office and closed the door.
I know he so desperately wanted to slam it shut.
Once Grumpy Guts had left, I ignored the pins and needles in my feet and pushed to stand and took a seat back in the chair again and looped my tote bag over my shoulder.
Prepped and ready for what was about to happen next. At the same time Nigel closed his eyes, clutching the back of his chair in a form of support, I could hear him slowly and quietly counting to ten, knowing he’ll be ripped a new one for what happened today.
I wouldn’t say he’ll be fired because if Macy’s intel is correct, like it has been so far, Nigel has been Mr Walters’ assistant for many years; I don’t see that changing so drastically.
At least I hope not.
Once Nigel had reached the number ten and taken a deep breath, he sat back on his chair, only glancing at me once, opening the first drawer of his desk and pulling out a stack of paper. He then pulled a boring black pen out of his pen holder and placed it in front of me.
He gently pushed the sheet of paper towards me, and I slowly glanced down to read the words: NDA.
I didn’t need to be familiar with lawyer jargon to know what that meant, but after skimming the first paragraph, it was safe to say that I wasn’t getting this job, and regardless of what happened next, when I left this office, I’d walk out of here with my head held high.