bag.
“Did the rat die of natural causes?” One of the clerks asked.
Beck began sorting through the documents that had been left on his desk, tossing the papers that appeared to have been befouled by the rat’s presence into the pail and ignored their comments.
“Or was it a trap or poison?” Another clerk asked.
Greg sat at his desk, smirking at Beck. “I bet a rat-catcher like you could tell.”
Beck turned around and faced the clerks. “All right, go ahead and laugh. But if it weren't for rat-catchers like my father still working down below, rats would be overrunning this place.”
Beck frowned to himself, grim and serious. “Although how could you tell with the rats already running this place?”
The clerks stared at Beck, shocked as Greg got up from his desk and confronted Beck. “Now see here! If that is a dig at the firm, then you really have gone too far.”
Greg kept poking Beck in the chest for emphasis. “This firm just happens to be the best, most respected business in this city, this country.”
Beck looked down at Greg’s finger poking him like he wanted to bite it off.
“It's trusted everywhere currency is spent.” Greg stopped poking Beck and crossed his arm, glaring at Beck. “Do you still want to work here?”
Beck looked up at Greg, angry. “My father happened to be a boxer as well. Would you care to sample a move of his?”
Greg ducked one of Beck's swings, but received another punch.
Shortly thereafter, Beck sat in a short wooden chair facing the office supervisor, seated behind his desk in a red velvet upholstered chair. “I’m sorry I let my temper get the best of me like that.” Beck said.
The supervisor acted magnanimous. “I understand your frustration. A mistake was made, and details of your background were publically revealed.”
Beck looked down. “I don’t blame the Lavonya firm for that.”
He certainly did not advertise his upbringing or that he had occasionally assisted his father in fulfilling his duties. But the Lavonya firm had heavily researched his credentials and past when they hired him for this job.
The firm mainly dealt with the assets of the Fernando Corporation, one of the most important companies in the country of Bonniver and based here in the city of Silvo. Fernando had factories, mercantile fleets, and a wide network of other subsidiaries, including Lavonya, which handled Fernando Corp.’s payrolls, investments, stock, insurance, tax payments, loans, mortgages and more.
The security of these finance and business affairs had to be ensured, so naturally all of the employees came under scrutiny. Beck hadn’t expected anything less.
But he had not expected to be so exposed as a rat-catcher’s son to all of his colleagues when he had taken care to conceal his background for most of his life. As a child, Beck had quickly realized the sort of humiliation and degradation he would face if his father’s employment was known.
So he had disguised and hid it as often as he could. He had asked his father never to pick him up at school, and instead walked to and from school by himself. He had never invited any friends or fellow students over to his home, a small flat.
He had always taken care of his appearance and made sure there was no evidence of the work he occasionally did alongside his father. Sometimes this had forced him to scrub off the sewer stench and rat blood as hard as he possibly could.
However, even that wasn’t enough at times. A student might have recognized him if their parents hired him and his father to clean out a cellar. Or they might have spotted him chasing down a rat in an alleyway.
So Beck always had to live with the risk and likelihood of exposure. He undertook numerous prevention methods to cover up this prospect over the years, but sometimes he would have to deal with the aftermath.
Though these problems had been difficult to handle when he was a child, at times now it seemed easier when he was young, or at least
“Did the rat die of natural causes?” One of the clerks asked.
Beck began sorting through the documents that had been left on his desk, tossing the papers that appeared to have been befouled by the rat’s presence into the pail and ignored their comments.
“Or was it a trap or poison?” Another clerk asked.
Greg sat at his desk, smirking at Beck. “I bet a rat-catcher like you could tell.”
Beck turned around and faced the clerks. “All right, go ahead and laugh. But if it weren't for rat-catchers like my father still working down below, rats would be overrunning this place.”
Beck frowned to himself, grim and serious. “Although how could you tell with the rats already running this place?”
The clerks stared at Beck, shocked as Greg got up from his desk and confronted Beck. “Now see here! If that is a dig at the firm, then you really have gone too far.”
Greg kept poking Beck in the chest for emphasis. “This firm just happens to be the best, most respected business in this city, this country.”
Beck looked down at Greg’s finger poking him like he wanted to bite it off.
“It's trusted everywhere currency is spent.” Greg stopped poking Beck and crossed his arm, glaring at Beck. “Do you still want to work here?”
Beck looked up at Greg, angry. “My father happened to be a boxer as well. Would you care to sample a move of his?”
Greg ducked one of Beck's swings, but received another punch.
Shortly thereafter, Beck sat in a short wooden chair facing the office supervisor, seated behind his desk in a red velvet upholstered chair. “I’m sorry I let my temper get the best of me like that.” Beck said.
The supervisor acted magnanimous. “I understand your frustration. A mistake was made, and details of your background were publically revealed.”
Beck looked down. “I don’t blame the Lavonya firm for that.”
He certainly did not advertise his upbringing or that he had occasionally assisted his father in fulfilling his duties. But the Lavonya firm had heavily researched his credentials and past when they hired him for this job.
The firm mainly dealt with the assets of the Fernando Corporation, one of the most important companies in the country of Bonniver and based here in the city of Silvo. Fernando had factories, mercantile fleets, and a wide network of other subsidiaries, including Lavonya, which handled Fernando Corp.’s payrolls, investments, stock, insurance, tax payments, loans, mortgages and more.
The security of these finance and business affairs had to be ensured, so naturally all of the employees came under scrutiny. Beck hadn’t expected anything less.
But he had not expected to be so exposed as a rat-catcher’s son to all of his colleagues when he had taken care to conceal his background for most of his life. As a child, Beck had quickly realized the sort of humiliation and degradation he would face if his father’s employment was known.
So he had disguised and hid it as often as he could. He had asked his father never to pick him up at school, and instead walked to and from school by himself. He had never invited any friends or fellow students over to his home, a small flat.
He had always taken care of his appearance and made sure there was no evidence of the work he occasionally did alongside his father. Sometimes this had forced him to scrub off the sewer stench and rat blood as hard as he possibly could.
However, even that wasn’t enough at times. A student might have recognized him if their parents hired him and his father to clean out a cellar. Or they might have spotted him chasing down a rat in an alleyway.
So Beck always had to live with the risk and likelihood of exposure. He undertook numerous prevention methods to cover up this prospect over the years, but sometimes he would have to deal with the aftermath.
Though these problems had been difficult to handle when he was a child, at times now it seemed easier when he was young, or at least
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